PIGEON FORGE, Tenn. — The world's fastest wooden rollercoaster is officially open, and people are flocking to Dollywood to take a ride.
Nonstop twists, turns and drops await passengers of Lightning Rod, a hot rod-themed coaster inspired by the town of Sevierville, circa 1950s. The ride, which officially opened Monday, is attracting people by the thousands. It's part of a 10-year, $300 million investment in attractions and improvements to Dollywood and its associated properties, which includes the new Dollywood DreamMore Resort.
"It's absolutely amazing; it blows my mind away," said rider Tony Funk. "The launch is so powerful; all the airtime that you get, it's simply amazing."
The launching wooden coaster climbs more than 20 stories high and boasts a 165-foot drop with more than 20 seconds of airtime.
It hits 73 miles an hour, a world record for a wooden rollercoaster.
With a $22 million price tag, the ride is the single-largest attraction investment in the park. It is built out of enough wood for a small subdivision, according to Pete Owens, director of media relations for the park. The 3,800-foot track winds around a steep hill, which was virtually untouched during creation of the ride.
"It was very challenging terrain, a lot of really steep hills and so forth," Owens said.
The ride has been in the works for more than two years, and the site was carefully selected due to its hills and undeveloped potential.
"We settled on this location across from the Jukebox Junction area of our park, which is all new terrain for us," Owens said. "We started setting footers in late May of last year.
"During the latter part of the fall we really started construction in earnest and we completed construction this spring."
Manufacturer Rocky Mountain Construction used a hybrid design to create the ride, an entirely wooden structure with a patented, continuously welded topper track. The result is a smooth ride that feels much like a steel coaster.
"With the way the steel track is, you're allowed to do things with the design you cannot necessarily do with a traditional wooden coaster," Owens said. "There is overbanking here that is more than 90 degrees, and it allows a lot of very intricate transitions.
"You can't do that with a traditional wood coaster, because of the limitation of the wood."
The ride is made up of 12 cars that look like hot rods, designed in theme with Jukebox Junction. The Junction includes a replica of Red's Drive-In diner, where owner Dolly Parton had her first hamburger, and a Pine's Theatre where she performed as a child.
"We decided to add in an element of 1950s culture, which is the hot-rod car culture," Owens said. "Lightning Rod really is a hot rod that has been built by a character we created, and you have the opportunity to take speed trials every day on the new hot rod. That's really what the storyline is."
Visitors waiting to take a ride will have plenty to see, as the waiting area was designed to look like a hot-rod production garage.
Although the Lightning is thrilling its riders, Dolly will not be among them.
"I can guarantee you she won't," Owens said. "She likes to add them to the park because it's something that families really enjoy, but she jokes that she has too much to lose -- her hair or nails. Certainly on a ride that goes 73 miles an hour, there's a good chance of her flipping her wig."
