Thunderhead is the most overrated coaster out there right now. Dollywood is a great park, but come on. This thing jackhammers and has very little airtime. Reriding gets painful very quickly as I learned when I did 10 laps in 2 days. Its a good ride, but doesnt deserve the obnoxiously high ratings it has in the Internet Coaster Poll and Amusement Today rankings. Kentucky Rumbler is better. It runs so smoothly, and you can reride that without any pain. Did this thing run better in years past? My first ride was this season (2006).
Update: I rode Thunderhead last month in the front seat, and had a very good ride. The little pops of airtime were much more pronounced than I remember them being last year. I also noticed no jackhammering. Cheers to Dollywood for keeping this complex woodie in good shape. Ive raised this to a 9.
|