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Tennessee Tornado
Website: Dollywood Homepage
Ride Type: Steel Coaster
Ride Status: Running
Average Rating: 4.3784
TPC Overall Rank: #75 out of 2933 rides.
Reviews: 43
Last Review: 8/13/2009 6:12:00 PM
In User Top 10: 33 times.
User Tracker Count: 105 times.
 


Tennessee Tornado
    
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5 Rating
0 Rating Rate Down Rate Up ncvegas21 on 8/13/2009 6:12:00 PM
The G's are insane, I felt dizzy both times after riding this coaster, but it is awesome. The drop is a big surprise, and the inversions are fun. 5/5

5 Rating
+1 Rating Rate Down Rate Up TN Soccer Ref on 8/12/2009 7:37:00 AM - User's Top Ride #4
I like this coaster. I got a little headache from the G-forces after the second loop. That didn't keep me off of it. This is my first looping coaster. The ride is a little short. It goes by pretty fast. The biggest problem for me was the last hop at the end. I can usually get on this one pretty quick since most people seem to be at Mystery Mine or Thunderhead.

3 Rating
0 Rating Rate Down Rate Up jesussaves on 6/12/2009 9:53:00 AM
This is a pretty good coaster, it is just a little rough for my taste that is why my score is not so high. It also seems to be over quickly. It does however have A great first half with the first big hill into the tunnel and then into the very large loop and that keeps it from being a total bust for me. Another good quality is it follows the terrain nicely and I like that element in coasters, so overall, I give it a 3.5 rating.

5 Rating
0 Rating Rate Down Rate Up biosciking on 5/18/2008 4:12:00 AM
Tennessee Tornado turned out to be the surprise hit of my day at Dollywood. I know this one tends to get higher praise than other Arrow loopers, but I still wasnt expect it to be as good as it was. Though it isnt incredibly long, it delivers such an enjoyable ride while it does last that it really doesnt matter. Three main positives: 1) The drop. After the lift, the track makes a very short dip and slow turn around, so I wasnt sure what to expect from the first drop that followed. It totally took me by surprise that it was as tall, fast, and actually quite gut-wrenching as it was. Add to that the fact that it took place inside of a tunnel built into the hillside and youve got a totally unexpected thrill with that first drop. 2) The loops. Pull out of the drop immediately into a succession of three gigantor loops. The two vertical loops in particular were huge, both in height and diameter. Plus they had that very unusual wobbly back-and-forth layout that I guess was supposed to simulate being tossed about within a twister. Very cool. 3) The smoothness. Who would know that this is the same type of ride as Viper at SFMM or Great American Scream Machine at SFGAd? It was amazingly not rough for an Arrow coaster. All in all, Tennessee Tornado was great. Equally as good as Thunderhead and Mystery Mine.

4 Rating
0 Rating Rate Down Rate Up methos on 5/12/2008 7:56:00 PM
I love the ride, the way it is set into the terrain and the speed throughout its tack. This coaster is the smoothest Arrow looper I have ever been on. The first drop into the tunnel is great fallowed by the amzing first loop. This is a very unique arrow looper and an abosule must ride at Dollywood. Rode the coaster over and over only flaw was the brakes are a bit hard when flying into them. A small parce to pay for a ride that matains a feel of being out of control for the entire course!

4 Rating
0 Rating Rate Down Rate Up T-Rex on 12/19/2007 2:23:00 PM
One of the best Arrow loopers Ive been on. The first drop was incredible as it caught me off guard as the whole drop in the tunnel was pitch black and provided incredible ejector air. After that was a massive vertical loop that provided some great forces and then a turn leading into two more inversions, both of which were very smooth and forceful as well. Only negative was how short the ride was.

4 Rating
+3 Rating Rate Down Rate Up Timberman on 9/16/2007 3:57:00 PM
Had this ride been just a wee bit longer, I might very well have rated it a nine. Then again, I might very well have also returned to the station unconscious. During the second set of a series inversions that comprise basically the entirety of the layout after the first drop, Tennessee Tornado pulled a Terry "Bam Bam" Gordy on me. Suddenly, I saw a pop, as if from a flahbulb, and then my field of vision receded down a long, grey tunnel. I would have thought by this time that Id experienced about every sort of a sensation a roller coaster could impart, but that was definitely a first. While the intercranial effects of the ride soon dissipated, my respect for this roller coaster has not. Its a rare ride that can hand your butt to you and still have you coming back later for more.

This was among the last of the big Arrow loopers, and it is a fitting conclusion to a career that gave much to the roller coaster community but is too often remembered only for its missteps. At their best, Arrow coasters mimicked the feel of a wood ride in abruptness and intensity, while combining these traits with the sort of chest-collapsing inversions only possible on a steelie. Take, for example, the Tennessee Tornados opening sequence. After picking up some speed along a swooping right turn, the train drops suddenly and sharply down a steep, enclosed hill. Riders in the rearmost car are forcefully ripped out of their seats and then just as forcefully pressed right back down during the enormous loop that follows. Modern steel coasters from Switzerland are so adept at manipulating gravity that their positive and negative Gs have sort of an express-elevator-like quality to them. You get a moment of force followed by an expertly-executed transition that gracefully and gently positions you for the next phase. Arrow transitions, by contrast, are like the moments in Looney Tunes adventures when the Road Runners body outpaces his head, while his neck continues to elongate along its former orientation until it finally snaps around to catch up with his fleeing body. That may not sound like everybodys idea of fun, but personally, Id rather have my thrills modeled after the physics-defying antics of cartoon characters than the precision of watch-makers.

A more unfortunate tendency of Arrow coasters, however, was also present on the Tennessee Tornado in the amount of brain shake that came through in the back seat. Unlike head-banging, which can usually be mitigated by properly bracing oneself, brain shake is an unavoidable rattle transmitted from the union of track and wheels to the riders brain pan. If youve ever ridden a skateboard or roller skates with metal wheels over pebbly macadam, you know what Im talking about. Brain shake intensifies when your skull is placed firmly against the headrest, so it forces a rider negotiating fast inversions to choose between slightly scrambled grey matter or a possible wrenching of the thoracic vertebrae from leaning forward against heavy positive Gs. Really bad brain shake, the kind under-maintained Dinn-Summers coasters are famous for, can cause a headache that ends a days fun at the park. What little I experienced on the Tennessee Tornado was nowhere near this violent, however, and I willingly underwent a second dose to experience the excellent airtime on the first drop in the back seat. By contrast, the ride in the front seat was quite comfortable, although no less forceful; it was there where things began to go dim for me.

Earlier this summer, I had the opportunity to ride another Arrow classic, the Loch Ness Monster. My overall impression of that ride was that the most forceful elements of an excellent layout had been unfortunately muted with trim brakes. No such taming, however, has been visited upon the Tennessee Tornado. This is Arrow unleashed, and that, my friends, is a rare and wonderful occurrence in todays more conservative age of continental refinement.<s

4 Rating
0 Rating Rate Down Rate Up chingdog on 8/16/2007 12:02:00 PM
I am a fan of Aarow coasters. I dont know why because I agree the trains are not that confortable and they can be rough for steel coasters. This one had some nice loops and a great first hill. It also wasnt that rough compared to others but that could be because the ride is not that old. Overall my son and I thought it was an excellent coaster but it was a bit too short. One other thing to note is they need to paint this ride...the color is just awful looking. On the plus side again is the fact that it is built along a hill that really makes it unique as far as layout and theme. It is worth a wait in line for at least one ride...we rode it once in the very front and once in the very back.

4 Rating
0 Rating Rate Down Rate Up ih10 on 5/25/2007 9:18:00 PM
This ride is so fun.I rode this ride once.It goes very very fast.It went so fast I couldnt keep my eyes open.LOL.

4 Rating
0 Rating Rate Down Rate Up Swimace on 4/22/2007 9:37:00 PM
For an arrow looper this was really enjoyable. The drop through the tunnel caught me off guard with some quality airtime and the reast of the ride kept the pace. The elements were large and twisted which made them fit the pacing of the ride rather than older arrow loopers that have a one-size-fits-all loop/corkscrew combo. Although I really liked this coaster, I think it was really short, it was pretty much a drop, three inversions, and a turn.

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