Amazing, Thrilling, Beautiful,....... The list could go on and on. When you first approach the Thunderhead, you immediately notice the beauty of the coaster towering above the pine trees. Then when you get a little closer all of the theming comes into view. When you enter the queue the track runs above your head. As you are in the queue for the coaster if you listen closely you can hear and maybe see the Dollywood Express chugging along beside Thunderhead. The line goes by quite quickly considering the popularity of the ride. The operators are extremely professional about their job and friendly too. As the ride first begins up the lift hill, you can see the beauty of the Smokies and at the top it all begins, with a 100 foot drop and banking you would not even think of on a woodie. On my first ride my hands actually touched the rails on the sides, so keep your hands down on the first bank. About halfway through the ride you go through a "wild" part of the ride. A fly-through station. You actually re-enter about 8 feet above the station, which is wild and loud. That marks the halfway point. You hit several more banks that are extreme and then you hit the brakes "The worse part" I really didnt want the ride to end. As you exit you go under a lot of the track you just covered. You can usually get back in line and get about 5 rides in each hour, just depends on what day it is. For the beginners and experts it is perfect, the turns and drops are unexpected, the look of the coaster is origonal. Dollywood matched theming on this ride perfect, no other theming would do for this ride. So a perfect 10 in my book, everything about the ride is perfect. I would reccomend this coaster for all!
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