Date Ridden - May 2007 Times Ridden 2 (Front and back seats).
In scanning this site, most of the hardcore posters seem to be huge woodie fans. For that reason, I feel like I have little to add to some of these outstanding coasters that have received such rave reviews. This coaster makes me nervous to review because Ive been debating on whether to give it a 9 or a 10. To begin with, I think its safe to say that Thunderhead is not as a good a ride as Voyage (which may change if the trims are in effect.....Ill know in a few weeks) or El Toro. However, as a pure woodie (regular wooden supports instead of steel and not pre-fabricated) there is probably not a better coaster out there. Now granted, Ive not ridden Phoenix, Cyclone, Boulder Dash or the new Renegade, but I have ridden Raven, Legend, Beast, Rampage, and the Kentucky Rumbler and I think Thunderhead beats them. It is my favorite wooden coaster (not counting Voyage and ET) so Im gonna go with the 10. Both rides I took gave great rides with abundant floater air all over the track. The fly-through is a wonderful element which adds excitement to the ride while waiting in the que (although I only waited about 10 minutes for each of my rides). Its also a fun element while riding since you can see it in time to get prepared to make faces or yell things at the people in line (not that I did that. . With its numerous crossovers (I think Dollywood claims 30 something) the ride is smooth yet out of control as you never really know where you are on the course. The scenery is beautiful and the station ops do a great job of pumping up the riders before releasing the train. Overall this is an outstanding ride which deserves its Golden Ticket as the top Wooden Coaster in the world. Dollywood is only a couple of hours from my house so Im looking forward to getting back up there and riding this coaster some more. Its intense enough to satisfy any coaster enthusiast yet smooth enough to take the family on. Make a trip to Dollywood, ride the other coasters once or twice (including the Mystery Mine) and then spend as much time as possible on this beauty. It will be worth it.
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