The Lightning Rod will be set to be open for rides about March 2016.
Advertisement
For Dolly, launching the speedy coaster is not just about attracting new visitors (although it undoubtedly will), instead, she has a personal connection with 1950′s era hot rods.
Dollywood’s Jukebox Junction will be the new home of the fastest wooden roller coaster in the world.
Called Lightning Rod, it will be the single largest attraction investment in the park. Thunderhead is constantly among the top five wooden coasters while RiverRush is the one and only water coaster in Tennessee.
Themed after a tricked out 1950s-era hot rod, Lightning Rod launches riders from zero to 45 miles per hour more than 20 stories up its lift hill to one of the ride’s first airtime moments. As unique as its namesake and owner Dolly Parton, Dollywood is the 2010 Applause Award victor, the theme park industry’s highest accolade; victor of almost 30 Golden Ticket Awards; and recipient of 24 Brass Ring Awards for Live Entertainment (more than any other theme park in the world).
“I’m getting nauseous just looking at that”, she joked.
The ride will feature 12 cars carrying two passengers each, and will have a variety of ups, downs, twists, and turns. The ride lasts a total of 3 minutes and 12 seconds.
“It’s literally built into the mountains here”, Ross said.
The Lightning Rod will travel at speeds up to 73 miles per hour.
“It doesn’t go upside down because it doesn’t have to”, Owens said. Previous projects from that announcement include the FireChaser Express roller coaster that opened in 2014 and the DreamMore Resort that opened in July.
Advertisement
Lightning Rod continues $300 million worth of investments announced in 2013.
