Thunderhead (roller coaster)
Thunderhead | |
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Thunderhead's logo and two Golden Tickets for the Best Wooden Roller Coaster
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Dollywood | |
Park section | Timber Canyon |
Coordinates | Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found. |
Status | Operating |
Opening date | April 3, 2004 |
Cost | $7,000,000 ($8.77 million in 2024 dollars[1]) |
General statistics | |
Type | Wood |
Manufacturer | Great Coasters International |
Designer | Mike Boodley |
Track layout | Twister roller coaster |
Lift/launch system | Chain lift hill |
Height | 100.4 ft (30.6 m) |
Drop | 100 ft (30 m) |
Length | 3,230 ft (980 m) |
Speed | 55 mph (89 km/h) |
Inversions | 0 |
Duration | 2:30 |
Max vertical angle | 60° |
Height restriction | 48 in (122 cm) |
Trains | 2 trains with 12 cars. Riders are arranged 2 across in a single row for a total of 24 riders per train. |
Q2Q available
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Must transfer from wheelchair
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Thunderhead at RCDB Pictures of Thunderhead at RCDB |
Thunderhead is a wooden roller coaster located at Dollywood in Pigeon Forge, Tennessee. The coaster, which was the anchor attraction of the new "Thunderhead Gap" section, opened on April 3, 2004, to much critical acclaim. Thunderhead boasts 22 turns and 32 crossovers [1], and utilizes GCI's Millennium Flyer trains, used on all GCI coasters since 1999. Thunderhead is also the first roller coaster to feature a station flyby.
History
The ride was named after Thunderhead Mountain, a peak within the nearby Great Smoky Mountains National Park that was heavily logged during the early 19th century.[citation needed] The mountain itself was named "Thunderhead" after a slang term in the American South for Cumulonimbus clouds.
Construction Data
- 700,000 board feet of Southern Yellow Pine
- 3600 yards of concrete
- 250,000 bolts
- 2,000,000 screws
- 185,000 feet of steel rebar[2]
Rankings
Golden Ticket Awards: Top wood Roller Coasters | ||||||||||||||||||
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Year | 2004 | 2005 | 2006 | 2007 | 2008 | 2009 | 2010 | 2011 | 2012 | 2013 | 2014 | 2015 | ||||||
Ranking | 6[3] | 1[4] | 1[5] | 2[6] | 2[7] | 5[8] | 5[9] | 5[10] | 4[11] | 5[12] | 5[13] | 5[14] |
Mitch Hawker's Best Roller Coaster Poll: Best wood-Tracked Roller Coaster[15] | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Year | 2004 | 2005 | 2006 | 2007 | 2008 | 2009 | 2010 | 2011 | 2012 | 2013 | ||||||||||||||||||||
Ranking | 5 | 2 | 7 | 3 | 11 | 11 | 14 | 12 | 15 | 15 |
NAPHA Survey: Favorite Wood Roller Coaster[16] | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Year | 2004 | 2005 | 2006 | 2007 | 2008 | 2009 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Ranking |
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Gallery
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Thunderhead (Dollywood) 02.JPG
Thunderhead's second drop
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Thunderhead (Dollywood) 03.JPG
Thunderhead's first airtime hill
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Thunderhead (Dollywood) 04.JPG
Thunderhead's station fly-through
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Thunderhead (Dollywood) 05.JPG
Thunderhead's drop after its station fly-through
External links
References
- ↑ 1634 to 1699: Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found. 1700-1799: Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found. 1800–present: Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ Thunderhead (Dollywood) :: ThrillNetwork.com
- ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
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- ↑ Surveys - National Amusement Park Historical Association
- Pages with broken file links
- Roller coasters by name
- Wooden roller coasters
- Roller coasters manufactured by Great Coasters International
- Articles with unsourced statements from January 2011
- Roller coasters in Tennessee
- Dollywood
- Roller coasters introduced in 2004
- Roller coasters operated by Herschend Family Entertainment