Lightning Rod (w/Chain Lift) front seat on-ride 5K POV @60fps Dollywood
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- Опубліковано 16 бер 2024
- This RMC (Rocky Mountain Construction) hybrid coaster opened in 2016 as a wooden coaster, but during the 2020/2021 off-season much of the original Topper Track was replaced with steel IBox Track. Problems with the original LSM (Linear Synchronous Motor) launched lift hill then forced the park to replace it during the 2023/2024 off-season with a high-speed chain lift hill.
You can also watch the other video we posted to see Scott's and Jack's reaction while on the ride: • Catapult Falls reverse...
Dollywood is located in Pigeon Forge, Tennessee.
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Congratulations to Dollywood for their innovation. They now officially have the world's first wave turn with hangtime.
😂😂😂
Nah 💀💀💀
soo tru
True but also this pov was running empty
@@RomanSecundus It's not far enough into the ride to make a difference. Empty trains lose speed over time, not immediately. The difference right after the first drop will be negligible.
For better or for worse the change was absolutely necessary. There were far too many people saying “I went to Dollywood but Lightning Rod was closed”.
i swear to god thoosies are the most overdramatic people on earth. 95% of parks would absolutely kill to have a ride like this
Well now it might as well be closed forever.
They should have replaced the structure on the lift hill instead of putting a chain lift in. The chain lift should have never even been considered an option in the first place.
@@occultpyromancerTo be fair, I visited it 3 times. Spent thousand plus dollars to travel there, stay the night, pay for admission etc. and only got on Lightning Rod once out of 3 visits, for 5 days total. That's.... unacceptable honestly. Wasn't scheduled maintenance. Was just down.
@@tomw485Maybe GA will love it.
Wow, i just compared old lightning rod to whatever this is and it is worlds apart. RIP Slow Rod
At least its still operating. I commend dollywood for sticking with the attraction instead of removing it altogether, like most parks wouldve done
R.I.P. Lightning Rod
Yeah because the lift is changed haha. Whatever
@@justinpino8115 Honestly the entire ride is way slower now. It's not just because of the lift....
@@justinpino8115 To be fair, the main gimmick of the ride was the launch. It's a very impactful change
@@bblw1307 The is absolutely not true. In fact, with the new trains, the ride is faster on the circuit than before.
@@williamf.buckleymusic666 It isn't. Find a single launched POV that is slower than this. I timed the CF LR 2.0 POV, from what I can tell - it's nearly 4 seconds slower cresting the top to the brake run. I've done countless laps on LR, anywhere from barely open in the 30s to 100+ heat index days. This is absolutely crawling.
Looks pretty high speed for a chain lift, also looks really early in the morning so it’s most likely running slow through the course. And many people have told me it runs the same after the lift, when they actually ride it and not judge it off a morning test run.
Why can’t people ride the ride before commenting and not act so butt hurt? I’ve met so many people who traveled hours and spent thousands of dollars to visit Dollywood, and never got to ride LR. This was destined to happen.
It's a normal rmc lift hill speed.
Honestly, after the launch was repeatedly slowed down, it already crested at about this speed.
@@ThrillSeekersandHellRaisersit takes less time for it to get up the hill than SteVe and IG, in the same height range and less steep of a lift hill. So statistically it should be faster.
@@ThrillSeekersandHellRaisersno its not.
It's literally an empty train, very early in the day, so it's a LOT slower than it should be. But of course people are judging it based on it being slow.
Remember theres also videos of opening day and it runs much faster than in this video, it was prolly an early morning ride. It looks like it crests the lift at the same speed as it did before. And new trains always run slower the first few weeks.
Every1 should watch footage of reopening day it runs wayyy faster than this video and people who actually rode it say its pretty much the same.
This is what people need to see! I rode it today and sure, the lift is slower but the rest of the ride runs the same as it used to be, if not faster. This video doesnt do it justice.
@@Applezz649 Yea, looks like ppl are jumping to conclusions way to fast, only judging by this vid.... same happened the first few vids of Untamed and that ride is absolutely hauling nowdays.
the train on this pov is also empty u can tell by the lack of noise. trains aren't broken in yet either. it'll run more or less the same after the lift eventually just not when this video was filmed
@@heliotropeskies5918Yes this is what im saying haha
People have already made comparison videos with when the ride was testing on empty trains early season in 2023. The new version is still several seconds slower.
okay, to everyone commenting on how slow this is, this is a morning test run, when it actually has people on it, it is flying through the layout, there's been a few off ride POVs posted and it really flies through it
Our last Lightning Rod POV (with launch) ran slower as well due to the empty train and early morning ride. By the end of the day, with a full train, it’ll be a significantly faster ride. -Scott
False. Instead of talking out of your ass, compare the videos and actually time the difference. It's several seconds slower. Stop spreading lies
Still, a chain lift just isn’t as powerful as a launch, I’ve seen videos from later in the day and it still just crawls through the layout. Definitely dropped off the bucket list
I'm not privy to the logistics of such a thing, but I imagine a high-speed hydraulic chain lift like the one on Bakken's Tornado would do wonders to bring Lightning Rod back to her former glory.
They would never do that probably because the last time RMC tried a new lift technology for a wooden coaster on a rollercoaster at dollywood it didn't go great
You’re also talking about an infinitely lighter train on a much smaller lift hill.
wont happen too unreiable
It truly has dropped off for me, will definitely ride it if they did this
Welp I’m thankful I manage to ride this when it still had it’s launch. Funny those times I rode it it broke down 😂
Same I remember the first time I rode it I closed my eyes after the big launched hill and didn’t open them until it was over😂 luckily I got to ride it one last time in 2023 before they changed it’s best feature. R.I.P. fastest wooden coaster
Remember everyone, this was probably filmed with an empty train early in the morning when it was cold outside. Not saying it’ll be running the same way as it used to, but during normal operations it’s probably faster than this.
Cope
@@aledandrianWow, what a well thought out and constructive response.
Bro lighting rod is dead now
A moronic post doesn't deserve a constructive response. Its slow. There is no video at any time of the day where the new LROd has looked anything but slow. When people type delusional nonsense because they don't want to accept the truth, "Cope" is the only reply needed. @@Hydra_X9K_Music
All of you obnoxious forced positivity lames who can't just tell the fucking truth and have to delude yourself and justify your little trip out to Tennessee by calling a 54 second cycle "just as fast" as a 42 second cycle. Its okay to tell the truth, it doesn't make you entitled, impossible to please, or anything else. And stop relying on shit takes from content creators who lick parks balls so they can get invites to events and preferential treatment. All the locals are calling it way slower.@@Hydra_X9K_Music
Love the “High Speed” chain lift 😍
It’s not just the thrill of t he launch it was the high paced energy of it and the sounds of the Revving car. It was none stop action. Now it just feels like the ride has lost the excitement
Yep I haven't ridden lighting rod since my first ride with the chain lift every time I go to dolly wood now I skip lighting rod
I get why dollywood had to replace the launch with a lift but
Genuinely a shame dollywood never figured out how to reliabaly run Lrod with the launch. The launch made it super unique and intense. Now it looks like it's crawling through the layout, especially during the 1st waveturn
RIP Lrod
They should’ve replaced the launch’s supports with steel ones or make it a tire launch. Would be way more reliable and still have the launch
This also looks to be an early morning run with an empty train, so this is about the slowest it'll ever run. I saw some off ride footage from opening day when it had a full train of riders, and it was running significantly faster than this.
Or use a cable lift. I’m pretty sure the fastest chain speed is almost equal to the slowest speed on most cable lift systems. But you know I guess that’s too much common sense to do
@@James-fg3ed Cable lifts also aren’t the most reliable either. Dollywood has been dealing with Lightning Rod’s issues for too long at this point, so I can’t really blame them for going with most reliable option.
@@Trim_Brakes_06 if you get a good company cable then yes it is reliable. Look at el toro. Heck even millennium force was running a lot. Even with the backup motor it didn’t really have any issues besides the slow return speed. Considering lightning rod has terrible capacity a cable wouldn’t hinder much besides the land reforming to make it work. If a cable can be reliable for 2 gigas and a woodie. Then I see no excuse for not using on LR besides the terraforming that is required
I'm so glad I went on a spontaneous trip to Dollywood in Oct. '23 now solely to ride this before the change (even got lucky enough to have only a 5min wait)
I just went to Dollywood recently and this ride is still awesome. In fact, I think it’s better now. For one, Lightning Rod was up and running all day! I got to ride it twice, and before, you would have to be extremely lucky just to ride it once. Also, it may look a bit slow on this video, but trust me, it’s very fast still. Not only is it fast, but it’s honestly more exciting. You have more anticipation when you’re going up the hill since it’s slower. In my opinion, I think Lightning Rod is way better now, and I definitely recommend it if you haven’t rode it already.
thanks this is great to see how the new lift rides! ❤
Glad I was able to enjoy for several years when it was thrilling
My new favorite coaster!!! It’s amazing!!
Looks Absolutely Awesome
Well.. I can now take lightning rod off my bucket list coasters.. since they just neutered it!
🎯
Same. It was closed during my visit a couple years ago. But now I have no reason to go back to Dollywood until they get something really big
The ride has officially been neutered! Thank goodness I rode this multiple times.
This is an early morning run without riders. It would ride just the same before at this time.
Observe the video and ride it irl before commenting. No riders and running in the early morning means it’ll run slow.
Nah, "neutered" is what they did to The Voyage by engaging trim brakes before the triple-down in the tunnel. It was one of the most amazing elements on any wooden coaster, but now it just crawls through the tunnel. A damn shame.
@@mcstrangelove lol what. I rode it last June and it still gave ejector airtime. The back row was crazy enough that my family members couldn’t handle it after one ride. Go join their carpentry team and keep up with maintaining it if you want those trims disabled. It wouldn’t continue to rank so high if it was “neutered” that bad.
@@quix9556 The back half is a completely different ride when it is trimless, so I'm not sure what you're rambling about. I actually feel really sorry for you that you've clearly never experienced it.
i went 2018 with the launch, and i honestly dont recall a ride as insane, except iron gwazi
looked like that was crawling through the layout, but also it looks like early morn area so probably hadnt had time to warm up. getting my 1st ever ride come june, and i hope to high heaven it's a warm day on june 3rd and 4th.
Great video!
how on earth is that lift high speed
😮🎉
Literal shell of its former self
Yeah.
I understand why they had to do this - it was out of service more than it was open - I'm just glad I got to experience it once in its original configuration.
THEY MURDERED THE BEST RIDE EVER
It was so fast and really fun before the change but I do it was for the better. It’s probably much safer to ride now.
You can for sure tell by the way how the train just crawls over its highest elements, that it was meant to have a launch system.
I like old school just fine. That hulk coaster in Florida had a launch thing. It was OK, but I like the slow climb like they had way back when I was a wee lad.
YES! Now it’s redone!
Awesome! Can we get a side by side comparison of the old vs the new?🙏
From the 2nd peak, it takes 9 extra seconds to hit the brakes.
went on this opening day in the rain this season and the raindrops at this speed felt like splinters going into my eyes. even going down the hills all i could hear was everyone just laughing as we were all ducking down trying to blindly protect our faces
I rode it twice yesterday. Once in the morning, which was fun, and once at park closing after it'd run all day. And the train was packed.
It scooted on the second ride. The ride in this video is noticeably slower than my experience yesterday. Most likely because it's early morning, it's probably very cold out, and the train is empty.
Unfortunately I just recently got over my paralyzing fear of coasters. Recently as in by the time I got over it and had ridden every other coaster in the park, it was already shut down to remove the launch. So I don't know 100% exactly how it compares to when it had the launch, but I do know that my ride was way more intense than this.
I looked side by side vs a video from last year and this is wayyyy slower. I also rode it last week and was definitely faster than this.
Early morning/being empty is for sure the issue here.
I have never seen a coaster brake that fast on the brake run.
That new launch is so much faster!
Yikes although changes may have been necessary, the ride experience has suffered.
Was this filmed early in the morning?
I’ve been to Dollywood only twice. First time this was shut down for the overhaul, second time it broke down so much I was barely able to get one ride in. Well I’m extremely grateful for that one ride because it doesn’t look the same. There was seriously no way to make the lift go faster?
Hang time on the wave! Nice !
The stipulation is the train crests the hill with the chain at 13mph...the exact same as with the LIM motor. I know from a PR standpoint, DW just needs the coaster to run consistently for the season. Big Bear Mountain didn't have quite the draw they were expecting.
ITS BACK!!!
I hope everyone does realize that this is probably the first run of the day with an empty train so it’s running really slow
Does anyone know the reasons why the launch system never worked?
In short, the launch has a bunch of sensors that need to work in tandem with another. The hill would flex (because its wood) and this would knock the sensors out of sync with eachother.
@@theshiggityshwa4359ahh that makes a ton a sense thanks
It’s definitely faster than this . That’s 52 seconds from top of the lift to the brakes including the predrop, I’ve personally clocked it at 46 seconds over the same since the lift hill conversion.
I love your videos. It would be awesome to see you edit together a side by side video with chain lift on one side of the scree and launch lift on the other side of the screen so we can see the differences.
Stay tuned for tomorrow's video! - Jack
That's a high speed chain lift?
Yall did an amazing job filming this. The scenery is beautiful. The people behind transitioning the ride... this doesn't feel like Lightning Rod anymore, and makes me sad. Like a Boomer taking away tiktok.
Like the brain of the average TikTok user
Great!
⛓️🎢 Welcome Back Lightning Rod
I think this is one of the best quality video that I have ever seen 🤜💯🎢
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
I got to ride it about 3 times last year before they took the launch out, guess im lucky. still looks to be a fun ride though.
This ride definitely dropped off my bucket list, went from thrills to just disappointment, supprised they coundnt just use indrivetech motors and just rebuild the trains to keep the launch. RIP lightning rod, now just rod (no more lightning)
It still goes 73 mph. Lol 😂
I am curious of why they didn't go with a tire lift hill.
Rain.
it’s not nearly as slow as it looks. its definitely running slow in this video, yes. but dollywood is my home park and i rode it with the launch hundreds of times, and at least a couple dozen with the chain. its still super intense.
wait is it bad that im actually about to cry…
this coaster left me SHAKING when I first rode it and now its just… ruined 😢
Somehow it looks very slow.
Because as you can see, it’s early in the morning and nobody is in the train. So it’s not warmed up and probably running the slowest it will for the day.
Hold your tongue @@DavidVitrano
@@DavidVitrano why tf would they do that?
@@bradylewis9698 Because the launch system kept breaking forcing the ride to be closed
@@erikbrickman4461 obviously. That's why the changed the to a chain lift it. But Why would they scrap the ride after they've spent millions on different modifications and changes to get it running
It’s sooo slow! I’m so sad I never got to ride it with a launch 😢
I got to. But not the way you want it to go. I got on it and started going up the lift about to make it to the top it stops and rolls back 😢never got to ride it fully
Hopefully this will let this ride stay open. We have been to Dollywood three times since this opened and have still never rode because it was shut down with mechanical issues.
Honestly they prolly should've went with the cable lift instead
cable lift was not an option due to the geography of the land the ride is built on
@@andygordon2055well. Kinda. They would have to dig a trench yes. But if they wanted to they would do it. I have a feeling this chain lift isn’t gonna last long. Enough people will backlash to where they’ll either have to use a cable or put in a new launch system with the steel track in its place. From what I hear the only major issue was the wooden track couldn’t really handle the launch. If they used the steel track it would’ve done fine that and also not use a braking company that has never made a launch before.
Lol RMC should probably never try that. Or maybe they'd actually find a way to do it, who knows
@@andygordon2055 also not reaible
@@James-fg3ed wrong only backlash is from entilted enthuists lift is there froever
So is it just called Rod now?
I’m glad but hurt inside because I loved the launch
What did they do to my boy?😢
I wish I was able to ride this when it was launching, unfortunate
The one that got away.
Is the high speed chain lift in the room with us
I timed lightning rod today. It’s running about 7 to 8 seconds faster than this video. Its flying.
Because this was first thing in the morning 7am and people expect it to be hauling as if it’s 5pm in the afternoon.
So what’s the speed now? Certainly ain’t 73 anymore.
Plz tell me this was in the morning not in the afternoon
How many people do you see 😂
Hopefully rmc try another launched coaster in the future
Wooden and hybrid launched coasters are probably not the way forward. However, maybe they can try it with the Raptor or T-REX models (if the latter ever comes to fruition).
EDIT: I forgot RMC does like to build their own steel truss on ground-up RMCs as well as rebuilds where the lift hill is at a new location. I assume that this steel truss provides enough rigidity to make launches reliable, so maybe there's still a chance.
It can be done but a big problem is that wooden coasters shift WAY more than steel coasters
This can lead to misalignments with the launch which is why lightning rod never launched consistently
But a bigger problem was the terrain that lightning rod sat on wasn't necessarily good and that caused way more misalignments
So for a wooden launch to happen they would need to build in better ground and build a sturdier structure to reduce swaying
It's possible but ik park owners are terrified
Leave launches to steel coasters.
Launching coasters are the best.
People taking shit about this ride havnt rode it. went to Dollywood yesterday rode ever ride and lightning rod was my favorite and most exhilarating to me free fall time was insane
I’ve jus went on that to day
Im going to guess this was before park opening?
Could it have been possible to give it a faster chain lift hill?
Was this taken at sunrise or sunset?
Why isn’t it launching up the lift hill anymore?
you can’t convince me this isn’t running slower
What happened to the launching Lightning rod ?
Since when does a wave turn give zero airtime... idk how people are saying it's the same speed, everything looks much slower
Rest in peace Lightning Rod, I wish I could've ridden the good version.
It’s only March, still plenty of time to get hotter and speed up with the heat of summer.
I really wish they could’ve kept the launch. It really was the rides best marketing point. I’m wondering why they couldn’t also possibly use drive tires as an alternative to the original launch
I commend Dollywood for doing the right thing by installing a chain lift so more people get to ride, However I have rode this ride with the fast launch system, And even with a high speed chain lift it just does not have the same excitement that makes you want to keep coming back and riding it no matter how they spin it. I am not sure why they could not get the launch system to work reliably as kings Island has flight of fear with LIM technology that has been working for years without any issues.
I just rode it today, and honestly after the lift everything else is pretty much the same.
So basically, other than the best part it’s the same. Which makes no sense. I guess the Lakers without lebron are the same team. Ridiculous
@@marcusmcgraw3519Please the launch was not the best part 💀
This was the right call. Even like this, Lightning Rod is a top-tier attraction and most theme parks would pay RMC a ton for a clone. Also, this ride has had RMC back out working and modifying the coaster more than any other ride they've been a part of. It's unheard of to see a company try to do work on their ride because of flawed or unreliability issues... RMC could have said "We told you so!" and made them pay for all the time, materials, and work instead of just materials.
I guess the LSM lift couldn't stay working - leading to a lot of disappointment. This seems fine/okay but definitely isn't as thrilling.
Slowwwww il pass on dollywood now 😭
It just ain’t the same without the LSM acceleration, but I gotta hand it to Dollywood for a high speed chainlift
Although I’m sure it would’ve been way more expensive, I don’t understand why they wouldn’t spring for a HS cable lift, as this ride was known for its quick launch up the hill.
They should have done a cable lift system to keep some of the speed
compared this video to the video that was shot back 4 years ago and as its nearing the end of the first drop with the old coaster, this one is still ascending the lift hill. Dont get me wrong, I am happy they have fixed it (hopefully for the better), but the speed is no longer there...
Dude the wave turn is so slow
Like they said high speed lift hill
I checked the original pov and this is 8 seconds slower from drop to breaks
Ah man! The launch was the *BEST PART!!*
Is it just me, or does it go slower than it used to?
They got rid of the launch
Sadly it runs slower every year, so no surprise there. Wouldn’t be surprised if they make the lift hill slower next year lmao
Well no shit
The chain lift, plus the fact it’s clearly early in the morning with an early train means it’ll run slower. I’ve heard it’s running completely fine when it’s warmed up.
Glad they're making it more reliable, but man this might be the weakest rmc now. Still looks fun though
Damn, i don’t even want to ride it now
new credit debate
Lightning Rod has lost its POV and is now just another coaster. However, looks like the bunnyhops at the end might now be less painful than they have been so far with the lower ride speed.
How the mighty have fallen