Thunderhead
Thunderhead's logo and two Golden Tickets for the Best Wooden Roller Coaster
Dollywood
Location	Dollywood
Park section	Timber Canyon
Coordinates	35°47′48″N 83°31′55″W / 35.79667°N 83.53194°W / 35.79667; -83.53194
Status	Operating
Opening date	April 3, 2004 (2004-04-03)
Cost	$7 million
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	53.7 mph (86.4 km/h)
Inversions	0
Duration	2:30
Max vertical angle	60°
Height restriction	48–76 in (122–193 cm)
Trains	12 cars. Riders are arranged 2 across in a single row for a total of 24 riders per train.
TimeSaver Pass available
Must transfer from wheelchair
Thunderhead at RCDB

Thunderhead is a wooden roller coaster located at Dollywood amusement park in Pigeon Forge, Tennessee. Manufactured by Great Coasters International, the ride opened on April 3, 2004, as the anchor attraction of a new section added to the park that season called Thunderhead Gap. Thunderhead features 22 turns and 32 crossovers,^[1] and utilizes GCI's Millennium Flyer trains, which have been used on all GCI coasters since 1999.

History

On June 26, 2003, Dollywood unveiled plans for a third coaster addition to the park called Thunderhead for the 2004 season, following Tennessee Tornado, which opened in 1999.^[2] Thunderhead officially opened to the public on April 3, 2004.^[3]

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. Thunderhead is a slang term in the American South for Cumulonimbus clouds.

Ride experience

The train exits the station and turns right. From there, it makes its way through a left turn and climbs the 100.4-foot (30.6 m) chain lift hill. Upon reaching the top, the train drops 100 feet (30 m) to the right at 53.7 miles per hour (86.4 km/h). Riders go through a right-handed banked turn after the drop. This is followed by a left-handed curve. Next, the train approaches a right turn, heading towards an on-ride camera, which takes photos of the riders. After a 180-degree right turn, riders go through a fly-through station element while traveling 40 miles per hour (64 km/h). The train makes a loud noise as it travels 8 feet (2.4 m) above the station. It then goes through a left-handed curve. A smaller airtime hill leads to a 270-degree helix. Riders then go through a right turn and a left turn before hitting the brakes. The train slowly turns 90 degrees to the right, passing by the transfer track. This is followed by a 180-degree left turn that leads back to the station, where riders exit the train.

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^[4]

Rankings

Gallery

• 
  Thunderhead's second drop
• 
  Thunderhead's first airtime hill
• 
  Thunderhead's station fly-through
• 
  Thunderhead's drop after its station fly-through

External links

• Dollywood's Official Page for Thunderhead

References