Dolly Parton’s Dollywood Theme Park Announces World’s Fastest Wooden Roller

Dollywood is shelling out $22 million for The Lightning Rod, which is the biggest attraction, investment ever for the theme park, located in Pigeon Forge, Tennessee. The new coaster will be situated in the Jukebox Junction area of the park and will open in March 2016.

Manufacturers of the ride, Rocky Mountain Construction, have designed coasters and rides from around the world, but Lightning Rod has several unique features including the twin summit airtime hills. The wooden coaster, the Lightning Rod, will reach speeds of 73 miles per hour and will hold the title of the world’s fastest wooden roller coaster.

“Lightning Rod reminds me so much of those colorful cars cruisin’ up and down Main Street in downtown Sevierville back when I was in high school”.

The Lightning Rod will travel at speeds up to 73 miles per hour. During the ride, guests experience almost 20 seconds of airtime.

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. Like any proper hot rod, massive header pipes and an imposing injector scoop peer out from the train’s flamed bodywork.

“While we have one traditional wood coaster, we wanted to do something that was a little bit special”, Dollywood Co. Last year, Dollywood welcomed the FireChaser Express roller coaster as a part of that plan.

Dolly Parton announcing the “world’s faster rollercoaster” is coming toDollywood during a media event on Friday, August 7, 2015, at the amusement park in Pigeon Forge. In 2014, Dollywood was named a top three theme park by USA Today. Dollywood’s Smoky Mountain Cabins offers luxurious cabin accommodations overlooking Dollywood.

The announced project, set to open in 2016, comes a week after Dollywood’s 300-room DreamMore Resort opened.