Big Bear Mountain at Dollywood will be new for the 2023 Coaster designed by Vekoma. Opening in the Spring of 2023 and looks to be tailored to the family crowd. This seems to be the crowd that Dollywood is looking to cultivate right now. Their last coaster was also a family coaster in the spectacular Dragonflier. Adding Big Bear Mountain should be the crown jewel of the Wildwood Grove section of the park. L
Big Bear Mountain at Dollywood will be the parks longest coaster!
The record before was the park’s Coaster Enthusiast dream Lightning Rod which clocked in at 3800 feet. Clocking at 3,990 feet this is going to provide riders with a ton of family fun! Dollywood has said that the ride should last somewhere between 99 – 104 seconds. That running time is even more impressive when you consider that the isn’t padded with time spent on a chain lift hill. This will be a launch coaster!
Big Bear Mountain at Dollywood is a launched family coaster
Launch coasters are known for trying to get as fast as possible in the shortest period of time. Yet Dollywood is going another route with this one. It has a top speed of only 44 mph. While that doesn’t sound fast it will be faster than the other family launch coaster at the park Firechaser Express which topped out at 35 mph. It looks like to us that Dollywood is trying to give a ladder of intensity option for their guest. This won’t be a mild kid coaster but also won’t be a thrill coaster.
We think it will feel faster than your typical coaster going that speed would feel. They keep it low to the ground with the max height being just 66 feet. Roller Coasters feel faster when they keep low to the ground. The speed will vary less sense it isn’t always trying to crest the next hill. With Big Bear Mountain it is more based on tight turns, and sharp movements to provide the thrill.
A coaster the whole family can enjoy
Our favorite aspect of all the stats coming out about this coaster is the minimum height requirement. Kids will only have to be 39 inches in order to ride Big Bear Mountain at Dollywood. Nothing is worse than having to explain that they will have to sit this one out. Instead of that terrible talk, you might have to give them a pep talk to get on this impressive coaster. That is a way more fun talk to have with the little ones in your group.
Final Thoughts
One of the stats that might blow past some is that each train can carry 20 passengers. That is not very good. Especially since this is a family coaster. More potential riders of which, a lot won’t exactly be efficient in getting ready to ride. Hopefully, the park will have at least three trains with ride ops trained to keep the trains launching. Otherwise, this ride could suffer from long wait times.
The icing on this cake is the great theming the ride will be given. The story goes that you are an explorer in the Smoky Mountains and your guide is Ned Oakley. The trains will come with speakers to have a guided tour, music, and sound effects!
We commend Dollywood’s approach to building fun and exciting coasters that appeal to families. If you have young kids it is hard to imagine a better park to visit if you want them to be able to get in on the fun of riding coasters. If you have a kid who is 42 inches this park has five thrill machines for them to ride! That is why we think that Dollywood is one of the best parks in the whole world but is the roller coaster capital of the world for families with young kids. We couldn’t be more excited to ride Big Bear Mountain at Dollywood in the 2023 season.
Thanks for Reading!
If you found this review helpful or informative would you please consider sharing this with your friends, family, and fellow roller coaster enthusiast? Also if you have any questions, thoughts, or predictions about Big Bear Mountain at Dollywood please sound off in the comments. For a great round-up of the current coasters at Dollywood visit this great article Ultimate Guide to Dollywood Roller Coasters for 2022 – Lil’ Travel Folks (liltravelfolks.com) Please follow us on Instagram at https://www.instagram.com/themeparkcoastercrazy/ and on Facebook https://www.facebook.com/Themeparkcoastercrazy.
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