The Tennessee Tornado is a roller coaster

Roller coaster

The roller coaster is a popular amusement ride developed for amusement parks and modern theme parks. LaMarcus Adna Thompson patented the first coasters on January 20, 1885...

 at Dollywood

Dollywood

Dollywood is a theme park owned by entertainer Dolly Parton and the Herschend Family Entertainment Corporation. It is located in Pigeon Forge, Tennessee. Dollywood has 3,000 people on its payroll, making it the largest employer in that community....

, in Pigeon Forge, Tennessee

Pigeon Forge, Tennessee

Pigeon Forge is a mountain resort city in Sevier County, Tennessee, located in the southeastern United States. As of the 2010 census, the city had a total population of 5,875....

 in the United States

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

. It debuted April 17, 1999, and was Dollywood's first major coaster expansion as well as one of Arrow Dynamics'

Arrow Dynamics

Arrow Dynamics was a roller coaster and amusement ride design company based in Clearfield, Utah, United States. In 2002, the company went bankrupt but was quickly bought by fellow amusement ride manufacturer S&S Power to form S&S Arrow. During its peak, Arrow Dynamics was responsible for some of...

 last major coasters. The ride opened in a valley location previously occupied by Thunder Express

River King Mine Train

-Overview:The River King Mine Train is a hybrid wood structure roller coaster located at Six Flags St. Louis. Built in 1971, it was the first coaster of the park. The actual ride itself is one of two tracks, one which was later sold. Today, the ride operates with its original name. The ride has...

, an Arrow Dynamics Runaway Mine Train roller coaster

Mine Train roller coaster

A Mine Train roller coaster is a steel roller coaster whose trains depict a set of mine carts, sometimes pulled by the reproduction of a steam locomotive which is often designed in a cartoon style...

 relocated from Six Flags St. Louis

Six Flags St. Louis

Six Flags St. Louis , is an amusement park owned by Six Flags, Inc. It is located in Eureka, Missouri, USA . Opened in 1971 as the third theme park of the Six Flags chain, this was the last park that was built under the Six Flags name...

 in 1989 and opened in 2002 at Magic Springs and Crystal Falls

Magic Springs and Crystal Falls

Magic Springs and Crystal Falls is an amusement park and water park located in Hot Springs, Arkansas, about 50 miles from Little Rock. A single price admission includes all day use of the rides and attractions in both parks. The park is open weekends from April through October and daily late-May...

.

Tennessee Tornado has several unique features not found on other Arrow Dynamics looping coasters. At the time of the coaster's construction it had been several years since the company had last built a sit-down looping coaster, so the designers created new elements and track designs for the ride, including two overbanked curves and a 110 feet (33.5 m) "Spiro loop", the largest inversion on any Arrow Dynamics coaster.

Tennessee Tornado is also unique in that it uses a tubular steel beam support structure similar to that of Bolliger & Mabillard

Bolliger & Mabillard

Bolliger & Mabillard Consulting Engineers is a roller coaster design consultancy based in Monthey, Switzerland. The company was founded in 1988 by Walter Bolliger and Claude Mabillard, with Bolliger acting as president and Mabillard as vice-president...

 roller coasters, rather than the more typical Arrow Dynamics scaffolding-style supports found on rides such as Viper

Viper (Six Flags Magic Mountain)

Viper is a steel roller coaster made by Arrow Dynamics of the United States. The roller coaster is located in the Baja Ridge area of Six Flags Magic Mountain in Valencia, California....

. This kind of support structure was first used on the defunct Drachen Fire

Drachen Fire

Drachen Fire was an Arrow Dynamics roller coaster that operated from 1992 to 1998, at Busch Gardens Williamsburg.- History :Initially, Drachen Fire was to be designed and built by Bolliger & Mabillard. Busch Entertainment contacted the young company to build two multi-inversion sit-down coasters at...

 at Busch Gardens Williamsburg.

During the 2008 operating season, Dollywood added video cameras to the first three seats of the trains. During the ride, cameras record the riders. At the ride's exit, riders are able to view their video and upload it to YouTube

YouTube

YouTube is a video-sharing website, created by three former PayPal employees in February 2005, on which users can upload, view and share videos....

.

Ride elements

• 110' tall loop
  Loop (roller coaster)
  The generic roller coaster vertical loop is the most basic of roller coaster inversions. Specifically, the loop refers to a continuously upward-sloping section of track that eventually results in a complete 360 degree circle. At the top-most piece of the loop, riders are completely inverted.-...
  
  
• Loop
  Loop (roller coaster)
  The generic roller coaster vertical loop is the most basic of roller coaster inversions. Specifically, the loop refers to a continuously upward-sloping section of track that eventually results in a complete 360 degree circle. At the top-most piece of the loop, riders are completely inverted.-...
  
  
• Sidewinder