A New Version of Fire In The Hole to Debut at Silver Dollar City in 2024

© Silver Dollar City

It is not often that a theme park announces that a classic ride is going to close only to announce later that season a new version of the ride will open next year, but that's exactly what Silver Dollar City has done!  We already were given plenty of notice to get our final rides in on Fire In The Hole, the park's classic indoor roller coaster, and now we've got even more to look forward to in 2024 with a new version of Fire In The Hole that will be "the heartland's largest indoor coaster."

The ride is a central part of the theme park's $30 million expansion for next season, which will create a brand new Fire District themed section within the park.  Planned to open in Spring of 2024, the new Fire In The Hole will fully double the size of the park that already contains Station No. 3 firehouse and a collection of family rides.

© Silver Dollar City

“Signifying our biggest investment in a single attraction, FIRE IN THE HOLE continues Silver Dollar City’s strategic, multi-phased growth plan offering families opportunities to play and stay together in the heart of the Ozarks,” said Brad Thomas, President of the Silver Dollar City Company. “Spurring the creation of The Fire District, the custom-designed FIRE IN THE HOLE makes history as the Heartland’s largest indoor coaster. As the District’s anchor attraction, it will be a favorite rite of passage for families where one generation introduces the next generation to this adventure and where the heroes of today spark the heroes of tomorrow.”

© Silver Dollar City

© Silver Dollar City

The new ride will be a full coaster experience and is being created in an exciting partnership between Silver Dollar City, Rocky Mountain Construction and Herschend Family Entertainment Creative Sudios.  The ride will feature 1,512 feet of track, have three drops including a splashdown, 14 iconic show scenes with updated and modern special effects and will be held in a 5 story temperature controller building (seen above).

© Silver Dollar City

The ride's 5 vehicles, a car from which is seen here, will each seat 12 passengers and move at a maximum speed of 26 miles per hour.  The train will also feature a custom soundtrack with high-resolution audio.  Since the ride is a coaster there will be some thrilling moments, but the attraction is intended for families for sure.

© Silver Dollar City

© Silver Dollar City

Fire In The Hole's theme will detail "a fictional account of a real night in Ozark Mountain history when the mining town of Marmaros was burned to the ground by notorious vigilantes called the Baldknobbers."  Riders will see the inhabitants of Silver Dollar city take action to save their town and battle the fire.

The original Fire In the Hole opened in 1972 at the park and is in its final operating season.  The park notes that more than 25 million riders have taken a spin on the original attraction in its history.

Silver Dollar City to Retire Fire In The Hole After 2023

© Silver Dollar City

Silver Dollar City has announced that the 2023 season will be the last for it classic dark ride roller coaster combo, named Fire In The Hole.  The parks names the attraction as the "world's most historic indoor roller coaster," having first opened in 1972 and thrilled generations of families since then.  To help celebrate the closing of the ride the park will hold special events for the ride throughout the season, parkwide fun and promotions all kicking off March 11th and running through December of 2023.


“More than 25 million guests have been entertained by the Fire In the Hole adventure since the attraction opened a half-century ago,” said Brad Thomas, president of Silver Dollar City Attractions. “Today’s riders include grandparents who remember riding when THEY were kids, and now they share the fun and unique experience with THEIR grandkids!”

"The ride’s storyline is modeled after the real-life mining town, Marmaros, that was located atop Marvel Cave and home to residents of long-ago Ozarks. The attraction, novel in its introduction in 1972, has fire-brigade themed trains that twist, turn and drop into a burning town where riders are the volunteer firefighters, saving the citizens and battling the flames before getting soaked themselves."

 

© Silver Dollar City

The retirement of Fire In The Hole will be a loss for the park, but there is much to look forward to.  The park is planning on a period of "unprecedented growth" over the next ten years, and removing the ride will help pave the way for that.  The park isn't saying just what is coming yet, but leadership says they "are keenly aware that the iconic ride holds a place in the record books of attractions of the world, therefore, what comes next must carry on the legacy."

 

“This Grand Finale season of the original Fire In The Hole is paving the way for continued growth and new adventures at Silver Dollar City,” said Thomas. “There will be exciting announcements in the future!”

Mystic River Falls in Preview Mode at Silver Dollar City + New Ride POV

© Silver Dollar City

Silver Dollar City has not delayed their new for 2020 mega-attraction, Mystic River Falls, and is just about ready to open it to the public.  For right now, the park is doing previews of the ride for lucky visitors who are in the parks, and social media is buzzing about what a great attraction it is.

The ride replaces the park's former river rapids ride with a more modern version that includes a dramatic vertical lift hill that stands 82 feet tall and the tallest drop on a ride of this kind in the Western hemisphere.  Mystic River Falls represents a $23 million investment, part of an overall $27 million expansion this year.

The ride and its surroundings are beautiful, and I'm impressed by the speed of the river at various points through the ride.  Looks like a blast!

While many are traveling less this summer, you're still able to experience all that Mystic River Falls offers through a new point of view ride video that the park has released.  Check it out below!

Silver Dollar City To Reopen to the Public on June 15th

© Silver Dollar City

Silver Dollar City has announced that they will reopen to the general public on June 15th, following two days of exclusive operations for season pass holders.  The park's nearby water park, White Water, will open on June 17th also following two season pass holder exclusive days.  Finally, the Showboat Branson Belle will open on June 20th.

To monitor safety at the theme park, a variety of changes will be implemented.  You can read more about them in detail on the park's website.

The park will require season pass holders to reserve a date for their visit, and day-ticket visitors will have tickets that are only valid for the day they choose.  This will allow the park to monitor attendance.  Physical distancing will be in full effect across the park, including in stores, food areas, and on rides.  Indoor theaters and indoor play areas will remain closed for the time being.

© Silver Dollar City

Temperature checks will be done prior to entering the park, and both guests aged three and up and employees will have to wear masks.  Of course, the park will be cleaning and sanitizing all areas frequently throughout the day.

I don't see any update on the park's website as to whether or not their new water ride, Mystic River Falls, will be operating on the 15th.  The park has only shared some small tidbits of the ride in the off-season, prior to the pandemic, so it's hard to tell exactly how far along the ride is.  We won't have long to wait to find out, though!

Silver Dollar City Reveals $30 Million 2020 Expansion Including Mystic River Falls

© Silver Dollar City

Silver Dollar City is embarking on a massive, $30 million expansion over the next year that will include the debut of Mystic River Falls, a thrilling but family friendly river raft adventure.

The park will celebrate their 60th anniversary in 2020 and not only build the new water attraction ($23 million), but also create and all new themed area named Rivertown, complete with a new Rivertown Smokehouse restaurant ($4 million), but also expand Pumpkin Nights this fall ($2 million) and An Old Time Christmas this winter ($1.5 million).  The park's expansion over the next 12 months is the largest the park has ever done in one year during it's 60 years of operations.

© Silver Dollar City

Mystic River Falls is the focus of all these expansions, however, and is billed as having the "tallest drop in the Western hemisphere" on a ride of its type.  The ride features a thick backstory tying it to Marvel Cave and the exploration surrounding it, which is how the theme park got its start six decades ago.

The legend of Mystic River Falls blends "fact and fiction, legend and lore, to arrive at an attraction that celebrates the spirit of adventure that’s part of Ozark culture.  An underground body of water that seems to come from and go nowhere, Mystic River truly appears on the park’s historical maps as discovered and documented by botanist S. Fred Prince in the late 1800s, and to this day, flows in Marvel Cave."

"For the new ride, guests will be transported back to the 1880s in a storyline that revolves around a historically-based fictional character named Pearl Brazen, an intrepid explorer who’s eager to take them on a bold quest to find the headwaters of the river."

© Silver Dollar City

This fantastic aerial map of Mystic River Falls and the new Rivertown themed section shows off all that park guests have to look forward to.  The ride is being created by Silver Dollar City itself along with R.E.S., Barr Engineering and Herschend Family Entertainment Corporate Development.

The ride will feature some very unique features.  The rafts, of which there will be 18 and each will seat 8 guests, will go up a vertical elevator that stands 82 feet tall, taller than many roller coasters.  The elevator will have 4 different platforms that will "allow for scenic views, increase capacity and lessen wait time" and is the only of its kind in the world.  At the top they will float through 180 feet of channel that is 66 feet above the park, then soar down a 45 foot drop into a lagoon below.

The ride's layout includes many waterfalls, a hidden mine shaft and other scenic features, and stretches 2,100 feet.  The designed ride time is around 5 and a half minutes.

© Silver Dollar City

As we've seen since the park opened this year, Silver Dollar City is already hard at work on the ride's construction.  They released this great aerial view of the work so far, and you can easily make out some of the ride's layout here.  The park had to clear out a large area for Mystic River Falls, but has promised to plant at least two trees for each one removed during the construction phase.

New Photo Update Shows Silver Dollar City's Mystery 2020 Water Ride Construction

© NewsPlusNotes

With parks opening for the year left and right, we're getting our first look at some big projects that have progressed over the winter months.  One of the ones I'm highly interested in is the replacement water ride for Silver Dollar City's Lost River of the Ozarks (pictured above), which closed for good last season.  With most parks removing aging water rides in the past decade, it really grabs my attention to see a new one going in as few replacements have popped up to offset the removals.

We already knew that Silver Dollar City was clearing out a large portion of the park where the ride was located, and changing up the adjacent lake as well.  Now that the park is open we can see how dramatically different the area looks!

MidwestInfoGuide has visited the park and posted a great update of the new water ride's construction.  Make sure to follow the link and check out all their information and photos.

Aside from the massive cleared area, there are physical sections of the new ride going up.  One part, as MidwestInfoGuide points out, definitely looks like a station area, but there is also a section of concrete trough in place with more being built.  The trough makes a tight turn on the far side (not far from Fire In The Hole and the Pizza place) of the work site.  It is hard to gauge from the photos, but the trough looks smaller than usual river rapids rides, but it would be easier to tell if there were workers in the photo.  It definitely looks to me like a free flowing river attraction though, no track or anything involved.

I'm excited to see exactly what this turns out to be!

Silver Dollar City Retires River Rapids Ride for Large New 2020 Project

© Google Maps

Silver Dollar City has confirmed that the park's river rapids ride, named the Lost River of the Ozarks, has been removed from the park.  The attraction opened in 1982 and cost around $2 million to build, one of the park's larger attractions at the time.  It has been a favorite of guests since then, featuring a trip through the woods along with a pretty long indoor section.

The ride can be seen in the above aerial map, most of the ride can be seen to the right of the lake in the center of the image.

The theme park isn't ready to say just what they're working on yet, but one thing is for sure - the ride and some of the area surrounding it is already a giant plot of dirt.  Check out this new video to see what I mean:

You can pretty easily compare the aerial footage of the park to the image up top to see just how large an area has been cleared out.  It appears there is one small section of the Lost River's former building standing, basically a part of the facade and that's about it.  The rest is some nice flat land, which I'm sure we will see more work on soon.

Midwestinfoguide has been keeping regular tabs on the work that has progressed as the ride was removed, and just posted another update from the ground on the park's last operating day of the season.  The area does appear a bit larger than it really is because the lake has been drained, but this is still a very large area for the park to reconstruct.  I can't wait to see what they have planned!

Silver Dollar City Ushers in The Year of Shows and Festivals for 2019 Season

Coming off a blockbuster year that saw the opening of Time Traveler, a wild new spinning roller coaster, Silver Dollar City has announced that in 2019 the park will celebrate with a full year of exciting new shows and festivals.

The park is already well known for their live entertainment offerings, and in announcing their 2019 lineup they are showing that they are doubling down on that history.  Silver Dollar City is investing millions of dollars into "new and original productions, larger-than-life shows and festival adventures."

 “We are, and always will be, respectful to our roots of presenting great crafts, unique music and family-friendly shows,” said Brad Thomas, President of Silver Dollar City Attractions. “This coming year, we will add many colorful layers, boldly building a new era of entertainment into our traditions.

© Silver Dollar City

Opening in summer of 2019, the park's new $1 million production, "Reuben's Swashbuckling Adventure," is sure to be a hit with visitors.  This "Broadway-style musical is a magical journey of discovery with a colorful cast, flying characters, state-of-the-art sets and special effects."  Concept art for the production's stage can be seen above.

Other new Summer productions include a show called Kid Magic, featuring Kadan Bart Rockett who is known as the world's youngest magician.  He is best known for making it to the semifinals of the 11th season of America's Got Talent.

© Silver Dollar City

Silver Dollar City's fall season is sure to be their biggest ever as they introduce Pumpkin Nights.  Art for the event can be seen above, and it is described as an "evening lighting event with thousands of pumpkin creations and larger-than-life icons including giant scarecrows, cats, owls and other characters shining in the dark."  The park will stay open until 9 pm during Pumpkin Nights, allowing guests to explore the new Pumpkin Pathway and Pumpkin Plaza along with events like a dance party, fall activities and night rides on their favorite attractions.

Other seasons will see exciting productions as well, including The Festival of Wonder taking place in the spring.  The festival includes shows such as Phoenix Fire, a black-light, laser and fire show, and CirqUnique, and all new circus-inspired show of extraordinary acts.

Come winter, the park's Old Time Christmas, with 6.5 million lights and a reputation as one of the country's finest holiday events, will return.  Shows during this time include A Dickens' Christmas Carol, It's A Wonderful Life, Rudolph's Holly Jolly Christmas Light Parade, and more.

For more details on Silver Dollar City's year of Shows and Festivals, click here.

Scott & Carol Present Silver Dollar City's Time Traveler

It was a very brisk day, but the sun was shining and the scent of a new adventure was in the air.

The time was drawing nigh for Time Traveler to open. The fastest, tallest spinning coaster in the world. And you can only ride it at Silver Dollar City.

The citizens of Silver Dollar City were on display, and the park was breathtakingly beautiful.

Brad Thomas was bursting with pride as he opened Time Traveler to the cheers of the crowd.

The queue is very well themed, with many of the past models of clocks that were invented and a place for pictures, because you can't take an on-ride photo with a free-spinning coaster. An interesting way for riders to gain a keepsake of their experience.

The even managed to incorporate the car design that was revealed at IAAPA. One of the fascinating things about this type of car is that while it is free-spinning, it does have a magnetic brake to allow some control to keep it within family ride parameters.

Every ride is different, here the car is going down the first drop, which happens as you are exiting the station,  sideways!

Christian, from Mack, was kind enough to give us the backstory on Time Traveler.

Another photo of the first drop.  No two rides on Time Traveler are ever going to be alike!

You won't see views like this after the trees fill in with their seasonal foliage. And the grass will grow.

Here are some views Carol took from below.

Notice the different directions the riders are facing before the launch.

And they continue to spin upside down while going through the loop. You can't hear it on this photo, but someone on this train could really hit the high notes while expressing her delight at riding the new roller coaster.

Above is our inaugural ride on Time Traveler. Pay close attention to the background to see just how many new riding positions you too can experience on Time Traveler, only at Silver Dollar City.

Time Traveler isn't the only good news for Silver Dollar City and Brad was kind enough to fill us in on the details of the Festival of Wonder, which has just opened last weekend.

Thanks to Brad and the citizens of Silver Dollar City, along with Christian for their help. Ride on, while spinning, straight down, on Time Traveler, only at Silver Dollar City.

Silver Dollar City's New Time Traveler Coaster is Now Open!

© Silver Dollar City

Today marks the official grand opening of Time Traveler, Silver Dollar City's brand new roller coaster.  The ride is billed by the theme park as the "world’s fastest, steepest and tallest complete-circuit spinning roller coaster," and represents a massive investment in Silver Dollar City by owner Herschend Family Entertainment.  Time Traveler is a unique spinning roller coaster, designed by Mack Rides, which features a large initial drop along with two separate launch sections.  More than two years were spent in the planning and construction of the $26 million attraction.

© Silver Dollar City

Time Traveler begins with the vertical plunge that is seen above, right out of the station - which is perched on the side of one of the park's many hills.  The drop is 100 feet high and has a true vertical, 90 degree drop that gets the cars moving at 50.3 miles per hour.  The cars use a controlled spin that starts as they move out the station, so riders may encounter this drop both forward, backward, and every way in between.

Immediately after the drop Time Traveler's trains head into a dive loop, the first of the coaster's three inversions.

© Silver Dollar City

Soon after the ride's first launch takes place after a brief  pause.  That launch uses linear synchronous motors to send the train along at 47 miles per hour, through a large overbank turn, then down into the second inversion - a 95 foot tall vertical loop.  Before the end of the ride Time Traveler heads through another LMS launch of 45 miles per hour, a zero-g roll and plenty of twists and turns.

The controlled spinning nature of the cars means that no two rides on Time Traveler will ever be exactly the same, giving fans of the coaster a reason to ride over and over.  “This coaster’s state-of-the-art controlled spin provides riders a unique thrill experience while still appealing to families,” said Brad Thomas, President of Silver Dollar City Attractions.

© Silver Dollar City

According to Silver Dollar City, Christian von Elverfeldt, CEO of Mack Rides, was on site for the grand opening of Time Traveler. “The car is the most advanced roller coaster car in the industry, featuring a free-spinning rotation on a launched roller coaster,” said von Elverfeldt. “For the utmost comfort, an on-board magnetic brake limits the rotation speed to allow the most enjoyable ride experience.”

Silver Dollar City was careful to preserve as much of the beautiful mountainside as possible, and planted two or three trees for each one that had to be removed for the ride.  The first drop plunges riders down into the mountainous terrain, and the track then weaves and twists through the mountainside.  In total the twisted layout crosses over itself 14 times from start to finish.

If you want a preview of what a ride on Time Traveler is like before you head out to ride, check out this point of view video that the theme park released:

Learn More About Time Traveler's Spin Mechanics from Silver Dollar City

© Silver Dollar City

Silver Dollar City has released a new Time Traveler update video, this time focusing on the new roller coaster's spinning cars and the mechanics behind them.  The video really goes into great detail to explain that while the coaster is of the spinning variety, it's a controlled spin that will be less disorienting than your average spinning coaster or ride.

Each vehicle has a magnetic braking system that controls how quickly the cars spin, an amount that has been decided upon and set by the park.  This way, Time Traveler will provide a ride experience that is still just as thrilling, but with less spin-sickness for riders.  That's probably some really great news to many who are a bit apprehensive about spinning coasters, due to the motion sickness factor (myself included).  Also, while they have never mentioned it that also means that the spin factor could be adjusted by the park for special events if they wanted, either extra spins or none at all.  Interesting possibilities.

Time Traveler has been designed and fabricated by Mack Rides, and features two separate launch sections along with a vertical plunge from 100 feet above the mountains.  The layout includes three different inversions along with plenty of twists and turns.  The ride is set to open this spring, not long from now!

Here's the video from Silver Dollar City explaining the mechanics behind the spinning cars:

Scott And Carol Present - Time Traveler Official Reveal at IAAPA

Following Mike's lead reminded us that now we can get back to working on IAAPA 2017 stories. From the announcement banner, you can see the steampunk theming. With two launches, three inversions, and spinning cars, no two rides will be identical.

Due to the unique topography of Silver Dollar City, many new attractions have been added by hanging them on the side of the hill. This presents many interesting views of construction progress of the world's tallest spinning roller coaster.

With over three thousand feet of track and exceeding 50 mph on the 90 degree first drop, this is the largest investment in Silver Dollar City history.

Here was the excitement generated on the IAAPA Show trade floor. It was one of the earlier events.

Brad and Christian starting to pull the curtain on the attraction that will bring many people to Silver Dollar City in Branson. The nice thing about the climate there is they can open early in the year.

Riders that meet the 51-inch heights requirement probably won't get this much fanfare in daily operations but it created a buzz on the floor.

The train in all its glory, although as a spinning coaster many details will be a blur outside the station. It was mentioned that adjustable magnetic brakes will be on every car to limit the revolutions. Silver Dollar City wants it to be a ride for families to experience together.

Here are some of the many footers as seen last summer. The supports have to be taller and longer to compensate for the varying terrain. It would be interesting to know how much extra steel was required for Time Traveler.

This appears to be the largest station by volume in history for a regional theme park. It won't be long until we can all see what will fill this large station. Given the past history of Silver Dollar City, there will be lots of unique theming concepts for the enjoyment of the guests who ride Time Traveler.

A piece of track and support viewed through the trees last summer. As seen from the empty footers above, they had a lot of work to finish before testing could begin.

What a fantastic new attraction for Silver Dollar City. Time Traveler will surely help them "Create family memories worth repeating" in 2018 and beyond.

New Footage Shows Silver Dollar City's Time Traveler Testing

© Silver Dollar City

Silver Dollar City recently started testing their brand new spinning roller coaster, Time Traveler.  The twisted coaster features a 90 degree, 100 foot drop immediately out of the station, two launches and several inversions.  Designed by Mack Rides, Time Traveler is a massive investment for Silver Dollar City, coming in at $26 million.

This first video that was released a week ago was the very first footage of the ride testing that we've seen.  Views include the train dropping out of the station into the initial dive and heading into he start of the first inversion, but cuts off after that point.  Still, it's exciting to see that first drop in action as it is going to be a very exciting way to start the ride.
 
The park just released another new video, this time showing footage taken from on the ride's train.  Since Time Traveler is a spinning roller coaster, this is our first taste of seeing how the experience will be.  The spinning in these shots does not look too intense, which may come as a relief to some.  The ride looks like it's moving pretty quickly, taking on the layout's quick transitions with ease.

To learn more and keep up to date with the ride, check out Silver Dollar City's official website.

Time Traveler's Track Now Complete at Silver Dollar City

© Silver Dollar City

That was quick!  Just five or so weeks after the official announcement of Time Traveler at Silver Dollar City, the park has already finished all the track and supports for the record breaking spinning roller coaster.

The park released photos of the event of placing the final piece of track, which looks to be a part of the transfer track for the coaster.  You can see it being carefully lifted into place in the photo up top, with the giant coaster station located under it.

© Silver Dollar City

And here is a look at the final piece sitting in place, just outside the station and with the final stretch of track surrounding it. 

Time Traveler, designed by Mack Rides, will be the steepest, fastest and tallest complete circuit spinning roller coaster when it opens in 2018.  Most of the ride's track is located within a deep valley in the park, so it is not easy to get photos of the completed track just yet.  However, you can see some other recent photos over on MidwestInfoGuide via this link.

The experience will start with a vertical drop right out of the station, then the twisted layout will feature two separate launches, several inversions and other unique elements.