Marking the largest capital investment in the company’s history, Dollywood’s new ride for the 2007 season is the $17.5 million Mystery Mine steel roller coaster. Mystery Mine brings a one-acre expansion of Dollywood’s Timber Canyon area, also home to Thunderhead™, the world’s number one wooden coaster.
In a continuation of the area’s lumber camp theme, the Mystery Mine ride is set in an abandoned coal mine where eight-passenger mine carts immediately plunge riders into darkness before continuing along a 1,811-foot track through the ruins of an early 1900’s mine. Dolly said,
“I’ve had to keep my big mouth shut about the Mystery Mine, but I can tell you now, it’s the most exciting thing to come out of these hills in a long, long time. And I’ve got a few more tricks up my sleeve that I’m still not telling you about until it opens at Dollywood next year, but I can guarantee you it’s well worth the wait!”
During the ride, passengers encounter several high-speed twists as the mine cars maneuver their way through a series of uncertain encounters including a fall from a collapsed trestle and a plunge into an abandoned tunnel. Mystery Mine, the first ride of its kind in the U.S., also incorporates state-of-the-art special effects.
Dollywood hopes to hear guests shouting a mighty "tim-berrrr!" in 2006 as Dolly's theme park unveiled its new $6.5 million Timber Tower, the first and only ride of its kind in North America. Construction began in the park’s Timber Canyon area where Timber Tower will stand 65 feet in diameter. Situated in the middle of a 5,100-square-foot pond, Timber Tower takes passengers high into the air above Timber Canyon. The ride vehicle rotates nine times per minute as it makes its way to the top of the tower. Once there, the tower begins a side-to-side swinging motion, allowing the ride vehicle to topple multiple times in various directions at a 60-degree angle. Once completed Timber Tower will increase Thunderhead Gap from its existing five acres to six.
