Mystery Mine

**Mystery Mine** is a Gerstlauer Euro-Fighter roller coaster at Dollywood, a theme park in Pigeon Forge, Tennessee. The ride is heavily themed as a haunted mining operation from the 19th century, with sections taking place outdoors and within a large building that features special effects. At a cost of $17.5 million to construct, Mystery Mine was Dollywood's largest single-attraction investment until 2012 when Wild Eagle was constructed for $20 million. It was the first Gerstlauer Euro-Fighter installation in the United States, and, at the time of its opening, had the steepest drop of any coaster in North America, until Steel Hawg at Indiana Beach was built in 2008. The ride was installed by Ride Entertainment Group, who handles all of Gerstlauer's operations in the Western Hemisphere.

## Ride Through

The ride's story and themes are introduced in the queue as the guests enter. As the visitors pass old newspaper articles and signs condemning the old abandoned mine shaft, the queue winds around a rocky area before climbing two flights of stairs to arrive in the boarding area. In the queue, you might hear a quote to remember, "If the canary ain't tweetin'...you'll be sleepin'!" Once guests arrive inside, they walk through a short twisted queue themed with quick paced banjo music and a good spirited miner singing tunes about the mine's sketchy reputation for strange occurrences.

Guests board the small train cars and are quickly launched out of the station. The Miner's evil laugh echoes down the first small drop as the car rushes towards the first curve. A wall full of humming ravens watches the car as it passes. A canary sits healthily in a cage nearby. The car turns the corner only to be face to face with a giant spinning rock crusher. The cart quickly drops beneath the grinder and whips around a hairpin curve. The riders slow to a stop, a raven caws loudly from somewhere above and a small lever labeled MINE GAS cranks into the "on" position.

A vertical wall of track lies before the car, and a chain lift kicks into gear. The cart is pulled 90 degrees straight up the track. Graffiti litters the sheet metaled walls on either side. The cart reaches the top and drops down a short hill outside the ride building. A sign advertises "Burnt out bridge ahead!" and the cart precariously swerves across the trestle. An 85-degree drop then sends the vehicle careening up a Horseshoe, essentially a vertical U-turn.

The cart swings around a few small helices right before plunging back into the abandoned mine building. The cart slows in the pitch black recess of the mine. A spotlight is turned on illuminating a cage containing the canary from earlier. Lightning flashes from the shaft ahead. The canary turns over on its perch, dead. The cart begins to ascend the mine shaft ahead as ravens peer out from behind the broken boards surrounding the shaft. A "window" above shows the storm going on outside the shaft. Lightning strikes the top of the tower protruding above, which collapses on top of the "window", effectively shutting out all light from the shaft.

Now plunged into darkness, the cart stops at the peak of the hill. A fuse is heard in the distance, and soon is visible snaking its way along either side of the car. It winds across the floor, and a green lantern is suddenly illuminated. It sits on top of boxes and boxes of dynamite, hooked to the quickly approaching fuse. The fuse reaches the boxes and jets of flame are shot out as the car drops at a 95° angle (the 95° drop is a 45° spiral beyond vertical drop). A camera flashes and daylight (or more darkness if riding at night) bursts into view. A barrel roll and a half are followed by a half loop. The car slows to a stop back in the station, and riders are unloaded.