Location: Pigeon Forge, TN
Date: July 17, 1997
Weather: A bit HOT
Crowd: Moderate
Admission: approx. $30
Description of park: Dolly's personal show park. This park features arts and crafts and music shows, with rides playing a secondary role.
A 1971 Arrow Mine Ride, formerly from a Six Flags Park, moved here in 1989
Description: A Mine ride, with three lifts. You start out of the station, do a turnaround through the transfer/storage shed, turn right up lift 1, do a few curves (no big drops), come to lift 2 (the main one) complete with two operators sitting in a lookout shed at the top of it. (What exactly are these two ride-ops supposed to be doing, anyways????) , down a few more twists and turns to come to lift 3, turn then finally a big drop into a tunnel, to come right back up into the station brakes.
Trains: Running 1 of 3 Arrow mine ride trains (6 per car/ 5 cars) . Cars have 'enhanced' T-shaped lap bars which are operated by foot pedals on the fronts of the cars (They all raise and lower at the operators 'foot press') "Please cross your ankles so that the lap bars can close". As if this isn't enough they had a thick Velcro band that acted like a seatbelt (at least 6 inches thick) (Mounted to the seatbacks so they cross across your stomach).
Platform: Flush loading, seat-queues. Retains the Six Flags Rule. Yep, "There must be TWO riders in last occupied row!"
Ride itself: Okay, not my favorite, even as far as mine rides go. (Adventure Express rules the mine ride world, to me)
- A combination dark ride/ water ride/ roller coaster
This dark ride takes you through a burining town, and ends with a splashdown finale.
It is like a coaster in the folowing respects.
It is not like a coaster in the following respects:
For what it's worth I think it's a cool ride, and is a lot of fun.
A dark ride through a flooded prison mine, on ore-car/boats. You won't get over a few drops on this.
The most unusual water ride I have seen.
You start by going up a long series of ramps/ stairs while in line to get up to the top (like a slide), then your group gets weighed (yes, on a scale), then you are sent down to board what apear to be low-sided boats (like those used on flume rides) except you find out the boats are made entirely of rubber. ("Hang on and don't rock those boats"). You then advance a little ways, such that you exit the station racing with the folks in the raft on the other track (sorry no choice of tracks, groupings, or seating order in boat), then it's down a bobsled course where you bank up high on the sides, but don't get too wet. Then through a tunnel and the token drop. Fun and unusual. Then you exit the ride, and your raft takes a conveyor back up.
A Log flume ride, nothing special
A rapids ride, we didn't get a chance to ride it, but it looks like you come off very wet, and as an oddity, they run ropes accross the gaps between the seat groups.
A self-steering ride on 50's style cars
A 5-mile ride on a coal buring train, stops in the middle for a short 'skit'.
An Iwerks motion-sim ride about a moonshine chase. (Uses unusual 4-seat motion bases, set up in 2 rows of 2)
A Zamperla Baloon race, groups by the Slidewinder, mostly for the kids, gives action similar to a Paratrooper.
Genuine 1920's carousel completerwith working ring machine (in a fish shaped dispenser)
Dolly's own little fairground!
Wonder Wheel - Eli Bridge Ferris Wheel
Twist and Shout - Scrambler
Tennessee Twister - Tilt a Whirl
Demoliton Derby - Bumber cars (using Majestic cars with lap bars)
Swingamagigger - Chance Yo-Yo (With cars that rock way back and way forth)
Plus several Kiddie rides
Those interested in a show TR, just holler!