Mystery Mine

This is nice touch, but the indoor section of the coaster has some great special effects and story telling.  However, since Dollywood doesn't allow on-board photography, you will just have to read my descriptions of what happens in the show building. (Because it is so dark inside, my photographs would not have been much help anyway.)

The waiting queue sets up the story with lots of mine-shaft details and warnings about mine safety.  There are several references stating that it is considered unlucky to see a bird inside of a mine.  So when trains leave the station and make a small drop into the darkness, the trains pass by dozens of spooky ravens making lots of creepy bird noises.  Riders then go through another drop in order to avoid a spinning rock crusher.

The second trip through the show building also has some scary effects.  Cars pass by a dead canary in a cage as well as more ravens.  As cars are lifted up the second vertical lift, a large movie screen located directly above the lift shows what appears to be the outside of the mine tower.  The movie shows lightning striking and the top of the tower collapsing.  As the car reaches the top of the tower, it is held stationary in complete darkness for a few seconds.  Suddenly, real flames explode and illuminate what is in front of the car... boxes and boxes of dynamite!  The car then drops under the sticks of explosive and emerge outside.  Overall, these special effects turn Mystery Mine into a wonderful experience!

©2015 Joel A. Rogers.