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49-482: On July 7, 2006, Dollywood announced the addition of Mystery Mine for the 2007 season. The ride occupies a 1-acre (0.40 ha) expansion area of Timber Canyon near Thunderhead . According to Dollywood, Mystery Mine would feature state-of-the-art special effects, dark ride elements and mineshaft theming. For the ride system, the park hired Gerstlauer to build a custom variation of the Euro-Fighter coaster model —

98-547: A 90-foot (27 m) vertical loop , which was made of steel. The ride was well-received but was plagued by a number of incidents, including two that were serious, eventually leading to its demise in 2012. In the 2010s, a new era of wooden roller coasters came about with the introduction of Topper Track developed by Rocky Mountain Construction. The new technology replaced the flattened steel strip and upper two layers of wood traditionally used in wooden track design with

147-409: A few inches to a few feet with a passing train , give a sense of unreliability and the "threat" of collapse or disregard for safety. Of course, this assumption is purely mental, since wooden roller coaster supports and track systems are designed to sway with the force produced by the coaster. If the track and structure were too rigid, they would break under the strain of the passing train. The swaying of

196-443: A few set coaster records. Hercules at Dorney Park & Wildwater Kingdom , built in 1989, had the tallest wooden coaster drop at 150 feet. Texas Giant at Six Flags Over Texas and Mean Streak at Cedar Point were large wooden coasters with similar layouts, with the later opening as the tallest wooden coaster in the world at 161 feet. After a dispute during construction of Pegasus at Efteling , Dinn Corporation closed down and

245-410: A loud noise as it travels 8 feet (2.4 m) above the station. It then goes through a left-handed curve. A smaller airtime hill leads to a 270-degree helix. Riders then go through a right turn and a left turn before hitting the brakes. The train slowly turns 90 degrees to the right, passing by the transfer track. This is followed by a 180-degree left turn that leads back to the station, where riders exit

294-534: A magnetic launch of 45 mph up a 200' hill, similar to the magnetic lift on Maverick . In 2000, Kings Island opened Son of Beast . Designed by Werner Stengel and built by the Roller Coaster Corporation of America , the roller coaster broke many world records. With a height of 218 feet (66 m), it was the first wooden roller coaster to top 200 feet (61 m). It was also the first modern wooden roller coaster to feature an inversion,

343-399: A mound of dynamite in boxes, hooked to the quickly approaching fuse. As the lit portion reaches the dynamite, simulated flames shoot out as the car drops at a beyond-vertical drop of 95 degrees, passing the on-ride camera and into a barrel roll followed by a twist and half loop. The car enters the final brake run and returns to the station. On July 11, 2020, three park guests were walking on

392-575: A pathway that trails underneath a bridged part of the ride when a decorative chain gave way and fell on top of them. One of the guests suffered from a laceration on her forehead and injured her arm, the other woman was also taken to a hospital in an unknown condition, and the third person was treated at the park. Thunderhead (roller coaster) Thunderhead is a wooden roller coaster located at Dollywood amusement park in Pigeon Forge, Tennessee . Manufactured by Great Coasters International ,

441-611: A significant legacy on the coaster industry. The high number of wooden coasters they constructed, 34 over their decade of operation, helped to rekindle interest in the wooden roller coasters and allowed modern wooden coaster designers to thrive. Designers from CCI went on to form modern wooden coaster design firms, like Great Coasters International , The Gravity Group , and the wooden coaster department at S&S Worldwide . Many of their coasters rank highly in wooden coaster polls, including Shivering Timbers at Michigan's Adventure and Boulder Dash at Lake Compounce . In 2013, Boulder Dash

490-679: A steel box, which led to rides like the triple-inverting Outlaw Run at Silver Dollar City in 2012. Others like Wildfire at Kolmården Wildlife Park and Goliath at Six Flags Great America soon followed. Topper Track provides the added benefit of smoother rides and lower maintenance costs. The Gravity Group also designed five wooden coasters with a single inversion: these include coasters at each of three Oriental Heritage theme parks in China, all named Jungle Trailblazer , as well as Mine Blower in Fun Spot Kissimmee and

539-498: A steel coaster. Wooden roller coasters provide a very different ride and experience from steel roller coasters . While they are traditionally less capable than a steel coaster when it comes to inversions and elements (except for the chain lift hill), wooden coasters instead rely on an often rougher and more "wild" ride (depending on train speed and/or track layout), as well as a more psychological approach to inducing fear . Their structures and track, which usually move anywhere from

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588-494: A trim brake and the former U-turn still remains unused. The rest of the layout remains the same, including the second half of the first outdoor portion and the climactic 95-degree drop and inversions. Mystery Mine became one of Dollywood's two roller coasters to receive new track in 2021, with the other being Lightning Rod . The ride's story and themes are introduced in the queue as guests enter. Visitors pass old newspaper articles and signs condemning an old abandoned mine shaft, and

637-401: A vertical wall of track at a 90-degree angle. Graffiti litters the sheet metal walls on both sides. After reaching the top, the car drops down a short hill outside the ride building. A sign advertises "Burnt out bridge ahead!", and the car swerves across the trestle. Prior to 2021, a steep drop sent the vehicle careening up a vertical U-turn, although this turn was removed from the layout prior to

686-423: Is currently the tallest wooden coaster in the world at 183 feet tall. While only having built 4 wooden coasters, all are praised by coaster enthusiasts, with all 4 being within the top 20 wooden coasters in the world on Mitch Hawkers poll. Since 2010, El Toro at Six Flags Great Adventure , which opened in 2006, has been ranked the number one wooden coaster in the world on Mitch Hawkers poll. Notable designers from

735-458: Is made in 25-foot (7.6 m) sections, which have special joints on the ends to allow them to snap together. The result is generally higher precision than what could be achieved by hand, leading to a smoother ride and reduced cost surrounding construction and maintenance. In addition, unlike traditional wooden coasters which feature bare metal wheels, the trains for a prefabricated wooden coaster have wheels made of polyurethane treads, similar to

784-499: The 1920s, specifically those by Fred Church and Harry Traver, and the company focuses on making the structures of their coasters aesthetically appealing and artistic. In 2001, Swiss steel coaster designer Intamin began producing wooden roller coasters using prefabricated track. Their wooden coasters are known for large amounts of airtime (including ejector airtime), smooth ride experiences, and steep drops. T Express in Everland

833-509: The 2010s. The design borrows the principles of steel coaster manufacturing and applies them to wood. Traditional wooden coaster track is typically built on site. It is cut as needed, bent to the proper shape, and mounted layer-by-layer to the support structure with steel running plates. Prefabricated track, on the other hand, is manufactured in a factory, temperature-controlled setting. It is made of many thin layers of wood that are glued together and then laser cut to exact specifications. The track

882-399: The 2021 season. The car proceeds to swing around a few small helices before plunging back into the abandoned mine building, where it slows down. A spotlight turns on illuminating the canary cage seen earlier. A lightning special effect flashes from the shaft ahead, as the canary turns over on its perch, to indicate it died. The car begins to ascend the mine shaft at as crows peer out from behind

931-805: The Golden Age of coaster design. This was the decade when many of the world's most iconic coasters were built. Some of these include the Giant Dipper at the Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk and its counterpart at Belmont Park , the Cyclone at Coney Island , the Big Dipper at Geauga Lake , The Thriller at Euclid Beach Park , and the Roller Coaster at Lagoon . All of these rides were built during this time. The decade

980-714: The Great Depression was brought to an end by The Racer at Kings Island , which opened in 1972 and sparked a second "Golden Age" of wooden coaster design. After their success with the Racer at Kings Island, the Philadelphia Toboggan Company (PTC) constructed another 9 roller coasters over the next decade. About half were small family coasters, two were racing coasters similar to the Racer, and two were out and back coasters with custom designs. One of these, Screamin' Eagle at Six Flags St. Louis ,

1029-443: The broken boards surrounding the shaft. A window effect above riders shows the storm going on outside the shaft. Another flash of lightning strikes the top of the simulated tower protruding above, which collapses onto the window. Now in darkness, the car stops at the peak of the hill. A lit fuse is heard in the distance and soon becomes visible, snaking along both sides of the car. A green lantern suddenly illuminates, sitting on top of

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1078-433: The car rushes toward the first curve. A wall of cawing crows and a caged canary watch the car as it passes. After turning the corner, passengers come face to face with a giant spinning rock crusher. The cart quickly drops beneath the grinder and whips around a hairpin curve. As the car slows to a stop, a crow caws loudly from somewhere above and a small lever labeled "mine gas" cranks into the on position. The car ascends up

1127-504: The coaster in lieu of retirement, Kings Island built the coaster themselves, with the coaster designed by Al Collins and Jeff Gramke and construction overseen by Charlie Dinn. Rather than a typical out and back layout, the coaster sprawled over the woods at the back of the park, using the terrain to create an elevation change from lowest to highest point of 201 feet, even though the coaster was only 118 feet tall. The coaster also had two lift hills which, while common for mine train coasters at

1176-454: The construction of wooden coasters worldwide is southern yellow pine , which grows abundantly in the southern United States, due to its density and adherence to different forms of pressure treatment . Early wooden roller coaster design of the 19th century featured a single set of wheels running on top of the track, which was common in scenic railway rides. John A. Miller introduced side friction coasters and later underfriction coasters in

1225-583: The conversion of their existing Hades 360 in Mt. Olympus Water & Theme Park . The common choice of wood selected for modern wooden roller coasters worldwide is southern yellow pine , a softwood abundant in the southern United States from eastern Texas to Virginia . It is known for its strength, which comes from its extremely dense properties. Southern pine is also easy to cut and responds well to pressure treatment . Companies like Intamin and Rocky Mountain Construction began using prefabricated track in

1274-475: The defunct Geauga Lake ; Hurricane: Category 5 at the defunct Myrtle Beach Pavilion ; and The Legend at Holiday World ). CCI's coaster designs included both out and back layouts like Hoosier Hurricane at Indiana Beach as well as more twisted layouts like Megafobia at Oakwood Theme Park . Megafobia was also the company's first coaster outside the United States. CCI coasters were also unique at

1323-482: The early 20th century, which added additional sets of wheels running along multiple sides of the track to allow for more intense ride design with sharper turns and steeper drops. The underfriction design became commonplace and continues to be used in modern roller coaster design. Traditionally, wooden roller coasters were not capable of featuring extreme elements such as inversions , near-vertical drops, and overbanked turns commonly found on steel roller coasters after

1372-516: The first of its kind in the United States and the first to feature two vertical lift hills. Mystery Mine officially opened on April 13, 2007. It was one of the two Gerstlauer Euro-Fighters to open that year, with the other being Rage at Adventure Island in Essex , England . On March 9, 2021, photos were released which showed a change in the layout. Originally, the ride's first large drop

1421-509: The former Custom Coasters International formed The Gravity Group and in 2005 opened Hades (now Hades 360) at Mt. Olympus Water and Theme Park . The coaster features highly unique elements, including an airtime filled pre-lift section, an 800-foot tunnel underneath a parking lot, and a 90 degree banked turn. In 2006, The Gravity Group built The Voyage at Holiday World , a large wooden coaster which stands 163 feet tall, has over 6,442 feet of track, three 90 degree banked turns, and has been ranked

1470-577: The introduction of tubular steel track by Arrow Development in 1959. Son of Beast at Kings Island made history in 2000 by incorporating the first successful attempt of an inversion on a wooden coaster, a vertical loop made of steel. A decade later, the introduction of Topper Track by Rocky Mountain Construction allowed for new possibilities, with corkscrews , overbanked turns, and other inverting elements appearing on wooden coasters such as Outlaw Run at Silver Dollar City and Goliath at Six Flags Great America . The 1920s are generally considered

1519-563: The modern wooden coaster. In 2011, they renovated the Texas Giant, which had become very rough and hard to maintain, into a steel roller coaster. This treatment became popular and was later applied to other aging roller coasters such as Iron Rattler and Twisted Colossus . In addition, RMC designs and builds their own original wooden coasters. In 2016, the company opened the world's first launched wooden roller coaster, Lightning Rod which opened at Dollywood in 2016, and until 2024 featured

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1568-552: The number one wooden coaster in the world by Amusement Today five times. Many of the Gravity Group's coasters are highly unique and custom built for the park, such as Twister at Gröna Lund , which has a highly compact layout to fit in the parks small footprint. Their coasters have become very popular in China , in which 12 coasters have been built since 2009. Rocky Mountain Construction (RMC) has recently been revolutionizing

1617-472: The partnership ended. Custom Coasters International was formed in 1991 by Denise Dinn-Larrick (daughter of Charlie Dinn), her brother Jeff Dinn, and her husband Randy Larrick. After the closure of Dinn Corporation, several other designers joined CCI. The company's first coaster, Kingdom Coaster at Dutch Wonderland , was a small family coaster that stood only 55 feet high. As time went on, they began to design larger coasters. One of their earlier coasters that

1666-511: The public on April 3, 2004. The ride was named after Thunderhead Mountain , a peak within the nearby Great Smoky Mountains National Park that was heavily logged during the early 19th century. Thunderhead is a slang term in the American South for Cumulonimbus clouds . The train exits the station and turns right. From there, it makes its way through a left turn and climbs the 100.4-foot (30.6 m) chain lift hill . Upon reaching

1715-405: The queue winds around a rocky area before climbing stairs to the boarding area. During this time, guests occasionally hear recorded audio stating, "If the canary ain't tweetin'...you'll be sleepin'!" Quick-paced banjo music can also be heard playing in the background. After boarding, the 8-passenger car launches quickly out of the station. A miner's evil laugh echoes down the first small drop as

1764-524: The relocation of The Rocket from Playland Park to Knoebels Amusement Resort in Pennsylvania . It now operates as the Phoenix and is ranked highly on wooden coaster polls. In 1988, Charlie Dinn started a partnership with Curtis D. Summers to design and build new wooden coasters. Between 1988 and 1991, they designed and built ten new wooden coasters. While most were of typical wooden coaster size,

1813-491: The ride opened on April 3, 2004, as the anchor attraction of a new section added to the park that season called Thunderhead Gap. Thunderhead features 22 turns and 32 crossovers, and utilizes GCI's Millennium Flyer trains, which have been used on all GCI coasters since 1999. On June 26, 2003, Dollywood unveiled plans for a third coaster addition to the park called Thunderhead for the 2004 season, following Tennessee Tornado , which opened in 1999. Thunderhead officially opened to

1862-452: The surge in the 1970s, wooden coasters construction became stagnant due to the steel roller coaster being much more popular. Most original coasters during this time were designed by William Cobb , such as Monstre at La Ronde . Another trend during the 1980s was relocating old wooden coasters in danger of being destroyed. Charlie Dinn, who formed Dinn Corporation after leaving Kings Island in 1984, oversaw some of these relocations, including

1911-566: The time for sometimes featuring angle iron support structures rather than wooden beams (the track remains the same as other wooden coasters). Most CCI coasters ran Philadelphia Toboggan Company trains, although some, like The Boss at Six Flags St. Louis, run trains from the German manufacturer Gerstlauer . In 2002, Custom Coasters declared bankruptcy while building the New Mexico Rattler at Cliff's Amusement Park . The company left

1960-454: The time, was uncommon for wooden coasters. Opening in 1979, the coaster was, and still is, the longest wooden roller coaster in the world at 7,361 feet. Another significant wooden coaster of this era was the racing American Eagle at (now) Six Flags Great America , built by Intamin in 1981, which still holds the records for racing wooden coasters of height (127 ft), length (4650 ft), speed (66 mph), and drop (147 ft). After

2009-458: The top, the train drops 100 feet (30 m) to the right at 53.7 miles per hour (86.4 km/h). Riders go through a right-handed banked turn after the drop. This is followed by a left-handed curve. Next, the train approaches a right turn, heading towards an on-ride camera , which takes photos of the riders. After a 180-degree right turn, riders go through a fly-through station element while traveling 40 miles per hour (64 km/h). The train makes

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2058-425: The track reduces the maximum force applied, like a shock absorber. Like steel roller coasters, wooden roller coasters usually use the same three-wheel design, pioneered by John Miller . Each set of wheels includes a running wheel (on top of the track), a side friction (or "guide") wheel (to guide motion in the lateral plane and reduce excessive side-to-side movement known as " hunting ") and an upstop wheel (beneath

2107-472: The track to prevent cars from flying off the track). Some wooden coasters, such as Leap-The-Dips , do not have upstop wheels and are known as side friction roller coasters . As a result, the turns and drops are more gentle than on modern wooden roller coasters. Scenic Railway roller coasters also lack upstop wheels but rely on a brake operator to control the speed so that upstop wheels are not necessary. A handful of wooden coasters use flanged wheels, similar to

2156-423: The train. Wooden roller coaster A wooden roller coaster is a type of roller coaster classified by its wooden track , which consists of running rails made of flat steel strips mounted on laminated wood. The support structure is also typically made of wood, but may also be made of steel lattice or truss , which has no bearing on a wooden coaster's classification. The type of wood often selected in

2205-474: Was also the design peak for some of the world's greatest coaster designers, including John A. Miller , Harry Traver , Herb Schmeck , and the partnership of Prior and Church . Many wooden roller coasters of this time were demolished during the Great Depression , but a few still stand as American Coaster Enthusiasts (ACE) classics and landmarks. This relatively quiet age of coaster design following

2254-404: Was directly after the first block brake. The cars would pass under the first block brake, rise into a sharp vertical left U-turn, and then make a 270 degree right turn upwards into the second block brake. After the modifications, the ride now makes a 90 degree left turn before its first large drop, which leads directly into a 180-degree right turn into the second block brake." This new first drop has

2303-687: Was rated the number one wooden roller coaster in the world by Amusement Today . Great Coasters International (GCI) was formed in 1994 by Mike Boodley and Clair Hain, Jr, the former of whom was a designer at Custom Coasters prior to GCI. The first coaster was Wildcat at Hersheypark which opened in 1996. Since then, they have become one of the major wooden coaster designers in the industry, with award-winning coasters like Lightning Racer at Hersheypark and Thunderhead at Dollywood . GCI's coasters feature highly twisted layouts with many crossovers, and usually use GCI's own wooden coaster trains called Millennium Flyers. Their designs are inspired by coasters from

2352-423: Was the last coaster designed by John Allen before his retirement. After these coasters, PTC stopped producing roller coasters, but continues to produce wooden roller coaster trains as Philadelphia Toboggan Coasters. Their distinctive rectangular cars are widely used on wooden coasters around the world. A notable non-PTC coaster built during this time was The Beast at Kings Island. After John Allen refused to design

2401-408: Was well received was The Raven at Holiday World . Custom Coasters took on increasingly high numbers of wooden coaster projects, including 7 coasters in 2000 alone ( The Boss at Six Flags St. Louis , which was the largest with a 153-foot drop and almost a mile of track; Medusa at Six Flags Mexico ; Mega Zeph at the defunct Six Flags New Orleans ; Boulder Dash at Lake Compounce ; Villain at

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