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HEY i can't find a link to backup my story about why the flooded mine closed, but i am from there and back when it shut down rumors were that it closed b/c a little boy was bit by a water moccasin. so they checked it out and supposively it was infested with water moccasins, and it was shut down. actually during the whole ride, the little boy thought that his father was pinching him, and when the ride was over they noticed his back was covered in blood. he may have even died but don't quote me on that but i almost positive that is why it closed! i was born in 1980 and then it was silver dollar city, and of course later was named dollywood for obvious reasons. I LOVED THE FLOODED MINE! IT WAS SO OLD AND AWESOME! i am just glad that the blazing fury is still there! they tore down the old log ride too though i heard and that stinks! i have old pics somewhere that i need to dig up!

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^Ergg, if that story is indeed true, I'm pissed. Water Moccasins are indeed a problem, as I've had relatives that have been nearly killed by them, but I don't see why it was worth taking the ride out over. I mean, they don't (usually) close down McDonald's after a rat outbreak. No, they clean it up and go on, and I can't see why that couldn't have happened here.

 

Just one more case of an American park being forced to go too far just to cover it's ass (again, assuming that story is true).

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^Ergg, if that story is indeed true, I'm pissed. Water Moccasins are indeed a problem, as I've had relatives that have been nearly killed by them, but I don't see why it was worth taking the ride out over. I mean, they don't (usually) close down McDonald's after a rat outbreak. No, they clean it up and go on, and I can't see why that couldn't have happened here.

 

Just one more case of an American park being forced to go too far just to cover it's a$$ (again, assuming that story is true).

 

 

i know why couldn't they just get them out and re-open it??? i miss that ride. that was always the story told my our parents when we were younger though. so i really believe that is what happened to the flooded mine, b/c they shut it down and i can't find anything on the net about it so i am assuming it was true and maybe a lawsuit made them shut it down. like thunder express, didn't someone get hurt on it too and that is why they shut it down too i believe. i miss tennessee! i moved to iowa 4 yrs. ago and there ain't no dollywood here! just adventureland in des moines and i am going there saturday but i will be comparing it to dollywood. i'll call my mom and verify the water moccasin/flooded mine story though. i know that is what happened b/c i was heart-broken i was only like 10 maybe when it happened.

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I had no idea that SDC Tennessee was laid out like that! (Refiring to the 1981 park map.)

 

I never would have guessed that the under ground tunnel was part of the main midway! I can't BELIVE how much thst park has grown! It's crazy! Everything left of the RR tracks was built in the last 25 years, which means that, by 2008, the park will have TRIPLED in size!!!

 

I never realized how much SDC and Dollywood have in common. They seem rather similar. Several of their attractions are the same basic design:

 

Blazin Fury=Fire In The Hole

Mountain Slidewinder=WaterWorks Waterboggan

Lost River Of The Ozarks=Smoky Mountain River Rampage

Waltzing Swinger=Magnificent Wave Carousel

Dizzy Disk=Electro Spin(Different Sizes)

VeggieTales Sideshow Spin=Grand Exposition Coaster

Amazing Flying Elephants=Elephant March

Lemon Twist=Royal Tea Party

Busy Bees=The Ladybugs

Lucky Ducky=Wings Of Wonder

Piggy Parade=Happy Frogs

Calico Falls Schoolhouse=Oak Trail School

Robert F. Thomas Chapel=Wilderness Church

Dream Forrest Treehouse=Guiser Gulch

 

They've both had or have Steam Trains, Classic Log Flumes, Crooked Mansions, Arrow Mine Trains, and Flooded Mines, plus several rides that aren't the same, but play similar roles in the parks collection of rides:

 

Tennessee Tornado and Wildfire--Sit-Down Loopers

Powder Keg and Mistery Mine--Family-Friendly Thrill Coasters

Timber Tower and The GIANT Swing--Family Friendly flagship Flat Rides

 

 

I really had no idea how much the parks were alike. Iknew that the had similaritis because they're owned by the same parrent company, but I really never knew just how similar they were.

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I think every park has some urban legend about poisonous snakes in one of the old darkrides, so this rumor doesn't shock me in the least. However, I highly doubt a ride like that would go uninspected and maintained, especially with test runs and all the work done on a daily basis that no one would notice a whole bunch of water snakes in the ride.

 

Believe this all you want, it sounds cool, but the reality most likely is the simple fact that they removed it solely for Daredevil Falls.

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Um, how is a tornado theme and a guy who has invented a new type of fuel anything alike? I think not, try again.

 

Is it really that big of a surprise that the two parks are that much in common with regards to the past. SDC bought the park and used the formula that was working with their park in MO at the new park in TN. The only things missing at DW is the hilly terrain (DW is FLAT compared to SDC) and all of the little knick-knack signs and themeing. I guess some of that was removed when the park converted to DW -- oh and SDC has ONE theme 1880s whereas Dollywood really shows just how many times the park has been bought and rethemed. Quite the juxtaposation of themes in that park.

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Um, how is a tornado theme and a guy who has invented a new type of fuel anything alike? I think not, try again.

 

 

I wasn't talking about the overall themes so much as I was in the hidden similarities in the architecture and charm additives, among other things. There always one view of both TT's station and Wildfire's that people point out as being starkly similar. I think we actually discussed something like this when TGS was being built... I guess some of this stuff you just have to look for.

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SDC has ONE theme 1880s whereas Dollywood really shows just how many times the park has been bought and rethemed. Quite the juxtaposation of themes in that park.

 

Dollywood theme is just "The South". Everything is related closely to southern customs, traditions, weather, landmarks, wildlife, stereotypes, origans, history, food, agriculture, economy and terrain. It may seem like a hog-podge if you've never been, but Dollywood is truly a magnificent themepark with a genuine theme. This is how they get away with virtually duplicating SDC--by having a different, yet related, theme. Anything at Dollywood could just as easily take place in the 1880s.

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I think every park has some urban legend about poisonous snakes in one of the old darkrides, so this rumor doesn't shock me in the least. However, I highly doubt a ride like that would go uninspected and maintained, especially with test runs and all the work done on a daily basis that no one would notice a whole bunch of water snakes in the ride.

 

Believe this all you want, it sounds cool, but the reality most likely is the simple fact that they removed it solely for Daredevil Falls.

 

i asked my mom about it lastnight, and she says that was why they tore it down (flooded mine). daredevil falls came way after that. this happened in the late 80's/maybe early 90's. also if i am not mistaking, the flooded mine was just right below the blazing fury, and daredevil falls is further up the mountain. so they are in different locations. if it wasn't water moccasins then what was it? they tore it down for a reason, and i miss it! i was maybe 10 when the story was told about why they had to tear it down, and i still remember it today about the water moccasins. i think it was b/c of a lawsuit and they were covering their butts. the only reason that i came to this forum yesterday was b/c i was trying to google the water moccasin flooded mine story, but unfortunately i couldn't find anything. that was way before the net too though so i wasn't surprised. i will still ask around and find out why they had to shut it down, but i swear that it was water moccasins! i lived a few miles from SDC now dollywood, and my parents still live there. they would know but it could've been a rumor but i still want to know what really happened if it wasn't water snakes and a little boy w/ his family on the ride, thought father was pinching him but after ride realized it was snake bites. wikipedia has it wrong, stating that the flooded mine was demolished in oct. 1997 which i know is wrong b/c i would've been 17 then and it was tore down when i was around 10 years old. i will keep searching though!

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I think every park has some urban legend about poisonous snakes in one of the old darkrides, so this rumor doesn't shock me in the least. However, I highly doubt a ride like that would go uninspected and maintained, especially with test runs and all the work done on a daily basis that no one would notice a whole bunch of water snakes in the ride.

 

Believe this all you want, it sounds cool, but the reality most likely is the simple fact that they removed it solely for Daredevil Falls.

 

okay so i called my brother down in tennessee and he says that it wasn't water moccasins but rather copperheads. but he remembers the story too that it was shut down b/c of snakes. we both definitely know it wasn't shut down for daredevil falls though and it was torn down way before 1997. i am still looking for the answer though. they could have moved it but they didn't they tore it down completely for some wierd reason. which leads me to believe the snake story.

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The Flooded Mine closed down in 1997. I have a 1997 map, and it is still on there. I have heard that snake story too, and I am from the Tri-Cities area in east Tennessee. I have also talked to Daredevil Falls employees about the Flooded Mine, and why it closed, and they told me that it was due to maintnence. The Flooded Mine will always be a Dollywood classic.

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^OK, whateva. How you going to make the 50's sections fit into your theory? I don't think you can fit that into the 1880's.

 

Oh, I forgot about that. There rest of the park still stands firm in my opinion.

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How different was the flooded mine at DW from the version at SDC? If they took out the DW version because of maintainence, why has nothing been done with the SDC version? I hope they aren't planning on taking it out anytime soon.

 

Yeah, I still don't think they'd demolish the thing because of a snake infestation though. The mall in my town is prone to hosting rattlesnakes, but they're certainly not going to just tear the whole thing down.

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HEY i can't find a link to backup my story about why the flooded mine closed, but i am from there and back when it shut down rumors were that it closed b/c a little boy was bit by a water moccasin. so they checked it out and supposively it was infested with water moccasins, and it was shut down. actually during the whole ride, the little boy thought that his father was pinching him, and when the ride was over they noticed his back was covered in blood. he may have even died but don't quote me on that but i almost positive that is why it closed! i was born in 1980 and then it was silver dollar city, and of course later was named dollywood for obvious reasons.

I'm sorry but this is completely untrue.

 

The Flooded Mine was demolished in the fall of 1997 to make room for Daredevil Falls, which of course opened on the exact same spot in 1998. This has already been mentioned several times in this thread...

 

Dollywood closed the ride because it was the least popular attraction based on annual ridership. The park wanted to move in a different direction with new thrill rides in order to better compete with Opryland and Six Flags Over Georgia (turns out the former closed after '97) and unfortunately the Flooded Mine was the most obvious choice to go.

 

Like said, every amusement park has an urban legend involving snakes.

 

Is it really that big of a surprise that the two parks are that much in common with regards to the past. SDC bought the park and used the formula that was working with their park in MO at the new park in TN. The only things missing at DW is the hilly terrain (DW is FLAT compared to SDC) and all of the little knick-knack signs and themeing. I guess some of that was removed when the park converted to DW -- Quite the juxtaposation of themes in that park.

We’ve discussed this before as well…Dollywood use to be more like a real town from the 1880s (i.e. Silver Dollar City) as opposed to now, where it is just about the history of Tennessee/Southern Culture in general. When they introduced the 50s area in 1995 they abandoned the “working town” concept in favor of a more Opryland-like atmosphere.

 

Both Silver Dollar City and Dollywood have became more ride oriented, in the vein of a typical theme park. Ironically I have an Amusement Business magazine interview with Pete Herschend from around 1990 where he bashes parks that use large thrill rides to draw guests in, then goes on to say that SDC and Dollywood will never be “ride parks”. Unfortunately they’ve both began to shift towards that over the last decade. (That said, HFE still themes out the wahzoo, which I applaud them for)

 

Not that I'm complaining about Thunderhead and Mystery Mine, mind you.

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^Personaly, I don' think there's anything wrong with themeparks becoming ride parks. In fact, Amusement parks are supposed to be full of fun rides. That's what its all about.

 

Dollywood couldn't be doing a better job with themeing their rides and attractions, so I don't think any of the new rides take away from the atmosphere of a themepark. Besides, Dollywood is so huge, that there are still several spots that have yet to be bombarded with rides, in any way. Timber Canyon and Country Fair are the only places in the park that have more rides than anything else.

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Ironically I have an Amusement Business magazine interview with Pete Herschend from around 1990 where he bashes parks that use large thrill rides to draw guests in, then goes on to say that SDC and Dollywood will never be “ride parks”. Unfortunately they’ve both began to shift towards that over the last decade. (That said, HFE still themes out the wahzoo, which I applaud them for)

 

Ah, but you forget one thing, it is not what Pete Herschend wants, it is what "Moma Herschend" wants. She was the one that made the decision to put in Grand Expo.

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the little boy thought that his father was pinching him

 

Dude, you dont just get bitten by a moccasin especially at a little age, with not much tolerance to pain and think "Oh my dad pinched me alot." I mean my friend, who has a high tolerance to pain, was bitten by a fairly small mocassin, and he was crying so hard. And if it was INFESTED with these things, dont ya think someone wouldve noticed them before, before the little boy even got bit.

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^ I think that thes story is probably just a rumour, but I really think that the story is plausible. Water Moccasins are really scary, and they blend in well with the water in clear daylinght. This ride was basically pitch black, and If there was an infestation, they could easily live there without being noticied.

 

The rides darkness and sounds would cover up any trace of the snakes. After hearing this, FM at SDC will be like a thrill ride!

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