UPDATE March 30, 2024 – The new Fire In The Hole at Silver Dollar City opens today (March 30). Screamscape had the opportunity to preview this new updated dark ride and here are the the key points to note.
Firstly that the ride layout for the new Fire In The Hole is basically exactly the same as the original with the three drops still in place. These three drops have been enhanced and are now smoother and make more sense within the storyline which has been developed immensely from the original but still focusses on the night the Baldknobbers set the town on fire. The new main characters; Patches, Bugs and Wiley are less intimidating than in the original.
Overall from the review posted to Screamscape, this reimagining appears to be a very positive one with modern day technology such as the three screens being added in order to enhance the experience. The only complaint appears to be that the ride no longer includes the “Fire In The Hole” song which was heard a couple of times in the original.
The video posted to YouTube by Screamscape which is embedded below shows an official on-ride video provided by the park giving us a first look at the all new Fire In The Hole dark ride, mixing POV with Reverse POV footage.
December 26, 2023 – Silver Dollar City confirmed back in February that its historic indoor roller coaster, Fire In The Hole which opened in 1972 would have its grand finale during the 2023 season.
We now have confirmation that the last ride for this iconic roller coaster will be at 10pm on Saturday, December 30, 2023. It has also been announced that current riders should receive a special last ride sticker.
In August, Silver Dollar City officially announced the new groundbreaking “$30 million FIRE IN THE HOLE indoor family roller coaster” which will be the largest in the Midwest. It is set to open in spring of 2024 and will join the park’s lineup of revolutionary rides. It will be located in the newly incorporated Fire District and will double the size of one of Silver Dollar City’s most popular areas, which is already home to Station No. 3 firehouse and a collection of family-friendly attractions.
There was a lot of excitement at the IAAPA Expo in Orlando in mid November when the new ride vehicle for FIRE IN THE HOLE was officially revealed as can be seen in the post on Twitter below.
Those Baldknobbers don’t stand a chance. pic.twitter.com/DFw3Z8BlmF
— Silver Dollar City (@SDCAttractions) November 14, 2023
The new ride vehicles have an open feel and will include individual lap bars for each rider as well as an on board audio system. The video released by Silver Dollar City gives you a clear idea of what to expect from this new Rocky Mountain Construction (RMC) roller coaster and it seems that riders are certainly in for an exciting ride. President of RMC, Darren Torr said “We loved the challenge of engineering, fabricating, and installing the one-of-a-kind FIRE IN THE HOLE, creating a new ride experience while honoring a legendary coaster. It feels fondly familiar, yet it will be daringly different.”
The inspiration has been taken from the legendary Fire In The Hole attraction which opened at Silver Dollar City in 1972. The announcement that it was set to close in 2023 would have come as sad news to numerous Silver Dollar City fans who have been entertained by the iconic roller coaster for generations. Fire In The Hole was a unique combination of a dark ride, a roller coaster and a water coaster. It was the oldest roller coaster in Silver Dollar City’s line-up, but remained one of the park’s most popular attractions.
The ride’s backstory was based around the hill Ozark town of Marmaros, which housed miners drawn to the area. Legend tells of the destruction of the town by the Baldknobbers vigilante group, who are said to burnt it to the ground. This sets the scene for dark ride sections, which see animatronic townspeople attempting to douse the flames.
The coaster section was relatively tame, with the ride hitting a top speed of just 27 miles per hour. It does, though, end with a drop down into a splash zone, which featured configurable cannons (so you could expect to get wetter during the summer, when ride ops turned up the pressure).
Are you sad to see the original Fire In The Hole attraction close? Are you excited to ride the new RMC (Rocky Mountain Construction) FIRE IN THE HOLE roller coaster at Silver Dollar City when it opens in spring 2024? Let us know your thoughts by leaving us a comment below or on our Facebook page.
