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The Pigeon Forge Planning Commission approved a site plan for a brand new ride for the Dollywood theme park.
Architect for the project, Bruce Rutherford, presented a site plan and an artist’s rendering of what the new ride will look like to the commissioners at their meeting Tuesday night.
The Mystery Mine ride will take passengers through an area designed to look like an old mine shaft. “It’s designed appear to be entering into an old mine shaft, and everything will be themed around the track to look this way,” said Rutherford.
By individual mine carts—four to a car—“it then climbs vertically, straight up to 121 feet where a lot of effects happen and then free-falls out and loops and goes back through it again,” he said.
Construction on the new ride won’t be complete until 2007, according to Rutherford. “But, the expansion is so large we’ve had to start it already.”
Developers plan on breaking ground on the project in a month, but it will take a full year to complete, according to Rutherford.
The Mine Ride will be located near the theme park’s latest addition, Timber Tower which is currently under construction and will be unveiled to the public this Saturday, April 1.

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