| On Monday, Silver Dollar City finally announced what we've known for months: the replacement for the iconic, classic Fire in the Hole (See my post from a couple of days ago.) will be (drumroll) Fire in the Hole. I had feared they would remove the Bald Knobbers altogether, thinking that people equate them with the Klan (which they were not), but they are still in the story and in the artwork. Check the announcement from Silver Dollar City in the video here (right). | |
The statistics for the new attraction, by the way, are strangely similar to the original coaster, with the exception of the onboard audio:
The Heartland's Largest Indoor Coaster
3 Drops Including A Water Splashdown
State-Of-The-Art Onboard Audio
Track Length - 1,512 Feet
Ride Vehicles With 12 Passengers Per Train
3 Drops Including A Water Splashdown
State-Of-The-Art Onboard Audio
Track Length - 1,512 Feet
Ride Vehicles With 12 Passengers Per Train
A little side note: isn't it interesting that they used the word Heartland several times in the announcement presentation, as well as on the park's webpage? They know about the proposed American Heartland Theme Park in Vinita, Oklahoma, and it seems they are already firing the opening salvos of competition. Additionally, they touted their thousand acres of undeveloped property adjacent to the present park. Hmm.
As concept art goes, it is beautiful as usual. These companies know very well how to depict upcoming attractions in single images. Hopefully, some of the original art from the old ride's queue will be preserved for more generations to see. After all, the concept art on their website displays all of the current Fire in the Hole scenes.
What we don't see is any mention of animatronic figures. Will this $30 million dollar investment still utilize simple mannequins in the scenes, or will they spring for some tech to really bring things to life? They do say that the fire chief has a plan to put out the fire. There is mention of using fiber optics to show the lighting of the fuse on explosives, and they did say that they are going to "blow the tower", meaning the water tower. Perhaps this is a new scene for the final drop - "Fire in the Hole!"
What we don't see is any mention of animatronic figures. Will this $30 million dollar investment still utilize simple mannequins in the scenes, or will they spring for some tech to really bring things to life? They do say that the fire chief has a plan to put out the fire. There is mention of using fiber optics to show the lighting of the fuse on explosives, and they did say that they are going to "blow the tower", meaning the water tower. Perhaps this is a new scene for the final drop - "Fire in the Hole!"
