Dollywoods Mystery Mine is one of the most anticipated new coasters of 2007. The park has surely outdone themselves on this one. Mystery Mine, like many of Dollywoods other attractions, doesnt fall neatly into one conventional ride category. Its basically a roller coaster with a few dark ride sections thrown into the mix. The theming quality is outstanding. Florida park bigots suck on this, because this measures up to anything in Orlando. The animatronic vulture that greets you as you approach the queue is outstanding. The queue itself is full of fine details, and it has a nice eerie song to get you in the mood for the ride. The ride itself is pretty fun. Its not overly intense, which is perfect because this is a family oriented attraction. The drops and turns are fun. And the ride is not at all rough, which proves that Gerstlauer has come a long way over the years. The two vertical lift hills are especially fun, and they add tremendously to the ride experience. The finale is, of course, the best part of the ride. You get excellent hangtime right before the rollover, or whatever that last element is called. Although this is a stellar attraction, I do not believe it to be a top 10 ride. Its a little bit too short and lacking in overall intensity for me to rate it as such. Unfortunately, I only got one ride on it yesterday, as mother nature was not cooperating. I strongly look forward to going back to reride this excellent ride some day.
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