Ride Profile www.parkworld-online.com


Ready for the


Park World’s Paul Ruben was one of the first to ride the brand new Haunted Mine Drop, the first of its kind this underground drop ride provides a brand new type of thrill…


G


lenwood Caverns Adventure Park, Colorado has introduced its newest attraction, the Haunted Mine Drop. It is the first drop ride to go underground.


Glenwood Caverns’ new attraction drops riders 110 feet (34 m) down inside the mountain as they listen to ghostly mining tales from long ago. “We’ve been waiting a long time for this day. Construction


of the $2 million project started in the spring of 2016, and the planning began a couple of years before that,” says Steve Beckley, who owns Glenwood Caverns Adventure Park with his wife Jeanne. “The reactions from our first riders have made it all worth the wait.”


A first class scare But build it underground? “Nancy Heard, our general manager,” Beckley explains, “has wanted to add a drop ride for a long time. We really couldn’t do that on top of the mountain without impacting the views from Glenwood Springs. I slept on it for a few days and came up with the idea to build it underground. Most parks can’t do this. Because we’re located on top of a mountain — America’s only mountain-top theme park, actually — we were able to do something no other park has done before.”


SEPTEMBER 2017 Beckley had local contractors blast the mine shaft. The


drop tower was built by CEO Stan Checketts’ Soaring Eagle. While the theming was completed by President Mark McDonough and his crew from Creative Visions. “We’ve worked with Stan Checketts on several of our


rides,” offers Beckley, “and we knew that Soaring Eagle had the ability to modify the drop ride to start at the top. It also had to fit into the shaft. You’ll notice when you ride it that there’s very little room to spare. That proximity to the rock enhances the thrill. Soaring Eagle absolutely delivered. The ride is everything we’d hoped for, and more.” “Soaring Eagles’ name for the ride is the Daring Drop,”


Checketts clarifies. “Erecting it underground was a challenge. I don't believe being underground removed the fear of heights. You can still fall a long way down. Some additional challenges came from installing things and not being able to rest them on the ground. The passenger cart and catch cart had to be installed at the top of the ride rather than at the bottom.” “I think drop rides are great choices for dark rides,” adds


Checketts. “Falling when you can't see what is happening is very scary. People will love it. Drop rides have been successful for years and adding falling into a mine shaft will be a home run.”


41


DROP!


Page 1  |  Page 2  |  Page 3  |  Page 4  |  Page 5  |  Page 6  |  Page 7  |  Page 8  |  Page 9  |  Page 10  |  Page 11  |  Page 12  |  Page 13  |  Page 14  |  Page 15  |  Page 16  |  Page 17  |  Page 18  |  Page 19  |  Page 20  |  Page 21  |  Page 22  |  Page 23  |  Page 24  |  Page 25  |  Page 26  |  Page 27  |  Page 28  |  Page 29  |  Page 30  |  Page 31  |  Page 32  |  Page 33  |  Page 34  |  Page 35  |  Page 36  |  Page 37  |  Page 38  |  Page 39  |  Page 40  |  Page 41  |  Page 42  |  Page 43  |  Page 44  |  Page 45  |  Page 46  |  Page 47  |  Page 48  |  Page 49  |  Page 50  |  Page 51  |  Page 52  |  Page 53  |  Page 54  |  Page 55  |  Page 56  |  Page 57  |  Page 58  |  Page 59  |  Page 60  |  Page 61  |  Page 62  |  Page 63  |  Page 64  |  Page 65  |  Page 66  |  Page 67  |  Page 68  |  Page 69  |  Page 70  |  Page 71  |  Page 72  |  Page 73  |  Page 74  |  Page 75  |  Page 76  |  Page 77  |  Page 78  |  Page 79  |  Page 80  |  Page 81  |  Page 82  |  Page 83  |  Page 84  |  Page 85  |  Page 86  |  Page 87  |  Page 88  |  Page 89  |  Page 90  |  Page 91  |  Page 92  |  Page 93  |  Page 94  |  Page 95  |  Page 96  |  Page 97  |  Page 98  |  Page 99  |  Page 100  |  Page 101  |  Page 102  |  Page 103  |  Page 104  |  Page 105  |  Page 106  |  Page 107  |  Page 108