Eureka Mountain Mine Ride

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Eureka Mountain Mine Ride
Eureka Mountain Mine Ride - Dreamworld.jpg
The Eureka Mountain Mine Ride building.
Dreamworld
Park section Gold Rush Country
Coordinates Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
Status SBNO
Opening date 11 December 1986 (1986-12-11)
Closing date 7 November 2006 (2006-11-07)
General statistics
Type Steel – Wild Mouse – Enclosed
Manufacturer HyFab
Lift/launch system Chain lift hill
Inversions 0
Duration 1:10
Trains a single car. Riders are arranged 2 across in 2 rows for a total of 4 riders per train.
Restraints Seat belt
Eureka Mountain Mine Ride at RCDB
Pictures of Eureka Mountain Mine Ride at RCDB

Eureka Mountain Mine Ride is a steel Wild Mouse roller coaster that is currently standing but not operating at Dreamworld on the Gold Coast, Australia.[1]

History

The Eureka Mountain Mine Ride opened on 11 December 1986 alongside the Thunder River Rapids Ride as part of Dreamworld new land, Gold Rush Country.[2]

On 7 November 2006, the Eureka Mountain Mine Ride closed for maintenance.[3] At the time Dreamworld stated that the ride would be closed temporarily to ensure the safety of all guests.[4] In 2010, Dreamworld stated that the closure of the ride "basically came down to new ride technology, upgraded safety regulations and responding to what the public wanted. Like the old Thunderbolt Rollercoaster, the mine ride served us well for 25 years and was “retired...” to make way for newer computerised attractions like The Claw, The Motorcoaster and AVPX. In Summary - rides have a life span - like a car - it comes to a time when you need to spend a lot of $$ to fix it up so when it is no longer a very popular attraction sometimes it is better to invest in something newer...... ".[5] The ride itself remains standing to this day[1] with the queue and entrance transformed to house a couple of carnival-style games.

Ride

Eureka Mountain Mine Ride was manufactured by Brisbane-based company, HyFab. The ride was a Wild Mouse roller coaster enclosed in Eureka Mountain.[1] The ride would begin with guests entering the Eureka Mountain Mine and boarding on of several 4-seater cars.[1][4][6] After being pulled up a chain lift hill, guests would be confronted by an animatronic miner who would light a stick of dynamite. After it explodes, the car would take guests through a variety of sharp, hairpin turns and fast, steep drops.[7]

Eureka Mountain Mine Ride originally featured dual stations which allowed two cars to load and unload at the same time. In 2002, the practice of using these two stations was discontinued.[7] In 2004, the ride system was upgraded.[7]

Potential Reopening

Speculation began in early 2015 about the ride's potential reopening. In the previous year, Dreamworld underwent a restoration on the Wipeout and Ocean Parade, as well as repainting The Claw. Some speculated that Eureka Mountain may feature as part of Dreamworld's restoration. Furthermore, water-dummies have been seen in the ride's entrance, and carts have been successfully cycled through the ride. On the 10th of February 2015, Dreamworld posted on their Facebook page "There is no official % on if this ride can be reopened or what else it could become. It is not off the table but certainly not on the table where we can be putting time frames or percentages on it. Everyone wants it back, and if it is possible there is a chance that one day that could happen".

In September 2015, Dreamworld began construction around the exterior of the ride's entrance, but is yet to confirm or deny the potential reopening of the ride. As Gold Rush Country will be celebrating 30 years since opening in 2016, it is plausible Dreamworld may be planning to relaunch the ride to coincide with the anniversary, however this is unconfirmed.

See also

References

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  4. 4.0 4.1 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
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  7. 7.0 7.1 7.2 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.

External links