Silver Dollar City just announced Miner's Mountain Express, and Coaster Radio sat down with Joey Thorsen, the park's Director of Content & PR, for an exclusive deep dive into the story behind it — and it turns out this ride isn't just themed like a mining operation, it's built on top of one. The real Marble Cave Mining Company operated underneath Silver Dollar City 145 years ago, and Miner's Mountain Express resurrects that actual history, right down to a genuine 15-story mining head frame the park tracked down from a working Missouri mine — one that, almost unbelievably, traces back to the same regional mining school connected to Marble Cave's original founders.

Joey walks through why this Mack Rides YoungSTAR coaster earns the title "America's most legendary family coaster," how it fills the gap left by Thunderation's closing after 33 years, and how the ride's location in a real sinkhole finally connects three previously disconnected corners of the park — American Plunge, Wildfire, and Powder Keg — into one continuous area called Daredevil Pass. There's also a first-ever look at the ride's two mascots (a skunk and a bat, with a very on-brand Easter egg involving both), plus how this coaster fits into a combined $150 million investment alongside the brand-new Silver Dollar City Resort opening the same spring.

With 3,553 feet of track, Miner's Mountain Express is the longest family coaster in the Midwest, running over three minutes with 15 moments of weightlessness — more than any other ride at the park — all without a single inversion, making it accessible to riders 39 inches and taller.