Originally I was going to talk about Flooded Mine here because I adore dark rides, especially ones with old school appeal. Add in the fact that the ride is also done in a boat and Flooded Mine made me remember some of the rides I rode as kid. That being said, however, I felt the need to mention the park’s second RMC since I mentioned Outlaw Run in the Day 1 report.

By far, this ride draws some of the longest lines. I never had the pleasure of riding the original Fire in the Hole, but from the merchandise, stories of park goers, and videos I’ve watched online, it was clearly was loved. The closest thing I’ve ridden would be Dollywood’s Blazing Fury. While it was closed during our 2024 trip, I did ride it with James and Mindy on two other visits to Dollywood prior. Like Flooded Mine, I loved the old school dark ride appeal of Blazing Fury and that it was still a coaster only made it better.

My experience with this all-new rendition of Fire in the Hole was a positive one. I think all the effects and scenes look great. My only complaint would be that I feel like you move too fast through them. I don’t know if that was true of the original, or if the speed of this RMC successor is different. I felt like I barely had time to take in some of the scenes and listen to the audio before getting moving onto the next one.

Luckily for us, our ride on Day 2 had us in the front seat. We rode in the back on Day 1 and the splash down seemed like a gimmick that didn’t get the train wet at all. Well, when we sat down in the front row and saw how wet the seats, floor, and restraints were, we realized we were wrong. Still, to have only a row or two get wet seems wrong. Maybe there should be some kind of misting or something for the rest of the train to plow through during that element? Am I alone in thinking this?

And now for the main event! I’m going to be honest here. I’m not the biggest fan of spinning coasters. Most of the ones I have ridden are of the Wild Mouse variety and the Pandemonium clones. While they serve their purpose, they’re not something I want to ride over and over. The closest thing I’ve probably ridden to Time Traveler would be Shredder at Nickelodeon Universe – American Dream Mall. And to be honest, that is better than the Wild Mice and Pandemonium clones, but still not something I’d want to marathon.

I can now finally say that I’ve found the spinning coaster I love. I’m sure it has something to do with it being from Mack Rides, a manufacturer that I’ve been enamored with ever since riding Copperhead Strike. I adore that coaster more than most and have no shame in having it in my Top 5. I could ride that all day long and that alone made me have high hopes for this, even though it spins.

After just one ride I knew I was in love with it. We lucked out by being in the back of the train and dropping backwards out of the station. That drop backwards is like nothing else I’ve experienced. You get yanked down and feel like your mind was left in the station, while your body is being taken elsewhere. Is that what people mean when they say they’ve had an out-of-body experience?

Once I regained my senses we were hitting elements in all different directions. The spinning, however, was never dizzying. The cars would spin slightly, or rotate just enough to take an airtime pop or launch sideways, or backwards. And the best thing, which we wouldn’t fully realize until the following day, every ride was going to feel so different. I will be sure to get into more of that in the Day 2 report coming your way soon.