Thunderation

Final Season

Get ready to rumble through the treetops one last time on the beloved runaway mine train, Thunderation, during the 2026 season. For more than 30 years the coaster has been a first ride for many a young miner and, as fitting, a year of fond farewells will be in store.

Opening in 1993, the 80-foot tall, 48 mile-per hour coaster with scenic views of the Ozarks along 3022 feet of track including a 910-degree, double helix into a mine shaft was considered Silver Dollar City’s first bona fide roller coaster and the start of a legacy of world-class, record-breaking thrills.

At its inception, Thunderation was the fastest mine train coaster to date and coaster groups like the American Coaster Enthusiasts (some of the first to ride it on its inaugural opening weekend) have always had a soft spot for the ride. Tim Baldwin, Events Director for ACE, wrote after riding it that opening year that it was a “successful addition that puts Silver Dollar City on the coaster map. Hopefully it will lead to many more great rides in the future.” And that it did!

The mine train ride was originally designed in Utah by Arrow Dynamics, where the steel track was manufactured and shaped before traveling to the park to be constructed together with timbers from Louisiana and Arkansas by Silver Dollar City, making it a one-of-a-kind attraction when it debuted.

Now, the recently reorganized Marvel Cave Mining Company is ordering the closure of the coaster lovingly referred to as TNT, an abbreviated version of ThuNderaTion, to take back this section of the park for geological surveys. They’ve requested that the tracks be vacated to resume mining operations in the depths of The City’s cave by the end of the 2026 season. “Thunderation has had its run,” said Marvel Cave Mining Company’s Foreman, Jedidiah Campbell. “But this mountain was never meant to be borrowed forever. There are still undiscovered sections of that mine and we intend to see what it holds.”

Rather than protest the decision, Silver Dollar City has declared the ensuing year one filled with special celebrations to give Thunderation the send-off it deserves and hopes to strike a payload of fun along the way!