World’s oldest operational roller coaster has taken its final ride at Silver Dollar City in Montana, United States. According to park officials, a new ride will be installed at the same site within a few months.

On December 30, an historic indoor coaster ride in Silver Dollar City, a theme park located in Branson, Montana, concluded its final journey after 51 years of operations.

In a press statement, Silver Dollar City says that its iconic ride ‘Fire In The Hole’ pulled through the station one final time, capping 51 seasons of operation with 48 riders closing the legendary coaster.

It says that ‘Fire In The Hole’ made history when it opened in 1972, lauded as one of the world’s first indoor roller coasters, and until now the world’s longest-standing indoor roller coaster. Earlier in December, the 1880s theme park selected the final 48 riders through various giveaways via social media. The 48 final guests filled the rides’ four coaster trains, each holding 12 people.

After the park closed the coaster’s queue line for the evening , and those in line finish riding the coaster, the 48 giveaway winners were the final public riders on the legendary coaster and received a mounted piece of the coaster track, along with other keepsakes commemorating the ride’s retirement.

All day on December 30, the park hosted Fire In The Hole’s “Grand Finale,” including live entertainment in the coaster’s queue line, Christmas caroling, pop-up surprises, and visits from Silver Dollar City’s most iconic Citizens. Plus, all riders received a celebration sticker commemorating the coaster’s “Final Ride Days.”

“Though we are now down to the final hours of the original Fire In The Hole, this ride has been meaningful to our guests for generations. The coaster tells a story of the Ozark Mountains and is uniquely Silver Dollar City, but also a ride families can ride together, as millions of children have ridden with their parents and grandparents. We know we will still have many first-time riders, while some have ridden countless times over the decades, returning this weekend for one last memory. Many of those guests even first rode with their grandparents years ago, now riding with their own grandkids!” says Brad Thomas, President of Silver Dollar City President.

The ride’s storyline is modeled after the real-life mining town of Marmaros, once located atop Marvel Cave and home to residents of the long-ago Ozarks. The coaster, novel in its introduction in 1972, has fire-brigade-themed trains that twist, turn and drop into a burning town where riders are the volunteer firefighters, saving the citizens and battling the flames before a splash-down water finale.

Meanwhile, Silver Dollar City has announced an all-new Fire In The Hole will debut in the spring of 2024. The USD 30 million ride, the company’s largest investment in a single attraction to-date, will be over 500 m long and feature a powered incline, three gravity-driven drops and a quick-splash landing.

Additionally, a custom soundtrack with high-resolution onboard audio, show lighting effects and enhanced special effects will drop riders into the famous Fire In The Hole story. The new attraction will be the centrepiece of the newly incorporated Fire District, doubling the size of the park’s current popular Fireman’s Landing area. A new restaurant serving world-famous, handmade pretzel dogs and merchandise location will complete the Fire District in 2024.