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[Preachin_Bill]

Well, it's my first real post and hopefully I'm not offending any of my fellow, more seasoned die-hards.....but...

What was Rube Dugan's Diving Bell Ride?  I have seen it discussed a lot on this forum but I can't remember what it is, perhaps because it was gone before I ever came to the park for the first time when I was 4, 22 years ago?

It seems as though people have some very fond memories of the ride so I am quite interested in it and would love to talk about it with my Father on our upcoming trip and have a little history.

What was the theme?
Where was it at?  (I'm guessing by the lost river?)
What happened on the ride?  Was it awesome?
Why did it shut down?

Thanks to any and all who respond with information about this ride.

[qwed94]

well it has been a long time. I was rather small the 2 times I rode it. But if memory serves. It was a "sort of" simulater type ride. I think the room went up & down and maybe left & right a little bit.  Someone here was an operator of that ride (I think Junior) Im sure he can remember lots more. But I believe there was a video and the room moved according to the video. I think there was some cheesy jokes that we all laughed at. 

Yes --- as I remember it was quite fun. 
As I said, I was rather young then myself, so I dont have the faintest idea as to where the ride was located, only that I can vageuly (and) fondly remember bits & pieces of it.

[okiebluegrass]

Go to it Junior 

[Junior]

Junior responding:    First of all, I played "Junior Dugan" at the diving bell from 1979-1984. Spent most of my time employed at SDC at RDDB. So, that said, here I go:   Rube Dugan's Diving Bell was one of the early simulator attractions at a theme park. Very cutting edge for it's time. The diving bell was located where lost river is today. While standing in the line to get onto lost river you will see a sign on the building that says "Dugan Salvage Yard," which is the only physical reminder of what came first. Here's the story line for the diving bell. Grandpappy Dugan discovered silver in a mine or cave on the edge of SDC. He amassed quite a fortune. The rains of 1820 came, flooded the valley the mine/cave was in, and created Lake Silver. Grandpappy and his silver were lost. Then, Rube Dugan came along. He was the inventor of a diving bell, a submarine that could ply the waters of the lake and be used to retrieve the silver. The diving bell was made of barnwood, so it floated. Rube Dugan was captain of his diving bell, his daffy nephew Junior Dugan was the pilot. The SDC guests were dubbed "volunteers" and were brought on the trip in the sub because they essentially were ballast, used to help sink the diving bell. They were promised a cut of the silver if we all survived. Here's the twist, Rube's rival, Eli Tolts, had invented his own little submersible, and was going to race Rube, Junior, and the "volunteers" and if he beat them to the silver he would not share. Folks were loaded into the diving bell, and a cat and mouse game of being chased by Eli developed. Many underwater obstacles caused trouble too. First, Junior forgot to untie the diving bell from the dock and so as the capsule was pulling away, it rips out the dock. Later the dock almost swings around and hits the capsule underwater. There are rockslides, a cave, and other "issues" that hinder the trip. A leak develops in the capsule, and so on. Finally, Eli's capsule gets stuck on some underwater debris, so the diving bell crew is free to find the silver without the race. When the crew does find the silver, the ghost of Grandpappy Dugan uses dynamite to blow the diving bell out of the water to protect his treasure. A rock crashes through the wall of the capsule, water pours in, the geysers at the front of the capsule burst, allowing fountains of water into the passenger area. By the time everything settles back down, the diving bell is wrecked, stuck on an underground ledge. Junior swings the doors open, and shouts "ABANDON SHIP! WOMEN AND JUNIORS FIRST!" then proceeds to run out of the capsule first. The ride is over. Volunteers slowly make their way out into a cave, with an underground waterfall, then to their right, a few rays of sunshine...a way out of the cave back to the surface. Nobody lost their life, but the closest they got to the silver is seeing a big, fat vein of silver embedded in the rock as they make the final turn to leave the cave.
--
The simulator attraction was quite popular, operated from 1977-1984. It used special effects, film, sound effects, a live actor in the "theater" and special effects like water and the rock that crashed through the wall, and the capsule itself was placed on hydraulic arms which caused the capsule to sway back and forth, forward and backward in sync with the film being played on a viewscreen in front. It was quite realistic for it's time and day.  Other popular simulator attractions that would follow in the years to come at other theme parks include "Star Tours" at Disney Orlando, and the "Back to the Future" attraction at Universal Orlando.
--
If retooled and placed back at SDC today, the diving bell could be fantastic. However, that period of time for SDC is likely over. Time marches on. Today, a ladies dress shop is located on the banks of Lake Silver that is called "Dugan's Trading" which is a tip of the hat to the the diving bell, although most people visiting the park, and most, if not all people working in the shop and even at lost river, don't even know what the diving bell was. Memories are short, and many of the folks passing through the streets of SDC today may not have even been born when the diving bell was in operation. I'm a freelance writer now, and I ended an article on the diving bell that was published a few years ago like this... "today the diving bell is fondly remembered by guests and employees alike as part of the romantic history of Silver Dollar City's bygone days." That sums it up OK.

Check out my Flickr site for many photos of the diving bell. Go all the way back to the beginning of my photos (over 160 posted) to see a lot of diving bell stuff:       http://www.flickr.com/photos/juniordugan  

Anyone seriously interested in reading an article with illustrations I did about the diving bell may send me a private message with their email address and I will send it right away. The article goes into much more detail, and I think you would enjoy the illustrations with captions under them. -Junior

[Preachin_Bill]

Wow, thanks for the information.  Sounds like fun.
Why did they do away with it?  Did it become too worn out?
Thanks again.  I like the part of Junior running out first.

[Junior]

Reason for the diving bell leaving: Unofficially, it's been said in various chat rooms on the Internet and in various media that it was capacity issues...that is not being able to move enough people through the attraction in a day compared with other rides and attractions....that resulted in the diving bell being replaced with lost river. I can tell you this, I've heard through the "grapevine" through various sources the true reason the diving bell was replaced was because of the cost of maintaining the attraction and the cost of keeping a big staff to run it. If the diving bell were to be brought back, for cost reasons, there would likely NOT be a Junior Dugan (a live actor) in the capsule with the guests...just too expensive to have over a dozen people on staff for that. The technology that went into the diving bell (early 1970s era computer systems) was outdated a year or two after it was put in, and it was too expensive to replace it all. Remember, during this period of time, computer companies were formed, lived and died in a year as the industry rapidly developed and changed. The company that supplied computers for the diving bell actually went out of business about a year later, so finding some replacement parts was difficult for maintenance folks.

[okiebluegrass]

Late to the party as usual -

If they ever brought it back, do you think we would see an animatronic Junior or a Junior on video?

[Junior]

Maybe a Junior on video. Perhaps Rube by this time will have invented his version of a TV viewing screen that Junior could appear on. Perhaps Junior could be in the loft above peoples heads like Rube used to be. Except this time he has a viewing screen you can see him on. Just speculation, of course.

[History Buff]

I could easily see Junior being just a voice to accompany a 4D/5D simulation.

[okiebluegrass]

So, how hard do you think it would be for them to coax junior outta retirement?

[Junior]

Regarding previous post: "SHOW ME THE MONEY!" 

[Junior]

I know it's been a while since this thread was last active. I just re-read the posts here tonight, and I can honestly say that the seven years I worked at SDC it was a blast!! I loved it. However, I had to move on to other things, like finishing college, which led to a 20 year career as a radio broadcaster. Of the five people most closely associated with the diving bell, I'm at #4. The three fellows in the top positions made careers of SDC. One of them actually retired earlier this year, the other two are still in action on park in management. The guy at #5 in terms of length of service went on to use his acting experience at SDC to act in many live theater productions and eventually direct community theater in southwest Missouri and southeastern Kansas. Not a bad guy in the bunch, and I'm proud to be associated with all of them and the many others that called themselves "Junior Dugan" for a few summers. God bless each and every one of them. I have had many jobs since I was a teenager, and can honestly say SDC and two other jobs I've had were the best of all of them. The other two were the three summers I spent working at a Branson music show and the 12 plus years I had in at one of my radio jobs. I hope if you ever have the chance you can work at least for a summer at SDC, it would be an experience you would remember for the rest of your life. I actually had a chance to speak to Jack Herschend in 2011 about by years on park and told him I learned things on the job I have carried with me throughout my life. He seemed very pleased about it, shook my hand, and we had a picture taken together in the hospitality house...taken by Brad Thomas who was with him at the time. Another highlight for me, friends. I'm glad I had a chance to speak with him.    You can see the photo of Jack and me on my Flickr site if you want to take a look.

[Gilligan]

SDC, BRING BACK THE DIVING BELL!  Why couldn't Junior be a hologram?  They have attractions at the Lincoln Presidential Library that use holograms.  Very real-like!

[Junior]

Well, a hologram? Hmm. Can we scan an image of me taken when I was 17 and somehow animate it? I'm in my 50's now, and have gained a little weight...it would have to be a big hologram!

[Gilligan]

Pfft!  Computers work magic, Junior!