Ripley's Mountain Coaster has lived three lives on this hillside: it ran as Rowdy Bear Mountain Coaster in 2019 (Amusement Source's POV, up to 35 mph, is that era), then as the original Ripley's layout — whose final day Tampa Jay rode in February 2026 before it closed for refurbishment — and now in its rebuilt form, running again by October 2026, when Adventure Is Out There's full POV and review (coaster #4 in their Smokies series) filmed it with height and weight requirements, controls and combo pricing on camera. The summaries date each era; do not mistake the 2019 film for the current ride.
Watch: first looks
3 videos · summaries from the actual guidesThe current coaster
The October 2026 review is the anchor: full ride, rankings verdict, free parking out front, and the combo-pricing note — Ripley's bundles its Gatlinburg attractions, which changes the math on every coaster in town. The kid-friendly verdict film walks parents through the lift hill and the self-controlled sleds honestly.
The last run
Tampa Jay's February 2026 film is a document, not a review: the original coaster's final day, ridden as a record of the ride as it existed — he also found the Space Needle unexpectedly closed the same day, which is its own Gatlinburg truth. A family's three-minute December 2025 POV is the original ride in its final season.
Watch: more views
3 videos · summaries from the actual guidesSpeed records
ThrillStop's full-speed POV files it as a favorite for riders who like it 'high thrill and out of control,' and the two front-seat POVs (Nate Verde's forest descent, Smokies Plus' 2024 ride-along under the Ripley's name) fill the middle eras. Brake levers are in the rider's hands on every version; that much never changed.
Sources: the 8 videos on this page, filmed at Ripley's Mountain Coaster in Gatlinburg between 2019 and October 2026.
Watch: the full set
2 videos · summaries from the actual guidesMore Gatlinburg essentials
Start from the Gatlinburg hub for the full directory, or keep exploring: