By ROGER ALFORD The Associated Press

Appalachian town played out and shut down, state officials are hoping to revive old Portal 31 as a Disney-like tourist attraction with animatronic miners and underground tours.

“The trend in tourism is this experiential travel,” said George Ward, commissioner of the Kentucky Department of Parks. “We’ll show tourists the evolution of coal mining, from the picks and shovels and donkeys in early mining to the high-tech equipment used today.”

Plan pushed to make Lynch coal mine tourist attraction, continued