Dark Rides
parkworld-online.com
Kyöpelinvuori Linnanmäki, Helsinki
Finland’s largest amusement park, Linnanmäki has given a classic dark ride an overhaul for the 21st Century. Built inside the building that formerly housed an old ghost train, Kyöpelinvuor is based on the story of an hotel operated and inhabited by witches. Nick Farmer of Farmer Attraction Development in England designed and built the complete show, with Gosetto providing new cars and track. The result is a ride that is designed to be “gently frightening”, with touches of humour giving it wide appeal in line with the Helsinki park’s family profile.
“I am very pleased with our new ride and our guests have received it well,” notes Linnanmäki technical director Anssi Tamminen, adding that the old ghost train had become uneconomic to maintain. “We had to satisfy guests who wanted something new and exciting, and traditionalists who wanted us to keep the old ride they remembered from when they were children”. Kyöpelinvuor features a laser fight between the witches and an intruding wizard, plus video effects and plenty of traditional scares. The ride system, with cars similar to those produced for The School at Etnaland in Sicily (see over the page), feature added “4D” style effects including back pokers, vibration and wind. “The ride’s name is inspired by a place of legend in Finland where annoying elderly relatives are taken and pushed off a cliff,” adds Farmer, who also worked this season on the Wallace & Gromit dark ride at Blackpool Pleasure Beach in England. “As a grandparent myself, I am hoping this doesn’t give young guests at Linnanmäki any ideas!”
linnanmaki.fi Haunted House
Gillian’s Wonderland Pier, New Jersey
Beneath the 141ft-tall (43m) Giant Wheel at Gillian’s Wonderland Pier, Ocean City, New Jersey, a ghost train has emerged. Before the
Haunted Props and then enhanced by Seddon, who also created many of his own skeletons, tombstones, ghosts and other scary props.Halliday-Lenard Builders of Ocean City did all the building and wood work, and Gillian’s team did the rest. “I’m very proud of my crew.,” concludes Gillian. “They really outdid themselves.”
gillians.com
creatures took up residence, it used to be the park's maintenance shop. “We had a dark ride years ago,”reveals park owner Jay Gillian. “Wayne Seddon, our director of creativity and design, has been asking me for a very long time to build a new one. He was on the crew that built our first dark ride in the '70s called Ghost Creek Caverns. At that time he was working for a gentleman well-known for building dark rides, the late Bill Tracy.”
The Haunted House is built within a compact 50 x 90ft (15m by 27m) building and uses pre-owned Bertazzon cars and track, totalling over 300ft (91m). Guests encounter 16 scenes. Tricks and effects sourced from
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