Dark Rides
parkworld-online.com
The School Etnaland, Sicily
“nerves” by visiting the bathroom! “Normally interactive rides promote shooting but we have decided to promote culture,” explains Etnaland’s Andrea Calcagno. “That is really what pushed us to realise the theme of the haunted school.”
While the ride’s interior is very dark, light relief is provided along the way by some old mentors and janitors who, after posing some particularly challenging questions, make funny comments on their pupils’ answers. Added features include a section where riders can decide through a mirror if they want to help the other guests or not, plus two hidden actors who startle the students. The ride ends as passengers are presented with a school report overhead.
One of the most idiosyncratic dark rides to have opened this season is surely The School at Etnaland on the Italian island of Sicily. The haunted attraction comes equipped with 12 four-seater Gosetto ride vehicles themed as desks and features eight classroom scenes, each dedicated to a different academic subject (Italian, history, music, etc). Riders must answer multiple choice exam questions to accumulate points during the ride by pushing buttons A to C in the cars. But – and we told you this ride was a little different – before they start, riders have the chance to quell any pre-exam
Haunted House 5D Tivoli Friheden, Denmark
A zombie invasion has been reported in the Danish city of Aarhus following the relaunch of Tivoli Friheden’s dark ride as Haunted House 5D. Passengers on the new-look attraction are told that a virus has broken out and it is up to them to fight the outbreak with their special shooters.
Using an existing ride system, Haunted House 5D is the first attraction to feature Triotech’s new iDR (interactive dark ride) technology, and features 3D
movie content and 4D effects such as wind.
Using the on-board shooting system, riders can also battle against other guests. Either way the zombies must be defeated! “We feel Interactivity will define future entertainment experiences,” says Triotech’s Christian Martin. “This means the technology of course but also the graphics content must be tops. A rich and well integrated experience is what will keep riders coming back.” Haunted House 5D can be enjoyed by Tivoli Friheden guests with three ride tickets or a multi-
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tivolifriheden.dk KEEP THE LIGHTS OFF!
See the September issue of Park World for more dark rides. In the meantime, you can read our earlier feature on Wallace & Gromit Thrill-O-Matic at Blackpool Pleasure Beach by visiting
bit.ly/1b6PZ8E or enjoy some dark ride nostalgia as John Wardley recounts his experience of creating Uncle Frankenstein’s Scream Machine back in 1970s at Barry Island Pleasure Park in South Wales. See
bit.ly/1c2uLgg
AUGUST 2013
ride pass. A second dark ride featuring the iDR system and transport by Zamperla will open by the end of the year at Hello Kitty Park near Shanghai. Triotech will also be showing the system on its booth at IAAPA Attractions Expo this November in Orlando.
“The narrative tone of The Haunted School is sarcastic,” concludes Calcagno. “Pupils relive the nightmare of an exam, but in an ironic and funny way. It is important for us that every ride in the park ends with a positive feeling. The main goal is that even if this is a dark ride people should come out laughing.”
etnaland.eu
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