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Dark Rides


The dark age


Dark rides are increasingly popular but guest expectations are also greater than ever. Rick Spring in ‘t veld, business development lead at P&P Projects, delves into what’s required of today’s dark rides


become a new standard for the development of a dark ride (as well as other sorts of attractions). To layer on top of that, active engagement of guests is also highly important


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today. Whether this is through physical interactive elements (such as a shooter configuration) or through the way the story is told and the guests’ role in it; guests are to be put front and centre of the action rather than be taken on a journey in which they are passively observing. As a design-build developer of themed entertainment, such trends are highly


important as cornerstones of the experiences we create – throughout the entire process. Another trend currently in swing is the increasing use of intellectual property


(IP) in dark rides. This comes as no surprise when realising that well-known IPs can house fantastical, imaginary worlds that people have already spent quite some time watching, reading about or interacting with (virtually). With an increased sense of ‘longing’ to be able to step into these worlds,


the themed entertainment industry can cater exactly to this desire. We have seen the implementation of IPs spread across multiple media platforms, stretching from the movie space to TV shows, (comic) books and video games. This is not to say that the value of original storyline development for dark


rides has decreased; on the contrary, it works both ways. We notice an increased desire for the development of original stories for attractions into fully fleshed intellectual properties that can be applied to various forms of media and exposure where our clients can (re)connect with their visitors. A dynamic that will be interesting to see evolve in the coming years, is the


relationship between physical and digital assets in dark rides. Technological innovations are moving at a fast pace that comes with a risk of in-ride applications becoming outdated more quickly than desired. At P&P Projects, we bring to life fantastical imaginary worlds through


creative design, innovative engineering and materialise them in a detailed production process. When we do this, we aim to provide our clients and their guests with an experience that is unique and memorable. As an anchor point,


AUGUST 2023


hen it comes to current trends in dark rides, I think the creation of immersive environments is an obvious one. We could better say that today, providing an immersive experience has pretty much


tangible, physical environments can better guarantee retaining a sense of ‘there is no other place I can experience this’. In the development of a dark ride, an attraction format that is so story-


heavy, a challenge in the creative process is to always build up the experience in a layered sense. When targeting a wide audience, dark rides form a fitting concept because most are accessible to people of all ages. Therefore it is essential to make sure the experience is appealing, understandable and (of course) enjoyable for people of all ages. Another challenge in the everlasting goal of developing an immersive dark


ride is scale. Large-scaled, impressively sized show sets that weave around the ride vehicle wherever you look are inherent to convincing and captivating world-building in your story. How do we utilise this principle to the fullest while taking into account a limited space? Of course, this is sure something that gets our creative juices flowing. With


global developments in the fields of technology and consumption moving so rapidly, it is fascinating to see how our field of expertise, the leisure industry, develops itself in its parallel space. I think we could say the basic ‘dark ride’ need or expectations of our clients and our guests is and will stay the same: to provide an unique and immersive experience. The ‘how’, on the other hand, is the factor that is constantly evolving. What


was considered ‘impressive’ fifty years ago, is seen differently today. The way we want to spend our leisure time, what we perceive as ‘impressive’, is in a tight relationship with what we are exposed to in our daily lives. Since modern innovations are so drastically pushing the limits of how and


what people are exposed to as consumers (we have so many worlds and stories at our fingertips!), we must aim to ‘distance’ our products from what people are familiar with and to offer a new way of ‘experiencing’. With P&P Projects as a turnkey developer of unique and immersive


experiences, we are tasked with an exciting goal: to always think one step ahead of the curve – and


not just on a standard business front, but in the field of evoking emotions and creating memories.


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