Ride Profile
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Striking gold
Park World's North American Editor, Susan Storey, tells us how Daniels Wood Land and Sally Dark Rides have come together to create gold with Treasure Hunt: The Ride on California’s historic Cannery Row
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n the music world, fans love to hear of the latest artist collaboration. The tempo, score and lyrics are unique and unmatched. This summer, Sally Dark Rides and Daniels Wood Land released an entire new class of
collaboration – seamlessly blending their talents and expertise to set a new bar for the attractions and leisure industry. In 2021, globally recognised theme fabrication experts, Daniels Wood Land
(DWL) and internationally acclaimed family dark ride creators, Sally Dark Rides (Sally) announced the two companies were going to develop a standalone family dark ride together. Featuring a universal pirate theme, the ride would open on historic Cannery Row in Monterey, California. Once complete, they would remain together as owner and operator partners. The idea was exciting and unprecedented for both of them. Each year, Cannery Row welcomes millions of guests to the half-a-mile
street. Anchored by the famous Monterey Bay Aquarium the walkable row is filled with restaurants and souvenir shops. The opportunity – and arguably the need – for further family entertainment was first noted by Ron Daniels, president of Daniels Wood Land. The closing of a small wax museum provided an open location in one of the buildings, sandwiched between the first Bubba Gump Shrimp Company restaurant, and a stretch of beach at Monterey Bay. Further research by Daniels and his team uncovered that the area is where real pirates once landed. In 1818, Captain Hippolyte Bouchard, the only pirate to ever attack the West Coast of the US, arrived at the city of Monterey. His attack was largely unsuccessful but remains a piece of the region’s history and would serve as a springboard for Daniels, his team, and the team at Sally Dark Rides. They became a crew of collaborative creatives that would bring Cannery Row’s only ride, the theme park quality, Treasure Hunt: The Ride to life. Known for creating immersive and interactive family dark rides, the team at Sally combined its craftsmanship and artisanship skills with DWL’s incredible
theming expertise, and together they created a storyline for their joint ride project, pondering: “What if Captain Bouchard hid his treasure below Cannery Row?” The answer provides memorable moments and dark ride details that match
those in large theme parks around the world and begins to unfold with a new pirate, Sharkbait Sam. Unveiled IAAPA Expo 2021, Sam’s lifelike movements inspire second
glances from passersby. Standing proud and tall, the pirate is an example of the animatronic mastery that sets Sally apart. For 46 years, Sally has created animatronics so lifelike, guests often mimic their movements comparing real versus robot. Sharkbait Sam’s subtle weight shifting is both understated and remarkable. From his crow’s nest perch, Sam welcomes guests, telling tales and pirate
jokes while the ship sailing behind him plays a video about the Treasure Hunt experience that takes place down below. “Sharkbait Sam is the first thing guests see,” shared John Wood, president
and founder of Sally Dark Rides. “He is a free attraction on his own, and guests take photos as they watch and listen to him and his parrot pal, Scuttle. He sets the stage for the story we developed with Ron Daniels and the Daniels Wood Land team.” Rich Hill, chief creative officer for Sally Dark Rides, echoed Wood’s
comments: “When developing the script for a ride, we think of it as a movie guests will ride through. We combined forces with Daniels Wood Land and for the past two and half years we have been in a literal basement, developing a “fictional history” and turning it into something unique.” After listening to Sam, guests descend a winding staircase and are
immediately embraced by a fully immersive locale. “It has been a childhood dream of mine to create a real pirate lair,” Hill
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