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Can We Please Stop Calling Everything a Dark Ride?
By Robin van der Want, Project Development Director at Jora Vision I
magine asking three suppliers for a dark ride and receiving three different proposals: a boat journey through an enchanted forest, a flying
theatre and a box full of yellow moving chairs. All might be interesting attractions. But have they really answered the same brief? And that is where my curiosity begins. Between
supplier brochures and award categories, the term umbrella. I understand the appeal of the term: it promises adventure, storytelling and immersion. But when the label covers almost everything, it starts telling us very little. So, what actually defines a dark ride for me? For me, a dark ride begins with physically
entering another world. A transport vehicle carries you through an indoor environment, where each corner reveals something you could not see before. It might be trackless or track-based. Being indoors lets us shape the lighting, sound, sfx and timing of every reveal. The important thing is that you travel through the scenery, rather than remain in one place while the scenery travels across a media screen. That physical world should also be the main
event. My proposed benchmark would be at least physical themed environments. Not an official standard, and certainly an invitation to debate. The point is that scenery, depth and real spaces should dominate, rather than provide a decorative frame around a screen. This does not mean screens are unwelcome. They can extend landscapes, bring characters to life and make wonderful impossibilities happen. But I want them to support the world I have entered, not replace it altogether. Which is why, under my definition, flying
theatres, rotating platforms, those moving chairs and predominantly screen-based environments are not dark rides. This is no judgement on their quality. A fantastic flying theatre is still fantastic Otherwise, a vibrating sofa and and exciting Netflix movie could make me an unexpectedly affordable dark-ride manufacturer. Clearer definitions would help parks choose the
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right experience for their guests, better understand what they are investing in, and allow industry awards to recognise each attraction format for its unique achievements. Does any of this really matter in the grand
scheme of life? Probably not. But in an industry built around creativity, imagination and storytelling, I believe our definitions should mean something. Not to place one attraction format above another, but to recognise what makes each unique. A true dark ride requires an incredibly complex process, bringing together storytelling, ride engineering, scenic design, craftsmanship and show technology into one seamless experience. Surely, that level of creative and technical complexity deserves its own recognition, and a definition worth preserving!
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Robin van der Want is Project Development Director at Jora Vision, a creative design & build company responsible for the realization of, among others, dark rides such as Snorri Touren at Europa-Park, The Enchanted Greenhouse at Six Flags Qiddiya City, Popcorn Revenge at Walibi Belgium, and the upcoming new dark ride SCORE! at Gröna Lund.
NOVEMBER/DECEMBER IAAPA EXPO EDITION 2026
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