Dark ride stories

A dark ride is an indoor theme park ride in which guided vehicles travel through themed environments. Dark rides are often based on popular IPs and involves sound, music, animatronics, and other special effects.

Rides have developed from simple, traditional rail-guided attractions to include various variations, such as trackless rides that utilise various technologies. Due to their undercover nature, dark rides are especially well-received in environments prone to wet weather.

Typical examples found in amusement parks include ghost trains, interactive dark rides and enclosed roller coasters.

Ghost trains focus on scares of varying intensity. These rides often use illusions, such as rotating tunnels and mirrors, to distort scenes. Interactive dark rides feature targets positioned in various scenes or on screens that riders aim at to score points. Some rides may incorporate a dark ride element to help develop a storyline as a secondary feature of an attraction.

Some attractions classed as dark rides may not involve vehicles at all. Known as “walkthroughs,” guests experience these on foot. These attractions can be more compact and require less maintenance than their standard counterparts. Typical forms of walkthrough dark attractions include fun houses and scare mazes.

Some dark attractions require very little movement at all. These are theatre-style attractions, often incorporating AV and animatronic elements. Walt Disney was a pioneer in this area, incorporating many auditorium attractions in his original Disneyland park.

One aspect that unites all dark rides is their focus on themed spaces. They are designed to transform interior spaces at amusement and theme parks into immersive environments.

Creators often aim to transport guests to a completely different time or location, with the primary objective of providing education or entertainment.