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

Rides have developed from simple, traditional rail-guided attractions to include a number of variations such as trackless rides which utilise a variety of technologies. Dark rides are especially well-received in environments prone to wet weather due to their undercover nature.

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

Ghost trains are dark rides with a large focus on scares, with varying levels of 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 which riders will 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 which are classed as dark rides may not involve vehicles at all. Known as “walkthroughs”, guests will experience these by foot. These attractions can be more compact, requiring 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, in the form of 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 these formats is their focus on themed spaces. They are designed to transform interior spaces at amusement and theme parks into immersive environments.

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