Winner

At blooloop’s 2026 Festival of Innovation earlier this year, an expert panel of speakers from Christie, Lagotronics Projects and Paultons Park explored the process of developing dark rides, also showcasing the latter’s new Ghostly Manor attraction.

On the panel were Ernest Bakenie, senior director of sales and business development, themed entertainment at Christie; Mark Beumers, CEO of Lagotronics Projects; and Lawrence Mancey, marketing and technology director at Paultons Park.

As senior director of entertainment at Christie, Ernest Bakenie works closely with the themed entertainment market to drive growth and create best-in-class solutions. His passion for the industry, combined with a deep technical understanding of AV technology and sales expertise, makes him a key part of the Christie team.

Ghostly Manor is receiving recognition as one of the most ambitious dark ride experiences in the UK

With more than 25 years’ experience in the amusement sector, Mark Beumers’ portfolio includes projects such as dark rides, interactive attractions, museums, live events, and media installations.

At Lagotronics Projects, his work centres on long-term strategy, client relationships, and the development of innovative, high-quality interactive attractions.

Lawrence Mancey is director of marketing and technology at Paultons Park, a family-run theme park in the New Forest, UK. He is responsible for leveraging technology to support the development of immersive attractions and visitor experiences, including major new themed areas and rides.

The session at the Festival of Innovation began with a look at the creation of Paultons Park’s new Ghostly Manor dark ride.

Housed in the park's former 4D cinema building, which opened in the early 2010s, Ghostly Manor is an innovative, interactive attraction inspired by the historic Paultons Manor and the theme park's rich history. Both Lagotronics Projects and Christie worked on the dark ride.

Transforming an old attraction

The park’s former 4D cinema was “one of those experiences that was very much one and done”, Mancey said. “Guests would go in and out, and they wouldn't go back in again.”

“Some guests wouldn't use that attraction all day. It wouldn't really appeal to them. Being an outdoor park in the summer, most guests would be more focused on going on the roller coasters and the rides than going into what is essentially a cinema, and sitting down for 15 minutes and watching a screen,” he added.

With Ghostly Manor, Paultons Park wanted to create “something that was very rewritable and interactive; that’s what we think our guests really want”, he said.

“They want to be part of the story. They want to feel like a part of the journey and enjoy it from the moment they step into the queue line, all the way through to the exit, and think, ‘Wow, I want to go on that again.’

"The ride has a fantastic scoring system, and it's all about beating your friends and family, having that interaction, and being part of the story.

“Ghostly Manor started from that; we wanted people to be able to enjoy the ride over and over again.”

The attraction is receiving recognition as one of the most ambitious dark ride experiences in the UK. It combines advanced storytelling and gameplay in a compact format, and in a first for the sector, it introduces the ‘S’ size layout of Lagotronics’ innovative Gameplay Theater concept.

Mancey said: “We had space with the 4D cinema, because one of the most expensive parts of building a dark ride is the building around it. With the Gameplay Theater, we thought we could get quite a long experience for quite a small footprint.

“The ride’s theme is a nod to the park's history. We used to have an old manor house at the park, which unfortunately burnt down in 1963. It was nice to bring that theme back in the external environment and the facade that we built.”

Different types of gameplay

Ghostly Manor was developed in a creative and technical partnership between Lagotronics Projects, Mack Rides, Leisure Expert Group, and Themics Philippines. Christie delivered the ride’s immersive visuals.

“We were working with Mack Rides developing the Gameplay Theatre, and that’s when we had the idea to measure the building that was available and see if it would be a fit,” said Beumers.

Mancey added:

“The most important thing was the space and whether the ride would fit, and if we could get the pre-show and queue line in. After that, we started talking about the content and the theme. Dad [Richard Mancey, managing director of Paultons Park] had always wanted a haunted house attraction, so that was settled, but we wanted to put our own twist on it.

“The theme needed to be simple enough to be explained without a pre-show; guests could enter it without any prior knowledge of the backstory and still enjoy the ride.”

Visitors to Ghostly Manor at Paultons Park learn about the exploits of famed ghost hunter Dr. Kinley

Fitting the Ghostly Manor technology into a small footprint had its challenges, Beumers said, “especially if you want to put in a lot of theming, plus video, projection mapping and animatronics”.

“We made it happen,” he said. “It was a great achievement. The effects are great, and the overall experience is off the charts, especially because of the different types of gameplay.”

To distinguish the dark ride from a typical interactive shooting attraction, Paultons Park collaborated with Leisure Expert Group to develop a strong and engaging storyline.

Visitors to Ghostly Manor learn about the exploits of famed ghost hunter Dr. Kinley. He is off searching for an elusive ice ghost at the North Pole and has invited friends to tour his manor while he's away.

The ghosts escape the manor, and guests are tasked with capturing them utilising interactive tools called ‘Phantom Phasers’.

A strong and engaging storyline

“This is one of the benefits of using our own IP. We could really tailor the story that Leisure Expert Group created for us. Our marketing team took it, fleshed it out, and gave Dr. Kinley a backstory and really delved into it. Then we could pick out certain elements of that and drop it into the pre-shows really easily,” said Mancey.

“We run what's called a rolling pre-show, so there's no hard stop. You don't stop and wait for the show and then walk through – the video is always playing.”

He added: “We really worked hard to bring people into the world of Dr Kinley and give him a story and explain it… We’ve had some great feedback, and it’s really worked.”

For a seamless guest experience, operators should also ensure that the ride is intuitive and easy to navigate.

“If you present people to the attraction blind, then it's far more difficult to efficiently load them onto the ride. Guests need to know where to enter the attraction, where they are supposed to sit, and when they're meant to pick up their blaster,” Mancey said.

Beumers added: “A ride needs to be intuitive. When people enter, they have to immediately understand what to do, which was quite difficult in this attraction, because we are using different types of interactivity.

“Players are shooting at decoration, animatronics, projection mapping, and full media screens, and all of them provide a different type of feedback. This makes this attraction very interesting and surprising, but it also gives it a less intuitive gameplay.

"On the other hand, it opens up the door for a lot of repeat visits, because every time you re-ride this attraction, you learn new things and see new things.

“It's always about finding balance and trying to achieve something new with different types of gameplay, but still being intuitive and providing the best interactive feedback that is possible. That is the ultimate goal.”

Ghostly Manor is an innovative and interactive attraction at Paultons Park in the UK

Returning to repeat ridership, Mancey said: “Re-rideability was key to us, because we wanted an evergreen attraction”.

“It works in August, at Halloween and over Christmas. The theme is really strong, and people have been on it hundreds of times to try and get the high score.

“We love that people are enjoying the ride over and over again.”

Beumers added: “It’s also great marketing when people start to discuss online what they’ve seen, what they’ve achieved, and what Easter eggs they’ve found.”

“I've seen people posting guides on how to get the high score,” said Mancey. “It's amazing that people love it.”

Innovative Gameplay Theater concept

The innovative Gameplay Theater format features continually rotating vehicles, each carrying eight passengers back-to-back with interactive devices. Riders move between the 180-degree scenes to unveil new worlds with every turn, each with “different layers of difficulty”, Beumers said.

“That enables people to really compete with each other, whether they’re 10 years old or 40 years old. Every age group or every person, whether they are experienced or not, is able to win, which is something that lasts and keeps the memory alive. Everyone leaves smiling.”

Mancey said: “For us, it was ensuring that guests couldn’t fail. There’s no failure state and no minimum score. As people leave the ride, they shouldn’t feel frustrated because they found the gun difficult to use or couldn’t hit the targets.”

Still, attractions should be competitive in order to attract repeat visitors. “It’s a very delicate balance finding that sweet spot of a ride that's easy to enjoy but still rewarding to come back,” Mancey said.

“Our guests absolutely love Ghostly Manor. It’s had rave reviews and won multiple awards over the past year, which we’re really proud of. In the future, we’d definitely look to do something similar.”

Dark rides: a good investment

Beumers said: “A dark ride is a good investment. Guests love them; they are very popular. People, especially youngsters, are used to playing video games at home, online. Another type of gameplay – a different experience in a digital environment in a park – is something that people love.

“In the past, it was difficult to market dark rides for parks because they are in a building, not visible attractions like a roller coaster, which really stands out. Nowadays, using existing or self-made IPs with online marketing works like a charm.”

In addition, with the Gameplay Theatre, “we have developed a much smaller attraction than a regular dark ride, and more affordable”, he said. “It needs less space and can be installed in an existing building.”

Turning to the future of parks and attractions, Bakenie said: “What we’re seeing at Christie is the integration of live action set pieces and media. Patrons are so sophisticated these days, and they’re growing up with games, so you can’t just rely on one technology. You have to blend technologies together.

“There are so many elements packed into the Gameplay Theatre at Ghostly Manor, in such a small footprint. It’s a ride that people will want to go on year after year, and still enjoy it, and not see all the elements.”

What sets Ghostly Manor at Paultons Park apart is its seamless integration of gameplay and storytelling

Mancey added: “There is such a thing as a winning formula, and dark rides have got to be fun. I think we did a great job at integrating physical sets and screens, and I think that will become more and more important. A ride that is too screen-heavy breaks the immersion.

“Also, in the future, dark rides may need to be modular. It may need to be easier to update the content, and to offer a different experience for every ride.”

Beumers said: “In general, immersion is the key word.

“What we are doing is trying to constantly have new and better technologies to immerse visitors. We already have LED screens, projection mapping, multiple layers of video technology, trackless vehicles which use different paths along the ride. There’s a lot of speculation about AI and AR, but both of those need to be operable.”

Creating an immersive story for families

Ultimately, Mancey said, “people want to enjoy time with their family, which becomes more challenging as more technologies are around, and as kids enjoy time on screens”.

“We were cautious of that when we were designing this ride; that we weren’t just throwing kids back in front of screens again, and instead were creating an immersive story around them that they could enjoy with their family.

“That’s the essence of attractions and theme parks in general. Personally, I can’t see that changing too much in the future.”