Barco, the global technology company, has provided projection technology to help bring Sally Corporation’s Sesame Street Dark Ride to life.
Barco is proud to have been involved in the project at PortAventura World, where Sally Corporation has created the first Sesame Street dark ride in Europe. Guests will enjoy seeing a range of favourite characters during the ride, including life-sized animatronics of Big Bird, Bert and Ernie. As they begin the six-minute ride, Detective Grover introduces the adventure that lies ahead.
The new ride will be a showcase for the park, making use of an IP that is known and loved around the world. Therefore, the dark ride needed a high level of performance including in the projection technology, for which Sally Corporation chose Barco. The 14,000 square foot experience uses 21 UDX-W22 projectors.
Immersive technology
“We were having difficulty finding projectors and lens that met the needs of this amazing project,” says John Stegall, VP of Technical Services at Sally Corporation. “Barco stepped up with solutions and delivered on time getting projectors flown in from all over the globe. Their sales and support staff are truly amazing!”
Throughout the creation, there is a total of eight projection screens, ranging from 30 to 70 feet wide. There are four projection-mapped screens as well as one 90-degree curved screen with animatronic and show element syncing. For one part of the ride, guests get the experience of flying through the Count’s Castle and diving into Oscar’s trashcan, thanks to two 180-degree curved, fully immersive screens. There is also a Hall of Fame scoreboard on a flat screen.
Barco’s UDX-W22 projectors bring a whole range of benefits to these screens, including vivid colour rendering and sharpness. They provide a high-quality result with long-life, as well as a simple design and ease of control.
“Our partner PortAventura World has done an amazing job along with Sally Corporation, in capturing the true essence of the Sesame Street brand and creating an immersive experience that brings our characters to life for park guests,” says Ed Wells, Senior Vice President and Head of International Media and Education, Sesame Workshop.
Barco also recently provided its innovative projection technology to the Vivid Sydney festival, helping to light up the city skyline for a celebration of light, music and ideas.
