outbackjack Posted June 27, 2011 Posted June 27, 2011 (edited) Why don't parks put in more dark rides (not indoor coasters)? Simple question, but so frustrating for a DR fan like myself. Are they very expensive, could that be why? Most parks have their token one.....and that's it. If you are like me, you ALWAYS go on the dark rides at any park. Always. Not a question. Thank goodness for Disney, the dark ride king. Never go to SFOG without hitting Monsters. Never go to Carowinds without hitting Boo Blasters. Holiday World-Gobbler Getaway several times. Maybe it's the AC, maybe it's the out of the sun, maybe it's the relaxing pace, but my wife and I, and our thrill seeking kids, LOVE riding dark rides. Cheesy, campy, whatever, it doesn't matter. Never miss "Castle" when we go to Lake Winnie. I can't fathom why Busch Gardens FL doesn't have even 1. Dollywood-1 Sea World-1 (kinda) SFOG-1 Carowinds -1 Hershey-1 Love Kennywood with their 2. Cedar Point -0!!! Kings -1 I'd love for every park to have a haunted house and a shooting ride. Man what I wouldn't give to have 4 and 5 at these parks instead of the overkill of coasters. Am I loco or do others wish for more dark rides at these parks? Edited June 27, 2011 by ernierocker
YoshiFan Posted June 27, 2011 Posted June 27, 2011 Both my home parks (Dorney and Great Adventure) don't have dark rides. My most wanted rides for both parks is a dark ride, a standard or an interactive one. I have heard a few reasons why. In Dorney's case, Cedar Fair is supposedly against dark rides which would make sense considering they removed Journey to the Center of the Earth as soon as they took over the park and that Cedar Point also has no dark ride. The other reasons I have heard is capacity which I think is just an excuse since a park could get vehicles like Reese's at Hershey that seats 8 people at once (2 cars of 4), or an omnimover type ride. The other reason I heard is that if a park gets rough crowds, they are worried about people damaging the rides. I think that could be solved by using lap bars again like Reese's at Hershey.
outbackjack Posted June 27, 2011 Author Posted June 27, 2011 Interesting reasons, but they work at Disney. Maybe one of these parks could decide to add a dark ride or two over a 14th coaster They always have a nice crowd, so they must be popular.
Wingwright Posted June 27, 2011 Posted June 27, 2011 I was devastated when they took out Kingdom of the Dinosaurs at Knotts. And I still get bummed out when I walk past that empty building.
ernierocker Posted June 27, 2011 Posted June 27, 2011 (edited) (Assuming you mean U.S. parks) I think the main reason is there just isn't enough demand for dark rides in the bigger U.S. parks. The parks are spending the money on what they think will get them the best return for their buck and for the longest time that was coasters. (Or at least that was the mindset of the thrill parks) The highest concentration of dark rides in the U.S. are at the boardwalk/fair type parks (Morey's Piers, Rye's Playland) and maybe people associate them as being corny carnival rides? I personally love the cheesy factor of a good dark ride, but that's just my personal preference. I would love to see the Pandora Box and Kuka Arm technology find its way into more U.S. parks in the future. Of course, the parks that have the capital and the likelihood to put these rides in are your Universal and Disney parks. BGW was really the first outside those parks to do a major dark ride but the success of Darkastle didn't convince the Cedar Fair or Six Flags parks to follow suit. P.S. I edited the subject of your topic title to make it more clear what this thread is about. Edited June 27, 2011 by ernierocker
DirkFunk Posted June 27, 2011 Posted June 27, 2011 Disneyland has as many dark rides as some geographical regions. Its not an issue of "big parks don't want them" necessarily as much as there are liability and cost issues involved that make them unappealing. Stunts and animatronics have to be maintained constantly, the rides are subject to damaging vandalism at what is probably a greater rate than anything else that would be at a park, and any time you have people in a building, you have to worry about getting them out should the need arise (see also: Great Adventure's Haunted House going up in flames and taking 8 people with it).
outbackjack Posted June 27, 2011 Author Posted June 27, 2011 Thanks...and yes, I did mean US parks. What I don't get it these places that have the mindset that there isn't a demand .....while Disney is the most in demand park around and they are loaded with dark rides. That's a good point about upkeep.....although those florescent dark rides can't have that much upkeep, compared to the highly intricate computer systems on specialized coasters.
DirkFunk Posted June 27, 2011 Posted June 27, 2011 Again, its a cost thing with regional theme parks. For the price of a family friendly dark ride like what Monster Mansion would cost from scratch today, you can have a whole new kiddie land section like Dorney's redone Planet Snoopy. Or you can build a water park.
outbackjack Posted June 27, 2011 Author Posted June 27, 2011 Makes sense. Seems something like Gobbler Getaway wouldn't have been a huge expense, but I guess it's more than I think. I can understand how a water indoor ride from scratch would be quite the cost. That stinks because they are so fun (and cold) on summer days. Did anyone here get to ride Flooded Mine at Dollywood, I just missed it and am so disappointed.
ernierocker Posted June 27, 2011 Posted June 27, 2011 Did anyone here get to ride Flooded Mine at Dollywood, I just missed it and am so disappointed. Yes, but you can still ride the Flooded Mine at Silver Dollar City. Not completely sure if they were carbon copies though. Here is a thread about the Flooded Mine at Dollywood that might interest you: http://www.themeparkreview.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=26479
Velo_editor Posted June 27, 2011 Posted June 27, 2011 I love dark rides and definitely wish there were more of them. I thankfully had the chance to ride the Flooded Mine that used to be at Dollywood. And my favorite still has to be the old Speelunker's Cave at SFOT. I'm a sucker for any mine/cave motif ride. I always think of dark rides as a nice, brief escape from the summer heat. Of course lots of others do as well, so the lines tend to be long. Thank goodness for flash passes!
DirkFunk Posted June 27, 2011 Posted June 27, 2011 Shoot 'em up dark rides remove some of the issues but add others - you don't worry about vandalism so much any more because people are busy shooting things. On the other hand, you now have to maintain the targets and guns, which get a work out. They're also still pricey. You spend $3 million on a dark ride and that might not seem like a lot, but it buys a lot of Dartron kiddie rides or water slide towers from ProSlide.
outbackjack Posted June 27, 2011 Author Posted June 27, 2011 Great read. Thanks so much. Funny to read (in 2006) peoples thoughts on the "new" Eurofighter coming to DW, where it would be, etc. And to hear the water moccasins legend brought back up......those that went to DW last year saw the old Flooded Mine cars saved and on display in the building right next to Daredevil Falls...this year they are selling wooden furniture in that building.
DarienLaker Posted June 27, 2011 Posted June 27, 2011 Darien Lake used have an indoor roller coaster called "Nightmare at Phantom Cave" that was in the dark and the building that house the coaster is now a show theatre.
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