A dark ride or ghost train is an indoor amusement ride on which passengers aboard guided vehicles travel through specially lit scenes that typically contain animation, sound, music and special effects. Appearing as early as the 19th century, such exhibits include tunnels of love, scary themes and interactive stories. Dark rides are intended to tell stories with thematic elements that immerse riders. Not only does the queue tell a story, but the story unfolds throughout the attraction.
The Great Movie Ride was a dark ride located at Disney's Hollywood Studios at the Walt Disney World Resort in Bay Lake, Florida, United States. Designed by Walt Disney Imagineering, the attraction employed the use of Audio-Animatronic figures, practical sets, live actors, special effects, and projections to recreate iconic scenes from twelve classic films throughout motion picture history. The attraction—which debuted with the park on May 1, 1989—was located inside the park's replica of Grauman's Chinese Theatre, one of Hollywood's most famous movie palaces.
Buzz Lightyear's Space Ranger Spin is an interactive shooting dark ride attraction located in the Tomorrowland area of the Disney theme parks. Designed by Walt Disney Imagineering, this attraction combines a carnival game and a third-generation Omnimover system. It is inspired by Disney/Pixar's Toy Story franchise, and contains several elements loosely based on the cartoon series Buzz Lightyear of Star Command.
The Themed Entertainment Association (TEA) is an international non-profit association that represents creators, developers, designers and producers of themed entertainment. It is also noted for its THEA Awards, which were founded in 1995 and are distributed annually in a range of themed entertainment categories.
Pooh's Hunny Hunt is a unique trackless dark ride located at Tokyo Disneyland. It is based on the 1977 Disney animated film The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh.
The Amazing Adventures of Spider-Man is a 3D motion simulator and dark ride located at Universal Islands of Adventure in Orlando, Florida. Based on the Marvel Comics superhero Spider-Man, it was originally built for Islands of Adventure's grand opening in 1999. A second version of the attraction also existed at Universal Studios Japan from 2004 to 2024. The attraction has a hybrid configuration that combines motion vehicles with 3D projection and elaborate physical sets.
Sally Corporation is a dark ride and animatronic manufacturing company based in Jacksonville, Florida, United States. The company serves amusement parks, attractions, museums, and retail clients worldwide. It offers complete design/build services from concept to installation, including scripting, audio and music production, props and sets, lighting and special effects, electronics, and project management. It is Stationed in Jacksonville Florida United States
Men in Black: Alien Attack is a shooting interactive dark ride located at Universal Studios Florida in Orlando, Florida, based on the film, Men in Black, itself based on the original comic book of the same name created by Lowell Cunningham. The ride opened in 2000 after a five-year development process. The ride has generally been well received, winning an Outstanding Achievement award from the Themed Entertainment Association.
Scooby-Doo's Haunted Mansion is a Scooby-Doo-themed interactive dark ride series created by Sally Corporation based on Hanna-Barbera's long-running animated television series. The ride transports guests in a vehicle equipped with light guns that are used to shoot at various targets to collect points throughout the ride. At its peak, the ride model was located at seven amusement parks around the world including Canada's Wonderland, the location of the first installation that debuted in 2000. Initially known under a variety of names, the ride's Scooby-Doo theme has been replaced by Boo Blasters on Boo Hill at several locations and removed from others. The last remaining installation is La Aventura de Scooby-Doo at Parque Warner Madrid in Madrid, Spain.
Muppet Mobile Lab is a free-roving, audio-animatronic entertainment attraction designed by Walt Disney Imagineering, that has been tested at Disney California Adventure Park in Anaheim, California, at Walt Disney World in Orlando, Florida and at Hong Kong Disneyland in Hong Kong.
Space Fantasy – The Ride is a spinning roller coaster at Universal Studios Japan in Osaka, Japan. The ride opened on March 18, 2010, as a replacement for the E.T. Adventure dark ride. The ride is themed to a journey through space and features an array of special effects and immersive theming including interactive projection screens, on-board audio, lasers and fibre optics.
Batman Adventure: The Ride is the name for a series of Batman-themed motion simulator rides installed at various Warner Bros.-branded parks around the world. The ride was first installed at Warner Bros. Movie World on the Gold Coast, Australia in 1992, before being installed at Warner Bros. Movie World in Bottrop, Germany and Parque Warner Madrid in Madrid, Spain in 1996 and 2002, respectively. The installations in Australia and Spain later closed in 2011 and 2014, respectively. The ride is still operating today at the German park, but has been rethemed to Time Riders after the park lost its Warner Bros. licenses in 2004.
Justice League: Alien Invasion 3D is an interactive dark ride created by the Sally Corporation that is located at Warner Bros. Movie World on the Gold Coast, Australia. It opened on 22 September 2012 and requires riders to shoot their laser blasters at targets in order to defeat an alien threat. The ride is touted as the world's first Justice League-themed ride and the first ride of its type to feature 3D projections. Justice League: Alien Invasion 3D has been well received with many praising the ride's special effects and immersive theming.
Lost Kingdom Adventure is a Sally Corporation Interactive Dark Ride located at Legoland theme parks around the globe. Locations include Legoland California, Legoland Windsor, Legoland Billund, Legoland Florida, Legoland Deutschland, and Legoland Malaysia.
ETF Ride Systems is a Dutch manufacturer of amusement ride systems. It was founded in 1999 and is owned by the ETF Group. The company has manufactured both tracked and trackless systems for both dark and outdoor rides.
Thor's Hammer is a motion-based 3D dark ride at the Tusenfryd theme park in Norway. Themed after Norse mythology, the ride combines motion-based ride vehicles by ETF Ride Systems with 3D projections and physical scenery by P&P Projects.
Justice League: Battle for Metropolis is an Interactive dark ride located at several Six Flags theme parks across North America. The ride is a collaboration between Sally Dark Rides, Alterface, Oceaneering International, and Pure Imagination Studios, and is themed to the Justice League, DC's famous team of superheroes.
Star Wars: Rise of the Resistance is an attraction at Star Wars: Galaxy's Edge at Disney's Hollywood Studios and Disneyland. The attraction—a combined trackless dark ride, walk-through, motion simulator, and drop ride system—puts guests into the middle of a battle between the Resistance and the First Order. Featuring four interworking ride systems in conjunction with Audio-Animatronics, practical sets, projection mapping and screen-based media, Rise of the Resistance is one of the most complex and advanced attractions designed by Walt Disney Imagineering.
Maus au Chocolat is an interactive dark ride that opened 9 June 2011 in Phantasialand, Germany. The ride is situated in the Berlin area of the park.
Tiki-Waka is a steel family roller coaster located at Walibi Belgium in Wavre, Belgium. The Polynesian-themed coaster opened for the 2018 season as the headlining attraction in the newly re-themed Exotic World area, and kickstarted a multi-year, €100,000 expansion plan.
