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, which unfold throughout the course of the attraction.
Paramount Parks was a subsidiary of National Amusements-owned Viacom, headquartered at its Paramount's Carowinds amusement park in Charlotte, North Carolina. At the time of its acquisition, the company owned and operated five amusement park/water parks, which annually attracted 13 million patrons. Viacom assumed control of the company as part of its acquisition of Paramount Pictures in 1994.
Six Flags St. Louis, originally known as Six Flags Over Mid-America, is an amusement park in Eureka, Missouri, a suburb of St. Louis. Owned and operated by Six Flags, it has eight themed areas with attractions, dining, and live entertainment, many themed with characters from Looney Tunes and other Warner Bros. films and TV shows, DC Comics, and, formerly, Scooby-Doo.
Canada's Wonderland, formerly known as Paramount Canada's Wonderland, is a 330-acre (130 ha) amusement park located in Vaughan, Ontario, a municipality within the Greater Toronto Area. Opened in 1981 by the Taft Broadcasting Company and the Great-West Life Assurance Company, it was the first major theme park in Canada and remains the country's largest. Cedar Fair purchased the park from Paramount Parks in 2006, and they have owned and operated the park since then. In 2019, it was the most-visited seasonal amusement park in North America with an estimated 3.9 million guests. The park still retains this record, with an estimated 3.8 million guests in 2022 amid the COVID-19 pandemic.
Kings Dominion is an amusement park in Doswell, Virginia, United States, twenty miles (30 km) north of Richmond and 75 miles (120 km) south of Washington, D.C. Owned and operated by Six Flags, the 280-acre (1.1 km2) park opened to the public on May 3, 1975, and features more than 60 rides, shows and attractions including 13 roller coasters and a 20-acre (8.1 ha) water park. Its name is derived from the name of its sister park, Kings Island near Cincinnati, and the nickname for the Commonwealth of Virginia, "Old Dominion."
Carowinds is a 407-acre (165 ha) amusement park primarily located in Charlotte, North Carolina. Owned and operated by Six Flags Entertainment Corporation, the park first opened to the public on March 31, 1973. Carowinds straddles the state line between North and South Carolina, adjacent to Interstate 77, with a portion of the park located in Fort Mill, South Carolina. The park has a sign telling guests where the state line lies. It was constructed at a cost of $70 million following a four-year planning period led by Charlotte businessman Earl Patterson Hall. Carowinds also features Carolina Harbor, a 27-acre (11 ha) water park that is included with park admission. Annual events include the Halloween-themed SCarowinds and the Christmas-themed WinterFest.
Scooby-Doo Meets the Boo Brothers is a 1987 animated comedy horror made-for-television film produced by Hanna-Barbera as part of the Hanna-Barbera Superstars 10 series. The two-hour film aired in syndication. It is the first full-length film in the Scooby-Doo franchise.
Hanna-Barbera Land was a theme park based on the cartoons of the Hanna-Barbera animation studio. It was located in the Spring, Texas, United States, north of Houston, and operated for the 1984 and 1985 seasons. After the park's closure following the 1985 season, the rides were sold and the land was reused as a water park, which is now operating as Six Flags Hurricane Harbor SplashTown.
The Funtastic World of Hanna-Barbera was a simulator ride at Universal Studios Florida and one of the park's original attractions. The story line tells that Dick Dastardly and Muttley have kidnapped Elroy Jetson. Yogi Bear and Boo-Boo give chase and the audience is in for the ride of their lives. The attraction opened on June 7, 1990 and closed on October 20, 2002.
Fright Fest is a Halloween-oriented haunt event held annually at Six Flags theme parks in the United States, Canada, and Mexico. It mainly features haunted attractions, themed areas named Scare Zones, and live entertainment.
Scooby-Doo Mystery is the name of two video games released by Acclaim Entertainment in 1995 and licensed by Sunsoft based on the Scooby-Doo franchise. One of the games was released for the Sega Genesis and features a more traditional adventure game-style interface. The other title, released for the Super Nintendo Entertainment System, is an adventure game with platforming elements. Both were released only in North America. In both games, players take control of Shaggy Rogers and Scooby-Doo, who help solve various mysteries with other members of Mystery Incorporated who serve minor roles during gameplay.
Phantom Theater was a dark ride located at Kings Island in Mason, Ohio, United States. Manufactured by Morgan Manufacturing, the ride opened to the public on April 11, 1992. Its design incorporated a continuously moving chain of vehicles similar to Disney's Omnimover ride system. The attraction was furnished with sets and characters created by R&R Creative Amusement Designs, Inc., and it was themed as a haunted, abandoned theater.
Through its history, Hanna-Barbera has operated theme park attractions, mostly as a section in Kings Island, Carowinds, California's Great America, Kings Dominion, Canada's Wonderland, and, recently, Six Flags Great America.
There have been several children's areas at Canada's Wonderland since opening in 1981.
Planet Snoopy is a Peanuts themed area for children at several Six Flags amusement parks.
Ghost Blasters is an interactive dark ride franchise, designed and created by Sally Corporation. The franchise includes many locations at various amusement parks throughout the United States and Canada. Riders on "Ghost Blasters" are equipped with laser guns, as the attraction travels through a themed "haunted manor". The goal of the attraction is to accumulate a high score by aiming and firing at lit targets.
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.
Boo Blasters on Boo Hill is an interactive family dark ride designed and manufactured by Sally Corporation. The ride opened in 2010 at four Six Flags amusement parks — Canada's Wonderland, Carowinds, Kings Dominion, and Kings Island. The ride was a slight alteration and replacement of Scooby-Doo! and the Haunted Castle after Cedar Fair chose to remove all Hanna-Barbera branding from each of their parks by 2010.
Wonder Mountain's Guardian is a 4D, interactive dark ride roller coaster at the Canada's Wonderland amusement park located in Vaughan, Ontario, Canada. Park management first proposed a dark ride located inside Wonder Mountain around 2004. Technology and budget limitations at the time delayed the project's planning and design stages until 2011. The steel track was manufactured by ART Engineering; it is approximately 304.8 metres (1,000 ft) long and has a maximum height of about 18.3 metres (60 ft). The ride also features one of the largest drop tracks in the world reaching a height of 9.1 metres (30 ft).
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.
