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What is your favourite use of special effects on an attraction?

Matt N

TS Member
Favourite Ride
Mako (SeaWorld Orlando)
Hi guys. When building an immersive attraction, many parks use special effects in order to build up the experience. But I’d be very intrigued to know; what is your favourite use of special effects on an attraction?


Personally, I’d have to plump for Revenge of the Mummy at Universal Studios Florida. I know that a lot of the ride’s spectacle relies on one type of effect (fire), but I have to say that I think this attraction’s use of fire is so effective that it just makes the whole thing work incredibly; that scene where the ceiling lights on fire especially is sublime!


But what would you say is your favourite use of special effects on an attraction?
 
The Tim Burton Rapids? These sound intriguing...
It's just a nickname Tom gave it. The effects when we did it were all so bad it was somewhat enjoyable. I'd also liken the experience to what being on acid may be like. DISCLAIMER: I've never done acid, and have zero intention of doing so.
 
It's just a nickname Tom gave it. The effects when we did it were all so bad it was somewhat enjoyable. I'd also liken the experience to what being on acid may be like. DISCLAIMER: I've never done acid, and have zero intention of doing so.
Ah, are you on about Mystery River, as it used to be known?
 
Not so much a special effect in the same category as projection, flames or lighting, but I don’t think we can have this thread without discussing the big temple reveal scene in Poseidon’s Fury at IOA. It’s the first time in a very very long time where I was totally wowed by something happening in front of me.

Honourable mention to the water vortex too.

Beyond that, I also have to say I love the laser projections in Mystic Manor. Such a simple way of achieving a 3D effect, shining the points of light onto thin hanging strips of scrim that you can’t actually see.
 
The ring of fire on Valhalla was always really impressive.

Love the bit on Symbolica when the whale breaks the glass with its tale and water starts to drip. Such an ace combination of practical and special effects.
 
The many uses of Peppers Ghost. The illusion that keeps on giving, with new technology only making it better. It's hard to belive it appears in everything from the Haunted Mansion to Shanghai's Pirates and still continues to impress.
 
I especially like its use in Derren Brown's Ghost Train (the preshow). The way a virtual Derren Brown plays with a real set is certainly a clever one.
The illusion is also used so dead singers can perform in real concerts. E.g. the 2014 Billboard awards featured a performance by Michael Jackson despite him being dead for 5 years.
 
Valhalla’s a stunning ride. Because large scale special effects are so expensive, rides that use them normally have large vehicles or a big audience. On Valhalla you’ve got all of this fire, but the boats are quite small, so it feels like an intimate experience. Intimacy and special effects aren’t something that normally go together. From a business point of view triggering some of the effects for an 8 person boat isn’t very cost effective, but from a guest experience point of view, it’s very impressive.
 
I really like the use of Pepper's Ghost Derren Brown on DBGT too. It's a shame the rest of the attraction failed to continue in that vein.

The disappearing corridor effect on the original Twilight Zone: Terror Of Terror is absolutely sublime. There are some jokes about acid earlier in this thread, and that's not much like it either, but it is genuinely psychedelic and baffling, properly eerie and magical.

Valhalla (V1) use of fire is ludicrous, and @Funcone makes a great observation above in noting that the scale ratio of the boat to the vast explosion that really sticks with you. Temple Del Fuego at PortAventura was/is the only other attraction I've been on that made me feel a genuine sense of danger in terms of physical effects, the amount of fire in a relatively intimate space is ludicrous.

Not a specific special effect, but the Vekoma Mad House technique, as perfected on Hex, is a timeless illusion.
 
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