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2019: Scandinavia & Snorri Touren

Craig said:
There was very much a tendancy to add layer upon layer of theming over the years on their dark rides, especially as @Rose Of Dawn says - on Geischterschloss. There was never a desire to remove old theming, often to the detriment of the ride experience.
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Geisterschloss seems like a messy patchwork, but seems like it could be a real cranky classic if the original ride hadnt been lost under so many added layers. Maybe its different for other attractions but I think the random additions and the clash of digital effects is to the detriment of Geisterschloss.
 
TakeYourMedicine said:
Geisterschloss seems like a messy patchwork, but seems like it could be a real cranky classic if the original ride hadnt been lost under so many added layers. Maybe its different for other attractions but I think the random additions and the clash of digital effects is to the detriment of Geisterschloss.
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Geisterschloss has an awful mix of three different styles of effects/animatronics:

* Classic 'grotesque' animatronics from when the ride first opened (which make up most of the ride)
* Newer, cleaner animatronics from recent years (eg Jack the Ripper or Spook Me!)
* Happy Family screens (in the queueline and dotted throughout the ride itself), and Baba Yaga at the very start

All three clash heavily, and some effects are almost built on top of one another, leading to a truly awful ride experience. There's little redeeming Geisterschloss as it stands, and if it wasn't for how anal EP fans can be about any changes to the park I would expect a new retheme like Batavia to be imminent.

Batavia did have an overload of animatronics, some of which were the dumbest EP has ever made (tigers with light-up eyes?), but it was at least a consistent experience. Though part of me does wonder if we'll see animals with torches for eyes returning as a throwback to the old ride.
 
I'd love a restoration of Geisterschloss to its original scenes, sans the scenes lifted directly from Haunted Mansion (the singing busts, and the hitchikers which have now gone anyway), with repaired animations.

A really fresh but old school theatrical feel. Leave the more modern dark rides to other attractions rather than a patchwork of cheap alterations in one.
 

If we turn the picture around slightly, it looks like a ride vehicle travelling though a scene in a dark ride.. hmmmm. :D

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Trackless would make sense because you can fit quite a substantial ride into a really tiny area.
Last month I went behind the scenes of one which fit into the space of a shop unit at a mall. Because the ride could push into a scene then reverse out again a well thought out layout could seem far bigger than it is.

The downside is to make the experience immersive and avoided ride vehicles catching up with each other the rides capacity will take a hit. I wouldn't expect this ride to be anywhere near Europa's normally high standard. But I don't see this as a headline ride, more a hidden gem that they'll downplay it's presence.
 
If it is that, Europa do need it. Their dark rides at the moment are poor, generally falling into either a homemade feel (Bench, Piccolo Mondo) or Disney rip-offs (Geisterschloss, Voletarium). Both are not the best representations for a park of EP’s quality.

I hope Pirates will address this and not continue to ape Disney, because it inevitably draws comparisons which are not good. I’m hopeful that this surprise will also go some way to fixing the situation.

Arthur demonstrates what EP can deliver nowadays when they invest the money and don’t try and blatantly copy Disney. More of the same would fill a glaring omission to another wise excellent line-up.
 
A few images posted on Europa Park’s Facebook page today showing progress on the Scandinavian alley facades, as well as the Fjord Rafting tunnel. :)

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venny said:
If it is that, Europa do need it. Their dark rides at the moment are poor, generally falling into either a homemade feel (Bench, Piccolo Mondo) or Disney rip-offs (Geisterschloss, Voletarium). Both are not the best representations for a park of EP’s quality.
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Voletarium is one of the highest quality indoor attractions of any park in Europe. There are, what, 5 or 6 Flying theatres in Europe now? Are all Flying Theatres just ripping off Disney

EP aren't about to remove their old, quaint little dark rides nor adopt a different approach. The park have a deep passion for 'generations' and won't simply get rid or totally alter rides.

If the Disney comparison or shoddy old dark ride thing was actually an issue, their guest figures wouldn't be where they are. I think it's far more an issue for some enthusiasts than other guests

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AstroDan said:
Voletarium is one of the highest quality indoor attractions of any park in Europe. There are, what, 5 or 6 Flying theatres in Europe now? Are all Flying Theatres just ripping off Disney
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No, because all those flying theatres don’t use exactly the same gimmicks as Soarin’. They don’t have a golf ball flying at your face, neither do they have exactly the same fireworks finale as Soarin’ (except the fireworks are above EP rather than Disneyland/Epcot).

By all means use the same ride system, but surely EP should have outgrown the stage of blatantly copying these Disney elements, rather than developing their own unique ideas; just about anything could have flown at the screen but it had to be a golf ball.

It’s small, but it inevitably draws comparison, just as the disembodied heads in Geisterschloss do or the completely out of place Eurostar sphere.
 
venny said:
No, because all those flying theatres don’t use exactly the same gimmicks as Soarin’. They don’t have a golf ball flying at your face, neither do they have exactly the same fireworks finale as Soarin’ (except the fireworks are above EP rather than Disneyland/Epcot).

By all means use the same ride system, but surely EP should have outgrown the stage of blatantly copying these Disney elements, rather than developing their own unique ideas; just about anything could have flown at the screen but it had to be a golf ball.

It’s small, but it inevitably draws comparison, just as the disembodied heads in Geisterschloss do or the completely out of place Eurostar sphere.
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I don't dispute everything you've said, but given the nearest Soarin' is several thousand miles away... I have done 5 Flying Theatees and they all follow a very similar pattern.

Regarding the Eurosat ball, Geister and Piraten. Well I am kind of over it.

EP aren't about to change it all.

:)

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Another concept from Michael Mack, hard to tell but it looks like it could be part of the queue line?



Sounds as if we could be hearing more details later this week!
 
This ride will clearly be featuring in the 2019 Saisonstart video on Thursday.

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Interested to see how they incorporate Snorri into the park and how they’ll use the myths and legends in terms of ride stories
 
I suspect the new ride will tell the story of Rulantica, well a basic version, using Snorri as a key character. It's quite clever actually, as it could help kids and their parents alike want to find out more and experience Rulantica. And we get yet another dark ride in the park.

Win-win!
 
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