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[2024] Europa-Park General Discussion
- Thread starter CSLKenny
- Start date
Llama
TS Member
- Favourite Ride
- Indiana Jones and the Temple of the Forbidden Eye
This is all just conjecture but I think I understand it from at least one perspective and unfortunately it seems like more of a business decision than the future of themed entertainment.
About five years ago Disney announced--but never built--a "black box" attraction that would effectively be a trackless ride in an empty building, with an emphasis on screens and projections such that the entire thing could be changed from one theme or intellectual property to another very quickly and, more importantly, on the cheap.
The comically-named #FLOWRYDE seems like the next iteration of that concept in the sense that there is quite literally nothing physical to it other than a big empty room and a load/unload station. It could change themes overnight, or even halfway through a park day, since nothing physical would need to be altered and you'd only need to switch the ride sequence and the audio-visual component on the goggles. If you already had this ride system installed in your park and suddenly needed to capitalise on a recent hit movie you could probably do so in a matter of months rather than years.
All that said, as great of a business decision as it seems, something that could be replicated at home with a €300 VR headset and a rolling office chair does not seem like it would make an especially memorable or even all that fun ride. The Ratatouille ride is already "trackless vehicle plus screens" combined with a handful of physical sets and I find it boring as sin. To remove all of the physicality entirely and replace it with the generally subpar CGI that is normally found in these types of rides seems like a step in the wrong direction if you're a dark ride fan and not looking at this from a spreadsheet point of view.
About five years ago Disney announced--but never built--a "black box" attraction that would effectively be a trackless ride in an empty building, with an emphasis on screens and projections such that the entire thing could be changed from one theme or intellectual property to another very quickly and, more importantly, on the cheap.
The comically-named #FLOWRYDE seems like the next iteration of that concept in the sense that there is quite literally nothing physical to it other than a big empty room and a load/unload station. It could change themes overnight, or even halfway through a park day, since nothing physical would need to be altered and you'd only need to switch the ride sequence and the audio-visual component on the goggles. If you already had this ride system installed in your park and suddenly needed to capitalise on a recent hit movie you could probably do so in a matter of months rather than years.
All that said, as great of a business decision as it seems, something that could be replicated at home with a €300 VR headset and a rolling office chair does not seem like it would make an especially memorable or even all that fun ride. The Ratatouille ride is already "trackless vehicle plus screens" combined with a handful of physical sets and I find it boring as sin. To remove all of the physicality entirely and replace it with the generally subpar CGI that is normally found in these types of rides seems like a step in the wrong direction if you're a dark ride fan and not looking at this from a spreadsheet point of view.
Tim
TS Member
- Favourite Ride
- Air / Blue Fire
That makes sense and is fascinating to consider.
Another point against it though is that it's still not cheap or easy to create a new experience, just cheaper. Look at Star Tours, that was meant to have the same gimmick, but it ran for decades without the addition of a new adventure, and even when it finally did they still only update it very infrequently. Credit to Mack they do add new VR experiences every few years. But it does add the logistical question; if like Alpen Express you could chose your own adventure would their be a risk of cars colliding unless they stuck to a mostly fixed path anyway? This prohibits them changing modes through the day without briefly closing the ride.
Another point against it though is that it's still not cheap or easy to create a new experience, just cheaper. Look at Star Tours, that was meant to have the same gimmick, but it ran for decades without the addition of a new adventure, and even when it finally did they still only update it very infrequently. Credit to Mack they do add new VR experiences every few years. But it does add the logistical question; if like Alpen Express you could chose your own adventure would their be a risk of cars colliding unless they stuck to a mostly fixed path anyway? This prohibits them changing modes through the day without briefly closing the ride.