Thrills from the dark
When it comes to outdoor rides, you know exactly what you’re getting into; it’s all right there in the open.
But when it comes to dark rides, it’s what you don’t know that’s so appealing
Appearing as early as the 19th century, dark rides are indoor attractions in which passengers aboard guided vehicles travel through specially lit scenes that typically contain animation, sound, music and special effects.
Dark rides use the traditional trains, but also boats, cable cars and monorails. The choice of the means of transport depends on factors such as the effects and the excitement that the operator wants to transmit to the passengers, the location of the ride and the hourly capacity of the attraction.
The goal of the dark ride is to transport the audience somewhere fantastic; regardless of the physical footprint of the ride, the attraction must create the illusion of greater space.
Over the past decade, the dark ride’s ability to immerse guests in powerful ways and move riders through enhanced narratives has grown exponentially. Immersive design has always been a key part of a dark ride, and it is the interaction between improved technology and the increased integration of immersive media that offers endless solutions to create new types of experiences.
Vehicle technology advancements have also played a key role. Vehicles have steadily increased in terms of movement available, adding multiple axes of motion and moving through practical sets complete with 3D visuals and 4D effects.
Today, dark rides are continuing to leverage incredible technological innovations to push the boundaries of what’s possible and deliver increasingly impactful narrative experiences. These experiences can even take place in smaller, more confined spaces, helping make optimal use of a park’s resources without sacrificing impact.
Dark rides have become one of the leading drawcards in permanent amusement parks: valuable rides, the results of large investments which due to their high-tech components and their spectacular nature, appeal to a wide range of people.
Dark ride
This interactive Dark Ride that combines a variety of art and story, engineering with emerging technology, and the epitome thrill of entertainment is another marvelous creation from Preston&Barbieri, specially developed for the commercial purposes of amusement theme parks and recreational leisure sectors. Much of the thrill of this ride is in the factor of allowing the riders to be involved directly in the storyline of the attraction. Watching out for the targets throughout the entire adventurous ride and aiming to shoot them down instantly before the vehicle slides ahead on its track by a hairbreadth and away from the view of these adversary targets. Every passenger’s vehicle is equipped with hand-held or vehicle-mounted light guns on this ride. It is a rip-roaring adventure ride with lots and lots of shooting. Every successful shooting on the target will trigger off a sequence of stimulated animation such a flashing lights of victory or falling off the motion of the moving targets.
WHY PRESTON & BARBIERI
We know exactly what customers need.
We deliver attractions to major parks around the world every year, developing customized projects together with the most important players on the market.
We guarantee the best Italian quality and attention to detail in every single part of our production.
| VEHICLE FEATURES | |
|---|---|
| Mass of empty vehicle | 700 kg |
| Plan dimensions | 2.1 x 2.0 m |
| Length | 2.1 m |
| Height | 1.5 m |
| Height of the first step from the ground level | 0.4 m |
| Permissible rotation | 360° |
| Capacity (the fibreglass design can be modified to carry 6 adults) | 8 vehicles, 4 passengers each |
| Envelope diameter (3m with 6 passengers) | 2.6 m |
| Traction power | 0.75 kW |
| Rotation power | 0.37 kW |
| Restraint device | Collective lapbar |
| Wheels | Pivoting |
| Coating | C4H painting |
| Fiberglass | Firecare system 4 |
| Optional | Seat vibration; sound box under the seat |
| TRACK FEATURES | |
|---|---|
| Type | Single blade |
| Length | 90 m |
| Min radius | 1.5 m |
| Maintenance (the maintenance area can be in any place because pivoting wheels allow the vehicle to move freely) | Switch track to exit the loop |
| Coating | C4H painting |
| ELECTRICAL FEATURES | |
|---|---|
| Main control cabinet | 20 kW; 400 Vac; 3Ph + PE |
| Vehicle control cabinet | 2 kW; 230 Vac; 1ph |
| Main PLC | Siemens serie 1500 |
| Vehicle PLC | Siemens serie 1200 |
| Inverter for rotation | Siemens 0.75 kW |
| Inverter for traction | Siemens 1.5 kW |
| SAFETY FUNCTIONS | |
| Dispatch - STO inverters (unexpected start) | |
| Overspeed - invertes | |
| Entrance and exit gates - safety inductive sensors | |
| Emergency doors - safety RFID sensor | |
| Anti-collision system - safety encoder | |
| E-stop emergency / double contator | |
| Stop | |
| Communication system - R-COAX |
| Max linear velocity* | 1 m/s |
| Min linear velocity* | 0.25 m/s |
| Max linear acceleration* | 0.21 m/s2 |
| Max angular velocity** | 4 rpm |
| Min angular velocity** | 1.25 rpm |
| Max angular acceleration** | 0.35 rad/s2 |
| Certification | TÜV Sud |
| Maintenance | No planned MT nor UT |
| Control system | Management of: pre-show doors, turnstiles for THRC, show doors, emergency exits; Connection to: park fire&gas system, easy fine-tuning with show system |
| Station | Not necessary |
*linear limit can slightly vary according the disiderable value
**angular limit can slightly vary according the disiderable value
