Tested: The Tunnel of Love, Pirates of the Caribbean, carnival haunted houses--if a ride involves its passengers sitting in the dark, stuck in a small car, it can trace its history back to a type of ride called the "old mill." Old mill rides started popping up in amusement parks more than a century ago, around the year 1900. Old mills were some of the most expensive rides of the time, because they had wooden canal systems carrying water through them, so that passengers could sit in small wooden boats to be swept through the ride. Old mills were prone to leaks and breakdowns, but they cemented the idea of riding through the dark waiting to see something, be it a scary mannequin or something funny or something romantic. From the old mill, the "dark ride" was born.
3 comments:
It would have been nice to see more pictures accompanying this article; a gallery of images featuring different types of dark rides would help the reader to visualize the history of this common type of ride. I, like any other self-respecting theme park lover, have been on plenty of dark rides, but I after reading this article I feel as though I have only encountered a narrow portion of the wide spectrum they cover. Disneyland rides are my go-to: Pirates of the Caribbean, Alice and Wonderland, and all the Fantasyland rides. But I am completely missing out on all of the true, original dark rides. It would be wonderful to experience such a ride made with low tech animatronics and sound effects played from a record. I shall have to make more of an effort to switch up the theme parks I frequent so I can try something new.
I wasn't aware that these types of rides had a name associated with them, granted I had also never really thought about needing a name for them. It's interesting that they talk about the history of the Dark Rides, but I would have liked to explore more about the psychology of the rides and why taking away the light of the ride makes it creepier, or whichever emotion the ride is supposed to enhance. I'd be interested in seeing what one of these original Dark Rides would be like, that would be an interesting time. But I think I would want to know it's one of the originals, otherwise I would probably be bored and not interested in the ride.
This article was interesting because so many people associate dark rides with Disney, and most of them don't even realize that the dark ride was invented far before Disney opened Pirates of the Caribbean. However, The new dark ride is much different than the horror inspired versions that were created in the 1920s. It's interesting how the "darkness" of the original rides was morphed into something fun and childish for Disney. After growing up on rides like Pirates, the little mermaid, and snow white, it is hard to go through dark rides that are not made by Disney because everything else seems less authentic.
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