Design a Dark Ride!

Brer Panther

Brer Panther

Well-Known Member
Original Poster
This thread was inspired by the "Make a Parade" thread.

The idea is that you can post any ideas for dark rides, for any Disney (or Universal) resort here. And yes, while the focus is mainly on dark rides, you can post your ideas for things like indoor coasters (a la Crush's Coaster) and boat rides (a la It's a Small World) too.
 
mharrington

mharrington

Well-Known Member
I have a great idea for a dark ride! It's one that I have been having trouble with for a long time: a dark ride themed to Mickey Mouse cartoons! It was originally going to be called "Mickey's Fun House" and put in MK's Storybook Circus, but now it will go over where the Pinocchio restaurant and Beauty and the Beast-themed bathrooms are, in "new" Fantasyland. If the backstage stuff at Disneyland is being relocated to accommodate the Star Wars expansion, I guess anything is possible.

I'm having difficulty with it, though, so any help would be great. All I know is that this is based on the Mickey's Madhouse dark ride concept, which was going to be a wild mouse coaster like the Primeval Whirl at the Animal Kingdom. For that reason, this ride will not be a wild mouse coaster, it will just be a regular dark ride. However, it will be a dark ride similar to the Roger Rabbit ride at Disneyland, with a lot of spinning. Maybe the entrance to the ride could look something like this (the same kind of structure intended to house the Mickey Theater for the never-built Mickeyville concept):
6aa5e45cdf7fef50a85a215a1df9b9c5.jpg


It also needs a new name, because I don't think a "fun house" is really conducive to this kind of theme.

Like I said, any help would be great.
 
brb1006

brb1006

Well-Known Member
I'm imagining a two dark rides based on Disney Animated films from the 70's.

The Aristocats: This dark ride has riders riding inside a vehicle resembling a 19th century motorcycle based on the one Edgar rides in the film. The dark ride follows the events of the original movie where guests are taken through various scenes in the film. I'm imagining the animatronics for the cats (Mainly Duchess,Thomas o'Malley,Toulouse,Marie, and Berlio) can have the same facial technology that was used for the seven dwarfs mine train mainly for the eyes. I'm picturing a big room that features the "Everbody Wants To Be A Cat" scene. The building that has the ride can resemble the house where the cats live at along with their owner. I wish I knew what the queue would be like.

The Rescuers: This ride is half motion-simulator and half roller coaster based on The Amazing Spider-Man attractions and Escape From Hogwarts in Universal. This ride takes place after the second film where riders are joined by Miss Bianca and Bernard on a new rescue mission. This ride features new special effects and some old such as water splashing onto riders or their vehicle shaking during certain scenes. The queue has animatronics of the Rescue Aid Society members similar to the queue for Escape From Hogwarts and the leader would make a speech to guests about the mission. The second half has an animatronic Evinrude The Seagull talking to guests about his history with Bianca and Bernard and how they become a rescue team. A screen next to Evinrude has Bianca and Bernard talking to their seagull friend and also talking to guests about their involvement with the latest mission. I don't know what the plot is but i'm picturing it being pretty epic and similar to Down Under but with an even better plot.


I wish I was good with drawing or sketching concept art. Because my ideas and vision on my two dark ride ideas would be great. I hope someone on the forums is good with doing concept art. Especially if they seen both of the films.

I would love some help with this idea. So anyone is free to help with these two ideas.
 
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englanddg

englanddg

One Little Spark...
mharrington said:
Evinrude is a dragonfly, not a seagull.
Click to expand...
Named after an outboard motor, too.

evinrude-oil1.jpg


tumblr_loiigfzZSe1qhigt0o1_500.gif


As a side note, there are no seagulls in the movie. There is an albatross. Orville was in the first movie, and Wilbur (his brother) was in the second. Nods to Orville and Wilbur Wright.
 
mharrington

mharrington

Well-Known Member
Anyway, here are some of my ideas for the Mickey ride...

It would be themed to Mickey cartoons, like the Mickey's Madhouse concept of old, but with some color cartoons thrown in as well as black-and-white. There would be maybe six or seven scenes in the ride. The first would obviously be "Steamboat Willie", though I'm having difficulty with it. The only thing I can think of in terms of plot is something involving Pete and leading Mickey (and by extension, you) on a merry chase through his cartoons, but the idea of kidnapping Minnie is probably too cliched.

My other main challenges right now are how to go from scene to scene (it was suggested to use curtains, for example) and what the ride vehicles should look like. All I know is that it should be in the Mickey color scheme: red, black, yellow.
 
stevehousse

stevehousse

Well-Known Member
I want a dark ride themed to 101 Dalmations. The puppies have just escaped and your are behind the wheel in Cruella DeVils car, chasing and trying to find the puppies. Think monsters inc hide and go seek ride kind of but with the Dalmations! Plus she is a very crazy driver so it would make for a fun layout!
 
brb1006

brb1006

Well-Known Member
englanddg said:
Named after an outboard motor, too.

evinrude-oil1.jpg


tumblr_loiigfzZSe1qhigt0o1_500.gif


As a side note, there are no seagulls in the movie. There is an albatross. Orville was in the first movie, and Wilbur (his brother) was in the second. Nods to Orville and Wilbur Wright.
Click to expand...
I must have mistaken Evinrude with the character who appears in both of the films. I forgot his name but I remember he was the character that flew Bianca and Bernard to far away places along with Orville.
 
orlando678-

orlando678-

Well-Known Member
stevehousse said:
I want a dark ride themed to 101 Dalmations. The puppies have just escaped and your are behind the wheel in Cruella DeVils car, chasing and trying to find the puppies. Think monsters inc hide and go seek ride kind of but with the Dalmations! Plus she is a very crazy driver so it would make for a fun layout!
Click to expand...
Sounds fun, but I think being the role of helpers of Roger and Anita would be better as it might be a bit weird to be the villain( although original) and win from the heroes( the puppies), unless you for some reason loose, which would also be sort of weird.
 
mharrington

mharrington

Well-Known Member
I have no idea what to call the Mickey-themed ride of mine, however. I've been thinking of going back to "Madhouse", but the first and foremost meaning of the word is "a place where insane persons are detained and treated", while the second meaning is "a place of uproar or confusion". My main concern with the name is that I'm actually thinking of replicating it for Disneyland Paris, but in French, the term apparent alludes only to the first meaning: "maison de fous". At least it does according to Bing Translator.

I'm thinking of maybe breaking off my idea for this ride into its own thread, for fear of it getting lost in the shuffle.
 
englanddg

englanddg

One Little Spark...
brb1006 said:
I must have mistaken Evinrude with the character who appears in both of the films. I forgot his name but I remember he was the character that flew Bianca and Bernard to far away places along with Orville.
Click to expand...
Orville was only in Rescuers. The voice actor died before the sequel, so was replaced with John Candy as his brother, Wilbur. They are both albatrosses that serve, in the "world" of the rescuers, as "airplanes". Evinrude doesn't appear in the second movie. However, there is a fly called Sparky in that movie, but he's a friend of the Kangaroo Mouse, Jake. That's probably what you are thinking of.

-edit...had to look this up, but it confirms what I recalled-
Bernard, Bianca and Chairmouse were the only three characters to appear in both films.
 
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ShoalFox

ShoalFox

Well-Known Member
In the Parks
Yes
Remember the (brief) car chase scene in The Fox and the Hound? Well, imagine the cars on the ride travel in trains of two. The lead car is Widow Tweed's car with you riding on the back facing backward as Tod, trying to escape the gunfire of Amos Slade! The following car is Amos's car with you as him and facing forward as you try to catch that no good fox who just tried to go after your chickens. The ride starts at Amos's farm where you can see Copper sitting and watching and Chief barking at the lead car. It then continues on to Tweed's farm passing through her barn as we can see Abigail the cow and the Widow's other animals. Then we go to the dirt road outside both their homes. The Amos car starts to swerve as the hunter tries to drive and line up a shot at the same time. We hear gunfire and the guests on Tweed's car are sprayed with a short blast of mist simulating a jug of milk being shot. At the end of the dirt road guests return to the station as we hear Tweed verbally chastising Amos. Throughout the ride, the background music is the soundtrack from the scene in the movie.
 
stevehousse

stevehousse

Well-Known Member
orlando678- said:
Sounds fun, but I think being the role of helpers of Roger and Anita would be better as it might be a bit weird to be the villain( although original) and win from the heroes( the puppies), unless you for some reason loose, which would also be sort of weird.
Click to expand...
This was actually a ride idea I had from years ago when all the rumors of a Villians Land were running rampid online! I still want that land!!!
 
mharrington

mharrington

Well-Known Member
Can anyone please help me with my Mickey idea, since it seems like my thread dedicated to it has mysteriously disappeared?

Here's what is happening: color is stolen by an antagonist, likely Pete, who then leads Mickey on a chase through the cartoon world. The black and white world of "Steamboat Willie" and others justifies this. You follow Mickey and paint various things different colors with paintbrushes mounted on your ride vehicle. Somehow, towards the end of the ride, the color is restored. But I'm having difficulty with that. Can anyone please help me with that? And also with the ride vehicles? All I know is that they need to be in the Mickey color scheme of red, yellow and black.
 
TheKarnivalKid

TheKarnivalKid

Well-Known Member
mharrington said:
Can anyone please help me with my Mickey idea, since it seems like my thread dedicated to it has mysteriously disappeared?

Here's what is happening: color is stolen by an antagonist, likely Pete, who then leads Mickey on a chase through the cartoon world. The black and white world of "Steamboat Willie" and others justifies this. You follow Mickey and paint various things different colors with paintbrushes mounted on your ride vehicle. Somehow, towards the end of the ride, the color is restored. But I'm having difficulty with that. Can anyone please help me with that? And also with the ride vehicles? All I know is that they need to be in the Mickey color scheme of red, yellow and black.
Click to expand...

It doesn't follow the Mickey color scheme but it does provide a fitting vehicle that not only matches the ride, but adds an interactive element. The concept art I found below would make guests the final spots of color and would use the paintbrushes to bring color to cartoons made black and white by Pete.

paintridevehicleoverhead2_zpse8291d87-1.jpg
 

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