[Dark Mark]

From an early age I have been fascinated by these from fairground ghost trains to purpose built theme park attractions.
My favorite thus far is Valhalla, the largest dark ride in the world which takes spooky Norse mythology as it's theme.
What is your favorite dark ride and where?

[MysMyers]

Oh WOW! I wish I had some to share but I've never had the pleasure before....

[SendMoooreParamedics]

Dude, that looks amazing! I've never been on anything like that. I'm stoked to just go to Wonderland this summer after the festival...I would be stoked times 1000 to go on something like THAT.

[spookykat]

I LOVE LOVE Dark Rides. or Spookhouses

Here a Few Boardwalk of Funfair rides

Wildwood, NJ- There used to be castle dracula boat ride that was pretty cool.
Dante's Peak-you sit and its a little coaster ride with people popping out of you

Keansburg, NJ still has an operating dark ride-I think the oldest in the world?

Long Branch, NJ-A walk through haunted house that burned down

[Dark Mark]

Movie World down the road from Brisbane has a fun Scooby Doo Coaster which I had to ride on my own when my daughter got cold feet at the last moment, not that I generally need an excuse.



Scooby Doo Spooky Coaster

[Llama]

Originally Posted by spookykat

Long Branch, NJ-A walk through haunted house that burned down

I remember they used to show the commercials for that when I was a kid. Would always be on during afternoon cartoons on chaneel 5 and would scare the hell out of me. I begged to go but my parents said it was too far. I regret not being able to check this out before it burned down.

Here's one of those creepy commercials. Keep in mind this would pop up between Woody Woodpecker cartoons.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e_F0XB8tzG4


It's not a dark ride but looked like it was a lot of fun!

[Dark Mark]

I found a great site featuring horror themed fairground art here and here.

[HORRORHOLIC]

I'm obsessed with these things and the walk throuh ones like the ones at Niagara Falls. The CNE used to have some cool old school type dark rides back in the day but not so much anymore.

Hey SendMoooreParamedics, you mentioned going to Wonderland in the summer, I'm not sure if you know about this this but this is what it turns into during the Halloween season
http://haunt.canadaswonderland.com/

Dark Mark, that site is great too thanks

[SendMoooreParamedics]

Originally Posted by HORRORHOLIC

I'm obsessed with these things and the walk throuh ones like the ones at Niagara Falls. The CNE used to have some cool old school type dark rides back in the day but not so much anymore.

Hey SendMoooreParamedics, you mentioned going to Wonderland in the summer, I'm not sure if you know about this this but this is what it turns into during the Halloween season
http://haunt.canadaswonderland.com/

Dark Mark, that site is great too thanks

Damn, that's awesome! Just another reason I need to move my ass up to T.O. I've been wanting to go some where for Halloween for a few years now. If I wasn't already going to FOF this August, and possibly LA after Christmas, I would definitely kill to go to that.

[spookykat]

I actually want to go to Universal in Florida to the Harry Potter park.

[MadBalls]

When I was in Dallas TX visiting I went to this Haunted Park it was awesome

http://www.13thstreetmorgue.com/

[Llama]

Originally Posted by HORRORHOLIC

The CNE used to have some cool old school type dark rides back in the day but not so much anymore.

Have you noticed how bad the dark ride at the CNE has been for the last couple of years? I'm really not that picky about dark rides but it's absolutely the worst I've ever been on. It's not scary, the tend to leave maintenance lights on randomly so there's no surprises. Also there's long periods of nothing happening which usually just means the stunts are broken.

The best standby dark ride in the Toronto area is the Haunted Barrel Works on Centre Island. It's classic Pretzel dark ride with old school stunts. There's even a yeti in there.

[WandererRob]

A new favorite of mine is the Black Diamond at Knoebels in PA. They bought the old Gold Nugget from Hunt's Pier in NJ where it had been sitting idle for several years.

They re-themed it to a coal mine (this is PA afterall) and created a ride that was great fun. So much so that I gladly stood in line twice for it and would have a third time had it not been in the high 80s.

It had a couple of minor scares, but its mostly about the feel and ambiance. They really did a wonderful job on it.


And of course, I know it's cliche, but Disney's Haunted Mansion will always have a special place in my heart. I can't get enough of that ride when I'm there.

[WandererRob]

Just for chuckles, I'd also like give honorable mention for the absolute worst to haunted house at the Topsfield Fair here in MA was the most gawd-awful piece of crap I've ever ridden through.

They put more effort into the temporary outside decor. But then again, I've got neighbors who put more effort into taping a black cat cutout to their front door.

[Dark Mark]

Originally Posted by WandererRob

And of course, I know it's cliche, but Disney's Haunted Mansion will always have a special place in my heart. I can't get enough of that ride when I'm there.

I rode the Haunted Masion at Disneyland Paris. It would have been a total hoot had the comentary not been in French. The best moment was when walking up to the ride a 5 year old girl ran past me screaming in abject terror...Golden.

[Adam L.]

I will literally never get tired of looking at photos of people being terrified at haunted houses:







More here:

http://dangerousminds.net/comments/p..._haunted_house

http://sobadsogood.com/2012/10/16/40...d-out-of-them/

http://www.wired.com/rawfile/2012/10/nightmares/

[Adam L.]

The last haunted house I went to was Blood Manor in New York. I was pretty impressed by how scary their set-pieces were. The actors were good, and the house used sound very effectively.

I haven't been to many haunted houses recently, so I don't have much to compare it to, but it was a genuinely scary/fun experience.

[Adam L.]

And without a doubt, the worst ghost ride I ever went on was at Coney Island. It was a few years ago, so maybe they've torn it down now, but most of the monsters malfunctioned, 90% of the lights weren't working properly, and the scariest thing about it was the smell.

[New Madrid Arrest]

My favorite dark ride was in an abandoned amusement park.
It seems like a ride would be missing something vital without sound effects or the sharp fsshh of a pneumatic prop, but it was one of those experiences that turns exploring into an addiction.
Following the tracks, walking further and further into the stillness, you get to take your time and really soak in the unsung craftsmanship of the industry. On a cart you bounce from thrill to thrill, but you never get to see the finer details in the paint jobs or the rigged-together mechanical workings. Bill Tracy designed the ride, so there were even more neat little touches to notice.
Granted, there's a certain horror movie itch that gets scratched by going through a dusty dark ride with only a headlamp to light the way.

My least favorite dark ride was at a fair in Texas. It lasted all of one minute and I don't even remember one jumper. Just two quick turns and lots of cheap static props. I would have been disappointed, but the artwork out in front of the ride was neat as all get out. Plus, I had just gone through a cool freak show that featured a Feejee mermaid. There's really only so much you can ask from a small fair.