- [Host] Epilepsy warning for flashing lights and colors.
(upbeat music)
Just like roller coasters,
dark rides have been a staple
of amusement and theme parks for quite some time,
but out of the many dark rides out there,
which ones are just plain bad?
From the so bad, it's good to the so bad, it's terrible,
here are the top 10 worst dark rides
as voted on by the viewers.
Number 10,
Nile River Tour at Las Vegas Nevada's Luxor Hotel.
For quite some time, Las Vegas has been known for
its unique variety of attractions, and of course,
what would Vegas be without hotels and casinos?
From Caesar's Palace to Excalibur,
each hotel has a unique theme and design
and that's certainly no different for the Luxor.
This hotel is literally a giant pyramid
and the interior experience is themed to ancient Egypt.
Originally opening in 1993,
this hotel once had much more pronounced theming,
among its opening day attractions was a boat ride,
known as the Nile River Tour.
While it was mostly meant to transport guests
around the inside of the pyramid,
early promotional videos promoted it as entertainment,
rather than just transportation.
And there were some dark portions of the ride as well.
Some may not consider it a dark ride, but let's be honest,
when else am I gonna get to talk about this?
This slow moving boat ride
took guests around the inside of the hotel,
allowing them to view mock Egyptian murals,
mock Egyptian sculptures, more mock Egyptian murals,
and even more mock Egyptian murals.
And that was pretty much it.
Sure some of the murals had a black light effect on them,
but the rides entertainment factor was still extremely low.
And although each boat had a tour guide
who would give the history behind each mural,
this didn't make the ride any more exciting.
Imagine the jungle cruise,
but instead of animatronic animals,
the skippers had to talk about a bunch of walls
90% of the time.
Inspiration falls, more like inspiration walls. Ooh, ah.
Now I'm sure this ride has its fans,
especially the ones who grew up
taking family trips to Vegas,
but as a dark ride, this is just lame.
Even as a transportation system,
it was said to be ineffective,
as the lines for it were said to be so long,
that it was actually quicker to walk to your destination.
Some may have fond memories of it,
but it wasn't worth writing home about.
Number nine, Earthquake The Ride in Gatlinburg, Tennessee.
What happens when you take Universal Studios'
to defunct earthquake ride and give it 10% of the budget?
You get this odd dark ride.
Located across the street
from Fanny Farkle's Family Fun Parlor,
is a dark ride that really makes you think
and by that I mean it makes you think
about what kind of brownies the designers were eating.
While Universal's version took place in a subway station,
Gatlinburg's version takes place
in a subway station in a fever dream.
Let's do a quick analysis.
On the left, we have some random guy
laying on a bench next to a bunch of lockers.
While on the right we have a random gorilla
inside a wooden crate.
The effects on this ride are incredibly cheesy
and it really qualifies it as a so bad it's good ride.
You've got effects where the roof caves in
and the walls leak, but things get even crazier than that.
You've got alligators popping out of sewer pipes,
rats running down the walls,
rats coming down from the ceiling,
and even random spiders.
As if earthquakes just weren't spooky enough
to make an attraction out of,
there's even a part of the ride where the gorilla
breaks out of the crate and tries to slap the passengers
and at the end of the ride,
the gorilla jump scares passengers from the roof.
They could have just called this ride,
"Boo Haunted Earthquake."
There's no doubt this ride's hokey nature
and lack of cohesion made it widely disliked by the public
and it's currently among the worst rated
Gatlinburg attractions on TripAdvisor.
Still though, I gotta say that there's a certain charm
to these small time dark rides
and for a dark ride clearly made on a tight budget,
the effects aren't too shabby.
If you're ever in the Gatlinburg area,
feel free to check this ride out.
Number eight,
Jurassic Jungle Boat Ride in Pigeon Forge, Tennessee.
What happens when you take
Universal's Jurassic Park River Adventure
and give it 10% of the budget?
You get this attraction on 2806 Parkway.
I've talked about this ride before
in my submechana phobia video,
but the ride as a whole is really worth going into.
For animatronics fans,
you're in luck because this ride has plenty of them,
more than most dark rides out there.
Unfortunately, some of them are in pretty bad condition.
With one Raptor missing an arm
and a T-Rex having a dislocated jaw,
that makes it really hard for me to avoid a bite of 87 joke.
Some of the animatronics are no longer functional
and some of them are just plain horrifying.
Quality-wise, it certainly doesn't hold a candle
to the ride it's based on, but in all honesty,
it's pretty hard not to recommend this attraction.
If you're looking for something that gives a chilling,
skin crawling atmosphere,
you should really check this ride out.
Just look at this pterosaur, this enormous snake,
these submerged tentacles, and this thing.
So if you feel like giving your kids nightmares,
I once again recommend this ride.
Number seven,
Journey Into Your Imagination at Florida's Epcot.
While the original journey into imagination
is considered one of the best dark rides of all time,
its successor is considered to be among the worst.
First opening in 1983, the original journey into imagination
took guests on exactly what the name implied.
Hosted by the dream finder and his lovable dragon Figment,
the ride took guests through a variety
of creative and colorful set pieces.
To this day, Disney Park fans' marvel
at how advanced and engaging the ride was for its time.
However, in the late nineties,
Disney executives wanted to update Epcot attractions,
as the park's view of the future
from the early eighties had become dated.
Though it can easily be argued
that journey into imagination was timeless as it was,
Disney wanted the ride sponsor KODAK to give it an update.
Unfortunately,
the photography company had been struggling financially,
so the budget they had to work with was extremely small.
The resulting attraction would go down in history
as one of the worst things Disney was ever involved with.
Cars 2 included.
This new version of the ride
would replace the warmhearted dream finder
with veteran actor Eric Idle.
But this wasn't Monty Python level, Eric Idle.
It was Shrek 3 level, Eric Idle.
Idle would scan guests at the beginning
and tell them up front they have no imagination.
After being flat out insulted,
passengers make their way through an array of illusions
that are more fitting of a Ripley's Believe It or Not Museum
than Disney World.
And the fan favorite Figment,
well, he barely appeared on this ride,
even though he had been a beloved mascot for many years,
the best they could do is have him appear in que line videos
and as a constellation, whoop di doo.
And as if that weren't bad enough,
the ride's original theme song, One Little Spark,
was nowhere to be heard.
Terrible changes aside,
the ride itself felt soulless and dull,
and the reception to it was so bad
that it closed in less than three years.
The ride would soon be replaced
with Journey into Imagination with Figment.
While the new ride was superior,
it still didn't hold a candle to the original
and Figment is portrayed more like an Adam Sandler character
than his original childlike persona.
I remember riding the original in 1998
and then coming back in 2003 and being pissed off
and I'm sure many others felt the same.
Number six,
Garfield's Nightmare at Pennsylvania's Kennywood.
Once upon a time, there was a beloved dark ride
named The Old Mill.
First built in 1901, this spooky skeleton filled water ride
was loved by generations of park guests,
but in 2004 the ride experience
would be drastically changed.
As a familiar meme worthy feline entered the fray.
That year, The Old Mill was entirely gutted
and replaced with Garfield's Nightmare.
This new attraction would take guests
inside Garfield's head,
bringing them face-to-face with his worst nightmares.
Gone was the simple charm park fans knew and loved
and in its place was a bunch of flat cutouts,
a flawed use of 3D glasses, and product placement.
Kennywood is well known and loved
for having a classic amusement park feel.
This made an IP based bride like Garfield's Nightmare
stand out like a hematoma.
Despite constant criticism from guests,
the ride would stick around for 14 years.
For over a decade, park fans practically demanded
Kennywood to bring back the nostalgic Old Mill.
And finally, in 2020,
the park would announce the ride's return.
In the summer of that year
the new Old Mill would open to the public.
The skeletons are back and Garfield is nowhere to be seen.
But don't worry about him.
He still made a name for himself
as a disturbing internet animation star.
Number five,
Haunted Castle Ghost Hunt
at England's Ocean Beach Pleasure Park.
Located at the base of the historic South Shields Pier,
Ocean Beach Pleasure Park seems like
a typical beach side amusement park.
Its attractions are generally well received by the public
and its widely considered to be a great place
for family fun and fish and chips.
However, one attraction in particular
is bound to leave dark ride enthusiasts
scratching their heads.
Despite its haunted castle theme,
riders start by boarding what appear to be flying saucers.
Each saucer comes with a steering wheel and a laser gun.
The steering wheel spins the vehicle on the track,
while the laser gun is meant to shoot at targets
throughout the ride.
However, as far as I can tell,
all of the scoreboards have duct tape over them,
rendering said laser guns as completely pointless.
As for the ride itself,
it can best be described as the backroom of a party city.
Random props are scattered throughout the show building,
with no cohesion or organization,
and the plastic stone backdrop
is literally peeling off the wall.
The extremely short indoor section
is followed by an extremely short outdoor section,
with even more random props scattered around.
Additionally, there's what appears to be
a fish sticks mascot sitting on a bench
with what looks to be a severed limb.
The whole thing plays out
like Uncle Fred's backyard Halloween party
and one has to wonder
how quickly they slapped this together.
On the other hand, this ride also has its fans.
YouTube user, The Roller Ghoster, who uploaded this footage,
said the following, there's something special
about these old cheesy dark rides for me.
I love them.
I traveled four hours just to ride this one.
They're just so much fun to have a ride on.
It just goes to show that even the most dreadful
dark rides on Earth can still have their fans.
Number four,
Brer Rabbit's Burrow at Wales Oakwood Theme Park.
Though no longer in operation,
this dark ride was unintentionally unnerving.
Despite the name, it has little to no relation
with the works of Joel Chandler Harris.
There's no Brer Fox or Brer Bear,
but there are plenty of dead eyed rabbits.
After boarding a train,
passengers are whisked away on a journey
to Brer Rabbit's Happenin' Place,
to attend the titular rabbit's house party
and what a party it is.
Cakes, break dancing, pillow fighting, and even alcohol.
It was quite a sight to see.
And if you thought Splash Mountain was missing scenes
of Brer rabbit getting (horn) faced and taking a dump,
then whatever floats your boat, I guess.
Riders at the time had a mixed response to this attraction.
Some regard it as a classic,
while others don't look back on it so fondly.
Over the years, the ride had deteriorated quite a bit.
The music had stopped playing after a while
and many of the animatronics had stopped moving.
Plus, the low ceiling made it feel
uncomfortably claustrophobic.
Some park guests were quite harsh in their criticism.
TripAdvisor user, Sarah Whaley, described the ride
as quote, a mind numbingly, boring, tired, and unfunny
scenic ride with rubbish models of animals
preparing and having a party.
TripAdvisor user. Michelle G described it as quote,
appalling and not suitable for kids at all.
And Jason S said, quote, I would say
that Brer Rabbit's Burrow should be bulldozed
into oblivion because it's just wrong on all levels.
The animatronics are awful and mainly broken
to the point of more scary looking than things in spooky 3D.
And the ones that aren't broken
just look like glue sniffing rabbits.
Suffice to say, after years of disrepair,
the ride was finally closed in 2013
to make room for a Roald Dah themed area.
But this ride definitely wasn't forgotten.
Years after its closure, the ride gain notoriety online,
after an abandoned animatronic
of a bathing rabbit went viral on TikTok.
This image is so cursed in so many ways.
And keep in mind,
this wasn't taken too long after the ride closed.
All I can say is that if you see this image
in your nightmares tonight, I apologize.
Number three,
Fast and Furious: Supercharged
at Florida's Universal Studios, Orlando.
Built on the former spot
of the aforementioned earthquake ride,
this attraction is based on the blockbuster
Fast and Furious film series.
When it was first announced,
there was plenty of speculation as to what it would be.
Would it be a rollercoaster or an advanced 4D show
or would they simply just port the panoramic 3D movie
from the Universal Hollywood's Tram tour?
Ultimately, they chose the latter.
This ride goes downhill as soon as it starts.
After an introduction sequence,
the vehicle enters a panoramic screen tunnel
and this is pretty much the entire ride.
Sure, the vehicle rocks back and forth
and there's some steam effects, I guess,
with some of the most unconvincing CGI
since the glob, gob glob, glob glob, gob gab, glab.
I think I pronounced that right.
But people expected a lot more
than just a ported tram tour experience.
This ride is dull, pointless, and completely un-immersive.
Unsurprisingly, this attraction
proved to be incredibly unpopular with guests.
At least Brer Rabbit was the so bad it's good
kind of attraction, but this is just so bad,
it's worth chucking into the nearest scrapyard.
Number two, Superstar Limo at Disney's California Adventure.
In the late nineties, former Disney CEO Micheal Eisner
wanted to build a ride based on Hollywood
for the company's newest theme park.
Eisner originally envisioned it as a high-speed,
thrill ride where guess would dodge the paparazzi.
However, after Princess Diana died in a limo crash,
also evading the paparazzi,
the proposed attraction had to be significantly changed.
Instead of going fast,
the ride would move as slow as possible,
and instead of escaping the paparazzi,
the ride would be focused
on a scenic tour through Hollywood.
The resulting attraction was insanely cheap
and insanely cheesy, with low quality animatronics
of c-list celebrities scattered throughout the ride.
The visuals were cheap as well,
with flat cutouts making it look like
an elementary school play.
But this is Disney we're talking about,
the king of all dark rides.
People expected a lot more from them,
and the focus on c-list celebrities
made it feel cynical and corporate.
The ride was so horribly received by guests
that it closed in less than a year,
a fitting end for such a cringeworthy attraction.
Number one, Terminus, made by an unknown manufacturer.
Formerly known as Mouse Trap,
this ride won my poll in a landslide
but how could a simple fair ride
be worse than the cheesy superstar limo
or the uninspired Fast and Furious?
Is the scenery even worse than haunted Castle Ghost Hunt?
Well, to put it bluntly, there is no (horn) scenery.
Aside from a light box
and some gray hairy thing behind bars,
this ride literally takes place in a metal box.
Those zombies painted on the ride's facade
are incredibly misleading.
This ride has about as much to do with zombies
as the Heart Attack Grill
has as much to do with kale and quinoa salads.
What else can I say about this ride except,
it's a metal box, a metal box, metal walls,
you go around and go turn and yeah, all that stuff.
I'm not sure how smooth the ride experience is,
but as a dark ride, it totally sucks.
I'm sorry, it just does.
Before we wrap things up,
I just wanna give a special shout out
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Here's a special out to Charlie Lichterman,
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This is Theme Park Crazy and I'll see you all next time.
(scraping ride noises)
Ahhhh! Gorillas!
- [Rider] Oh, thank God we made it out of there alive.