The Walking Dead roller coaster: Thorpe Park’s newest immersive horror ride
Can you make it to the Safe Zone? The Walking Dead roller coaster is coming to Thorpe Park and people should be terrified.
What is lurking in the dark corners? Could a walker silently sneak up behind you? The Walking Dead: The Ride beckons fans with the dare to face the walkers.
Thorpe Park, located outside of London, England, looks to expand its horror-themed rides in this immersive roller coaster experience. This U.K. theme park is definitely not for the easily frightened.
The Walking Dead roller coaster is set to be an indoor roller coaster. The revamped roller coaster is taking over X, an older roller coaster at Thorpe Park. The ride conversion gives the creators a huge opportunity to create a fully immersive experience. The previous dark roller coaster incorporated lights and sounds throughout the track. This new roller coaster seems likely to include all the senses. Ever wondered what a walker smells like? This might be your chance.
The Walking Dead at Thorpe Park, . Photo by Joe Pepler/PinPep
Thorpe Park incorporates many horror themes into its theme park rides. The theme park is also home to a Saw-themed roller coaster and a Derren Brown-themed dark ride.
The roller coaster theme revamp builds on previous Walking Dead experiences at Thorpe Park. Last year, the park incorporated the show into its Halloween events. It created a “living billboard” in London that terrified everyone. If the ride is half as scary as that, people need to be prepared.
On the Thorpe Park website, the warning states that the ride isn’t suitable for riders under 13. Also, the ride warns about sudden stops, strobe lightning, haze and potential motion sickness. It seems that the indoor roller coaster will take full advantage of the darkness. Whether live actors will be used in the ride remains to be seen.
While this ride might be the first Walking Dead roller coaster, other Walking Dead-themed attractions are already at other theme parks. Universal incorporated the show into its annual Halloween Horror Nights. At Universal Studios Hollywood, the AMC’s Walking Dead Attraction has guests “fight for survival” against walkers. At IAAPA 17 in Orlando, a company showed a 3D, motion-simulated ride where players fought off walkers. While these experiences include The Walking Dead theme, they aren’t full-scale roller coasters like Thorpe’s.
The Walking Dead theme works well in an immersive or interactive ride. The idea that a walker could sneak up behind you or be lurking around a corner adds to the excitement of the experience. Since this roller coaster will include brake stops, the fear factor will be high. It sounds like the ride is almost part roller coaster and park haunted house experience.
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Theme parks are continually looking to create the ultimate guest experience, and an immersive ride experience is the best way to create that moment.
Rides that fully incorporate a favorite television show or movie appeal to many fans. Each immersive ride brings the favorite world, environment or characters off the screen and into real life, one of a kind experiences.