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The Hauntington Hotel - Home-built Dark Ride

42K views 188 replies 34 participants last post by  Sir Scott 
#1 · (Edited)
The Sedgewick Hotel - Home-built Dark Ride

Hey Everyone -

I'm new to this forum, but not new to Home Haunting. I'm about to set out an adventure and I'd like to share it all with you.

In the 80's, the owners of Six Flags begun work on a Ghostbusters-themed Interactive Dark Ride that was never built. The ride would have been well ahead of its time, as it was prepared to incorporate IR "laser guns" into the ride itself, essentially combining a Dark Ride (similar to The Haunted Mansion) with an interactive shooting gallery. You can read more about the ride here: http://www.2600connection.com/interviews/roger_hector/interview_roger_hector.html

I have decided to focus my efforts on bringing an amateur version of this ride to life over the course of the next 2 years. This will be a labor of love, and I will be updating this thread as frequently as I can with my progress.

Before I begin, I want to give a big thanks to the few brave souls who have pioneered the home-built dark ride, including Don O'Neil, CoasterBP and the Mystic Motel. If anyone knows of any others that have been active online that I could learn from, please point me to them! I'd rather not traverse unnecessarily into unknown realms if I don't need to.

Everything is subject to change, but as of this moment, this is my plan...

I will construct the ride inside my 2.5 car garage on a grid of 4'x4' base panels that will measure 25'x20' in total size. It will be less than 100 feet of track. I am going to follow Don O'Neil's lead and go with a single bus bar with 2x4s for the straight sections, and laminated plywood for the curves.

The ride car will be approximately 30" x 30". It should seat one adult or two kids comfortably, and maybe 2 adults uncomfortably. It will have a metal frame but mostly be constructed of plywood. It will ride on four 8" rubber tire casters with full 360 degree motion in each wheel. It will be driven by 2 power wheelchair motors that will grip a center rail, receiving power from a 24v 30amp bus bar system. Motor speed (and maybe direction) will be controlled by a PWM controller. The car will also have an onboard sound system.

The car will be heavily detailed to resemble a Dark Ride version of Ecto1 from Ghostbusters, with logo(s), slime, license plate, etc. It will also feature a custom designed rear end with a built in proton pack with working lights, electrical box, slime tank and maybe some other goodies.

Eventually, the car will also have mounts for 2 proton guns which will be custom built to shoot IR signals which will trigger the ghosts in the hotel. That'll come later.

Each gag (scene) of the ride will feature a motion activated scenario where when triggered, a red light will go on, a sound effect will occur, and potentially some air powered motion occurs. When the user shoots the "ghost" with their proton gun, the red light turns off, a green light turns on, a different sound effect plays, and the motion "retreats". Sound amibitious? Yes. But I have a working prototype already, which I'll be showing off soon. =)

For now, I'll leave you with my design for the ride car, and the ride logo. Cheers!
 
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#2 ·
Looking forward to seeing your progress. Many home haunters look at garage dark rides as the ultimate extension of what we can do.

I have collected a list of similar rides over the years. I'll have to post it later since it's at home. Terror on the Butte is the first one that ever got me thinking about the possibility of building one in the distant future.
 
#3 ·
In the 80's, the owners of Six Flags begun work on a Ghostbusters-themed Interactive Dark Ride that was never built. The ride would have been well ahead of its time, as it was prepared to incorporate IR "laser guns" into the ride itself, essentially combining a Dark Ride (similar to The Haunted Mansion) with an interactive shooting gallery. You can read more about the ride here: slashfilm.com
Wow. So much denial. There was no way Bally was going to install any sort of haunted attraction or dark ride after the 1984 Haunted Castle fire at Six Flags Great Adventure in Jackson, NJ. That Ghostbusters dark ride was dead years before Bally sold Six Flags.

Good luck with your home haunt interpretation.
 
#5 ·
Wow. So much denial. There was no way Bally was going to install any sort of haunted attraction or dark ride after the 1984 Haunted Castle fire at Six Flags Great Adventure in Jackson, NJ. That Ghostbusters dark ride was dead years before Bally sold Six Flags.
Sadly, the original link I posted was merely a photo gallery of the concept art. I've updated the link. All the detail I was able to obtain on the original ride came from an interview with Roger Hector from 2600connection.com (http://www.2600connection.com/interviews/roger_hector/interview_roger_hector.html). He may very well be in denial, because in the interview, he clearly places blame on Bally's sale of Six Flags. It's curious why they would even allow that project to be greenlit to begin with given the events of 1984.

I just read up on the Haunted Castle fire. It's a good reminder that safety always needs to come first.
 
#7 ·
The conclusion I've come to from reading about the ventures into home made dark rides are:
1 - It costs ALOT more than they originally budgeted for because
2 - There is ALOT of trial and error
Those 2 points alone are why most don't succeed that have tried......Something else to take into consideration is the amount of storage space you'll need to house all the track, car, props, etc in the off season.... I'm glad to see you plan to use the center rail for power....Some of the home made designs I've seen scare me at the thought of the car coming off the track and still having power to keep powering away into who knows what?!.....BTW, I don't know if you've ever seen or heard about it but Kennywood Amusement park has a shooting gallery haunted house called Ghostwood Manor....You can see it here
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=duhObAQpFeU
Like a lot of people, I LOVE dark rides and it's one of my favorite things to do in the summer.....Another great place to read about dark rides is laff in the dark http://laffinthedark.com/ They just uploaded some great footage of a dark ride in NJ called Gillian's Haunted House...Here's the article
http://laffinthedark.com/articles/gillians/ghh_P1.html
They uploaded 4 great videos here
In the dark
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=btbGRUStY_c
In the light
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s3l6LpWApmg
Wayne talks about the Haunted House
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ypA0pYcDv-c
Gillian's Haunted House Stunt Tour
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zwSpWsjW_YQ

Anyway Good Luck on your venture, keep us posted on the progress and welcome to the forum!....ZR
 
#8 ·
Another great place to read about dark rides is laff in the dark http://laffinthedark.com/ They just uploaded some great footage of a dark ride in NJ called Gillian's Haunted House...Here's the article
http://laffinthedark.com/articles/gillians/ghh_P1.html
They uploaded 4 great videos here
In the dark
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=btbGRUStY_c
In the light
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s3l6LpWApmg
Wayne talks about the Haunted House
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ypA0pYcDv-c
Gillian's Haunted House Stunt Tour
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zwSpWsjW_YQ
Thanks for the link. A nice write-up on Gilllian's Haunted House in Ocean City, NJ. Went through the ride two summers ago. It was fun and very well done.
 
#9 ·
If I ever do this, I'm going to start with a mobility scooter (probably a six-wheeler) with the finger controls. Then I'd program a laptop or tablet underneath to tell it when to run, stop and turn. It might need a track to keep it in place but I'm hoping not. There would still be some trial and error involved, but I would never attempt some of the intensive builds that some of the home haunters have done. Seems my idea would take care of a lot of the problems they face.
 
#11 ·
I'm not 100% sure because it was years ago I read the article, but I believe the cars in the Ghostwood Manor link I posted is a trackless system.....They have a wire imbedded in the floor that it follows....The cars can literally turn in a 360 and go in any direction from there making first time riders completely unaware of the path.....There are definitely ways to make a trackless system work but it's still an expensive venture no matter how you do it.....Kudos to those that try and to the few that succeed.....ZR
 
#15 ·
Here is a variety of parts I've purchased thus far...

PRIDE JAZZY SELECT POWERCHAIR WHEELCHAIR 24-VDC MOTOR SET WITH TIRES
This is for power wheelchair left and right 24-vdc motors, that are in still in great shape..
They are off from a working wheelchair, Jazzy select.
The tires are foam filled solid/has tiny cracks on the sides.
$100 + $45 shipping


4 Pcs 8" Air Tire Caster Wheel Swivel Base w/Ball Bearing 4-1/2" x 4" Base Tires
Base and Wheel with Ball Bearings
Wheel Capacity: 255LB (each)
Wheel Size 8" Dia.
Wheel Width: 2-1/4"
5/8" Axle Bore
Tire With Steel Ball Bearings
Top Base Is 4-1/2'' X 4”
Bolt Hole Spacing: 3-5/8" x 2-5/8"
Top Vase Swivel with Steel Ball Bearings
Overall Height: 10”
$50 - Free Shipping


Universal 24V 30A Switch Power Supply Driver LED Strip
$73 + Free Shipping


DC10V-50V Motor Speed Control RC Controller PWM 15khz HHO 2000W 40A MAX
working voltage: DC10v- DC 50V
Rated current: 40A(Maximum output current)
Control Motor Power : 0.01-2000W,
working voltage 12V: 12V*40A=480W(max)
working voltage 24V: 24V*40A=960W(max)
working voltage 36V: 36V*40A=1440W(max)
working voltage 50V: 50V*40A=2000W(max)
quiescent current:0.025A
PWM Regulation range:5-100%
PWN Frequency : 12khz
PCB Size:90x51mm(inch:3.5"x2")
Case size:105x55x40mm(inch:4"x2.2"x1.6")
operating temperature: -20℃~40℃
$12 + $2 Shipping


Mini DC 5-120V Voltmeter Blue LED Panel 3-Digital Display Voltage Meter 2-wire
Measuring range: DC 5V--120V
Display: Three 0.56 "digital tube
Display Color: Blue
Measurement accuracy: 2%
Refresh rate: about 300mS / times
Input impedance: About 100K
Dimensions:48mm*29mm*22mm
Operation Temp: -10℃-+65℃
$5


Proton Pack Shell (slightly damaged)
$50 + $16 shipping


Total Spent to Date: $353
 
#17 ·
I wish you success HH--hope you're able to make it happen. This has me wondering... I'm in the process of trying to establish a non-profit Haunted Attraction in the Raleigh, NC area with all proceeds going to charity.

Some Disney History here... many Haunted Mansion fans know that Walt and Rolly Crump wanted the HM to be a walk-thru attraction. But the Operations folks ultimately declared the HM would be a ride-thru attraction to boost guest capacity rates / throughput.

Now, with a charity haunt, getting guests through quicker / more efficiently, could increase the Take for the charity. So I wonder if you, me, or anyone else interested, might consider doing an annual dark ride haunted attraction for charity. Taking the best bits of how we know these can be assembled today, e.g. potentially trackless.

Anyway HH, best wishes on your project. Sounds exciting! :)
 
#20 ·
Keep in mind throughput is faster not only because the ride paces how fast patrons are moved through the attraction but also HOW MANY cars are doing it.....Most home haunters are going to have 1 car with a capacity of 2 adults max.....That's going to severely limit the throughput per hour if your trying to move large numbers......Unless you have a bigger budget to build multiple cars and a system control to operate multiple cars (keep them from bumping into each other) it's probably faster to do a walk through if your moving large numbers....... ZR
 
#18 ·
Morning DJs from the Quad-cities, Dwyer & Micheals once went to ride on a home made roller coaster, it went from ground level then the tracks went up and over the garage roof, it was a very old shacky-looking "Garage".
One of them got sick on this ride and vomited! (To Never hear the end of that! )
To me, it looked Very Scary and much real injury can happen from just 12 or so feet above the ground!
I hope you have the best of luck in your amazing project!
I would have a "Go! button for the riders to push, and when they pushed it a fart machine under the seat would make it's sound, butt that's just my idea of "Fun"!
 
#19 ·
I love love love that someone else is trying this as well...

I wish you the best of luck and hope that you don't pull out too many hairs working on it!

I wish I had more time to work on my dark ride this year since I postponed it from last year. Didn't happen. Way too busy in the months leading up to October and now with a kid on the way.... who knows....

Best of luck and I'll be watching your progress!!

-=CoasterBP
 
#24 ·
Thanks! Your YouTube videos were a big inspiration to me, and were definitely one of the contributing factors that pushed me to give this a try. I hope you get around to finishing yours up, as I'd love to see how you overcome some of the initial obstacles you faced.

I'm definitely going to try to not over-complicate my first try at this, and will keep it as simple as possible. After I get it all working, then hopefully I can work to advance it with multiple cars, track sensors, etc. But my first version will definitely keep it simple.
 
#26 ·
Quick update... it's been a long winter here in Buffalo, but now that it's starting to thaw, I've spent some time on this project. I prototyped the ride car with foam-board and a lot of duct tape to ensure my dimensions would work. The only thing I had to change was the car length. 30" wasn't enough and had to tack on an extra 5" for leg room and the front barrier. The 10" opening I planned just wasn't big enough for an adult to fit through. Other than that, it's just about perfect and I'll hopefully start fabricating it soon. My plan is to use high quality plywood, with a thin skim coat of bondo, sanded baby-smooth. I'm hoping 1/2" plywood will do the trick.

In the meantime my dad is welding some angle iron for me that will serve as the frame.

Cardboard Material property Architecture Table Wood


Sketch Drawing Artwork Automotive design Architecture
 
#27 ·
Just finished the main construction of the car.. Next up, sanding and bondo, followed by paint.

I also switched the orientation of the front panel, so that the front angle faces the rider. I'll get into it more in a future post, but I have a really cool idea for what I intend to do with it.

Cost of materials (Plywood, MDF & Screws): About $100.

Cardboard Wood Box Plywood Furniture
 
#29 ·
Got the chassis dry fit, and it's probably not going to work... While I'm super happy with how it looks, the 8" casters I chose are so large that they don't leave enough inner clearance for a 90 degree turning radius. I won't know 100% until I make my first piece of curved track and try it out, but I'm not feeling too great about it. Oh well. I knew there would be trial and error! Ha.

Product Wood Cart Vehicle Furniture
 
#30 ·
#32 ·
Over the past month, I moved on from the car body and into prototyping the ride system. I've built about 30 feet of track with 2 turns. 2 more turns to go, and I'll be able to have this thing running in a continuous loop. My prototype consists of the "final" show-ready track, which is 4'x4' squares of OSB with either a 2x4 straight section or laminated plywood to a 1.25" thickness (I tried a 1.5" thickness to match the 2x4s but the motors started binding). I can virtually configure these 4x4 squares into any configuration I want, which is pretty cool.

My car base, which is 100% prototype at this point is a 36"x30" piece of OSB, so I could try a variety of wheel, motor and guide placements. For now, it's powered by two 12v batteries (the same model batteries from the scooter I got the motors from), daisy-chained together for 24V. I connected a PWM that allows me to control the speed of the car. I also rigged up a DPDT 3-way switch so I could put the unit in reverse (reversing the polarity, and therefore the direction of the motors). As I predicted, the 8" casters did not work, so I went down to 4" casters, which are working great. I'm just under 250lbs and its move me down the track with ease.



Going around that corner, even at 1/3 speed is a thrill. It whips you around just like the Dark Rides I remember from my childhood. Unfortunately, since my total track length is going to be so short, I'll need the car to really just crawl down the track to drag out the ride. Not to mention, I'm unsure how the force of the car is going to effect the laminated corners over time. Better to take it easy on them, I think.

Next steps...

I ordered a 3-channel RC controller and an ESC. This *should* allow me to ditch the PWM and control the entire unit via remote control. It'll be some trial and error, but I'm pretty sure this'll work. I found an online community of people who customize PowerWheels, and there are a lot of people who have working RC mods using ESCs, so I'm hopeful.

I'm just waiting for the parts now.
 
#33 ·
This looks like an awesome project but my only wonder is do you think your garage will be big enough? You mentioned you have a 2.5 car garage but with the size of the cars and the track it seems like you'll be using up a lot of space for just that alone and you won't have much room for your scenes or props. Have you considered possibly building part of the track into the yard or drive way? Maybe it is something that could be done in the future but I don't think you'll get a long ride out of a 2.5 car garage.
I did a haunt in my parents barn when I was a teenager for their Halloween parties each year (before they stopped having one :-( ) and I had only a small area to work with and I felt like my options were limited by what little space I had (also by finances because I was a teenager working part time at a fast food joint lol). I wish I had more room for the haunt and I think with your ideas it'd be even cooler if you could expand and get a longer ride time in a bigger area. Just my thoughts.
 
#34 ·
All good points. My calculations are that I'll get about 80ft of track out of my initial configuration, leaving some room for scenes. Going outside of the garage unfortunately isn't feasible since my driveway immediate slants downward, which means I'd have to built a platform, which is out of the question. Not to mention I'd need some kind of shelter, and unless its permanent or semi-permanent, it's going to blow away (the winds here in October are awful, and have haunted me for years). For now, I think I need to suck it up with a short track and maybe look to expand it to another location once I prove out the concept.

Trying to see this situation positively, I think the tight confines of the ride might acually work to my advantage, playing off claustrophobia. That, and the scenes will be RIGHT up on you, not off at a "safe distance". I need to keep in mind safety, though, but it could be a challenge that pays off.

Unlike a walk-through Haunt, where you need lots of space for groups and for people to recoil in fear, etc, you can control the flow, and for the most part control the exact space the riders will be in and when. I won't honestly know until I continue work on the larger track and put up walls, but it's all definitely stuff I'm conscious of.

Don't get me wrong, I'm not saying I didn't wish I had 10,000 sqr/ft to work with, but when life gives you lemons, make lemonade.

Text Diagram Plan Design Font
 
#36 ·
Looks awesome! Can you post some pics of the underside of your cart please? I'd love to see how you mounted the motor and how it engages your rail.

So for your straight sections of track, you just used a 2x4? And your corners are laminates 1.25" of plywood, bent and glued?

Also, can you go into detail about the PWM control of your motor please?

Keep up the good work!

-=CoasterBP
 
#37 ·
Looks awesome! Can you post some pics of the underside of your cart please? I'd love to see how you mounted the motor and how it engages your rail.

So for your straight sections of track, you just used a 2x4? And your corners are laminates 1.25" of plywood, bent and glued?

Also, can you go into detail about the PWM control of your motor please?

Keep up the good work!

-=CoasterBP
Thanks. I'm very happy with how this project is progressing. Here are some pics of the undercarriage of the prototype. Once I get placements 100% right, I'll move onto a metal frame.

Skateboard Wheel Wood Kick scooter Longboard


I tried to keep the tires centered on the 2x4 rail. The weight of the motors alone causes the OSB to bow a little. It's obviously worse when I'm on it, but hey, it's a prototype.

Wood Electronics


The tires are probably about an inch from touching each other, so when you force a 2x4 between them, it really hugs it tight.

Wood Hardwood Floor Table Flooring


Floor Hardwood Flooring Wood Wood flooring


I don't *exactly* know how I'm going to transfer all this to a metal frame, but my Dad's an expert welder, so I'm just gonna lean on him for help.

Yes, the straight track is just 2x4s. Each straight section of track will cost me less then $6. Each curved piece will cost less then $10. The curved pieces are 3 strips of 4'x3.5"x11/32" plywood and 1 strip of 4'x3.5"x1/4" plywood, glued together bent - then I trim off the excess. I temporarily screwed big L brackets to the OSB at the outline of the desired curve, and clamp the first 2 strips directly to it. Works perfectly. I used nearly 8oz of gorilla wood glue per corner!

As for the PWM, let me just say I am a total electronics noob. In Don's thread, I read your back and forth with him about controllers and prox sensors, and I'll be honest, it was totally over my head. Now that said, I did manage to get a PWM working for a period of time until I learned a tough lesson about amps and the need for fuses. Long story short, I tried a placement of the guide wheels that was too far forward, causing the car to get stuck on a corner, and I blew the PWM.

The PWM I bought (shown in page one of this thread) has +/- power in and +/- power out, and basically just converts the DC feed into pulses that control the speed of the motor. I'm sure you know this, but for others who don't, there ya go. Power comes into the project box from the batteries (24V) and goes to the three way switch, and then out to the PWM, and then out to the motors.

Technology Electronic device Electronics Wire Gadget


The drive-train circuitry couldn't be much simpler, and you can kind of see it working in this video I just uploaded:

 
#39 ·
Awesome. Thanks for the vids and pics. I think that the problem that I was running into, was that my guide wheels and drive wheels were too far apart. So during the turns, like you mention, it was binding. So I was trying to come up with a way to have the guide wheels and the drive assembly "float" on a swivel so that it could negotiate the turns correctly. I'm also using 3' squares... so my turns are even tighter.

May I ask, what the distance, would you say, between the center point of your guide wheels and the drive wheels?

Are you getting any "slop" or side to side shimmy because they are closer together?

Your guide wheels and drive wheels are fixed in place, correct?

Also, (sorry for all the questions...) are your drive wheels from a Jazzy? Mine are and what a b*tch they are to mount.... talk about a strange mounting bracket they put on there...

As for your speed, if you are looking to slow it down, why not put your batteries in parallel so that you stay at 12 volts, decreasing your speed? Or just use one battery?

I was only going to use one motor per car as I planned on having 2 cars on mine - a drive wheel and one static wheel to make up the drive assembly...

Ok, enough questions for now. Keep the pics and vids coming, bro. You're doing great work.

-=CoasterBP
 
#40 ·
Awesome. Thanks for the vids and pics. I think that the problem that I was running into, was that my guide wheels and drive wheels were too far apart. So during the turns, like you mention, it was binding. So I was trying to come up with a way to have the guide wheels and the drive assembly "float" on a swivel so that it could negotiate the turns correctly. I'm also using 3' squares... so my turns are even tighter.
I'm not sure if this helps ya, since I know you were doing the slot instead of the raised rail, but when I decreased the thickness of the bend from 1.5" to 1.25", the binding completely went away. Like electronics, I'm also a physics noob, so I can't explain exactly why, but I'm not complaining.

May I ask, what the distance, would you say, between the center point of your guide wheels and the drive wheels?
I'm still in the "playing with the placement" stage, so I'm fairly certain I haven't finalized the placement yet. As of right now, they're 13.5" inches apart, but that's bound to change as I tweak.

Are you getting any "slop" or side to side shimmy because they are closer together?
The slop I'm experiencing is because the guide wheels can't be right up against the rail, not because the guides are too close to the motors. The guides are about 2.75" inches apart from each other, which gives me the extra room I need for navigating the curve without it binding up. Therefore there can be some left/right movement in the front of the car even on a straight away.

Your guide wheels and drive wheels are fixed in place, correct?
Yes, but as you mentioned, I've toyed with the idea of some kind of spring loaded contraption that would spring the unit to center on straight track, but spring to the needed positioning as it rounds a corner. If the slop is too bad, this might be necessary. Time will tell.

...are your drive wheels from a Jazzy? Mine are and what a b*tch they are to mount.... talk about a strange mounting bracket they put on there...
Yes, the drive motors and tires are from a Jazzy Select, and mine weren't too hard to mount. From what I've seen, there are different orientations of the motors, though. I may have gotten lucky.

As for your speed, if you are looking to slow it down, why not put your batteries in parallel so that you stay at 12 volts, decreasing your speed? Or just use one battery?
You'll notice a theme with me constantly referring to myself as an electronics noob. In this case, I was originally thinking that I needed the 24V for "power". At one point, I believed I needed the full 24V for torque to move the 400-500lbs I'd need to, and that the 12V wouldn't be enough juice. I realize now this was likely incorrect, and could absolutely consider dropping the voltage. However, I also want to power the center rail and ditch the batteries, so I'm not sure if I should stick with 24V for that reason alone. As you can see, I'm still fully in prototype mode. :)

Ok, enough questions for now. Keep the pics and vids coming, bro. You're doing great work.
For the record, I love talking about this stuff. It's why I'm here. This project has been encapsulating a majority of my free time, and I have no one to talk to it about in my day-to-day life! To be able to come on here and talk to people working on similar projects with similar interests is absolutely awesome. Ask away!
 
#41 ·
I've thought about doing a dark ride for a few years now (since I bought a building with a long, wide hallway). Has anyone ever thought about using a mobility scooter for a cart and programming it to make the stops, starts and turns? Seems like that would be child's play compared to building track and powering the cart.
 
#43 ·
I think that might be harder. Unless you are a software wiz.. You would need a lot of sensors to make sure that where you are driving is actually where you want it to go.... could be done, but *I* think it would be harder. Definitely out of my realm of programming with consumer available tech.

-=CoasterBP
 
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