Haunted Castle @ SCBB Opening Day Photo TR

[65skylarkBonafide Donkey Expert]

Thanks to TPR, I got the opportunity to attend the opening day event at Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk for the new Haunted Castle dark ride. I took my two oldest kids (Ellie and Chad) on the 22 hour round trip drive (yes, I am that insane) South from Portland to Santa Cruz for a last minute road trip that included a lot more driving time than park time. Was it worth it? You bet.

The ride actually exceeded my own personal expectations. I am admittedly not a "huge" dark ride fanatic, so I didn't really go into it with high expectations. I wasn't expecting a ride of this length and quality from what I would consider a small regional park. It was all very well done from the outside of the building to the what the ride had to offer inside. I liked how it had a nice flow and overall theme along with a nice climax at the end. Unfortunately, it is a dark ride, heavy on the "dark", so the video really doesn't do the ride justice. You get an idea, though.


Click to download video to your computer or iPod/iPhone



Overall, it is really a great ride and a great addition to an already excellent park.

Anyway, on to the pictures...

[tiger01I'm a know-it-all about donkeys!]

Awesome TR! I bet that was a long Car Drive! The New Dark Ride Looks awesome. And I love pictures of the Giant Dipper!

[coaster-crazyFull Fledged Donkey Enthusiast!]

Great report. It sure is an awesome ride isn't it. I'm still shocked that you came all the way from Portland! You really surprised me when you told me that on opening day.

~Nicholas

EDIT: Thanks Robb.

[65skylarkBonafide Donkey Expert]

^ Yes, it is a great ride and yes, it is a LONG drive. It was nice to meet you. Looked like you and your family had a good time.

[MayTheGForceBeWithYouI'm a know-it-all about donkeys!]

WOW! That looked amazing! I can't wait to see it for myself!

PS I like both the California Dippers, and SD's isn't honestly that bad.

[GnomeBonafide Donkey Expert]

while not anything mind blowing, it looked like a really solid and fun attraction. I wish more regional parks, in particular the chain parks, would put in more attractions like this. It would be good to see more inspired and thought out rides like this showing up. While this ride doesn't look like it will set any new trends in the industry, I think SCBB should be very proud of their new attraction and I will definitely hit up HC next time i go to SCBB.

[RoCoI know quite a lot about Donkeys!]

Sweeeeet!! Man, the exteriors and the cars look GREAT! Can't wait to try this baby out. Awesome that you put in all those miles; thanks!

Also, a shout-out to R&R Creative Designs, the folks who are responsible for the new Castle and a lot of the dark ride goodness at SCBB! Booyah!

[zburns999Arrow rox my sox!]

Hmmm, although my insight on this ride is based solely on a pov (and a dark one at that!), I can't say that I'm overly impressed. Now, all the respect in the world to SCBB for trying out a new twist on an old favorite, but from what I can see, it doesn't work as well as it could have. It almost reminds me of Ghostwood Estate at Kennywood. It's fun, but nothing really worth re-riding more than once or twice.

I was actually at Waldameer last week and tried out the Whacky Shack. I had no prior knowledge that this was such a classic, so my opinion is not at all biased. By far, that was the coolest dark ride I've been on (outside of Busch Gardens or the like). While this new Haunted Castle ride seems to be based around anamatronics and elaborate set-pieces, the Whacky Shack was more about creating an atmosphere. The "Twighlight Zone" style descent after the outdoor section was incredibly unnerving, especially with the surrounding sound of an increasing heart-beat. So cool. Then of course the strobe light room and the oncoming bus at the end were also memorable. Altogether, that was an awesome dark ride that anybody can love--not just a dark ride enthusiast. I got off feeling all weird and disoriented--like, "what just happened?" and I deffinitely witnessed other riders reacting in the same manner. This Haunted Castle ride seems to lack tricks, suspense, or any sense of claustrophobia/paranoia. The set pieces are awesome, no doubt, but who are they really going to scare? I don't know, I just can't see a bunch of teen-agers waiting thirty mins for this, getting off, and being pleased with the experience.

However, for all I know I'm entirely wrong in my assumptions, and this is, in fact, an awesome and award winning dark ride (I hope this is the case!). Anybody who has ridden this care to make a case for this ride? As amusement park enthusiasts, I think we are sometimes more likely to enjoy "classic" rides like these more than the average park-goer. How does the general public react to this ride?

Oh, and awesome TR and pics, by the way. God bless you for driving that far haha!

[FrankiboiI Guess Donkeys Are Okay]

Very great video, the ride vehicles are awesome.
The effects and animatronics seem to be not extreme scary, a very great family dark ride, wonderful.

[65skylarkBonafide Donkey Expert]

^^ I would agree with you about The Wacky Shack but that is probably an unfair comparison. Most dark ride enthusiasts consider that an all time classic dark ride that really stands above most others. You just aren't going to see a ride like that being built today.

We were at the park for about 5 hours after the ride opened to the public and all I heard was positive responses. It certainly didn't have anything that blew you away, but again, for a small park like that it was on a much larger scale that what I expected. And it did have a few unique aspects about it, the main one being the turn around right when the ride begins and then the spiral decent into the castle. I thought that was a nice touch. I think it is important to keep in perspective the park that this ride is in. It certainly isn't going to match a new dark ride at a Busch park like Dark Kastle or Universal like Spiderman. But I think for SCBB it is going to be a hit and they deserve a lot of credit for doing all they did with a "small park" budget.

Plus, the video just really doesn't do it a lot of justice. There really is a lot more going on the you miss in the video.