Ghostly Manor is an innovative new dark ride that seems partially inspired by a classic Disney attraction (and it’s NOT the Haunted Mansion). The world’s first Gameplay Theater will open in May 2025 at Paultons Park in the United Kingdom. This revolutionary interactive dark ride combines an endless ride system, immersive media scenes, physical set scenes, and innovative interactive technology.
At IAAPA Expo Europe in Amsterdam, Mack Rides, Leisure Expert Group and Lagotronics Projects unveiled more details about their shared project. Ghostly Manor is being built in a compact footprint where the park’s 4D cinema used to reside but will still have a high guest throughput. Mack Rides offers three different sizes (small, medium, and large) for the Gameplay Theater and this appears to be the medium version where eight passengers will sit back-to-back, with four being in a room at one time.
Ghostly Manor Inspired by Carousel of Progress?
Walt Disney’s Carousel of Progress is a rotating theater stage show at Disney’s Magic Kingdom in Bay Lake, Florida. The show was originally created for the 1964 New York World’s Fair as the centerpiece of the General Electric (GE) Pavilion. It was later moved to Disneyland in Anaheim, California, and then to Magic Kingdom in 1975. The show is a 20-minute audio-animatronic experience that features four acts, each set in a different decade and holiday. What makes it unique is the 240-seat theater rotates around the stage.
The theater is divided up into six-sections: four show scenes plus load and unload areas. Here’s a diagram of the Carousel of Progress from ParkLore. I’ve always wondered why another theme park attraction hasn’t tried to expand upon this concept but now it seems that is not the case anymore.
How Does Ghostly Manor Work?
Ghostly Manor works by rotating guests through different show scenes, the main difference being there will be two rings of scenes instead of just one. All guests will experience eight show scenes (plus load and unload), which takes two rotations of the main platform to achieve working through all ten spaces. This is possible because the individual ride vehicles can rotate from looking towards the center of the circle to facing the outside.
The walls are soundproof to prevent noise from the inside scene leaking into the outer circle scene or vice versa. Ghostly Manor will use a combination of real sets and media screens, animatronics, and projection mapping.
Ghostly Manor Concept Art
Ghostly Manor Presentation
See an animation from Mack Rides about how the Gameplay Theater will work in the video below.
Fans can get updates on Ghostly Manor by visiting this website the park has setup for it.
What are your thoughts on Ghostly Manor at Paultons Park? Which park in the US would you love to see get a similar ride? Let us know in the comments below.
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