1 00:00:04,360 --> 00:00:12,280 Speaker 1: Welcome to tech Stuff, a production from iHeartRadio. Hey there, 2 00:00:12,280 --> 00:00:15,720 Speaker 1: and welcome to tech Stuff. I'm your host, Jonathan Strickland. 3 00:00:15,760 --> 00:00:18,400 Speaker 1: I'm an executive producer with iHeartRadio and how the tech 4 00:00:18,440 --> 00:00:22,279 Speaker 1: are you? So recently, I've been watching a lot of 5 00:00:22,360 --> 00:00:27,640 Speaker 1: videos on YouTube of theme park and amusement park rides. Man, 6 00:00:27,720 --> 00:00:30,760 Speaker 1: there's so many on YouTube, and they're so good, like 7 00:00:31,720 --> 00:00:36,280 Speaker 1: ultra high resolution ride throughs of various rides at parks 8 00:00:36,280 --> 00:00:38,479 Speaker 1: that I'll probably never get a chance to visit myself. 9 00:00:38,880 --> 00:00:41,680 Speaker 1: And that includes everything from thrill rides, of course, which 10 00:00:41,680 --> 00:00:44,360 Speaker 1: I do love, though I'm now of an age where 11 00:00:44,360 --> 00:00:46,480 Speaker 1: I can only do a couple per day or else 12 00:00:46,520 --> 00:00:49,400 Speaker 1: I risk having motion sickness all day long. It's very 13 00:00:49,400 --> 00:00:51,720 Speaker 1: frustrating because I used to be the kid who would 14 00:00:51,760 --> 00:00:55,000 Speaker 1: just jump on a throw ride over and over and 15 00:00:55,040 --> 00:00:58,360 Speaker 1: over again. Can't do that anymore. But one of my 16 00:00:58,360 --> 00:01:01,960 Speaker 1: favorite types of ride actually is the thrill ride. It's 17 00:01:02,240 --> 00:01:06,440 Speaker 1: the dark ride. Now, the definition of dark ride kind 18 00:01:06,480 --> 00:01:10,039 Speaker 1: of depends upon the person who is defining it, so 19 00:01:10,319 --> 00:01:14,199 Speaker 1: I'll give you my definition. To me, a dark ride 20 00:01:14,800 --> 00:01:18,680 Speaker 1: is an indoor attraction in which you board some sort 21 00:01:18,680 --> 00:01:21,119 Speaker 1: of vehicle. It could be a boat. It could actually 22 00:01:21,160 --> 00:01:25,000 Speaker 1: float on a channel of water that winds its way 23 00:01:25,000 --> 00:01:28,800 Speaker 1: through the attraction. It might be one of a series 24 00:01:28,840 --> 00:01:31,840 Speaker 1: of vehicles mounted on a moving belt way, like the 25 00:01:31,920 --> 00:01:35,039 Speaker 1: Omnimover system that you would find and say the Doom 26 00:01:35,040 --> 00:01:38,760 Speaker 1: Buggies of Disney's Haunted Mansion attraction. It could be a 27 00:01:38,920 --> 00:01:43,240 Speaker 1: suspended vehicle where the rail is actually above you, like 28 00:01:43,520 --> 00:01:46,440 Speaker 1: Disney's Peter Pan attraction. In fact, I think I'll probably 29 00:01:46,440 --> 00:01:50,000 Speaker 1: be referencing Disney a bit in this episode because a 30 00:01:50,040 --> 00:01:53,000 Speaker 1: lot of my own personal experience on dark rides relates 31 00:01:53,040 --> 00:01:57,840 Speaker 1: to Disney World. And you ride through the experience and 32 00:01:58,840 --> 00:02:03,800 Speaker 1: along the way you see stuff that is interesting. That's 33 00:02:03,880 --> 00:02:06,760 Speaker 1: like your basic dark ride, right. These rides have served 34 00:02:06,760 --> 00:02:11,000 Speaker 1: different purposes throughout the years. Some of the early early 35 00:02:11,120 --> 00:02:15,519 Speaker 1: dark rides gave young couples a chance to court one 36 00:02:15,520 --> 00:02:18,960 Speaker 1: another during a time when public displays of affection were 37 00:02:18,960 --> 00:02:22,520 Speaker 1: strictly taboo. We'll talk more about that in a moment, 38 00:02:22,560 --> 00:02:27,360 Speaker 1: but generally speaking, they are all intended to tell some 39 00:02:27,680 --> 00:02:31,480 Speaker 1: sort of story. Now, sometimes it's not a full narrative, 40 00:02:31,960 --> 00:02:34,480 Speaker 1: you know. There are plenty of dark rides that are 41 00:02:34,480 --> 00:02:39,240 Speaker 1: in the haunted house genre that have no discernible, coherent 42 00:02:39,360 --> 00:02:42,520 Speaker 1: story to speak about instead that just consist of a 43 00:02:42,560 --> 00:02:47,680 Speaker 1: series of disconnected scenes of sometimes dubious terror inducing abilities, 44 00:02:47,800 --> 00:02:51,600 Speaker 1: you know, like a skeleton leaning out at you or something. 45 00:02:52,400 --> 00:02:57,440 Speaker 1: But sometimes you do get a full, although condensed story. 46 00:02:58,080 --> 00:03:01,320 Speaker 1: And this should come as no surprise, because we humans, 47 00:03:01,880 --> 00:03:05,720 Speaker 1: we love our stories. This podcast is, when you boil 48 00:03:05,760 --> 00:03:08,040 Speaker 1: it down, just a way for me to tell stories 49 00:03:08,080 --> 00:03:12,720 Speaker 1: to you. The story could be about how college drop 50 00:03:12,760 --> 00:03:16,240 Speaker 1: out launched a company that served as a very efficient 51 00:03:16,440 --> 00:03:21,080 Speaker 1: way of parting wealthy fools with their money allow you know, paronos. 52 00:03:21,880 --> 00:03:25,240 Speaker 1: Or it might be about the most interesting products that 53 00:03:25,840 --> 00:03:29,959 Speaker 1: never actually materialized. We framed things in terms of story, 54 00:03:30,000 --> 00:03:32,679 Speaker 1: and dark rides are a physical manifestation of that, or 55 00:03:32,720 --> 00:03:35,880 Speaker 1: at least they can be. And of course we make 56 00:03:35,920 --> 00:03:40,120 Speaker 1: our own stories when we experience these rides. So I 57 00:03:40,160 --> 00:03:42,920 Speaker 1: thought it might be fun to look back at the 58 00:03:43,040 --> 00:03:46,160 Speaker 1: history of dark rides. Where did they come from? And 59 00:03:46,360 --> 00:03:50,920 Speaker 1: how did they evolve over time? Well, let's start with 60 00:03:51,000 --> 00:03:54,440 Speaker 1: the first question of where did they come from? And 61 00:03:54,560 --> 00:03:57,560 Speaker 1: there's a simple answer for this, and then there's the 62 00:03:57,880 --> 00:04:03,080 Speaker 1: more interesting, thorough and Jonathan style answer. At least it's 63 00:04:03,120 --> 00:04:05,560 Speaker 1: interesting to me. But the simple answers. You could say 64 00:04:05,800 --> 00:04:10,560 Speaker 1: they come from Kennyworth, Pennsylvania in the late nineteenth century, 65 00:04:10,600 --> 00:04:14,240 Speaker 1: really the early twentieth century. But to really understand this, 66 00:04:14,840 --> 00:04:17,880 Speaker 1: we have to go back a little bit further, all right, 67 00:04:17,920 --> 00:04:21,960 Speaker 1: So way back in eighteen twenty five, the Stockton and 68 00:04:22,040 --> 00:04:28,280 Speaker 1: Darlington Railway Company ordered a locomotive, a steam powered locomotive, 69 00:04:28,720 --> 00:04:32,560 Speaker 1: from Robert Stevenson and Company. So Robert Stevenson, in turn 70 00:04:32,760 --> 00:04:36,680 Speaker 1: was son of George Stevenson, sometimes known as the father 71 00:04:36,880 --> 00:04:42,159 Speaker 1: of railways. These guys were in England where steam technology 72 00:04:42,279 --> 00:04:46,760 Speaker 1: was really at the cornerstone of the Industrial Revolution. The 73 00:04:46,960 --> 00:04:52,440 Speaker 1: purpose of this particular locomotive, called the Locomotion Number one, 74 00:04:52,839 --> 00:04:56,680 Speaker 1: was to serve as a passenger train, which would be 75 00:04:56,760 --> 00:05:00,640 Speaker 1: the first of its kind on a public railway. You know, 76 00:05:00,680 --> 00:05:04,360 Speaker 1: they had had steam engines pulling carts that had people 77 00:05:04,400 --> 00:05:06,520 Speaker 1: in them before, but this was the first time it 78 00:05:06,560 --> 00:05:08,960 Speaker 1: was actually going to be on a public railway to 79 00:05:09,000 --> 00:05:13,919 Speaker 1: become a conveyance of transportation. And this particular public railway 80 00:05:14,120 --> 00:05:17,720 Speaker 1: was the Stockton and Darlington Railway. So the Locomotion Number 81 00:05:17,760 --> 00:05:23,120 Speaker 1: one had its first official run on September twenty seventh, 82 00:05:23,640 --> 00:05:28,320 Speaker 1: eighteen twenty five. It reportedly took about two hours to 83 00:05:28,440 --> 00:05:32,039 Speaker 1: travel a grand total of eight point seven miles. That's 84 00:05:32,040 --> 00:05:39,279 Speaker 1: not exactly burning up the track, but it's faster than walking. Now, 85 00:05:39,440 --> 00:05:43,679 Speaker 1: the locomotive would become a utilitarian way of transporting people 86 00:05:43,680 --> 00:05:46,560 Speaker 1: from one place to another, but it also could be 87 00:05:46,600 --> 00:05:50,200 Speaker 1: a way to take in the sites of the surrounding countryside. 88 00:05:50,520 --> 00:05:52,599 Speaker 1: It was a method of transport that could be both 89 00:05:52,640 --> 00:05:57,400 Speaker 1: practical and leisurely, and eventually that thought would evolve into 90 00:05:57,480 --> 00:06:03,360 Speaker 1: the philosophy behind various amusement rides. Some were more geared 91 00:06:03,360 --> 00:06:09,080 Speaker 1: toward thrills, you know, having a locomotive pull you up 92 00:06:09,120 --> 00:06:14,160 Speaker 1: a hill and then coast down the hill afterward, and 93 00:06:14,279 --> 00:06:17,320 Speaker 1: some were meant to take riders past tableau of one 94 00:06:17,400 --> 00:06:23,240 Speaker 1: sort or another. There were railways pleasure railways where they 95 00:06:23,400 --> 00:06:27,400 Speaker 1: the people who operated the rail would even set up 96 00:06:28,160 --> 00:06:30,760 Speaker 1: sort of a tableau for people to look at as 97 00:06:30,800 --> 00:06:34,360 Speaker 1: they passed through different areas and you know, just give 98 00:06:34,440 --> 00:06:36,800 Speaker 1: them something to look at. That kind of thing. That 99 00:06:36,880 --> 00:06:42,920 Speaker 1: actually became an attraction at various places, particularly in the UK. 100 00:06:44,560 --> 00:06:48,240 Speaker 1: All right, so there was that that was part of 101 00:06:48,279 --> 00:06:50,800 Speaker 1: what was going on in the nineteenth century that would 102 00:06:50,920 --> 00:06:54,000 Speaker 1: lead to the development of dark rides, but there was 103 00:06:54,040 --> 00:06:56,680 Speaker 1: something else that would also be important that was happening 104 00:06:56,720 --> 00:07:00,360 Speaker 1: across the pond. Here in the United States, let's talk 105 00:07:01,080 --> 00:07:05,200 Speaker 1: about water powered saw mills. Now, maybe you've seen one 106 00:07:05,240 --> 00:07:07,960 Speaker 1: of these in person, maybe you've seen, you know, footage 107 00:07:08,000 --> 00:07:10,920 Speaker 1: of one, but if you haven't, just imagined. There's a 108 00:07:11,200 --> 00:07:15,640 Speaker 1: wooden structure. Typically it's built alongside or even over a 109 00:07:15,720 --> 00:07:19,000 Speaker 1: river or a significant stream. Often you're talking about a 110 00:07:19,200 --> 00:07:24,400 Speaker 1: dammed waterway, so that there is a higher level of 111 00:07:24,440 --> 00:07:27,400 Speaker 1: elevation where the water is being held back, and then 112 00:07:27,960 --> 00:07:31,200 Speaker 1: you know the lower elevation beyond the dam, where water 113 00:07:31,320 --> 00:07:34,040 Speaker 1: is at a much lower level. And then you have 114 00:07:34,120 --> 00:07:38,480 Speaker 1: this wooden structure that's built right there that has a 115 00:07:38,600 --> 00:07:42,040 Speaker 1: large water wheel on one side of it, and usually 116 00:07:42,080 --> 00:07:46,640 Speaker 1: you have a trough that carries water from the elevated 117 00:07:46,680 --> 00:07:50,800 Speaker 1: part of the water area and allows it to drop 118 00:07:50,880 --> 00:07:53,480 Speaker 1: down over the top of the water wheel. You could 119 00:07:53,480 --> 00:07:56,360 Speaker 1: have a water wheel that's just has the bottom making 120 00:07:56,440 --> 00:07:59,840 Speaker 1: contact with the water itself, but the trough version was 121 00:08:00,080 --> 00:08:03,600 Speaker 1: little more reliable, and so the water goes through the trough, 122 00:08:04,400 --> 00:08:08,280 Speaker 1: it hits this water wheel, and you know, the water's 123 00:08:08,320 --> 00:08:10,920 Speaker 1: just driven by gravity. You're not using like pumps or anything, 124 00:08:12,000 --> 00:08:16,520 Speaker 1: and the water starts to turn this water wheel. It 125 00:08:16,560 --> 00:08:19,560 Speaker 1: begins to rotate the water wheel. The water wheel is 126 00:08:19,600 --> 00:08:23,320 Speaker 1: connected to an axle that connects via gears and cogs 127 00:08:23,400 --> 00:08:26,720 Speaker 1: and a piston to power the up and down reciprocating 128 00:08:26,760 --> 00:08:30,280 Speaker 1: motion of a large saw. So think of like a 129 00:08:31,400 --> 00:08:35,080 Speaker 1: hand saw, but much much much bigger, and it's connected 130 00:08:35,160 --> 00:08:40,840 Speaker 1: to wooden structures that themselves are connected to these cogs 131 00:08:40,840 --> 00:08:44,199 Speaker 1: and gears, and so as the water wheel turns, it 132 00:08:44,240 --> 00:08:47,960 Speaker 1: makes the saw go up and down. You would place 133 00:08:48,240 --> 00:08:53,000 Speaker 1: lumber on a vice like platform that attached to a ratchet, 134 00:08:53,040 --> 00:08:54,960 Speaker 1: so it could only go in one direction while the 135 00:08:55,000 --> 00:08:59,640 Speaker 1: ratchet's engaged, and this platform, because it's also connected to 136 00:08:59,720 --> 00:09:05,000 Speaker 1: this this system of gears and cogs, would push the 137 00:09:05,120 --> 00:09:08,800 Speaker 1: lumber toward the saw, eventually making contact. The saw would 138 00:09:08,800 --> 00:09:11,280 Speaker 1: start to cut through the lumber and it would go 139 00:09:11,360 --> 00:09:15,600 Speaker 1: through most of the length of a log. It would usually, 140 00:09:15,679 --> 00:09:17,600 Speaker 1: you know, it would stop like a couple of inches away, 141 00:09:17,640 --> 00:09:22,199 Speaker 1: because otherwise your vice like platform would get sawn in 142 00:09:22,360 --> 00:09:25,280 Speaker 1: half too, and that wouldn't make it very useful. But 143 00:09:25,640 --> 00:09:28,120 Speaker 1: this ended up saving a lot of labor. You were 144 00:09:28,160 --> 00:09:30,880 Speaker 1: making clever use of the natural elements of your area, 145 00:09:31,160 --> 00:09:34,880 Speaker 1: and also things like gear ratios to create the right 146 00:09:34,920 --> 00:09:38,240 Speaker 1: amount of force, and you didn't have to do all 147 00:09:38,240 --> 00:09:41,120 Speaker 1: that backbreaking saw work yourself, just the last couple of 148 00:09:41,160 --> 00:09:45,160 Speaker 1: inches per you know, board that you were making, So 149 00:09:45,200 --> 00:09:48,480 Speaker 1: you're working smarter, not harder. You're letting the water take 150 00:09:48,520 --> 00:09:52,640 Speaker 1: on the hard stuff. Really really clever, Like I recommend 151 00:09:52,640 --> 00:09:56,640 Speaker 1: watching videos of it if you're interested in clever but 152 00:09:56,880 --> 00:10:03,440 Speaker 1: relatively simple mechanical systems. It's fascinating stuff. But water powered sawmills, 153 00:10:04,040 --> 00:10:07,240 Speaker 1: you know, they became really popular in the United States. 154 00:10:07,720 --> 00:10:11,720 Speaker 1: The state of Pennsylvania had a ton of them. But 155 00:10:11,880 --> 00:10:15,080 Speaker 1: then as steam engine technology reached a point where it 156 00:10:15,160 --> 00:10:21,560 Speaker 1: was fairly reliable and not entirely dangerous. Early steam engines 157 00:10:21,600 --> 00:10:24,520 Speaker 1: were known to be quite dangerous because the boilers had 158 00:10:24,520 --> 00:10:29,040 Speaker 1: a tendency to explode if too much steam pressure was 159 00:10:29,040 --> 00:10:32,240 Speaker 1: built up inside of them. While the steam powered sawmill 160 00:10:32,520 --> 00:10:35,880 Speaker 1: began to make the water powered kind obsolete, and the 161 00:10:35,920 --> 00:10:39,800 Speaker 1: steampowered versions could work even more efficiently than the water 162 00:10:39,920 --> 00:10:44,120 Speaker 1: powered Once well, this meant that those water powered lumber 163 00:10:44,200 --> 00:10:48,560 Speaker 1: mills became less useful, and many times they were just 164 00:10:48,600 --> 00:10:52,160 Speaker 1: outright abandoned because you weren't going to get any business 165 00:10:52,760 --> 00:10:56,040 Speaker 1: because of the steam powered lumber bills that were opening up. 166 00:10:56,440 --> 00:11:00,720 Speaker 1: In fact, entire towns would be abandoned because the towns 167 00:11:00,720 --> 00:11:03,640 Speaker 1: had grown up around the lumber industry, and without the 168 00:11:03,640 --> 00:11:07,000 Speaker 1: water mill of the neighborhood and operation, there really wasn't 169 00:11:07,120 --> 00:11:11,160 Speaker 1: enough industry to support the town, so folks would move away. 170 00:11:11,280 --> 00:11:14,440 Speaker 1: The water powered mills just became known as old mills 171 00:11:14,840 --> 00:11:17,280 Speaker 1: because you know, they were the steam mills were the 172 00:11:17,280 --> 00:11:22,439 Speaker 1: new ones. And this would bring us back to storytelling, 173 00:11:22,800 --> 00:11:35,960 Speaker 1: which I'll explain after we come back from this quick break. Okay, 174 00:11:35,960 --> 00:11:41,480 Speaker 1: you've got these old mills, these abandoned old saw mills. Well, 175 00:11:42,440 --> 00:11:47,760 Speaker 1: when we encounter a mystery, such as a town filled 176 00:11:47,760 --> 00:11:52,400 Speaker 1: with empty houses and shops that are just slowly going 177 00:11:52,480 --> 00:11:56,920 Speaker 1: to decay, our imaginations begin to fill in the gaps 178 00:11:56,960 --> 00:11:59,760 Speaker 1: of our knowledge and we start to ask ourselves questions 179 00:12:00,280 --> 00:12:04,880 Speaker 1: could have led to this, to create this abandoned town? 180 00:12:05,000 --> 00:12:09,680 Speaker 1: What stories are lingering in those empty buildings? And words 181 00:12:09,720 --> 00:12:15,920 Speaker 1: like ghost or haunted start to pop up. The undeniably 182 00:12:16,080 --> 00:12:20,720 Speaker 1: eerie environments inspire us to imagine specters and phantoms around 183 00:12:20,720 --> 00:12:24,960 Speaker 1: every corner. Now, the truth is probably far more mundane. 184 00:12:25,000 --> 00:12:27,520 Speaker 1: You know, people left because there was no more work 185 00:12:27,559 --> 00:12:30,880 Speaker 1: at the lumbermill. But when all we have are the 186 00:12:30,920 --> 00:12:35,280 Speaker 1: structures and whatever else was left behind, we start to 187 00:12:35,320 --> 00:12:39,760 Speaker 1: create spooky stories to explain stuff. Now, if you're the 188 00:12:40,040 --> 00:12:45,960 Speaker 1: entrepreneurial sort, you might think, huh, folks, sure are interested 189 00:12:46,280 --> 00:12:50,280 Speaker 1: in abandoned places, but it's usually not safe to explore 190 00:12:50,360 --> 00:12:53,840 Speaker 1: such abandoned spots on your own. What if we could 191 00:12:54,000 --> 00:12:58,720 Speaker 1: simulate those types of spaces and tap into that curiosity, 192 00:12:58,760 --> 00:13:01,840 Speaker 1: the stuff that makes imagine as run wild, and to 193 00:13:01,920 --> 00:13:07,000 Speaker 1: do so in a controlled and relatively safe environment. I 194 00:13:07,080 --> 00:13:09,400 Speaker 1: bet folks would hand over a nickel to experience that 195 00:13:10,400 --> 00:13:16,280 Speaker 1: world's turn on such thoughts. Now, I'm not really sure 196 00:13:16,679 --> 00:13:21,440 Speaker 1: when the very first Old Mill ride opened. I do 197 00:13:21,520 --> 00:13:25,200 Speaker 1: not know for sure which ride was first. I do 198 00:13:25,280 --> 00:13:28,959 Speaker 1: know that the one that is the oldest and is 199 00:13:29,000 --> 00:13:33,440 Speaker 1: still in operation is actually called the Old Mill, and 200 00:13:33,520 --> 00:13:36,760 Speaker 1: it opened all the way back in nineteen o one. 201 00:13:37,160 --> 00:13:39,559 Speaker 1: It may not be the very first one, but it's 202 00:13:39,600 --> 00:13:41,960 Speaker 1: the oldest one still in operation. It has had several 203 00:13:42,040 --> 00:13:45,040 Speaker 1: different names over its history, including one that deals with 204 00:13:45,040 --> 00:13:48,480 Speaker 1: a certain kitty cat who hates Mondays and loves lasagna. 205 00:13:48,600 --> 00:13:54,080 Speaker 1: Boy Howdy, did that ride get some terrible criticism, But 206 00:13:54,559 --> 00:13:56,600 Speaker 1: these days it's back to what it used to be. 207 00:13:56,720 --> 00:14:01,600 Speaker 1: It's known simply as the Old Mill's. Particular ride is 208 00:14:01,640 --> 00:14:07,040 Speaker 1: located in Kennywood, Pennsylvania, not too far from Pittsburgh. Kennywood 209 00:14:07,240 --> 00:14:10,520 Speaker 1: itself takes its name from a family who settled that 210 00:14:10,559 --> 00:14:15,120 Speaker 1: part of Pennsylvania, the Kenney family. Anthony Herron Kinney, who 211 00:14:15,200 --> 00:14:19,000 Speaker 1: was born in eighteen thirty five, made his money in 212 00:14:19,120 --> 00:14:24,840 Speaker 1: coal or possibly farming, or maybe both. Historical records aren't 213 00:14:24,840 --> 00:14:28,040 Speaker 1: in full agreement on this point. His family had what 214 00:14:28,400 --> 00:14:33,840 Speaker 1: I must imagine was some picturesque land that Anthony repurposed 215 00:14:33,840 --> 00:14:36,760 Speaker 1: into a picnic ground, So the area became associated with 216 00:14:36,880 --> 00:14:40,760 Speaker 1: leisure since shortly after the American Civil War. During the 217 00:14:40,800 --> 00:14:44,760 Speaker 1: Civil War it was associated with battle because one was 218 00:14:44,800 --> 00:14:47,880 Speaker 1: fought near there. But skip to the late eighteen hundreds. 219 00:14:48,560 --> 00:14:52,360 Speaker 1: Then this banker named Andrew Mellon, who came from a 220 00:14:52,400 --> 00:14:57,160 Speaker 1: family of wealthy bankers, leased the picnic land on the 221 00:14:57,240 --> 00:15:00,280 Speaker 1: Kenney estate to build what is called a trolley park. 222 00:15:01,040 --> 00:15:02,960 Speaker 1: By the way, this Melon was one of the fellows 223 00:15:02,960 --> 00:15:07,080 Speaker 1: who would eventually create what would become Carnegie Mellon University 224 00:15:07,160 --> 00:15:09,880 Speaker 1: or Carnegie Mellon if you prefer I always pronounced it 225 00:15:09,960 --> 00:15:15,320 Speaker 1: Carnegie because that's how Carnegie pronounced it. But Carnegie Melon. 226 00:15:15,600 --> 00:15:17,520 Speaker 1: So you might say, what the heck is a trolley park? 227 00:15:17,600 --> 00:15:20,760 Speaker 1: What is this thing this guy made? Well, Companies that 228 00:15:20,840 --> 00:15:26,080 Speaker 1: ran trolley lines would sometimes construct a destination at the 229 00:15:26,280 --> 00:15:29,560 Speaker 1: end of the lines themselves in order to entice folks 230 00:15:29,600 --> 00:15:31,800 Speaker 1: to come out and use the street cars, even on 231 00:15:31,920 --> 00:15:35,560 Speaker 1: days when people weren't heading into work. So this was 232 00:15:35,600 --> 00:15:41,440 Speaker 1: a way to maximize fairs sales of tickets. You know, 233 00:15:41,480 --> 00:15:43,480 Speaker 1: you build something interesting at the end of the line, 234 00:15:43,520 --> 00:15:45,560 Speaker 1: and sure enough families are going to go and check 235 00:15:45,600 --> 00:15:47,720 Speaker 1: it out, and you can still sell tickets even if 236 00:15:47,720 --> 00:15:51,360 Speaker 1: it ain't a workday. In some ways, the famous Coney 237 00:15:51,440 --> 00:15:55,000 Speaker 1: Island was a kind of trolley park, though Coney Island 238 00:15:55,040 --> 00:15:57,840 Speaker 1: was also a seaside destination in its own right before 239 00:15:57,840 --> 00:16:01,920 Speaker 1: all of that, but the amusements at Coney Island were 240 00:16:01,920 --> 00:16:06,240 Speaker 1: built as kind of a trolley park. So Andrew Mellon 241 00:16:06,760 --> 00:16:08,840 Speaker 1: was looking for a way to make even more money 242 00:16:08,960 --> 00:16:11,960 Speaker 1: from the local population of Pittsburgh, so he got the 243 00:16:12,000 --> 00:16:15,800 Speaker 1: idea to build a trolley park on Kenny's property. Before 244 00:16:15,800 --> 00:16:18,600 Speaker 1: the turn of the century, he had built a few 245 00:16:18,640 --> 00:16:23,480 Speaker 1: attractions there. There was a dance hall, there was a carousel, 246 00:16:23,600 --> 00:16:27,600 Speaker 1: a couple of other things. He used electricity there. Electricity 247 00:16:27,720 --> 00:16:30,240 Speaker 1: was a pretty new thing in the United States, and 248 00:16:30,280 --> 00:16:32,640 Speaker 1: so it was all lit up. It was a fancy 249 00:16:32,680 --> 00:16:37,120 Speaker 1: place to go. And the trolley park's name became kenney Wood. 250 00:16:37,440 --> 00:16:39,880 Speaker 1: And in nineteen oh one we would get the dark 251 00:16:40,000 --> 00:16:43,080 Speaker 1: Ride that is now the oldest one still in operation today. 252 00:16:43,680 --> 00:16:49,800 Speaker 1: So the Old Mill Ride recreated those forbidden abandoned locations 253 00:16:49,840 --> 00:16:53,240 Speaker 1: I was talking about earlier. The folks around Pittsburgh really 254 00:16:53,280 --> 00:16:57,800 Speaker 1: familiar with sawmills. There were lots of abandoned ones in Pennsylvania. 255 00:16:58,000 --> 00:17:01,480 Speaker 1: According to Graham Stanley Baker, who a research paper about 256 00:17:01,720 --> 00:17:05,720 Speaker 1: dark rides, there was an average of one sawmill every 257 00:17:05,840 --> 00:17:11,000 Speaker 1: eighteen square kilometers in Pennsylvania. They were littering up the 258 00:17:11,000 --> 00:17:14,560 Speaker 1: place and yet still mysterious. And so this ride would 259 00:17:14,600 --> 00:17:16,959 Speaker 1: let folks get a taste of what it might be 260 00:17:17,000 --> 00:17:20,639 Speaker 1: like to explore the ruins of an abandoned lumber town. 261 00:17:21,119 --> 00:17:24,440 Speaker 1: This particular ride was a boat ride, one in which 262 00:17:24,520 --> 00:17:27,399 Speaker 1: guests would take a seat on a small boat that 263 00:17:27,440 --> 00:17:30,159 Speaker 1: would meander its way through a canal that took the 264 00:17:30,280 --> 00:17:34,320 Speaker 1: riders past various scenes. By being clever with light sources, 265 00:17:34,359 --> 00:17:37,280 Speaker 1: the ride creators could direct attention to specific sites and 266 00:17:37,359 --> 00:17:40,080 Speaker 1: keep other things in the dark. This gave the ride 267 00:17:40,080 --> 00:17:42,320 Speaker 1: builders the chance to construct the story they wanted to 268 00:17:42,359 --> 00:17:45,040 Speaker 1: tell and make sure that riders are directing their attention 269 00:17:45,080 --> 00:17:49,399 Speaker 1: to specific elements. Now, the Old Mill style of ride 270 00:17:49,800 --> 00:17:57,040 Speaker 1: proved popular, and it also was relatively easy to maintain. Right, 271 00:17:57,080 --> 00:17:59,879 Speaker 1: you didn't have that many moving parts. You didn't have 272 00:17:59,920 --> 00:18:02,840 Speaker 1: to worry about water quality and changing that out and 273 00:18:02,880 --> 00:18:06,200 Speaker 1: filtering it out and cleaning it occasionally because otherwise, man 274 00:18:06,359 --> 00:18:10,359 Speaker 1: could that get nasty. But typically the mechanical parts consisted 275 00:18:10,400 --> 00:18:13,879 Speaker 1: of a paddle wheel that would create the gentle current 276 00:18:14,240 --> 00:18:16,480 Speaker 1: that would carry boats through the pathway. So you didn't 277 00:18:16,520 --> 00:18:18,600 Speaker 1: have to have motors on any of the boats or anything. 278 00:18:19,119 --> 00:18:21,919 Speaker 1: The water itself just had a current to it that 279 00:18:22,000 --> 00:18:25,840 Speaker 1: would naturally push the boats through the path And so 280 00:18:26,480 --> 00:18:29,960 Speaker 1: other trolley parks and later amusement parks began to make 281 00:18:30,000 --> 00:18:33,359 Speaker 1: their own version of the Old Mill ride, themed to 282 00:18:34,080 --> 00:18:36,480 Speaker 1: various things. A lot of them were themed to the 283 00:18:36,520 --> 00:18:41,560 Speaker 1: Old West. I've seen a ton of Old Mill ride footage, 284 00:18:42,040 --> 00:18:46,600 Speaker 1: and it's a lot of stuff about drifting through like 285 00:18:46,640 --> 00:18:49,800 Speaker 1: a Western landscape, like saloons and all that kind of stuff. 286 00:18:50,400 --> 00:18:54,000 Speaker 1: Something else that would kind of merge with dark rides 287 00:18:54,119 --> 00:18:58,200 Speaker 1: much much later on was called phantom rides. This one's 288 00:18:58,240 --> 00:19:02,720 Speaker 1: interesting because the riders don't actually go anywhere. They're stationary. 289 00:19:03,520 --> 00:19:07,000 Speaker 1: This type of attraction leveraged a new kind of art form, 290 00:19:07,640 --> 00:19:11,240 Speaker 1: that of cinema. See back when folks were still experimenting 291 00:19:11,240 --> 00:19:14,800 Speaker 1: with film, before we would get stuff like an actual story, 292 00:19:15,440 --> 00:19:19,080 Speaker 1: we got footage of all kinds of things you've probably 293 00:19:19,080 --> 00:19:22,600 Speaker 1: seen cliche examples of early snippets of film, like a 294 00:19:22,680 --> 00:19:26,640 Speaker 1: train going into a tunnel, for example, or coming toward 295 00:19:27,119 --> 00:19:30,560 Speaker 1: the screen, and reportedly people in the theater panicked and 296 00:19:30,640 --> 00:19:33,119 Speaker 1: ran because they felt the train was going to burst 297 00:19:33,160 --> 00:19:36,359 Speaker 1: through and crush them. Well, one thing that some early 298 00:19:36,440 --> 00:19:40,520 Speaker 1: experimenters slash filmmakers did was they would strap a camera 299 00:19:40,560 --> 00:19:43,840 Speaker 1: operator to the front of a vehicle like a train, 300 00:19:44,560 --> 00:19:47,639 Speaker 1: and the camera operator would shoot footage as the vehicle 301 00:19:47,760 --> 00:19:50,000 Speaker 1: moved through a landscape, so you kind of get this 302 00:19:50,080 --> 00:19:55,080 Speaker 1: first person view of passing through an area. And it 303 00:19:55,240 --> 00:19:58,240 Speaker 1: was a way to virtually visit places that you might 304 00:19:58,400 --> 00:20:00,840 Speaker 1: not ever get to go and real life kind of 305 00:20:00,880 --> 00:20:04,720 Speaker 1: like me watching these YouTube videos so you could watch 306 00:20:04,720 --> 00:20:08,240 Speaker 1: as the vista of say Switzerland, passed around you, and 307 00:20:08,320 --> 00:20:12,760 Speaker 1: crowds really liked it. And one feller had this idea 308 00:20:12,800 --> 00:20:15,520 Speaker 1: of how to take this basic concept and make it 309 00:20:15,600 --> 00:20:20,639 Speaker 1: even more immersive. That feller was William Keefe, who thought, 310 00:20:20,800 --> 00:20:25,000 Speaker 1: if you built a fake railway car and you outfitted 311 00:20:25,040 --> 00:20:28,680 Speaker 1: it with windows that looked out onto screens on all sides, 312 00:20:29,320 --> 00:20:33,400 Speaker 1: you could project a panorama of images on those screens, 313 00:20:33,720 --> 00:20:36,280 Speaker 1: they may look like the car was actually traveling through 314 00:20:36,760 --> 00:20:40,120 Speaker 1: these landscapes. And if you know, you hired some folks 315 00:20:40,359 --> 00:20:42,880 Speaker 1: who would stand on either side of the railway car 316 00:20:42,960 --> 00:20:46,000 Speaker 1: out of sight, and then you rock the car a 317 00:20:46,040 --> 00:20:48,520 Speaker 1: little bit, or maybe used a wind machine to blow 318 00:20:48,560 --> 00:20:51,600 Speaker 1: air at the passengers. It would really boost the illusion 319 00:20:51,640 --> 00:20:56,640 Speaker 1: that they were actually traveling through those locations. But Keith 320 00:20:56,720 --> 00:21:01,080 Speaker 1: didn't have the cash to build his idea himself. Then 321 00:21:01,119 --> 00:21:05,560 Speaker 1: he met an influential man in Kansas City, Missouri, named 322 00:21:05,760 --> 00:21:09,480 Speaker 1: George C. Hale. Hale had served as the fire chief 323 00:21:09,520 --> 00:21:13,960 Speaker 1: for Kansas City. He had even participated in international competitions 324 00:21:14,000 --> 00:21:17,320 Speaker 1: between different firefighting companies that had traveled in Europe. As 325 00:21:17,359 --> 00:21:20,679 Speaker 1: a result of that, and he had accumulated a decent 326 00:21:20,720 --> 00:21:24,479 Speaker 1: amount of pocket change. So Keith tells Hale his idea 327 00:21:24,640 --> 00:21:27,760 Speaker 1: and Hale agrees to back it, and they patented the 328 00:21:27,760 --> 00:21:30,639 Speaker 1: idea in nineteen o four, and then a little bit 329 00:21:30,760 --> 00:21:34,240 Speaker 1: later Hale would buy out Keith, and at the nineteen 330 00:21:34,240 --> 00:21:38,840 Speaker 1: oh four Louisiana Purchase Exhibition or the Saint Louis Exhibition, 331 00:21:39,440 --> 00:21:42,240 Speaker 1: Hale brought his idea and set it up and he 332 00:21:42,280 --> 00:21:46,679 Speaker 1: called it Hale's Tours and Scenes of the World. A 333 00:21:46,680 --> 00:21:50,560 Speaker 1: little subtitle on the poster informed you that trains would 334 00:21:50,640 --> 00:21:54,560 Speaker 1: leave every ten minutes. Of course, these trains didn't go 335 00:21:54,720 --> 00:21:57,600 Speaker 1: anywhere themselves. They were stationary. They would just appear to 336 00:21:57,640 --> 00:22:01,760 Speaker 1: go because of the screens. It was a simulation and 337 00:22:02,160 --> 00:22:05,240 Speaker 1: really a dressed up film of trains traveling through different places. 338 00:22:05,280 --> 00:22:07,280 Speaker 1: But it was a big hit. It was big enough 339 00:22:07,280 --> 00:22:09,919 Speaker 1: for Hailed to make a whole bunch of these, like 340 00:22:10,080 --> 00:22:13,000 Speaker 1: hundreds of them, for the United States and beyond. Like 341 00:22:13,080 --> 00:22:16,120 Speaker 1: they became a popular attraction, not just in the US 342 00:22:16,200 --> 00:22:19,400 Speaker 1: but also in Europe. They were something of a novelty 343 00:22:19,560 --> 00:22:22,120 Speaker 1: because after you experienced at once, you didn't have much 344 00:22:22,160 --> 00:22:25,280 Speaker 1: reason to do it again. But you know, they generated 345 00:22:25,280 --> 00:22:28,680 Speaker 1: a lot of first time foot traffic, virtually speaking early on, 346 00:22:29,119 --> 00:22:32,280 Speaker 1: and elements of the experience would find their way into 347 00:22:32,359 --> 00:22:38,400 Speaker 1: future dark rides. So while this particular example was short lived, 348 00:22:39,359 --> 00:22:42,879 Speaker 1: elements of it would have ultimately come back and be 349 00:22:43,000 --> 00:22:47,159 Speaker 1: reincorporated into the dark ride experience. Now around here is 350 00:22:47,200 --> 00:22:50,120 Speaker 1: also when we got a variation of the old Mill 351 00:22:50,240 --> 00:22:54,920 Speaker 1: ride known as the Tunnel of Love. It's actually pretty 352 00:22:54,960 --> 00:22:58,840 Speaker 1: remarkable how this particular concept has outlived the real thing. 353 00:22:59,760 --> 00:23:02,359 Speaker 1: I mean, I'm sure there may be a few Tunnel 354 00:23:02,440 --> 00:23:06,080 Speaker 1: of Love themed attractions out there, but I've never seen 355 00:23:06,119 --> 00:23:08,960 Speaker 1: one in person, and I think it's a fairly safe 356 00:23:08,960 --> 00:23:12,000 Speaker 1: bet that most of y'all I've never seen one either, 357 00:23:12,560 --> 00:23:15,040 Speaker 1: let alone been on one. I'm not saying none of 358 00:23:15,080 --> 00:23:18,720 Speaker 1: you have, so don't at me about this, but I 359 00:23:18,760 --> 00:23:21,359 Speaker 1: bet most of you have not. And yet the Tunnel 360 00:23:21,400 --> 00:23:24,160 Speaker 1: of Love is iconic, right, I mean, if I say 361 00:23:24,200 --> 00:23:27,080 Speaker 1: Tunnel of Love, people immediately have an image of what 362 00:23:27,200 --> 00:23:31,640 Speaker 1: that means. It's something that's found its way into countless films, 363 00:23:32,119 --> 00:23:35,280 Speaker 1: TV shows, cartoons, lots more. In fact, I think, let's see, 364 00:23:35,280 --> 00:23:37,800 Speaker 1: the most recent version I saw was in season one 365 00:23:37,840 --> 00:23:41,600 Speaker 1: of Schmigadoon. There's a tunnel of love in that season, 366 00:23:42,200 --> 00:23:45,800 Speaker 1: and the reason why it's iconic gets back to stories, 367 00:23:46,320 --> 00:23:50,800 Speaker 1: all right. So what the heck was a Tunnel of Love? Generally, 368 00:23:50,920 --> 00:23:53,720 Speaker 1: it was another boat ride, and it was one where 369 00:23:54,320 --> 00:23:57,480 Speaker 1: boats had these little narrow benches, which meant that a 370 00:23:57,480 --> 00:24:00,800 Speaker 1: pair of riders would need to be pretty snug with 371 00:24:00,880 --> 00:24:03,600 Speaker 1: each other in order to fit. Moreover, it had lots 372 00:24:03,600 --> 00:24:06,960 Speaker 1: of dark sections in the ride. In some cases, the 373 00:24:07,040 --> 00:24:10,040 Speaker 1: ride was intended to play up to the more romantical 374 00:24:10,600 --> 00:24:14,919 Speaker 1: of motivations, with pleasant scenes that you would pass by. 375 00:24:15,520 --> 00:24:18,399 Speaker 1: Other versions of the ride were designed to be spooky, 376 00:24:18,560 --> 00:24:23,080 Speaker 1: haunted experiences and thus encourage couples to huddle closer for safety, 377 00:24:23,760 --> 00:24:27,040 Speaker 1: and they served an important social purpose. They gave couples 378 00:24:27,080 --> 00:24:29,840 Speaker 1: a bit of privacy where they could express some physical 379 00:24:29,960 --> 00:24:33,439 Speaker 1: affection to one another out of sight of all the 380 00:24:33,520 --> 00:24:38,600 Speaker 1: lucky loose. In fact, this is a big deal. A 381 00:24:38,720 --> 00:24:41,760 Speaker 1: guide on etiquette in America that was published in nineteen 382 00:24:41,840 --> 00:24:46,639 Speaker 1: hundred declared that kissing in public was quote a reprehensible 383 00:24:46,760 --> 00:24:51,320 Speaker 1: custom and should not be tolerated in good society end quote. 384 00:24:51,880 --> 00:24:55,439 Speaker 1: And that would be the prevailing opinion in America for 385 00:24:55,480 --> 00:24:58,840 Speaker 1: a few decades. So the Tunnel of love represented a 386 00:24:58,880 --> 00:25:03,240 Speaker 1: safe space to avoid scandal and ignominy, and I'll still 387 00:25:03,240 --> 00:25:07,160 Speaker 1: allow couples to mockingmit their smooch chums as it were, 388 00:25:07,800 --> 00:25:11,560 Speaker 1: that is, to smooch up a storm. Of course, couples 389 00:25:11,560 --> 00:25:15,080 Speaker 1: would sometimes seek opportunities to steal a kiss or three 390 00:25:15,240 --> 00:25:18,120 Speaker 1: on other types of dark rides. The Tunnel of Love 391 00:25:18,200 --> 00:25:22,000 Speaker 1: might have been the most overt version for this activity, 392 00:25:22,040 --> 00:25:25,840 Speaker 1: but really, when opportunity comes a knock in your lips, 393 00:25:25,960 --> 00:25:29,560 Speaker 1: best be a lock in. And importantly, these rides also 394 00:25:29,600 --> 00:25:33,160 Speaker 1: gave opportunity to people who didn't conform to society's concepts 395 00:25:33,200 --> 00:25:36,960 Speaker 1: of gender and gender rules and allow them to express 396 00:25:37,040 --> 00:25:40,720 Speaker 1: affection without fear of putting themselves in harm's way. I'm 397 00:25:40,760 --> 00:25:43,600 Speaker 1: sure their entire research papers about the role of dark 398 00:25:43,720 --> 00:25:48,199 Speaker 1: rides with regard to the LGBTQ plus community. The Tunnel 399 00:25:48,280 --> 00:25:52,159 Speaker 1: of Love type rides, the ones that were implicitly or 400 00:25:52,359 --> 00:25:57,080 Speaker 1: explicitly for making out only enjoyed a brief moment in 401 00:25:57,119 --> 00:26:02,120 Speaker 1: the sun or the dark attitudes in America about displays 402 00:26:02,160 --> 00:26:08,600 Speaker 1: of public affection, at least between heterosexual couples with people 403 00:26:08,640 --> 00:26:14,399 Speaker 1: who identified as male and female. They would slowly change 404 00:26:14,400 --> 00:26:16,439 Speaker 1: over time, and they were helped in large part by 405 00:26:16,480 --> 00:26:20,119 Speaker 1: the burgeoning film industry, which turned out romance films at 406 00:26:20,160 --> 00:26:23,640 Speaker 1: an alarming pace, and suddenly a behavior that was once 407 00:26:23,640 --> 00:26:27,480 Speaker 1: seen as something that must absolutely never happen in front 408 00:26:27,520 --> 00:26:32,159 Speaker 1: of other people under any circumstances was now being displayed 409 00:26:32,280 --> 00:26:37,120 Speaker 1: on enormous screens across the United States. Plus folks did 410 00:26:37,160 --> 00:26:39,800 Speaker 1: all sorts of wacky things in the process, like the 411 00:26:39,960 --> 00:26:42,760 Speaker 1: dainty lifting of a leg in mid smooch. Like the 412 00:26:44,000 --> 00:26:49,600 Speaker 1: glamorization of kissing was a byproduct of this era as well, 413 00:26:50,119 --> 00:26:52,879 Speaker 1: and so Hollywood really helped usher in an era in 414 00:26:52,920 --> 00:26:56,720 Speaker 1: which folks could occasionally get away with giving a peck 415 00:26:56,800 --> 00:26:59,199 Speaker 1: or two in public without immediately being labeled as the 416 00:26:59,280 --> 00:27:03,000 Speaker 1: shame of the entire town, which was very progressive, but 417 00:27:03,160 --> 00:27:07,040 Speaker 1: it did lead to the end of the tunnel of love, 418 00:27:07,520 --> 00:27:09,479 Speaker 1: because if you didn't need a space to do this, 419 00:27:09,600 --> 00:27:12,320 Speaker 1: and you could do it anywhere, why would you pay 420 00:27:12,359 --> 00:27:17,720 Speaker 1: money to go in a rinky boat in a dark tunnel. Okay, 421 00:27:18,000 --> 00:27:20,600 Speaker 1: we got more to talk about with dark rides in 422 00:27:20,640 --> 00:27:33,760 Speaker 1: just a moment, but first, let's take another quick break. Okay, 423 00:27:33,840 --> 00:27:38,400 Speaker 1: let's get back to dark rides. In nineteen twenty nine, 424 00:27:38,800 --> 00:27:42,320 Speaker 1: Leon S. Cassidy, who got involved in the entertainment biz 425 00:27:42,640 --> 00:27:45,000 Speaker 1: when he first took a job as a piano player 426 00:27:45,040 --> 00:27:49,000 Speaker 1: for movie houses that were showing silent films. Ended up 427 00:27:49,119 --> 00:27:54,240 Speaker 1: saving up his money and formed a partnership with Marvin Rempfer, 428 00:27:54,600 --> 00:27:57,720 Speaker 1: and together they filed a patent for an invention called 429 00:27:57,800 --> 00:28:03,640 Speaker 1: an amusement railway. This was a single rail system that 430 00:28:03,680 --> 00:28:06,320 Speaker 1: many dark rides would use in the decades ahead and 431 00:28:06,680 --> 00:28:09,440 Speaker 1: still in use today for a lot of dark rides. 432 00:28:09,960 --> 00:28:14,400 Speaker 1: The patents summary includes the description quote The front portion 433 00:28:14,560 --> 00:28:18,439 Speaker 1: of each car is guided by a wheel engaging a track, 434 00:28:18,920 --> 00:28:21,600 Speaker 1: while the rear portion of said car is supported by 435 00:28:21,640 --> 00:28:25,800 Speaker 1: wheels which run upon a floor which supports the track. 436 00:28:26,320 --> 00:28:29,199 Speaker 1: The rear wheels being spaced from the track so that 437 00:28:29,240 --> 00:28:31,960 Speaker 1: the rear end of the car may lash or otherwise 438 00:28:32,040 --> 00:28:37,719 Speaker 1: move transversely of the track end quote. So one wheel 439 00:28:37,760 --> 00:28:40,480 Speaker 1: in front, which would be on a rail, so it's 440 00:28:40,480 --> 00:28:43,400 Speaker 1: almost like a train wheel. It's got the indentation, so 441 00:28:43,480 --> 00:28:47,480 Speaker 1: it is snug to the rail, and then two wheels 442 00:28:47,480 --> 00:28:50,000 Speaker 1: in the back that would run along the floor on 443 00:28:50,040 --> 00:28:54,000 Speaker 1: either side of the rail. One of those rear wheels 444 00:28:54,080 --> 00:28:56,800 Speaker 1: would be free to move of the axle so that 445 00:28:56,800 --> 00:28:59,840 Speaker 1: it can make really sharp turns, and the other one 446 00:29:00,240 --> 00:29:03,040 Speaker 1: would be connected to the axle so that it just 447 00:29:03,120 --> 00:29:07,480 Speaker 1: moved in time with the axle itself. The amusement railway 448 00:29:08,120 --> 00:29:12,120 Speaker 1: would conduct electricity, and this would provide the energy needed 449 00:29:12,160 --> 00:29:15,960 Speaker 1: for an electric motor in the cars themselves to propel 450 00:29:16,240 --> 00:29:19,840 Speaker 1: guests through the amusement. So rather than the old mill 451 00:29:19,960 --> 00:29:23,600 Speaker 1: rides which used a current of water to push people through, 452 00:29:24,040 --> 00:29:27,320 Speaker 1: and this one, the cars themselves would have a motor 453 00:29:27,600 --> 00:29:31,880 Speaker 1: that would move them through the attraction. The motor would 454 00:29:31,960 --> 00:29:35,200 Speaker 1: drive the rear wheel of the vehicle. The front wheel 455 00:29:35,280 --> 00:29:37,640 Speaker 1: again is connected to the rail itself. And further, the 456 00:29:37,680 --> 00:29:40,280 Speaker 1: inventors intended such a track to be used within a 457 00:29:40,520 --> 00:29:46,200 Speaker 1: dark ride, in particular because the patent says, quote preferably 458 00:29:46,560 --> 00:29:49,200 Speaker 1: the pleasure ride portion of the track is within a 459 00:29:49,280 --> 00:29:52,680 Speaker 1: darkened building, and a further object of the invention is 460 00:29:52,720 --> 00:29:56,800 Speaker 1: to provide entrances and exit vestibules for said building through 461 00:29:56,800 --> 00:30:01,280 Speaker 1: which the track passes. Said vestibules being divided with car 462 00:30:01,320 --> 00:30:06,280 Speaker 1: opened self closing doors so arranged that light is excluded 463 00:30:06,440 --> 00:30:09,480 Speaker 1: from the building when a car is either entering or 464 00:30:10,000 --> 00:30:14,680 Speaker 1: leaving end quote. So the dark ride part is important, 465 00:30:14,760 --> 00:30:17,640 Speaker 1: so much so that. The patent even says the doors 466 00:30:17,680 --> 00:30:19,480 Speaker 1: going in and now the building need to be self 467 00:30:19,520 --> 00:30:23,200 Speaker 1: closing so that you don't let light into the dark room. 468 00:30:24,080 --> 00:30:27,520 Speaker 1: The illustrations on this patent include a simple layout for 469 00:30:27,600 --> 00:30:32,040 Speaker 1: such a ride, with the rail following a circuitous curving 470 00:30:32,160 --> 00:30:35,240 Speaker 1: path through the inside of a building, and it will 471 00:30:35,280 --> 00:30:39,160 Speaker 1: take the riders through various scenes. The type of ride 472 00:30:39,160 --> 00:30:42,600 Speaker 1: became known as a pretzel ride because like a pretzel, 473 00:30:42,760 --> 00:30:46,160 Speaker 1: the rail would appear to twist back on itself, though 474 00:30:46,200 --> 00:30:49,880 Speaker 1: never crossing over itself because then you could have collisions 475 00:30:49,880 --> 00:30:55,000 Speaker 1: and stuff, and Cassidy and Renfer created the Pretzel Amusement 476 00:30:55,120 --> 00:30:58,360 Speaker 1: Ride Company, which would manufacture such rides for parks and 477 00:30:58,480 --> 00:31:03,200 Speaker 1: traveling carnivals. This kind of ride had some obvious advantages 478 00:31:03,240 --> 00:31:06,560 Speaker 1: over old mill style dark rides. Namely, it was much 479 00:31:06,560 --> 00:31:08,880 Speaker 1: easier to put them together because you didn't have to 480 00:31:08,960 --> 00:31:13,600 Speaker 1: dig out canals or put together water tight troughs to 481 00:31:13,640 --> 00:31:16,680 Speaker 1: hold a boat, or manage thousands of gallons of water. 482 00:31:17,200 --> 00:31:19,840 Speaker 1: So it served as an alternative ride model that was 483 00:31:19,880 --> 00:31:23,680 Speaker 1: more accessible to would be amusement park owners, and particularly 484 00:31:23,720 --> 00:31:29,320 Speaker 1: to traveling amusement parks or traveling carnivals. Another important invention 485 00:31:29,760 --> 00:31:33,720 Speaker 1: in the dark ride history was the black light, which 486 00:31:33,800 --> 00:31:36,400 Speaker 1: was not made specifically for dark rides, but it would 487 00:31:36,440 --> 00:31:40,480 Speaker 1: become heavily used by dark rides. So a black light 488 00:31:40,640 --> 00:31:45,160 Speaker 1: is a fluorescent bulb that emits ultraviolet light that when 489 00:31:45,160 --> 00:31:50,360 Speaker 1: it hits fluorescent materials, causes them to emit visible light. So, 490 00:31:50,440 --> 00:31:55,000 Speaker 1: in brief, a fluorescent lamp has a bulb that holds 491 00:31:55,040 --> 00:31:57,600 Speaker 1: a low pressure gas inside it, and it's typically a 492 00:31:57,640 --> 00:32:01,200 Speaker 1: mixture of one of the noble asses along with some 493 00:32:01,360 --> 00:32:06,959 Speaker 1: mercury vapor. When you run a current through the bulb, 494 00:32:07,400 --> 00:32:11,640 Speaker 1: you have these little emitters inside the bulb that heat up, 495 00:32:11,760 --> 00:32:14,760 Speaker 1: and when they get hot enough, they start to release 496 00:32:14,840 --> 00:32:19,640 Speaker 1: electrons into the gas inside the bulb and this ionizes 497 00:32:19,680 --> 00:32:24,720 Speaker 1: the gas. It becomes a plasma. Plasma is an ionized gas, 498 00:32:24,720 --> 00:32:29,280 Speaker 1: and the plasma begins to emit ultraviolet radiation, which we 499 00:32:29,320 --> 00:32:32,600 Speaker 1: can't see directly, but we can see when it hits 500 00:32:32,600 --> 00:32:36,960 Speaker 1: fluorescent material and makes it fluoresce light up. Now, you're 501 00:32:37,000 --> 00:32:40,400 Speaker 1: typical fluorescent bulb used in places like offices has a 502 00:32:40,480 --> 00:32:43,840 Speaker 1: coating along the inside of the bulb itself that actually 503 00:32:43,880 --> 00:32:47,600 Speaker 1: absorbs this ultra violet radiation and then emits visible light. 504 00:32:47,640 --> 00:32:50,960 Speaker 1: Because otherwise we would just have black lights in our offices, 505 00:32:51,120 --> 00:32:54,160 Speaker 1: and while that might make posters look real groovy and stuff, 506 00:32:54,160 --> 00:32:57,040 Speaker 1: it would not be conducive to getting stuff done. You 507 00:32:57,080 --> 00:32:59,320 Speaker 1: could also just use this approach to make a bulb 508 00:32:59,360 --> 00:33:02,800 Speaker 1: that just amidst UV radiation, which is really what a 509 00:33:02,840 --> 00:33:05,640 Speaker 1: black light is, although you might have black lights that 510 00:33:05,720 --> 00:33:09,440 Speaker 1: block specific bands of UV radiation because you know, if 511 00:33:09,440 --> 00:33:12,840 Speaker 1: you're exposed to UV long enough, you get sunburnt. Pairing 512 00:33:13,280 --> 00:33:17,760 Speaker 1: a black light with objects that are painted with fluorescent paint, 513 00:33:18,520 --> 00:33:22,200 Speaker 1: you can create an effect where you have objects that 514 00:33:22,240 --> 00:33:27,400 Speaker 1: are brightly lit in an otherwise pitch black environment. Because 515 00:33:27,440 --> 00:33:31,480 Speaker 1: we cannot see ultra violet light, we don't see that 516 00:33:31,520 --> 00:33:33,800 Speaker 1: the whole environment is lit up by that light, right, 517 00:33:33,800 --> 00:33:37,120 Speaker 1: we can't see that, but we can see the stuff 518 00:33:37,160 --> 00:33:39,920 Speaker 1: that is reacting to the ultra violet light. And so 519 00:33:40,040 --> 00:33:44,000 Speaker 1: black lights can illuminate vibrant, colorful objects in an otherwise 520 00:33:44,040 --> 00:33:48,640 Speaker 1: pitch black environment. It's perfect or spooky horror themed attractions. 521 00:33:48,640 --> 00:33:52,120 Speaker 1: A lot of horror themed dark rides use black lights 522 00:33:52,160 --> 00:33:55,600 Speaker 1: to illuminate the various scares that are along the way. 523 00:33:56,080 --> 00:33:58,240 Speaker 1: It's also used in less sinister stuff. Some of the 524 00:33:58,320 --> 00:34:02,240 Speaker 1: dark rides at Disney Parts still use this method. If 525 00:34:02,240 --> 00:34:04,160 Speaker 1: you go in, you might notice that your socks, or 526 00:34:04,200 --> 00:34:07,520 Speaker 1: your shirt, or your hat or whatever is glowing because 527 00:34:07,560 --> 00:34:11,120 Speaker 1: there are black lights at play. William H. Biler got 528 00:34:11,160 --> 00:34:13,840 Speaker 1: a patent for a black light invention back in nineteen 529 00:34:13,960 --> 00:34:18,960 Speaker 1: thirty five. I'm not exactly sure when the first amusement 530 00:34:19,000 --> 00:34:22,760 Speaker 1: parks started using black lights, but it's definitely a popular 531 00:34:22,800 --> 00:34:26,439 Speaker 1: technique in dark rights today. So I tried to find 532 00:34:26,440 --> 00:34:29,800 Speaker 1: out what was one of the earliest or perhaps first 533 00:34:29,880 --> 00:34:34,400 Speaker 1: dark right to use black lights, But turns out carneys 534 00:34:34,719 --> 00:34:38,400 Speaker 1: are not the best historians. Another invention that would affect 535 00:34:38,520 --> 00:34:43,479 Speaker 1: darkwright design was the chain lift. So Philip Hinkel gets 536 00:34:43,480 --> 00:34:45,840 Speaker 1: the credit for using a chain lift to pull a 537 00:34:45,920 --> 00:34:49,680 Speaker 1: roller coaster up the top of a lift hill, whereupon 538 00:34:49,719 --> 00:34:52,480 Speaker 1: the roller coaster would then depend upon gravity to propel 539 00:34:52,520 --> 00:34:55,479 Speaker 1: it to the end of its track. So a chain 540 00:34:55,560 --> 00:34:58,000 Speaker 1: lift is pretty much what it sounds like. It's a 541 00:34:58,120 --> 00:35:02,000 Speaker 1: chain belt, so it's a really, really really big loop 542 00:35:02,000 --> 00:35:05,680 Speaker 1: of heavy duty chain. It engages with a drive motor, 543 00:35:06,000 --> 00:35:10,319 Speaker 1: which will cause the chain to rotate around some otherwise 544 00:35:10,800 --> 00:35:17,440 Speaker 1: inert pulleys, and the chain will end up going the 545 00:35:17,640 --> 00:35:21,160 Speaker 1: length of the lift hill. The roller coaster cars have 546 00:35:21,400 --> 00:35:24,760 Speaker 1: a hook like latch on the underside of the car. 547 00:35:25,040 --> 00:35:28,000 Speaker 1: Thus latch is called a chain dog. So when the 548 00:35:28,080 --> 00:35:32,680 Speaker 1: roller coaster car is moved up against the base of 549 00:35:32,719 --> 00:35:38,040 Speaker 1: the lift hill, the chain dog catches on the chain itself, 550 00:35:38,440 --> 00:35:41,600 Speaker 1: so the chain then pulls the roller coaster up along 551 00:35:41,600 --> 00:35:43,319 Speaker 1: with it all the way to the top of the hill, 552 00:35:43,719 --> 00:35:48,680 Speaker 1: whereupon the chain dog disengages with the chain and once 553 00:35:48,719 --> 00:35:52,279 Speaker 1: the roller coaster is over the hill enough, then it 554 00:35:52,320 --> 00:35:55,239 Speaker 1: goes the rest of the way through gravity. These days, 555 00:35:55,280 --> 00:35:59,359 Speaker 1: also roller coasters have anti rollback devices. Essentially, these are 556 00:35:59,440 --> 00:36:02,719 Speaker 1: linear hatchets. They catch on to the track so that 557 00:36:02,760 --> 00:36:06,320 Speaker 1: if the chain were to fail, then the roller coaster 558 00:36:06,360 --> 00:36:09,040 Speaker 1: would not roll backward. It would just stop in place 559 00:36:09,120 --> 00:36:13,959 Speaker 1: because the ratchet would not allow for backwards motion. That's 560 00:36:13,960 --> 00:36:16,480 Speaker 1: what actually makes the clackety clack clack sound as you 561 00:36:16,560 --> 00:36:19,200 Speaker 1: are on a roller coaster that's going up a chain lift. 562 00:36:19,560 --> 00:36:21,480 Speaker 1: If you're hearing like a clack clack, high clack clack, 563 00:36:21,600 --> 00:36:25,479 Speaker 1: that's that linear ratchet, the anti rollback device. That's that's 564 00:36:25,800 --> 00:36:30,360 Speaker 1: it's like a saw tooth and it's it's forward motion. 565 00:36:30,520 --> 00:36:36,279 Speaker 1: It allows to click against the track itself, but it 566 00:36:36,440 --> 00:36:38,920 Speaker 1: does not allow it to go backward. It's a basic 567 00:36:39,080 --> 00:36:46,040 Speaker 1: ratchet operation there. Anyway, about half a century after Hinkle 568 00:36:46,200 --> 00:36:50,319 Speaker 1: first used this for a roller coaster pretzel style ride, 569 00:36:50,360 --> 00:36:54,080 Speaker 1: manufacturers began to make use of chain lifts themselves, which 570 00:36:54,160 --> 00:36:58,200 Speaker 1: gave them the opportunity to make two story dark rides. 571 00:36:58,280 --> 00:37:02,479 Speaker 1: They could, you know, end up creating a longer ride 572 00:37:02,520 --> 00:37:07,480 Speaker 1: experience in a smaller footprint sized building, which was great 573 00:37:07,520 --> 00:37:10,439 Speaker 1: for traveling carnivals. Right. You just have a little chain 574 00:37:10,560 --> 00:37:15,239 Speaker 1: lift hill there that lifts the car up to the 575 00:37:15,400 --> 00:37:18,640 Speaker 1: second floor, and then you can let them navigate through that. 576 00:37:18,880 --> 00:37:21,360 Speaker 1: They eventually come down a hill, they navigate through the 577 00:37:21,400 --> 00:37:25,719 Speaker 1: first floor, and then they come to the offloading onloading 578 00:37:25,800 --> 00:37:30,040 Speaker 1: section of the ride. It became very popular with traveling carnivals. 579 00:37:30,320 --> 00:37:32,560 Speaker 1: A lot of the haunted dark ride attractions I have 580 00:37:32,719 --> 00:37:36,719 Speaker 1: seen at these carnivals are two story versions. Now, there's 581 00:37:36,760 --> 00:37:39,520 Speaker 1: a ton more to say about dark rides, but I 582 00:37:39,640 --> 00:37:43,160 Speaker 1: do want another piece to fall into place before I 583 00:37:43,280 --> 00:37:46,279 Speaker 1: wrap this particular episode up, because I feel like I 584 00:37:46,360 --> 00:37:49,680 Speaker 1: could do at least one more, probably a couple more 585 00:37:49,760 --> 00:37:52,279 Speaker 1: episodes about dark rides, so we can kind of think 586 00:37:52,280 --> 00:37:54,759 Speaker 1: of this as dark rides one on one. But the 587 00:37:54,840 --> 00:37:56,520 Speaker 1: other piece I want to talk about it is actually 588 00:37:56,520 --> 00:38:01,239 Speaker 1: not a technological piece. It's the story. So a lot 589 00:38:01,280 --> 00:38:04,360 Speaker 1: of dark rides had you stuff to look at, but 590 00:38:04,520 --> 00:38:07,040 Speaker 1: most of the time it was a fairly disjointed experience. 591 00:38:07,760 --> 00:38:10,200 Speaker 1: In haunted House style attractions, it was some sort of 592 00:38:10,320 --> 00:38:13,920 Speaker 1: monster or a ghost or gooley or a grizzly scene 593 00:38:14,600 --> 00:38:17,279 Speaker 1: that you would see briefly, and then you would turn 594 00:38:17,360 --> 00:38:19,120 Speaker 1: a corner and it would be a totally different one, 595 00:38:19,360 --> 00:38:22,719 Speaker 1: and it wouldn't really necessarily follow what you just saw, like, 596 00:38:22,800 --> 00:38:28,160 Speaker 1: it wouldn't be connected thematically necessarily other than generally gruesome 597 00:38:28,280 --> 00:38:31,720 Speaker 1: or scary thing. But rarely did you have a full narrative. 598 00:38:32,600 --> 00:38:36,840 Speaker 1: Walt Disney would change that with Disneyland. Now, some of 599 00:38:36,880 --> 00:38:40,600 Speaker 1: the rides in Disneyland definitely fall into the general dark 600 00:38:40,680 --> 00:38:44,400 Speaker 1: ride category, and unlike their counterparts, they would try to 601 00:38:44,480 --> 00:38:48,879 Speaker 1: tell a story. When Disneyland first opened in nineteen fifty five, 602 00:38:49,560 --> 00:38:51,920 Speaker 1: it did so with a few such rides that were 603 00:38:51,960 --> 00:38:56,759 Speaker 1: available to guests. Snow White's Enchanted Wish, Peter Pan's Flight, 604 00:38:57,200 --> 00:39:01,680 Speaker 1: and Mister Toad's Wild Ride were all verys of dark rides, 605 00:39:01,960 --> 00:39:06,640 Speaker 1: and all three told condensed stories, though I should add 606 00:39:06,680 --> 00:39:11,319 Speaker 1: the Mister Toad Ride included a pretty amazing deviation from 607 00:39:11,440 --> 00:39:13,880 Speaker 1: the story, not just of The Wind and the Willows, 608 00:39:14,440 --> 00:39:17,840 Speaker 1: but even the Disney version of The Wind and the Willows, because, 609 00:39:18,400 --> 00:39:21,080 Speaker 1: as I recall, you end up going to Hell in 610 00:39:21,239 --> 00:39:23,840 Speaker 1: that ride, and that was not in the movie, or 611 00:39:23,840 --> 00:39:26,000 Speaker 1: at least the Underworld. If not Hell, you go to 612 00:39:26,080 --> 00:39:28,399 Speaker 1: the underworld at the end of Mister Toad's wild ride. 613 00:39:28,960 --> 00:39:31,200 Speaker 1: That wasn't in the film, but it is in the ride, 614 00:39:31,239 --> 00:39:33,880 Speaker 1: which makes it truly amazing. So really, I guess I 615 00:39:33,880 --> 00:39:37,040 Speaker 1: should say Mister Toad was inspired by The Wind and 616 00:39:37,120 --> 00:39:40,320 Speaker 1: the Willows, but not a condensed version of the Disney 617 00:39:40,360 --> 00:39:45,040 Speaker 1: film adaptation, unlike Peter Pan and snow White. My point 618 00:39:45,120 --> 00:39:50,319 Speaker 1: here is that Disneyland emphasized narrative in Dark Rides more 619 00:39:50,440 --> 00:39:54,400 Speaker 1: than what had come before it. So Disney himself understood 620 00:39:54,960 --> 00:39:58,480 Speaker 1: the power of stories, and he used technology to bring 621 00:39:58,600 --> 00:40:02,160 Speaker 1: people into story in ways that they otherwise could never do. 622 00:40:02,760 --> 00:40:06,840 Speaker 1: It wasn't just about thrills or delighting the audience. It 623 00:40:07,000 --> 00:40:11,640 Speaker 1: was about enveloping people within the tale itself. It actually 624 00:40:11,680 --> 00:40:15,719 Speaker 1: reminds me of how classic Disney fairytale movies would begin 625 00:40:15,960 --> 00:40:19,480 Speaker 1: with a book that would open and then we the viewer, 626 00:40:19,680 --> 00:40:23,400 Speaker 1: would be brought into the story through the book. Disney 627 00:40:23,480 --> 00:40:25,360 Speaker 1: wanted to do the same thing with the park, but 628 00:40:25,520 --> 00:40:29,879 Speaker 1: for real zies to a point anyway, some theme parks 629 00:40:29,920 --> 00:40:32,760 Speaker 1: would attempt to mimic what Disney did, to varying degrees 630 00:40:32,800 --> 00:40:35,719 Speaker 1: of success, one of which I got to experience. So 631 00:40:35,880 --> 00:40:40,160 Speaker 1: here in Georgia at six Flags Over Georgia, once upon 632 00:40:40,200 --> 00:40:43,239 Speaker 1: a time we had a ride called Tales of the Okefinoki. 633 00:40:43,400 --> 00:40:45,879 Speaker 1: It was sort of based on the work of Joel 634 00:40:46,000 --> 00:40:49,480 Speaker 1: Chandler Harris's the man who shared the Uncle Remus Stories, 635 00:40:49,560 --> 00:40:52,440 Speaker 1: which Disney would actually use as the basis for the 636 00:40:52,520 --> 00:40:56,160 Speaker 1: film Song of the South. But Six Flags Over Georgia 637 00:40:56,680 --> 00:40:59,719 Speaker 1: didn't exactly have the rights to this, so it was 638 00:40:59,760 --> 00:41:03,480 Speaker 1: all kind of a vague reference to the Uncle Remus 639 00:41:03,520 --> 00:41:08,640 Speaker 1: stories without it being too overtly Disney light because that 640 00:41:08,680 --> 00:41:12,640 Speaker 1: would have brought probably some pretty serious litigation against the company. 641 00:41:13,280 --> 00:41:16,000 Speaker 1: And again the setting was the Okefinoki Swamps, so it's 642 00:41:16,040 --> 00:41:18,800 Speaker 1: kind of a combo there. I have vague memories of 643 00:41:18,880 --> 00:41:21,080 Speaker 1: this ride because I'm actually old enough to have gone 644 00:41:21,160 --> 00:41:23,680 Speaker 1: on it when I was a kid, but it closed 645 00:41:23,719 --> 00:41:26,600 Speaker 1: in nineteen eighty for a few reasons, the big one 646 00:41:26,680 --> 00:41:29,640 Speaker 1: being that there was a fire that affected that attraction, 647 00:41:30,400 --> 00:41:35,840 Speaker 1: but also it was just generally not the best designed ride, 648 00:41:36,440 --> 00:41:39,200 Speaker 1: so they closed it down. They used the same track 649 00:41:39,280 --> 00:41:41,960 Speaker 1: in the same pathway. It's a boat ride, so use 650 00:41:42,000 --> 00:41:45,719 Speaker 1: the exact same thing to house a second ride, which 651 00:41:45,880 --> 00:41:50,080 Speaker 1: originally was called the Monster Plantation, but then after a 652 00:41:50,239 --> 00:41:54,680 Speaker 1: refurbishment and some careful thought about how the word plantation 653 00:41:54,800 --> 00:41:58,520 Speaker 1: has some pretty nasty connotations to it, it is now 654 00:41:58,640 --> 00:42:03,120 Speaker 1: called the Monster Mansion. I mean, I'm still of the 655 00:42:03,520 --> 00:42:07,000 Speaker 1: the rich opinion, so I still have issues with mansions, 656 00:42:07,200 --> 00:42:10,600 Speaker 1: but not nearly the same as plantations. Well, today, dark 657 00:42:10,719 --> 00:42:15,880 Speaker 1: rides can be augmented with more high tech features. For example, 658 00:42:16,000 --> 00:42:18,960 Speaker 1: the Amazing Adventures of Spider Man at Universal's Islands of 659 00:42:19,000 --> 00:42:23,520 Speaker 1: Adventure in Orlando uses motion simulation and three D projections 660 00:42:23,600 --> 00:42:26,359 Speaker 1: and three D glasses to create an immersive experience along 661 00:42:26,400 --> 00:42:29,520 Speaker 1: with practical effects that are happening in the actual environment, 662 00:42:29,600 --> 00:42:33,440 Speaker 1: including fire effects. It's pretty darn neat so I will 663 00:42:33,600 --> 00:42:36,480 Speaker 1: most likely revisit this particular topic and go more into 664 00:42:36,520 --> 00:42:39,440 Speaker 1: the history and evolution of the dark ride, because I 665 00:42:39,480 --> 00:42:42,040 Speaker 1: think there's so many cool stories like I think we 666 00:42:42,120 --> 00:42:46,120 Speaker 1: can do almost an entire episode about the Omnimover, for example, 667 00:42:46,600 --> 00:42:51,200 Speaker 1: technology that Disney developed that allows for a continuous operation 668 00:42:51,440 --> 00:42:57,279 Speaker 1: of vehicles and greatly increases the ride capacity of an attraction, 669 00:42:57,920 --> 00:42:59,719 Speaker 1: well at least if you really pack them in there, 670 00:42:59,800 --> 00:43:02,480 Speaker 1: like the doom Buggies of Haunted Mansion. For things like 671 00:43:02,600 --> 00:43:05,960 Speaker 1: Peter Pan's flight, you're looking at a really long wait 672 00:43:06,080 --> 00:43:09,200 Speaker 1: unless you get there early in the morning. Folks who 673 00:43:09,640 --> 00:43:13,080 Speaker 1: are familiar with Disney know that all too well. But yeah, 674 00:43:13,400 --> 00:43:15,359 Speaker 1: this is just a little hint of it. I'm sure 675 00:43:15,360 --> 00:43:19,160 Speaker 1: I could also talk about things like animatronics as well 676 00:43:19,239 --> 00:43:22,520 Speaker 1: as other effects. There's some great effects that have been 677 00:43:22,600 --> 00:43:25,480 Speaker 1: used to varying degrees of success in dark rides that 678 00:43:25,600 --> 00:43:30,120 Speaker 1: involve creating walls of mist that you can project on 679 00:43:30,400 --> 00:43:34,440 Speaker 1: and create almost like a holographic sort of experience, which 680 00:43:34,560 --> 00:43:39,200 Speaker 1: is incredibly impressive when it works and really disappointing when 681 00:43:39,239 --> 00:43:42,320 Speaker 1: it doesn't. So I will likely do more episodes in 682 00:43:42,440 --> 00:43:46,880 Speaker 1: this range because I do really really love these kinds 683 00:43:46,920 --> 00:43:49,480 Speaker 1: of rides. I love them for the technology, I love 684 00:43:49,560 --> 00:43:53,080 Speaker 1: them for the storytelling. I love being able to just 685 00:43:53,760 --> 00:43:58,239 Speaker 1: inhabit a different world for a short while I love 686 00:43:58,360 --> 00:44:02,120 Speaker 1: sharing that experience with loved ones. I have two nieces 687 00:44:02,719 --> 00:44:07,840 Speaker 1: who just their reactions to these things are priceless. So 688 00:44:08,200 --> 00:44:10,560 Speaker 1: to me, this is one of those technologies that, when 689 00:44:10,640 --> 00:44:16,840 Speaker 1: it's done well, really ends up being an incredibly fun time. 690 00:44:17,560 --> 00:44:19,920 Speaker 1: Even if you were to be the cynical type and 691 00:44:20,000 --> 00:44:24,239 Speaker 1: talk about how it's ultimately a way to sell tickets, Yes, sure, 692 00:44:24,560 --> 00:44:27,399 Speaker 1: I get it, you have to have capitalism in there, 693 00:44:27,480 --> 00:44:30,360 Speaker 1: otherwise who's going to pay for the upkeep of the 694 00:44:30,440 --> 00:44:34,040 Speaker 1: attraction itself. But it doesn't take away from the enjoyment 695 00:44:34,120 --> 00:44:37,080 Speaker 1: of the actual experience when you're in it, at least 696 00:44:37,120 --> 00:44:40,520 Speaker 1: not in my opinion. So we'll come back to this. 697 00:44:40,880 --> 00:44:44,160 Speaker 1: We'll do more episodes about dark rides in the future, 698 00:44:44,719 --> 00:44:48,560 Speaker 1: and we'll dive into some of the other technologies being used, 699 00:44:48,760 --> 00:44:54,320 Speaker 1: things like augmented reality, three D projection, the animatronics, like 700 00:44:54,400 --> 00:44:58,280 Speaker 1: I said, and even things like trackless ride systems, because 701 00:44:58,360 --> 00:45:01,200 Speaker 1: there are those as well being used in dark rides, 702 00:45:01,600 --> 00:45:04,280 Speaker 1: and all of them are fascinating, But they're all built 703 00:45:05,160 --> 00:45:10,080 Speaker 1: on top of this basic idea of having a controlled 704 00:45:10,200 --> 00:45:14,279 Speaker 1: environment where people can enter a world they otherwise could 705 00:45:14,400 --> 00:45:18,760 Speaker 1: not or should not go into, and how to really 706 00:45:19,320 --> 00:45:23,600 Speaker 1: make those imaginations pop. Okay, that's it for this episode. 707 00:45:23,680 --> 00:45:25,440 Speaker 1: Hope you enjoyed it. If you would like to reach 708 00:45:25,520 --> 00:45:28,960 Speaker 1: out with suggestions for future episodes, please do so. You 709 00:45:29,080 --> 00:45:31,759 Speaker 1: can do it on Twitter. The handle for the show 710 00:45:31,880 --> 00:45:36,320 Speaker 1: is tech Stuff HSW or you can reach out on 711 00:45:36,480 --> 00:45:40,279 Speaker 1: the iHeartRadio app. It's free to download and free to use. 712 00:45:40,320 --> 00:45:43,160 Speaker 1: You just put tech Stuff in the little search field. 713 00:45:43,160 --> 00:45:45,800 Speaker 1: It'll pop over to the podcast page. You'll see a 714 00:45:45,840 --> 00:45:48,000 Speaker 1: little microphone icon. If you click on that, you can 715 00:45:48,080 --> 00:45:50,920 Speaker 1: leave up to thirty seconds of voice message to me. 716 00:45:51,400 --> 00:45:53,160 Speaker 1: Let me know what you would like to hear, and 717 00:45:53,280 --> 00:46:01,600 Speaker 1: I'll talk to you again. Release soon. Tech Stuff is 718 00:46:01,640 --> 00:46:06,160 Speaker 1: an iHeartRadio production. For more podcasts from iHeartRadio, visit the 719 00:46:06,239 --> 00:46:09,879 Speaker 1: iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you listen to your 720 00:46:09,920 --> 00:46:10,640 Speaker 1: favorite shows.