Visiting a theme park these days, whether that’s Disney, Universal or one of the many others, you’ll find yourself going on quite a few screen based attractions. Whether it’s just a standard film based show, or a 3D or even 4D ride, it’s a cheaper way to build a new attraction that often appeals to a larger audience than say a track based ride. Given the appeals of screen based attractions, it’s not surprising that there are companies lining up to offer theme parks brand new ways to bring these shows life.
Earlier this month the 2016 IAPPA Attractions Expo took place in Orlando where companies can show off new and exciting products and concepts, with the hope they get picked up by a big name.
One company that was in attendance was DyMoRides, an Austrian company that was showing off it’s new ‘flying theater’ product. If that term rings a bell, it might be because at the beginning of November, Universal Orlando released some details about the upcoming “Race Through New York Starring Jimmy Fallon” attraction. As part of that announcement, Universal revealed that guests would board a ‘flying theater’. The name isn’t a coincidence, DyMoRides is believed to be the company developing the theater for the new ride, particularly after a spokesperson for the company said that they are working on a “custom ride system for a classic flying theater” at a “leading Orlando theme park”.
However, it was Dynamic Attractions, a Canadian company who stole the show and won the award for Best New Product Concept. They presented their Dynamic Motion Theater which features a tilting and rotating floor while the 360-theater features sliding screens in-front of stages for live performances. Check out the video below to see the concept in action.
Dynamic Attractions certainly aren’t new to the theme park scene. Some of their work includes Disney’s Soarin’, as well as the Harry Potter and the Forbidden Journey ride in Universals Islands of Adventure.
These new theaters look like they’re taking screen based attractions to the next level, and I for one am looking forward to trying one. However, I do hope this doesn’t encourage a push towards even more screen based rides. In my view the parks need to make sure that they keep a good balance of screen based and track based attractions, and I am getting concerned that Universal Studios are starting to get too screen-heavy.