Canada's Wonderland Building New Interactive 4-D Dark Ride for 2014

Dark Ride fans rejoice - a Cedar Fair park is building a brand new, high-tech dark ride from the ground up next season!  Today Canada's Wonderland announced Wonder Mountain's Guardian, an interactive 4-D dark ride that will be built inside the park's famous Wonder Mountain.

The park is holding back on a lot of the specific details of the attraction, but has released a general description of the adventure.

"Wonder Mountain’s Guardian begins with a perilous climb up the side of Wonder Mountain then plummets into its core traveling through five different layers of this dimensional world.  Riders will encounter mythical creatures as they navigate 1,000 feet of coaster track through a desolate forest, underground lake and Draconian City. The quest culminates as riders enter the dragon’s lair for the ultimate battle with a heart stopping finale that will shock thrill seekers of all ages."

The ride will feature cars that have laser guns for each passenger, allowing them to score points as they blast at targets along the way.  4-D elements will include "simulating wind, movement and more."   Manufacturer Triotech will provide the ride, and they promise "real time graphics and the fastest, most accurate targeting system that will contribute to create an ultra-immersive and interactive experience."  Park officials and Triotech are promising a ride that is both one of a kind and totally unforgettable.

The official announcement was held at the park early today on the news, and a member of the Triotech team was there, along with the park's spokesperson.

Some additional details came out during the broadcast, including that the ride will first climb to the 60 foot level of the mountain as the ride begins.  The ride will be based "heavily on graphics" and use 3-D technology, meaning riders will wear special glasses on Wonder Mountain's Guardian.  The ride will also feature the "longest interactive wall in the world" according to Triotech, and the scoring aspect of the ride is expected to make it very repeatable for riders.

The ride sounds very promising, and I'm almost glad that no additional images or video was released, it keeps much of the experience a mystery.  Frankly I'm just super pleased to be writing about a new dark ride experience that Cedar Fair contracted to be built - I can only hope this attraction finds much success so that other parks in the family may one day receive something similar!