Ghost Train, previously Derren Brown's Ghost Train: Rise of the Demon, is a

dark ride A dark ride or ghost train is an indoor amusement ride on which passengers aboard guided vehicles travel through specially lit scenes that typically contain Animatronics, animation, sound, music and Special effect#Live special effects, special e ...

Thorpe Park Thorpe Park Resort, commonly known as Thorpe Park, is an amusement park located in the village of Thorpe between the towns of Chertsey and Staines-upon-Thames in Surrey, England, southwest of Central London. It is operated by Merlin Entertai ...

Surrey Surrey () is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in South East England, bordering Greater London to the south west. Surrey has a large rural area, and several significant urban areas which form part of the Greater London Built-up Area. ...

, England. The attraction incorporates

motion simulation A motion simulator or motion platform is a mechanism that creates the feelings of being in a real motion environment. In a simulator, the movement is synchronised with a visual display of the outside world (OTW) scene. Motion platforms can provi ...

and illusion. It is set in a themed derelict Victorian railway depot. It first opened in July 2016, then reopened as Derren Brown's Ghost Train: Rise Of The Demon in March 2017. On the 2nd May 2023, it was announced on all THORPE PARK social media channels that the reimagined Ghost Train would reopen on the 26th May 2023.

History

Derren Brown's Ghost Train was first teased on 8 July 2015 after reportedly three years in planning. The project name was referred to as 'WC16'. Merlin Magic Making, the development division of

Merlin Entertainments Merlin Entertainments Limited is a British entertainment company based at Poole in Dorset, England. It was listed on the London Stock Exchange until November 2019, when it was acquired by a consortium that includes Kirkbi A/S (the investment a ...

, designed the attraction in collaboration with British

mentalist Mentalism is a performing art in which its practitioners, known as mentalists, appear to demonstrate highly developed mental or intuitive abilities. Performances may appear to include hypnosis, telepathy, clairvoyance, divination, precogniti ...

Derren Brown Derren Brown (born 27 February 1971) is an English mentalist, illusionist, painter, and author. He began performing in 1992, making his television debut with ''Derren Brown: Mind Control'' in 2000, and has since produced several more shows fo ...

and his team. The main experience is a simulator dark ride built by Simworx, originally with on-board virtual reality (produced by Figment Productions).

Severn Lamb Severn Lamb, sometimes known as Severn-Lamb, are manufacturers of various forms of transport systems and equipment, principally aimed at the leisure market. They are based at Alcester in the England, English county of Warwickshire, but sell thei ...

and

Intamin Intamin Amusement Rides is a design and manufacturing company in Schaan, Liechtenstein. It is best known for creating thrill rides and roller coasters worldwide. The Intamin brand name is a syllabic abbreviation for "international amusement ins ...

engineered the complex transit system. The project altogether was reported in the Financial Times as having a cost of £13 million. After the 2022 season, the virtual reality on the ride and association with Derren Brown was removed.

Opening

In anticipation of the new attraction, Thorpe Park began a "Get in for a Bob" promotion, where 1871 people would be able to purchase a ticket into the resort for the modern-day equivalent of a shilling in Victorian times, which equals 5

pence A penny is a coin ( pennies) or a unit of currency (pl. pence) in various countries. Borrowed from the Carolingian denarius (hence its former abbreviation d.), it is usually the smallest denomination within a currency system. Presently, it is th ...

. The website was published earlier than the scheduled time which resulted in many being unable to get tickets. The resort offered that those who registered their name before the website closed would be entered into a raffle, where a further 4,000 12 pence tickets would be allocated at random. The attraction was originally set to open on 6 May 2016, as announced on their social networks. However one week before the attraction was set to open, the resort announced the attraction would not be ready due to "some illusions not working as anticipated".

References

{{British dark rides Dark rides Amusement rides manufactured by Intamin Amusement rides introduced in 2016

History

Opening

See also

References