"Ride Archive" Offers VR Simulations of Lost Theme Park Rides and Attractions

Press Release • updated: Feb 25, 2017

Which lost theme park ride would you bring back? New tech promises "the future of preserving the past."

Burbank, California, February 22, 2017 (Newswire.com) - "Anyone who's been to a theme park has a favorite ride. But what about all the rides that went away before their time and still linger in the childhood memories of grown-ups today?" So begins a viral video pitch at RideArchive.com that's received nearly 620,000 views on Facebook.

According to concept designer Jay Kristopher Huddy, the Ride Archive represents "the future of preserving the past" by providing VR simulations of decommissioned rides and attractions from your favorite theme parks.

"The dark ride is mechanical performance art. We preserve art in so many forms, whether it's paintings, literature, sculpture, music, or architecture. All of these are singularly embodied in a theme park ride and yet no one seems concerned with preserving that unifying cultural experience."

Jay Huddy, Concept Designer

“The dark ride is mechanical performance art. We preserve art in so many forms, whether it’s paintings, literature, sculpture, music, or architecture. All of these are singularly embodied in a theme park ride and yet no one seems concerned with preserving that unifying cultural experience,” said Huddy in a recent interview with DCTC. “I want to change that.”

Huddy’s presentation demonstrates how guests would not only experience the ride, but upon exiting the attraction, take home the VR experience on their mobile device. Outside the attraction, guests would also be able to visit the original location where a ride once stood to "collect" a ride using an app on their phone or tablet. The video also alludes to an augmented reality feature that allows guests to "see" the attraction where it once stood.

"The AR component was a last-minute addition," says Huddy. "With Pokémon GO taking the world by storm, it's impossible to ignore the Bulbasaur in the room."

A petition on Change.org now allows people to persuade one of the biggest names in theme parks to make The Ride Archive a reality, with Huddy seeming to ask for neither credit nor financial compensation.

"A million-dollar contract should never get in the way of a million-dollar idea," said Huddy. "To paraphrase a great man, 'If we can dream it, they can do it.'"

Media Contact:
Jay Huddy
Phone: 646.595.6181
Email: info@ridearchive.com

Source: RideArchive.com