Back in ‘06 when I visited America’s most beautiful theme park, Curse of DarKastle was the much hyped newest attraction. Every morning in the hotel, I saw ads upon ads for this multi-sensory attraction that seemingly combined a motion simulator, a 3-D film, and a dark ride into one gigantic attraction despite being a year old. So it must be good, right? Well, let me say that when I rode it, I hadn’t been on Spiderman yet, but now after having been on Spiderman two years after riding this incredible attraction, I must say that while it pales in comparison, it’s a great attraction in its own right.
Located in the Germany section way in the back of the park, Curse of DarKastle arguably is the park’s most beautiful attraction, which is really saying a lot! Housed in a massive, haunted castle, the sheer detail included on the castle is flat out amazing, and dare I say it, it actually may look better than any of Disney’s castles, and why stop there. This may just be the best looking attraction I’ve ever come across! Just wow! From the cobwebs to the frost to the creepy windows, Busch just got this appearance perfect. But it doesn’t stop there, as the courtyard that the queue passes through is amazing, complete with statues, incredible landscaping, and some really refreshing misters.
Being the newest attraction, I wasn’t at all surprised that this had the longest wait of my visit, which actually equated out to 30 minutes, which was definitely fair and not bad at all. The whole time the line was moving, so I guess capacity isn’t an issue; the attraction is just really popular and for good reason! Oh yeah, and the theming continues indoors as there’s plenty of incredible artwork and ornate furniture to gaze your eyes at, but what really impressed me is that Busch literally took the concept of a castle frozen in time, chilling the interior to a very comfortable 50 degrees or so, a perfect refreshment on a 100 plus degree day.
Now I bring up the primary of the attractions’ few, yet important flaws: the rather demented and hard to follow plot. While moving rather quickly through the interior queue, monitors and speakers attempt to introduce the plot; however, while the picture comes in fine, the audio is abysmal and can’t be heard over the persistent talking of everyone else waiting in line. All I knew going onto the ride is that a psychopath has held the castle hostage, freezing it in time. In the future, I hope Busch either increases the audio so that it can be heard, or better yet, add a pre-show in a manner most of the Orlando attractions feature since one would really tie in nicely to DarKastle and its plot. Finally, I grabbed a pair of 3-D glasses and went right to the elaborately themed boarding area.
Once I boarding the high-tech vehicle, the attraction began and blew me away. While some have cited the film to be blurry, I found the picture to be picture-perfect, providing a crisp picture. Now granted, I rode this in its second operating season and there’s a chance the picture has deteriorated over time, but regardless it was incredible when I rode. What really held this attraction back was the horrific audio. It was loud for sure, but I couldn’t at all decipher what anyone was saying due to the sound being very muffled. Really this and the confusing plot line are the only two things that hold this amazing attraction back, but together they make understanding what’s going on during the attraction impossible.
But what really stole the show in my opinion were the absolutely mind-blowing 3-D and motion effects, which were synched flawlessly with the film and each was used to compliment the other perfectly. The 3-D was simply amazing and only behind Tough to be a Bug for the best 3-D I’ve ever experienced. Every projectile and attack made me flinch; it was that realistic and sensational! Also, the motion effects were stunning as well. I especially loved the elevator mid-ride and the motion really made the attraction incredibly much more immersive and enjoyable from beginning to end by adding that extra dimension of excitement.
Curse of DarKastle is a simply amazing attraction that really shows what the future of dark rides should be. The combination of a dark ride with a motion simulator and 3-D film really flex what current-day amusement park technology has come to, and really makes the entire experience very memorable and satisfying. But as I’ve already stated, this is held back by the convoluted plot-line and poor audio quality throughout the entire attraction. So how does this compare to Spiderman? Well, overall Spiderman absolutely destroys this attraction, but in my opinion this triumphs Spiderman in the exterior theming and the 3-D category. However, Spiderman is an all-around better attraction that simply has no flaws. Anyway, no visit to Busch is complete with this absolutely stunning dark ride that truly is one of the park’s elite attractions.
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