Very well done, but hit it when the park opens if you want to avoid lines.

You do have to strain and pay attention before the ride starts to understand the story. That is the only thing fault I see. The preshow does not exist any longer; they still show the video on the screens but you are not held cative in the screening room.

Of course the plot is harder to follow than Spiderman, because most people are familiar with Spiderman and his villians.

I found the movements to be in sync and very well done. The 3D effects of the wolves attacking and flying knives were as good as any 3D effects out there.

I loved the refreshment of this highly air conditioned attraction.

Love the special effects but wasnt feeling the story too much. The ride was very tame as well. Worth about a 15 minute wait.

One of the best themed rides ive been on. The story is hard to follow though.

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.

As with most of this parks attractions, the theming is excellent for this attraction. The air conditioning is nice on those hot days. The movie looks great, but doesnt make a whole lot of sense. The role of the audience member, isnt clearly defined. Most of the movie it seems that you are a regular earthbound being, but in one scene you are flying behind the ghost into the castle. Talk about confusing.
Since, this came out after Spiderman, I figured that this ride could have learned something from it or could even one up it in some minor way or other. Sort of like Kingda Ka did to Top Thrill Dragster. However, I found that the movement of the car isnt integrated in and co-ordinated with the movie quite as well as in Spiderman. The plot in Spiderman makes a lot more sense. It seemed to me that the composition of the movie reminded me a lot of Spiderman. Overall, it is a very good attraction that tries to imitate the king, but Spiderman still rules this category.

One of the biggest problems that I have with being a park enthusiast is that I have a perceived perception of how things look and how things are going to be. I looked at pictures of this building and I thought it was going to be a massive castle. I hope Im not too disappointed when I go to Disney, because I have the notion that it will be the same feeling. The building and theme for this is nice, but I thought it was going to be on a much larger scale. Oh well, at least that was the biggest disappointment that I had during the experience of this attraction. To start, the theming is very good. My main beef with the whole experience is the pre-show thing. I think it could have been better organized. There is the TV once you enter the building, and there is the big screen once you really get inside. Each time, it is hard to hear what is being said and it is hard to follow the story while people arent really paying attention and talking and all kinds of stuff. I dont even think that people know that it is part of the ride and just failed to care. Its not that big of a deal though, I just think that if it was better designed and got peoples attention better, it might add to the ride. As for the actual ride itself, I think it is great. The effects are excellent with some startling moments. I think the movement of the ride vehicle works well with the story. The story is a little hard to follow, but the effects counteract that negative. Overall, it is a superb ride, in my opinion, and really surprised me on my first ride. The whole experience is great and worth the longest wait in the park. I have heard horror stories of things not working well and at the ride times, but when they do work... you know. I cant compare this to Spiderman right now, but I cant imagine what Spiderman is like. If you just sit back and enjoy the effects and dont worry too much about the storyline, this ride is killer. No spoilers here - just go ride it and enjoy.

Its a good 3-D ride adventure. Its good. What makes it good is just the kinda of ride that it is. I think these 3-D rides are awesome and I wish there was more of them. The story line is very confusing and kinda stupid, and the effects are cool but not that great. Now Spiderman at Islands of Adventure is Great. We all know the story line of spiderman, its a longer ride, and the effects thorughout the ride are done just much better.

This ride is not worth waiting more than 15 minutes for. I would have to say that this is a ride for kids.

Great ride! Wow! I was not expecting it to be this good after reading some mixed reviews here. I really enjoyed it. I thought the main character that kept popping up was a bit uninspired, but the action and graphics were almost up to Spiderman standards. Of course, Spidey has a much better cast and the last "drop" is far more convincing than the one here. However, there is a sequence that has you flying through the castle that I loved. Its a rip-off, no doubt, but they did a good job with it. The 3D effects were rock solid, the ride was a ton of fun.

This ride was very detailed, beautiful, and the castle is awesome. The movie and 3-D effects were great. The theming through the line que was great. It looked liked they spent alot of money on theming for this ride. When you go into the loading station the cars come out of mist and you cant see where they came from. While in the que line they tell a story of the castles haunted past. This is a must ride at BGW. It is fast, fun, rerideable, it has a large capacity, and a long duration.