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I've wonder by the looks of that second one if they originally intended a more eclectic vibe for DarKastle. They tried out concepts for new-age, gothic, and even Disney-esque. There was one piece of artwork that literally said: "Too dark." for one photo and: "Too Disney." for another. I think it's very cool to learn about all the things that the ride could have been.
 
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As always someone else says what I want better than I. Other than AC I just don't get the appeal of dark rides to begin with, and other then creating fertal ground for puns, I am not sure what this one did.

I agree with @Zimmy & @UncleDuncan on this. They captured it pretty well. I was never a fan of this ride, and it really wasn't repeat-ride worthy. I went on it maybe 3-4 times over its lifespan (mostly to introduce new riders to it, who similarly were underwhelmed), while attending the park each season. I give them credit for creating it over a other options (e.g. DarKastle added more to the park than Finnegan ever will), and I definitely like that it was a dark ride, which they need more of, not less of, IMHO (so slight tweak on Zimmy's view). This just wasn't a great one.

The only thing I will add is taking exception with the caveats "...for a regional park." I think that's a little derisive even if not intended that way.

The park is a mostly regional/local draw, but then again, outside of the Mouse/Universal (Orlando) and CedarPoint perhaps, aren't all parks to a degree? Most are going to draw many of their guests, especially pass holders, from a few hours drive. Saying the park is regional in the context of a critique sounds to me like it's an excuse for poor product..."the park cloud offer world class attractions and entertainment, but you know it does an Ok job for being 'regional.' Bless its heart." Like BGW is one of those originally mom-and-pop < 30 ride fairy-tale themed kiddie parks you stumble upon that can only do but so much...

Sure, I'm not expecting Mouse-level quality for dark rides or themeing, but that's arguably the gold standard and in a class all it own. Among the rest, the park can, and has, especially with coasters, delivered world class attractions. This just wasn't an example of that, IMHO. I'm hoping it is replaced with something it that is. And since acquisition by SEAS, and perhaps even before that relative to the state of the industry at the time, I would argue it's a national brand even if most guests are local/regional. They (SEAS) have the capital to invest and are capable of delivering. Only question is maximizing that ROI and where to place their bets.
 
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Anyone know whether or not the park still has the trains? I know they were still in storage in the building during HOS
They were there at Christmas time can't say if they have been moved since then. But I will bet that they will be sitting there till a new use is found for them somewhere.
 
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Outdoors?

Did someone at least throw a blue tarp over them?
I don't think @mwe bgw was saying that is where they currently are, rather that they think it'll end up there, or perhaps was a joke altogether.

To our knowledge, the cars are still being stored within the castle. Unless something has changed without alerting anyone.
 
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I would be very surprised if they end up in the boneyard they are still very advanced. I could easily see them recycled for another attraction at one of the parks or even sold off to someone else. I would be highly disappointed if Sea let's them just simply get scrapped.
 
I don't think @mwe bgw was saying that is where they currently are, rather that they think it'll end up there, or perhaps was a joke altogether.

To our knowledge, the cars are still being stored within the castle. Unless something has changed without alerting anyone.
i thought they were in the boneyard
 
I would be very surprised if they end up in the boneyard they are still very advanced. I could easily see them recycled for another attraction at one of the parks or even sold off to someone else. I would be highly disappointed if Sea let's them just simply get scrapped.
Agreed that it’d be a shame to see them scrapped. I wonder who would buy them, though, since that particular Oceaneering vehicle system never really took off with other parks the way they surely hoped it would. I imagine someone would need to be installing a new system or very fundamentally re-engineering an existing space to make use of the vehicles largely as-is.
 
I was looking at various Intamin offerings. I'm not sure of the space available...but could a "Mystery Castle-ish" conversion be feasible? The base architecture is there...could a drop tower be added? IMHO It would make one heck of a dark ride.
 
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don't know if this has been suggested before, but would an indoor coaster like revenge of the mummy be feasible for the CoDK building?
 
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