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| Brighter Colors - Note the second-level balcony onto which the cars emerge. |
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| Mwahaha! |
One of the first illusions you encounter is this, the "tilted corridor," a standby in many haunted house-type rides.
Right after that is the spinning barrel, which also includes a rotating disk at the end of the hallway designed to look like the back of one of the ride's cars!
For reference:
Some of the dioramas have been in the ride since 1964, such as this macabre one, the "Old Mill."
There are spooks on the lighter side of things, though!
Like other early works of Bill Tracy, the Trimper's Haunted House certainly specializes in large scenes filled with animated, sculpted figures.
This "train tunnel" uses a former rotating barrel from a defunct Bill Tracy darkride that was once in an Ocean City amusement park called Playland. When that park closed, Trimper's acquired many of the stunts from their Ghost Ship darkride and added them to the Haunted House, creating a new and improved two-story ride.
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| Yes, those bumps on the floor do create the sensation of traveling over railroad ties! |
This lunging "rat" also came from Playland's Ghost Ship.
I don't have a good picture of it, but Trimper's Haunted House also features a "water curtain" waterfall that runs in front of the ride's final set of doors. Luckily, it shuts off before right before you are drenched. Unlike some darkrides, you do get wet from this one!
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| Stormy Skies... |
12 comments:
Oh man! This is one cool looking dark ride. Those coffin ride vehicles are really cool. Everything looks crusty and funky too. My kind of dark ride.
I love the little monster pics on the wall in the load area.
That poor gal on the table saw. Talk about harsh.
That torture scene is pretty cool too. It reminds me of old horror plastic models.
I really love old and funky dark rides as long as there is a good escape route.
Thanks for sharing this, Andrew. Love these pics. The Coffin ride vehicles are my favorite thing about it.
This does look like a really cool Haunted House dark ride. I love everything about it from the ride vehicles, to the sets. I hope this attraction sticks around for another 55+ years! I also hope that I get to experience it one day!
K. Martinez, it really is a hodge-podge of all kinds of spooky stuff that's been changed a lot over the years. As far as an "escape route" goes, I think that you'll have to just hope for the best! My "coffin" car did stop at one point, but it soon started rolling again.
Thanks as always for reading!
TokyoMagic!, I except this ride to stick around for a long time. Trimper's is a great place that is aware of the importance of this classic.
I would rather experience that Haunted House than the Millennium Falcon ride! So cool. There's just something about those old dark rides that does it for me.
Major Pepperidge, I love vintage darkrides and have even been to a couple of events where, thanks to the Darkride and Funhouse Enthusiasts, we get to walk through old darkrides. Thanks for reading!
This ride does look fun! Lots of excitement around every corner! Sort of an amped-up version of Mr. Toad's Wild Ride.
I like how the "train tunnel" has the "bumps on the floor" that create the sensation of traveling over railroad ties - that's something extra that you'd expect from a Disney attraction.
Great pictures, Andrew! - especially the last one with the stormy skies!
Sue
Thanks for dropping by again, Sue! I bet that there's a good chance the Trimper family was "inspired" to add the train by the similar effect in Mr. Toad... and yes, I would definitely call this an "amped up" version of it as far as intensity goes!
As amped up as this is, at least you don't end up in Hell...unless that's what you think of Maryland in general.
Thanks for sharing, Andrew. I need to get to Trimper's!
Chuck, ha! There is a devil prop inside, but I don't think any other darkride has carried out the theme to as great as an extent as Mr. Toad. And yes, I bet that you would enjoy Trimper's!
The "handy-hands-at-home" is strong with this place.
Pretty gruesome stuff, very unlike the family entertainment of Disney's HM.
The coffin cars are a stroke of genius, even if rough in execution.
Thanks Andrew. A fun trip.
JG
JG, yes, a lot of the stuff is quite gruesome, but you only have a few seconds to look at each scene before you're moving on to the next one, so I'm guessing that most kids don't think twice about some of this stuff.
It's crazy that some of these "spooks," despite being made of Paper-Mache and other crude materials, have reliably operated for 55 years! Thanks for reading.
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