SEMI-FINALIST #9
Attraction Name: A Nightmare on Elm Street: The Ride
Based upon: New Line Cinema's "A Nightmare on Elm Street"
Contestant: Brian Wactlar
Summary: This is a heavily themed and completely enclosed Gerstlauer Euro-Fighter coaster based on the Nightmare on Elm Street film franchise.
Storyline: Guests are invited to tour the newly constructed Springwood Institute of Dream Studies in which they become all too real participants in an out of control nightmare brought to you courtesy of Freddy Krueger himself.
Walkthrough and Ride Description: Your adventure begins as you enter the Queue which is designed as the Springwood Institute of Dream studies. Through a series of monitors and artifacts, guests learn that the institute was built due to the town of Springwood’s population being plagued by nightmares and that it was also built on the former site of the Westin Hills Sanitarium.
As the Queue winds through the institute, you pass by several offices of doctors and scientists. There will be several movie “Easter eggs” and references to please the die-hard fans.
You are soon directed to a set of classroom style auditorium(the pre-show room) in which you invited to participate in a breakthrough phenomenon the institute’s leading researcher, Dr. Craven (wink wink) has developed.
You learn in the pre-show video that Dr. Craven has discovered through a specific type of hypnosis, he has found a way to communicate with people while they are dreaming using a high frequency signal that can be played during a sleepers REM cycle.
The film ends and through a glass window,(actually using the technology similar to Harry Potter and the Forbidden Journey), Dr, Craven says he will hypnotize the guests and contact them once in the dream state. He adds that once he shows you a few examples of how this can help in Nightmares, an Alarm Clock bell will go off and you will be returned safely to the awakened state and move on to the next part of your tour.
After that, the lights I the room dim and hypnotic images are shown on the screen along with Dr, Craven guiding you through the process. While this is happening, the pre-show room you are in begins to slowly descend (think Disney’s Haunted Mansion) so you can reach the lower level of the ride building.
Suddenly, the Doctor is interrupted by the familiar voice of Freddy Krueger informing you that “he’ll take it from here”. Doctor Craven breaks through long enough to tell you he will try to help you through the nightmare and to be very careful as guests may be on their own for awhile.
The lights go completely out as the pre show room comes to stop at the lower level and the lights go on to a still dimmed state, you exit the room to find you no longer seem to be in the institute, but in the familiar boiler room Freddy likes to reside.
You quickly come to the ride vehicles which are made up from rusty metallic pieces seemed to be taken from the boiler room itself. Ride ops complete the theming by being costumed as former Westin Hills sanitarium members. Guest enter the vehicles and they move forward into the a dark doorway, Dr. Craven’s voice once again breaks through and instructs guests to hang on as he will attempt to activate the alarm bell early and wake everyone up to safety.
The cars then proceed forward as the familiar haunting tune of “1,2 Freddy’s coming for you”. When the “9, 10 never sleep again” portion is heard, the cars launch forward by linear motors as Freddy’s menacing laugh is heard as a projected image of his face appears before you.
The cars go racing through the projection, they whip around a banked turn into a corkscrew loop and then race up a 90 degree incline where a giant Freddy head it waiting at the top. Once reaching the top you head straight back down towards a screen which gives the effect that you are plummeting towards an endless pit of flames.
You roar through as you hear the menacing laugh once again and you head up into an incline corkscrew. Then you have a series of sharp up on your side banked turns through a maze of pipes and boilers narrowly missing steam spurts and flames. The cars quickly turn a corner and the giant “Freddy Snake” from Nightmare 3 is waiting for you. Unfortunately, the cars cannot avoid it and they hurtle in to the mouth and then the belly of the snake which is a disguised “brake run”. As the cars come to a slower progression, the walls of the snakes “belly” come alive with the former victims appearing to reach towards the ride vehicles.
Then the tunnel dims and Freddy’s voice echo’s throughout saying “you are all his children” you then gradually begin to go climb upwards as you reach the top you see a Freddy projection holding your Dr. Craven’s alarm clock and he winding the clock hands backwards as the cars then plummet down the Gerstlauer Eurofighter’s signature beyond 90 degree drop in to a series of twists, banked turns and dive loop.
The cars then head straight for Freddy’s outstretched gloved hand who swipes at the cars. The cars drop straight down as Freddy swipes as simultaneously the alarm bell sounds and the cars screech to a halt in the exiting station.
The lights come on and through a “Glass” window (projection screen) is Dr. Craven who is profusely apologizing and expresses his happiness that the guests are all safe. Keen eyed guests may notice that Dr, Craven’s tie is the same pattern as Freddy’s sweater.
Also as you exit through the institutes rear hallways, if you look out one of the window, you can see little girls playing with a jump rope.
