This past month Cedar Fair opened Wonder Mountain's Guardian at Canada's Wonderland. This state of the art dark ride was designed and manufactured by a Canadian company called TrioTech. It was / is a big deal for Cedar Fair as it is the first dark ride they've built themselves from the ground up (they've inherited what little they have). Unfortunately, this low budget attraction was rushed and the final product has left people with mixed feelings. I've already stated my opinion previously but to reiterate, the theming is unfinished, the pixel resolution of the screen is too low for comfort (the screens are large enough for bragging rights and are in close proximity to the riders; yet are only 720p), the outdoor portion is awkward, the ride capacity doesn't meet the requirements of a busy park and the ride length falls short of expectations.
That said, I feel like with some key improvements this technology could create an incredible attraction; providing it features a resolution bump, extended ride duration and higher capacity ride system. IMO, a pixel resolution of 4K (the resolution at which Spider-Man and Transformers runs at) with a butter smooth frame-rate of 60fps (since you're in a moving vehicle, this will help immersion) is the sweet spot. Although unlike Spider-Man and Transformers, this feat would require a massive amount of graphical power to perform - since the interactively requires it all be rendered realtime - and a very heavy investment by Cedar Fair for the required hardware. Trust me, it's easier said than done, and while this may all just seem like numbers to you, these changes will make a world of difference when it comes to immersion (there's that word again). Of course, the easiest fix for the capacity and themeing issues would be simply eliminating the roller coaster element and just go with TrioTech's grounded proprietary vehicle. Although, I hope they don't since it's one the more unique and underutilized elements of the attraction.
I also think a non-fantasy theme might be cheaper and more effective. Think Disaster Transport 2.0. No seriously. As mediocre as this Cedar Point coaster was, it would actually be a great setup for a TrioTech interactive dark ride. Think about it. An interactive indoor family coaster set in the DARKNESS of space. What other possible theme would afford you the luxury of a nearly empty building with minimal sets and it be to the benefit of the theme? Add some practical stars using LED lights for a seamless transition between projection screens and you'll have a much more immersive experience (I know, your tired of hearing it, but this should be the goal). For the indoor lift hill, they can use 360° projection in a way similar to Buzz Lightyear to give you the illusion of rapidly moving through a star field. Heck, even the queue theming would require less, as a clean sci-fi space port look shouldn't be as expensive / intensive as rock work and ruins. It's harder to tell a story in a fantasy setting where as in sci-fi you can just have a television set explain it as part of the set. If they ever did do this, hopefully they'd top it off with an interactive animatronic of a robot in the queue to entertain guests. Overall, I feel like this would be cheaper and more effective than the fantasy theme of Guardian.
Still, the fun really hinges on key improvements to the ride system and show technology. If they can hammer out these problems, then I think Cedar Fair has a winner on their hands, regardless of theme. Just not sure this has a place at Knott's right now, especially if it remains unthemed with the intent of updating the attraction every couple of years as Matt Ouimet talked about at IAAPA (he mentioned creating a library of films that can rotate between the parks, much like the Action Theaters at the Paramount Parks).
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