The Dawn of the Dark Ride at the Amusement Park

Plotting the evolution of the dark amusement park ride is important in understanding the hybrid nature of the entertainment industry we see today. This paper looks specifically at two amusement park rides and shows how they form an important landmark in the evolution of immersive technology. The investigation focuses on Pittsburgh's Old Mill Ride (1905) in the USA and Blackpool's River Caves (1907) in the UK. Two rides which were the first of their kind and represent the solidification of technical and conceptual approaches being developed on both sides of the pacific. Whilst these rides are mentioned in isolation in a small number of academic texts, their connection and importance in the timeline of popular media has been overlooked. A combination of field and historical research examines how these rides were unique and influenced other media that preceded them.