The new attraction replaces Adventure Island's successful Beelzee Bob's Trail which, after eight years, was closed to make way for a new and advanced scary ride of the future.
The ride, which is made up of 12 two-seater carriages, delivers a 3D experience using animatronics, pneumatics, video projection, holographic images, surround sound, lighting, mirrors and air blasts to create a multitude of special effects. Set in a cemetery, the ghost train features apparitions and a main character, the Undertaker, who guides thrill seekers through the ride after waving them off and warning them not to go 'over the hill'. It also incorporates all of the elementary essentials of a ghost train like bats, ghosts, skeletons, witches, smoke and the ubiquitous darkness.
Over the Hill was devised and designed by Adventure Island's art and technichal team, Paul and Martin Clapp, and was originally intended to be an in-house project. Paul Clapp comments: "The basic concept and set design were a natural progression from the previous ride but we soon realised that in order to deliver something far superior, and achieve the level of customer experience that was required, we needed some expert help to bring it to life.
"We involved Sarner in the project because we wanted a company with audio visual show experience and they were able to provide the technical expertise and design advice for the various special effects, utilising state of the art equipment and the very latest technology. Our previous ghost train won 'Best new U.K attraction in 1999' and we are sure that, with Sarner's dedication, expertise and valued input, Over The Hillwill surpass that.''
(Jim Evans)
