Ghostbusters Almost Had The Sweetest Amusement Park Ride Ever

By Nick Venable | Published

This article is more than 2 years old

ghostbustersLet’s head back into the past for a look at one of the coolest movie tie-ins imaginable. We all know that sci-fi and giant amusement park rides go hand in hand. Universal Studios Florida has been blowing people’s minds for years with rides inspired by Back to the Future, Terminator 2, Men in Black, and more. But to me, all of these pale in comparison to The Hauntington Hotel, the Ghostbusters-themed interactive attraction that never was and never will be. Pardon me while I sob into my giant Twinkies.

Veteran gaming artist and designer Roger Hector gave an interview with the website 2600 Connection where he revealed the ride was originally supposed to be a massive Six Flags attraction before things fell through. (Okay, so the interview is over a year old, but it’s not like the concept got any less exciting since then.) After that, the website Beyond the Thrills scooped up a slew of concept designs for The Hauntington Hotel, and it looks and sounds like the greatest thing Six Flags has ever puts its mind to.

Forgoing normal roller coaster designs, The Hauntington Hotel would have been in the vein of the Haunted Mansion attraction, just with the interactive element of being able to shoot ghosts and ghouls with laser guns. Some would have been practical effects popping out of walls and from beneath beds, while others would have been purely digital displays. (If you’ve ever taken a ride on Disney’s Buzz Lightyear’s Space Ranger Spin, then you have a good idea of what this railcar ride would have been going for.)

Let’s go through some of the concept art below, but please remember to keep all arms and legs inside the website at all times. Here are the not-quite-Ecto-like cars that riders would have traveled around in.

ghostbusters rideAnd then there’s an idea of what people would have aimed at. (Hint, it’s bright-eyed ghosts!)

ghostbusters ride
And here’s another conceptual idea of what this hotel would have looked like on the inside. Just a thought, do hotels have chests just out in the open that aren’t brim-filled with ghastly beasts?

ghostbusters ride
And the last one we’ll look at here is this insanely cool upside-down room. It looks like it would be a total mind-blower, and bonus points if those pajamas are haunted.

ghostbusters rideSo why didn’t any of this happen? Because Six Flags fell under new ownership. And while that new owner may not have been a total piece of crap in other ways, putting the Ghostbusters ride on permanent hiatus certainly doesn’t earn him any kindness from us.