Christie 1DLP laser projectors are delivering vivid, immersive visuals at Ghostly Manor, a new dark ride at Paultons Park in Hampshire, UK. Designed and installed by Lagotronics Projects, the £3.5 million attraction combines physical sets, projection mapping, and interactive gameplay to create a thrilling ghost-themed adventure. Six Christie DWU1100-GS and two DWU1400-GS laser projectors bring the haunted scenes to life with precision and brightness.
Ghostly Manor uses a new ride format, Gameplay Theatre, created by Mack Rides and Lagotronics Projects. Continuously rotating vehicles, each seating eight passengers back-to-back, reveal new environments with each turn. Guests are equipped with Phantom Phasers, onboard interactive “blasters” that allow them to capture ghosts across eight unique scenes. The format allows for high guest throughput in a small circular footprint to maximise efficiency and reduce queuing, and the ride concludes with a score scene displaying guest performance and photos.
With the vehicles located close to the screen, the team had to install projectors from a high angle to avoid casting shadows from the players, while avoiding warping and blending artifacts. Christie provided technical support, and 0.37-0.4:1 ultra short throw lenses were used with each projector to achieve the desired result, projecting onto surfaces approximately 10m wide by 3.5m high (32 ft by 11.5 ft). The ride was built on the site of a former 4D theatre, with the project completed on deadline within 12 months. “The audience reactions to the ride were great,” says Jacco Groen in ‘t Wout, CTO, Lagotronics Projects BV. “Everybody was very enthusiastic about the experience as a whole. Although our work is in the main ride only, everything around the ride, from the exterior to the queue line, made the experience as it is. Paultons and their team did a marvellous job on this as well. It was a great team effort, and we are happy to have been a part of it.”
Christie GS Series laser projectors are quiet and compact 1DLP models, delivering outstanding brightness, image quality, and colour reproduction, and providing 20,000 hours of reliable, virtually maintenance-free operation.
