The Enchanted Greenhouse – Six Flags Qiddiya City Gets Interactive Family Dark Ride

(eap) The first Six Flags theme park outside North America is taking shape in Qiddiya City (Saudi Arabia)… It will offer numerous thrill attractions in line with its brand – but not exclusively. An interactive dark ride has now been announced for the family audience, which is planned to take the themed ride experience to a new level: “The Enchanted Greenhouse”. A consortium of European companies has been commissioned to implement the project: Jora Vision, ETF Ride Systems and Alterface are responsible for the development and implementation of the attraction.

The Enchanted Greenhouse will be located in the future “Twilight Gardens” themed area – one of six zones. In a “mysterious landscape”, guests will be able to discover a long-lost greenhouse that covers an area of some 1,300 square meters... For their exploration tour, which runs along a 160-meter-long track, visitors will take a seat in one of a total of twelve trackless vehicles (ETF), each of which has a capacity for six passengers. Then the adventure journey begins, which holds a few secrets in store... for example, there are some hidden inhabitants in the greenhouse...

Passengers will be able to interactively influence what happens in the individual scenes. Instead of classic shooting gameplay, as used in numerous interactive themed rides, the consortium and above all interactive technologies specialist Alterface has chosen a different approach for this attraction. The basic idea is to create a shared interactive experience without the fingers directly on the shooter trigger. Instead, passengers should be able to discover the wonders around them together and interact with them, for example by changing colors and influencing the behavior of creatures around them…

The overall concept for the attraction, including the storyline, was created by Jora Vision. The underlying story is inspired by both local Saudi culture and traditional stories. In general, the experience is intended to convey a positive message about love and growth... The story will be staged using several animatronics, a total of 14 multimedia projectors and a “never-before-seen effect in an interactive dark ride”. Several thousands of lifelike, otherworldly plants will create an enchanted atmosphere during the five-minute experience. A comprehensive preshow is also planned for the attraction.

“Six Flags Qiddiya City is an extraordinary development in our industry, renowned for its creative and visionary ambitions. We believe The Enchanted Greenhouse harmonizes beautifully with these enchanting aspirations, promising to be a brand-new ride experience for families to enjoy in Saudi,” says Robin van der Want, Project Development Director at Jora Vision.

“With all the different elements and vehicles, it’s like conducting an orchestra to create a symphony,” comments Ruud Koppens, founder of ETF Ride Systems and outgoing CEO [Editor’s note: Ruud Koppens is retiring. His successor as CEO will be Peter Kerstjens, currently still COO of ETF Ride Systems].

Alterface’s CEO Stephane Bataille adds, “The collaboration with ETF Ride Systems and Jora Vision is key. This allows us to use an entire register of visual tricks and to hide the technology from the guests to immerse them into a truly magical experience.”

Six Flags Qiddiya City is set to open its doors for the first time in 2025. The attractions already announced include the eagerly awaited record-breaking roller coaster “Falcons Flight” (realized by Intamin) and the interactive dark ride “Into the Deep” (an underwater adventure by Triotech). In addition, the water theme park Aquarabia is being built right next to Six Flags Qiddiya City, with several slides and attractions from WhiteWater West, among others. ■