3d & 4d at Busch Gardens

[P3D David W. Kesner <drdave@xxxxxxxxxx>]

I can not remember anyone mentioning the 3D and 4D "rides" at Busch
Gardens Williamsburg so here goes. Both are done with polarizing
glasses.

The 3D ride is the same concept as Star Tours in Disney World where
you ride in a vehicle that moves with the action on a display screen
in front of you. The story is about recovering the Excalibur sword.
You are shrunk by Merlin and placed in a special box that is carried
by his pet hawk. You fly around the castle, through windows, in
dungeons, etc. It appears to be all computer generated or hand drawn
animation. It would have been a pretty good ride except the actual
image quality really sucked. It was dull and out of focus. I do not
know if it was just not properly aligned and focused or that was the
actual quality. I also found it hard to keep "fused" on the 3D as it
went by so fast. I am also prone to motion sickness and this ride
really exaggerated it - I don't think I could ride it twice in a row.

The 4D is a movie and is the same concept as Honey I Shrunk the
Audience in Disney World. The story is about a boy who is visiting a
castle on vacation with his parents. He get separated and encounters
a witch who casts a spell that turns him into a dog. A friendly ghost
takes him through time to other ghosts to collect items to reverse
the spell. At certain moments things that happen in the movie in 3D
also happen to you in reality. Such as when the character goes out in
the rain, it actually rains on everyone in the theater. Or when
something explodes on screen, confetti is shot into the audience. I
thought this was a very well done show and on par with Honey I Shrunk
the Audience.

I was not able to find out who or what company did either of these
rides. Does anyone know?

Thanks for the time,

David W. Kesner
Boise, Idaho, USA
drdave@xxxxxxxxxx
(No I'm not a doctor - just a nickname)


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