Terroride


Ride Layout
Location: Main Midway
Manufactured by: Bill Tracy
Built In: 1967
Car Capacity: 3
Number of Cars: 7
Height Requirements: Riders under 36" must be accompanied by a responsible person.
Mild Thrill

The Terroride is Lagoon's oldest haunted attraction still in operation. It is one of two dark rides at the park.

Ride Details

Riders sit in a car and travel around a track viewing different scenes of nightmarish horror with the occasional gag that can startle some riders. The cars feature on-board speakers that originally played a scary soundtrack for the ride, but no longer do.

The ride was designed by legendary dark ride creator Bill Tracy. The ride's vehicles are a customized version of Tracy's hushpuppy vehicles. It is one of only eight Bill Tracy haunted attractions still in operation (Dracula's Castle is also one of the eight).

The ride has a castle-like facade with a skeleton and a witch that pop out from shutters in the castle's turrets. There are colorful letters spelling out "Terroride" on the front of the ride which rock back and forth. A signature Bill Tracy vulture prop in a nest is perched atop the southern turret. A prop dead tree sits on the ride's roof.

Terroride: A Classic Reimagined

In early 2017 pictures surfaced showing what appears to be demolition work inside of Terroride[1].

Shortly before the park's opening the park began handing out informational pamphlets that list "Terroride: A Classic Reimagined" as being new for 2017, in addition to Flying Tigers and Ruka Safari [2].

On the park's opening day the ride did not open and was partially covered in black plastic[3].

Around the time of the park's opening, social media posts from prosthetic makeup designer Todd Debreceni and director Joseph Wartnerchaney were discovered that suggest they are heavily involved with the refurbishment of the ride.

These posts include images of a character named Mr. Terror or Mr. Torture[4], a troll said to be for Dracula's Castle[5], a figure being restored inside Lagoon's Opera House [6], blueprints for Terroride as well as a booklet with the ride's original mural on the cover[7], and a podcast where Todd Debrecini discusses his role in the refurbishment[8].

As of April 26, 2017 Lagoon has not made any official announcement about Terroride other than releasing the previously mentioned informational pamphlet.

Rumors noted on lagoonisfun.com claim that the ride will open around June[9].

Mural

The ride originally opened with a mural in the station depicting a large dragon, a club-wielding caveman, flying ghouls, a mummified skeleton, an octopus, a snake in a tree, a dancing man, a lizard, a monkey and two spiders in front of an ancient-looking ruined city under a starry night sky. It is believed that the mural was painted by Bill Tracy himself. It is an unusual mural and no one is sure of the intent of the painting. There are several hidden circular or oval shapes in the mural. The dancing man's outline is formed by the intersection of two of these shapes.

Removal

In 2010 The mural was moved to Lagoon's annex building to preserve it. It was replaced by another mural showing a forest of dead trees. Actual dead trees were placed directly in front of the mural to form a 3D-like effect. An animatronic talking vulture was placed inside a square opening in the center of the mural. The original mural was missed by many people who had grown up with it and it's absence had been covered in local news stories.

Return and censorship

As part of the 2017 ride update, a copy of the original mural with the dancing man censored out has been returned to the station. It is not yet known if other changes have been made to the mural. The vulture will likely be placed somewhere else in the station.

2013 upgrade

In the off-season of 2012-2013, Lagoon removed the back wall of the building, which faces the parking lot near Roller Coaster, to make repairs to the structure and foundation. Around 5-10 feet of the ride was removed temporarily while crews worked to build the new exterior. After the new wall was completed, this area was rebuilt including new flooring and a re-welded section of track.

Once the construction was completed, Lagoon's electrical department rebuilt the ride's safety and control system. This brought the ride into compliance with the most recent fire safety standards. All work was completed in time for the ride to open with the park for the 2013 season.

Controversy

In 2014 therapist Jeff Tesch campaigned for Lagoon to make changes to the torture room scene of the ride, saying that the scene had triggered unpleasant feelings in one of his clients. Lagoon agreed to talk with him but seemed resistant to changing the ride. It is unknown if this contributed to the park's decision to reimagine the ride in 2017.

Although there were no reports of complaints about the mural's dancing man in local media, he was removed from the mural that was placed in the station for the 2017 re-imagining. This may have been due to concerns about depicting an African man together with several things that might seem scary.

Gallery

Former mural in the station.
Skeleton popping out from the ride's facade.

Video

Terror Ride Nightvision On-ride (CompleteHD Experience) by deathbyillusion