I had some thoughts on how to improve the ending for Curse of the Werewolf. First, I think a more substantial final scene with an extended tunnel entry to allow better light control would be great. There's room on the other side of the track, so the vehicles could be turned the other direction as seen in this aerial image:
Aerial view of Curse of the Werewolf with backstage area that could be used for final scene.
But...then I got thinking of what could enhance the story of the attraction and it occurred to me that there's an opportunity to gamify the experience, in a way. Gamification is happening elsewhere in the park (specifically Super Nintendo World, and Ministry of Magic wands) and gamification is happening elsewhere at UOR. A touch of light gamification -- or at least some
outcome-variability -- could be fun, as follows:
In the queue, there are thematic references to
FATE, such as this fortune telling cards vignette, and the whole Mystic camp vibe evokes fortune-tellers and "mystical" qualities.
So...what if on every ride of Curse of the Werewolf,
ONE of the five vehicles in the train is attacked by a werewolf! And it's random which one. Here's how it would work, and how it could be
the feature moment of the final scene:
This idea doesn't require the enlarged final scene area as shown above (it could fit in the current space) but I do think an extended tent tunnel to block the light (and other blocking of light-spill elsewhere into the final scene) would help a lot. When the train pulls into the final scene, it would be dark. Riders would hear the loud surround-sound of a prowling werewolf circling around them,
but where will it strike??
Suddenly a fierce howl of a werewolf would be heard and then ONE of the five vehicles would randomly get a blast of cold air from above (there would be five air-blasters, one above each vehicle), and simultaneously an intense red blood-splatter light gobo/projection would also blast that vehicle. THAT's the car that is attacked!
The riders in that vehicle will scream (certainly because of the air blast) and everyone else will feel both relieved and will laugh. Which means instead of the "uhh, what's this?" meh reaction to the existing final scene, this new experience will be filled with exuberance, screaming, laughter, and fun. And everyone in the queue will hear it, and it will create a fun vibe in the queue.
In the final scene there could be a massive ornate framed mirror so all riders in the train can see the attack happen to the ill-fated vehicle (a little like seeing the nearby vehicles in the mirrors at the end of Disney's Haunted Mansion). It would allow riders to poke fun the attacked riders/strangers for some post-ride exiting social energy, and it would encourage re-riding to see if you can ever get attacked. Mostly it will provide a memorable conclusion to the ride and also "finish the story" that all the queue build-up and attraction is about. I mean, it's a werewolf ride, someone should get attacked!