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Meeting Tigger at the Dark ride The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh in the Magic Kingdom.

Disney's "it's a small world" is actually a brightly lit "dark ride"

A dark ride or darkride is an indoor amusement ride where riders in guided vehicles travel through specially-lighted scenes that characteristically contain animation, sounds, music, and other special effects.

The first dark rides appeared in the late 19th century, and were called "scenic railways" and "pleasure railways". A popular type of dark ride, commonly referred to as an Old Mill or Tunnel Of Love, used small boats to carry riders through water-filled canals.

Leon Cassidy of the Pretzel Amusement Ride Company patented the first single-rail electric dark ride in 1928.

A dark ride does not have to be dark. (Disney's "It's a Small World" is an example of a brightly-lit dark ride.) However, virtually all dark rides use special lighting to achieve theatrical effects.

Historically notable dark rides include Futurama at the 1939 New York World's Fair and The Haunted Mansion at the Disney theme parks.

In the United Kingdom, dark rides with a scary or ghostly theme are called ghost trains, although that term is more often applied to the simpler midway or mobile funfair type of dark ride rather than modern hi-tech dark rides. Notable UK dark rides include 5th Dimension at (Chessington World of Adventures) and the Haunted House (Alton Towers), both developed by The Tussauds Group; and the Ghost Train at Blackpool Pleasure Beach.

Dark ride at La Ronde amusement park in Montreal, Quebec, Canada.

A shooting dark ride is an interactive type of dark ride where riders aim for targets throughout the ride. Each vehicle is equipped with hand-held or vehicle-mounted light guns. Successfully "shooting" a target usually triggers special animation such as flashing lights or moving the target. The more targets a rider hits, the higher their score at the end of the ride.

Some conventional dark rides, such as Duel: The Haunted House Strikes Back! at Alton Towers, have been converted to shooting dark rides. Buzz Lightyear's Space Ranger Spin at Disney's Magic Kingdoms originally appeared as Delta Dreamflight and Take Flight until it was converted into its current interactive form, which combines new show elements and vehicles with the former rides's layout and track system.

• Men in Black: Alien Attack at Universal Studios Florida
• Gobbler Getaway at Holiday World
• Scooby Doo at Carowinds

On TV's The John Larroquette Show, Larroquette's character hung a carnival sign in his office that said "This is a Dark Ride". He suggested the sign should also be posted "at the end of the birth canal".

• Laff In The Dark Information and history of the dark ride and funhouse amusement industry
• The Darkride and Funhouse Enthusiasts (DAFE)
• The Haunted Report. The only blog covering the Haunted Attraction/Dark Ride Industry
• Autumn Chill, an international directory of dark rides, haunted attractions & ghost tours
• Haunted Attraction Magazine The Trade Publication for the Haunted Attraction Industry
• Dark rides in the UK