Is Scenting a Dark Ride Expensive?

💰 A dark ride can cost vast amounts of money, but smell is a relatively cheap way to:

• Communicate story quickly
• Evoke emotions powerfully

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If your budget does not allow for an elaborate ocean sculpt or animation, a subtle sniff of sea breeze and the sound of crashing waves can deliver the same idea for less—potentially in a more immersive manner.

In this Blooloop article about creating dark rides, Christof Zimmermann comments that smell and music deliver the strongest perceived value relative to cost.

Zimmerman says that these elements are "significantly less expensive than numerous animatronics or high-tech ride systems ... and profoundly impact the guests' sensory experience."

Understandably, some dark ride designers can be put off by the possible 'extra' cost of smell, which is often considered an 'extra' effect and is therefore one of the first to be abandoned.

However, smells can often be a lot cheaper to implement than expected, and there are simple solutions for controlling their spread without the need for costly machinery or extraction systems. Sometimes, it is just about getting the timings right, so the diffusion is subtle enough to make a difference without spreading too far or being used up too quickly. Other times, it could be a case of picking the scent locations carefully—the impact of a scent in the pre-show can stay with visitors well into the ride itself; consider Alton Towers' Wicker Man roller coaster, which has a smoky scent in the pre-show and loading area, but which leads some guests to ask me whether the smell was from the smoke emitting from around the track!