General info
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Park
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Category
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TypeEndless Chain
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Opened
Description
Geisterschloss is an Omnimover haunted house spanning two floors in the style of the Italian renaissance. It is partially modelled after Disney's Haunted Mansion. The most striking resemblance to Disney's version is the incorporation of a ''Stretching Room'' as pre-show.
"Geisterschloss" is German for "Ghost Castle".
History
Geisterschloss was originally called Spukschloss (or Spuk-Schloß), later Geisterbahn and then Geisterschloß. It was alternatively Castello Leone up until the mid 90s. The ride is found in the Italian part of the park which was Europa-Park's first themed area. Originally the scenes were loosely based on the legends of the Medici family.
The ride was originally going to be designed and constructed by Keith Sparks Associates. The company already supplied the queue and station, before dropping the project. The station including its skeleton chandelier strikes a resemblance to that of Phantom Fantasia at Thorpe Park, also supplied by Sparks Associates and opened a year later in 1983. The designing and manufacturing of the other scenes at Geisterschloss was finished by the German company Heimotion.
Over the years, scenes have been altered, most notably in 1996 during which a large part of the upper floor was redesigned. In 2005, another overhaul brought with it the classic singing busts gag, among other additions and a rearranged soundtrack. In more recent times characters from the musical Spook Me!, the movie Happy Family and Jack The Ripper were added. New animatronics (as well as re-used ones, like from the walkthrough Baron William's Mystery Hall which closed in 2007) are still regularly added.
Statistics
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Ride duration4 minutes
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Capacity2050 p/h
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Number of vehicles70 vehicles
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Seats (per vehicle/theatre)2 seats
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Ride length192 m
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Maximum speed1 km/h