It was only yesterday when Sally Dark Rides revealed more information on their newest dark ride, SpongeBob’s Crazy Carnival Ride, coming to Adventuredome (Nevada, USA). Starting the second day of the IAAPA Expo in Orlando off strong, the American manufacturer surprised everyone with another announcement: the next installation is already on its way and will be opening at Land of Legends Theme Park (Turkey) in 2024.
The press release by Sally Dark Rides states that the deal was only just officially signed, right then and there on the expo floor. The Turkish version is expected to be more or less the same as its American counterpart, although it is mentioned that it will ”have a similar storyline”, hinting that there might be differences in that department. The yet unnamed installation will be the first dark ride with a SpongeBob theme outside of the USA.
In SpongeBob’s Crazy Carnival Ride, guests are invited by Mr. Krabs to come and play his collection of ride through-styled Midway Games. Meanwhile SpongeBob and his best friend Patrick are helping the carnival by stocking the stalls with supplies. When they accidentally insert the contents of a crate with Krabby Patty ingredients, the guests suddenly find themselves throwing tomatoes, buns and patties at the different games. This attract an unwanted guest: Mr. Krabs arch enemy Plankton, trying to steal the secret formula of the Krabby Patty.
According to Ty Granaroli, executive vice president of themed entertainment at Paramount, the co-operation with The Land of Legends was a logical choice: “As we worked with Sally Dark Rides on this dark ride attraction for SpongeBob SquarePants at Circus Circus Las Vegas, we knew we wanted to do more – create more opportunities to bring this delightful, unique ride to other markets across the globe. After all, SpongeBob fans are everywhere.”
For The Land of Legends, bringing a Nickelodeon property to their park had been on their wish list for quite some time. Fettah Tamince, Chairman of the park, explains: ”For a long time we have wanted to collaborate with Paramount Global on Nickelodeon properties. This new dark ride is part of that collaboration. (…) We are ready to bring the world of SpongeBob SquarePants and his wacky friends from Bikini Bottom to Turkey!”
This will be the first dark ride to open at The Land of Legends Theme Park, although already present is semi-dark ride A Joyful Journey, based on the animated television series Masha and the Bear, as well as 5th Dimension Theme Park, a 3D cinema.
