Photos by Sonny Espiritu
Will you answer the call? Fortunately, you don’t need to be a physicist or carry a proton pack or ride an Ecto-1 to be a ghost buster, but you sure need to be courageous enough to face the monsters as you walk through Enchanted Kingdom’s latest horror house inspired by supernatural comedy movie Ghostbusters.
The Ghostbusters Adventure Live! walk-through attraction is a first of its kind in the Philippines as it marks the first time the Sta. Rosa amusement park partnered with global brands.
“We have had our own horror houses before, but this time around it’s different,” begins Enchanted Kingdom chief operations officer Dr. Cynthia Mamon. “Different because this is the only of its kind here in the country.”
The said attraction concept, which opened to the public on Oct. 15, allows guests to relive the thrills and chills of the popular Hollywood franchise. Ghostbusters Adventure Live! appeals to young and young-at-heart horror house goers as it combines the elements of the first movie which came out in 1984 and the reboot that premiered this year.
To make the attraction happen, EK partnered with Sudden Impact! Entertainment Company (the official licensee of live interactive Ghostbusters attraction), Columbia and Sony.
Dr. Mamon says the move to tap foreign companies aims to take Enchanted Kingdom up a notch by offering world-class facilities to its guests. “We are blazing the trail and leading the industry.”
Inside the space, suspense and excitement await guests with the halls and corners showing memorable scenes and characters of the movie.
Dominic McChesney, the director of Live Attractions Worldwide of Sudden Impact!, prefers to call the experience inside the walk-through “scary fun” instead of “horrifying.”
“With Ghostbusters attraction at EK, all the action happens around you and you are actually moving through the different scenes and iconic moments in the movie. The actors are near you and interacting personally with the audience. They have to make sure that the audience has a good time, that even though it is scary, it is not to the extreme. There is a feeling of being in an adventure,” explains McChesney.
McChesney trained the EK scare actors to perform their roles effectively (to scare guests, obviously) while ensuring the guests’ safety. He says that the audience can go through the ride without worrying about physical harm.
“It is the guests knowing that they can let go and enjoy the experience because the attraction has been built safely and the actors are trained,” he adds.
In essence, the golden rule in horror houses applies to Ghostbusters Adventure Live! as well: Don’t touch the ghosts, because the ghosts won’t touch you.
Because the attraction doesn’t intend to be an intensely scary walk-through, much like the movie, it’s considered “family friendly.” The adults can go in and enjoy the ride with kids. In fact, EK officials state that it has no age limit “as long as the child is accompanied by an adult,” and it is even open to persons with disabilities because “we put ramps instead of steps.”
According to EK Chairman and President Mario Mamon, the Ghostbusters Adventure Live! will be open for the next three years, “but if it became popular, we will renew the contract.”