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Curse of DarKastle reviews

Theme Park Insider readers offer their ratings and reviews for Curse of DarKastle, a simulator ride at Busch Gardens Williamsburg. (The minimum height to ride is 42 inches.)

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Posted: April 29, 2005

From the time your “Golden Sleigh” departs the loading platform until King Ludwig bids you his final farewell in this 3-D adventure riders are constantly bombarded with color, music, and motion that will keep you wondering, “What else could they possibly do?” Your sleigh will pitch and rotate through the 40,000-square-foot show building, as you ride through the Ludwig's castle and the woods around it.

This Falcons Treehouse-designed attraction opened on May 1, 2005 and immediately won raves from theme park fans, winning Theme Park Insider's Best New Attraction Award that year.

Video: Preshow | Ride POV

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Readers' rating:

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42 votes, so far

Similar to Spider Man before the refurb, but a notch below. Effects are good but the story line is difficult to follow since the queue is a bit disjointed. But I still give it an 8/10. - Rob Pastor

This is a cool ride! The set-up movie is weak, but the ride itself has some really fun elements. The 3D effects make you flinch quite a few times. - Roger S

Best dark ride at a regional theme park. Curse of DarKastle is a pretty solid 3D dark ride, yet tame compared to Universal's Spider-Man. - Jorge Arnoldson

A fun ride, when not held to the standards of Disney. The movie in the queue would help to set the plot, but it was of poor quality and difficult to see, and the volume was too low to hear over people talking in the queue. Definitely too frightening for a 5-year-old. - Jennifer Schwing

i really liked it but it would make any little kid cry. i expectred a little more because my cousin told me that it was an indoor roolercooster. great dark ride though - Steven D

BEST RIDE IN PARK!!! I loved it. I rode it 4 times and never got tired of it. The scenery was excellent, as was the ride itself. The wait was long towards the middle of the day/afternoon. I suggest riding this early in the day before the line gets too long. - Bryce Verlinden

My husband and I always love DarKastle! It's cute, a little spooky and fun! - Hannah Atkins

The theming outside of the ride (castle and surroundings) is excellent. The theming of the ride itself is frenetic and disjointed, which may work for the haunted mansion at Disneyland/world, but not for this ride. The effects were of the expected 3-D caliber, but somehow, I get the feeling that Universal's HP ride will be more cohesive. - Jean Seo-Park

An outstanding dark ride, but unfortunately I have to skip it frequently due to the wait. It is a must-ride (warning: may not be suitable for young children due to what could be considered frightening content). - Chase Gray

Very fun, though the storyline is not particularly understandable. Not that intense for kids. 7 yr old couldn't wait to ride again (she shut eyes at the scariest parts). Only complaint- the queue. while on line you see a movie about the ride that is either in 3d like the ride, or so dim as to be unviewable. But you don't get your 3d glasses until you are farther along in the queue. This is the sort of inattention to detail you expect while waiting on line at your local department of motor vehicles. But busch gardens? - r laufer

Read this tip. Before going on the curse of darkastle wipe off your 3D glasses so they aren't wet. I didn't and the 3D was messed up and distorted. Spiderman ride is still better. - Jacob Ferguson

I only rated this as good because we got stuck towards the end, and besides that it was just okay. I love rides like this, and enjoyed it besides that part. Like someone else stated, not as good as spiderman, but still good :] - Monica DellaVecchia

This is a ride you would expect to find at Universal and Disney. It uses the same Tech as Spiderman and while Awesome, isn't as good. Still, considering its presence at Busch it really is surprising how well it is done! - Ali Salem

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