Mack Group previews its new dark ride restaurant
Every theme park fan faces this dilemma when noon rolls around. Do you look for a restaurant to have lunch, or keep riding rides while others go eat?
Now the team at Mack Group has a solution - do both. Go on a dark ride and enjoy a sit-down meal, at the same time. It's "eatX," a new concept that the company unveiled today at the IAAPA Expo Europe in London.
"With eatX and our patented FlowDiner vehicle, we bring together decades of expertise in world-class engineering, gastronomy and storytelling," Thomas Mack said. "By merging these disciplines together, we've created an entirely new genre of dining attraction."
The FlowDiner vehicle is an autonomously moving table, powered by a battery and electric motor that can move a 0.5 meters per second.
FlowDiner at IAAPA Expo Europe 2026. Photo courtesy Mack Group
Mack Group oversees Mack Rides, which developed the ride vehicle, as well as Europa-Park and its Michelin-starred Eatrenalin immersive fine dining restaurant.
The first installation of eatX will be Strawberry Dining Journey at Karls Erlebnis-Dorf - Elstal, near Berlin. The experience will combine a three-course menu with a journey through five themed worlds, inspired by the discovery of the garden strawberry in 1714. The ride will include lighting and sound design along practical sets and projections.
"The ambition was never to create a restaurant with an experience attached, or an attraction
with a meal attached," Karls founder Robert Dahl said. "We wanted to make both inseparable - each equally essential. For that hour, the outside world should disappear and you should even forget that you are in Elstal."
Strawberry Dining Journey is set to open in 2027.
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Replies (4)
It's Europe. That was gonna be an upcharge anyway.
I have so many questions! What an interesting concept. It’s like Epcot’s Garden Grille on steroids.
We really wanted to experience Eatrenaline when we were at Europa Park 2 years ago, but unfortunately the restaurant was closed for maintenance for over 2 weeks during the time we were in Germany.
I feel like thematic dining has surged of popularity, but then fades to other trends in cuisine., but putting this concept inside of a theme park should improve its chances of success, especially if prices are reasonable and food quality is consistent.
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okay so... how does going to the bathroom work here lol