Legoland California will be introducing a revolutionary new dark ride to its theme park in 2016 with the debut of ‘Ninjago - The Ride’, which for the first time on a ride will offer interactivity through nothing but hand gestures.

Before commencing the dark ride portion of the Ninjago attraction, guests will enter a courtyard to begin their ninja training. There they will be able to use Lego building stations, play a game to test their reflexes, use spinners to test their balance, sample Asian cuisine and visit a Ninjago retail store.

Featuring technology which guests will have never experienced at any other theme park in the world, the Triotech-designed ride uses 3D imagery, high-tech sensors and the use of striking gestures to blast animated fireballs, lightning, shockwaves and ice as they travel through dojos to master their skills.

The four-person cars represent the four main Ninjago characters, each with a different ability with riders collecting points for their efforts through the ride with scores displayed at the end to see who did the best. The ride also incorporates 4D effects such as heat, smoke and wind, offering guests a one-of-a-kind interactive experience.

“We’re quite excited about it. It’s a first anywhere in this industry,” said Christian Martin, VP of marketing at Triotech, speaking to Attractions Management. “Typically when you have an interactive dark ride you have some sort of a gun or something that you’re shooting with. Often we have clients saying ‘my target market is younger so I need something that’s less weapon-like’. We crunched our brains and said how can we do this and came up with a great solution.”

Martin revealed that the technology will be showcased for the first time at this year’s IAAPA conference and trade show, which takes place in Orlando, Florida, between November 16-20.

Through toy sales off the back of the popular kids’ TV show, Ninjago is one of Lego’s most successful IPs. In the last year alone, Lego has introduced 22 new building sets across the Ninjago line.

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