The Story

Many years ago, a successful mine owner and operator took on a young apprentice by the name of Charles Murkwood. Ambitious and driven, Charles was ready to overcome any challenge and learned everything that he could. When the business was later passed to him, Charles continued to find great success. He would always contribute his fortune to a ring given to him by his mentor as a good luck charm. As luck would have it, Charles would later end up marrying a young woman by the name of Lady and it wasn’t long before the two newlyweds started to build their home. Lady Murkwood was very appreciative of the finer things in life, and managed to convince Charles to build a beautiful manor; Charles’ only condition being that it would be within the property lines of the mine. Some say he desired to connect the house to the mine for quick access via a tunnel. Others say, he was just trying to keep it cheaper by building it on property that he already owned. The manor was always a spectacle at intimate gatherings; intriguing guests with all of its new and curious features. For a while, all seemed right with the Murkwoods. It wasn’t long, however, until the fortune turned to tragedy.

Early one morning, it was discovered that at some point in the previous day, all of the workers and inhabitants of Murkwood Mountain strangely disappeared without a trace. It was almost as if it became a ghost town overnight. The disappearances included that of the famous Murkwood couple and to this day were never discovered. Over many speculations, from curses and supernatural instances, the mine remained closed and the Manor untouched. The property still remains empty and the mystery unsolved.

Recently, there has been a group of explorers and investigators ready to take on the challenge of discovering what might have happened on that fateful day. Should you choose to join, the goal is to meet at the manor, find the supposed tunnel to the mine and find any clues that might help solve the mystery at Murkwood.

How it works:

Using a virtual or “free roam” queue

Guests can reserve times and would be notified via mobile device of a time to meet their “explorer group” at Murkwood Manor. While in the manor, the guests would be able to move around the space and explore. Interacting with different elements in the area. When it is time, the guests would then proceed to the cellar where the hidden tunnel to the mine would be “discovered.” A quick pre-show would notify guests about discoveries that were found and what to expect in the mine. Certain events would lead the guests into the mine and to the “still operating” mine “elevators.”

The Ride System

The ride that takes guests through the mine is a suspended, motion simulator vehicle that moves along a track. The “elevator” in the loading section of the ride is part actual elevator and part simulator with a simulated drop element. Once the ride vehicles leave the elevator shaft and move forward on the track, the vehicles in the unloading station then turn and and lift up to the loading station. The attraction is a combination of simulated motion screens and actual show scenes.