Sally Dark Rides has begun installation on the newly reimagined dark ride, The Great Humbug Adventure at Santa’s Village in Jefferson, New Hampshire. The refreshment will include new features while maintaining some classic fan favorites. Once it is safe enough to get together again, the reopening will be an extra special milestone for the park, as it marks the attraction’s 20th anniversary.
The story of The Great Humbug Adventure remains the same, taking riders throughout the homely mansion of Ebenezer Scrooge. The task at hand is to help Scrooge with the disgruntled humbugs that are wreaking havoc on his estate. The ride will feature a new queue experience, that is hosted by an animatronic Scrooge accompanied by one of the pesky humbugs. During the pre-show, Scrooge explains how to use the special Giggle Gadgets to “tickle” the humbugs. Once the humbugs are tickled, they turn happy and stop wreaking havoc, and instead start helping spread Christmas cheer throughout the land.
After the pre-show, riders embark on one of seven new four-passenger tracked vehicles from Bertazzon for a ride experience that weaves throughout several areas of Scrooge’s old-English home. They pass a total of 14 intricately decorated scenes and will encounter over 60 humbug targets. Not all humbugs look or sound alike. Sally has added three different character profiles for visual variety, plus eight different giggle tracks. As a nod to the ride’s history, one of the original giggles remains.
“It’s definitely exciting to see the progress and all the unique features as they’re added,” says Jim Miller of Santa’s Village, “and we’re all looking forward to taking our turns at tickling the humbugs and sharing this ride with our guests.
One of the most notable changes made during the refurbishment is the overhaul of the targeting and scoring system, which will create a more accurate gaming experience. Each target changes color after being hit to provide additional scoring opportunities during the ride.
Additionally, the vehicle configuration has been updated for an improved throughput. The ride now boasts seven four-passenger ride vehicles, increasing capacity to over 500 people per hour. This allows for more friends and families to be together to experience the Christmas joy.
Fans of Charles Dickens’ A Christmas Carol and literature aficionados will appreciate the details and multiple references to the original work throughout the pre-show and ride. If you look closely, you may find excerpts from the text written on rolled up scrolls in various rooms of the house, as well as an appearance by Scrooge’s ghostly business partner, Jacob Marley. As a fun fact, Sally’s own VP of Creative Design, Drew Hunter, provides the voice for both the portrait of Jacob Marley as well as Ebenezer Scrooge.
“With over 40 animatronic figures,” says Lauren Weaver of Sally Dark Rides, “state-of-the-art UV lighting, and animated scene lighting, interactive targets, and much more, The Great Humbug Adventure is sure to put anyone in the Christmas spirit, even old Scrooge himself!”
