Lara Croft Tomb Raider The Ride

The Ride

Concept Art:

Construction Imagery:

These were originally on the Paramount Parks website but we found these on www.tombnews.com!

Fast Facts:

Description: Another Hollywood big-screen spectacular comes to life at Paramount’s Kings Dominion with the addition of TOMB RAIDER: FIREFALL™, a multi-sensory adventure attraction. Inspired by the popular Eidos Interactive, Inc. action games and Paramount Pictures’ blockbuster films, the park’s newest thrill attraction launches adventurers on the ride of their lives.

Debut: Spring 2005
Location: Congo, near Volcano, The Blast Coaster™
Number of Passengers: 38 passengers sitting in two rows, back to back
Effects: Water cannons shooting up to 60 feet, sea of fire below the waterfall
Seats: Ergonomic cushioned suspended seats (legs dangling freely)
Motion: Both vertical circular and swinging movements
Height: Close to 60 feet
Weight: Approximately 80 tons
Hourly Capacity: 760 guests
Duration: 2 minutes and 11 seconds
Ride Manufacturer: HUSS
Themed Effects: Paramount Parks, Inc.

Logo:

Official Press Release:

TOMB RAIDER: THE RIDE™ TO OPEN AT PARAMOUNT'S KINGS ISLAND IN 2002
New attraction will change the face of thrill ride history and become one of the world's greatest adventure rides, inspired by Paramount Pictures' blockbuster film event, "Lara Croft: Tomb Raider™" starring Academy Award® winner Angelina Jolie

Kings Island, Ohio - You've played the games. You've seen the movie. Soon, you can take the ride. Paramount Parks, a unit of the Viacom Entertainment Group, announced today plans to transform this summer's epic adventure, Paramount Pictures' "Lara Croft: Tomb Raider," into a unique, multi-sensory adventure ride. TOMB RAIDER: The Ride will open in 2002 at Paramount's Kings Island near Cincinnati, Ohio.

The Paramount Pictures feature film is based on the wildly popular Eidos Interactive, Inc. action games: Tomb Raider, Tomb Raider II, Tomb Raider III: The Adventures of Lara Croft, Tomb Raider: The Last Revelation, and Tomb Raider: Chronicles. Since its debut in 1996, Tomb Raider and its heroine, Lara Croft, have become a worldwide phenomenon. With total sales of the action games reaching 25 million units worldwide, each game has topped the PlayStation game best-seller lists. The recent Paramount Pictures feature film had an explosive $48.2 million mid-June opening-weekend box office gross giving it the title of best debut ever for a film based on a video game property.

On TOMB RAIDER: The Ride, adventuring guests are in for an experience unique to the theme park universe that is filled with all of Lara Croft's real passions: raiding tombs, besting bad guys and one extreme adventure after another. The excitement begins with a journey into a foreboding ancient temple. As stone walls give way to others, guests will proceed through mysterious chambers, engraved with strange, runic symbols and the debris of failed expeditions, as a sense of impending doom grows. With only seconds to spare before certain calamity, guests strap in to the only possible vehicle of escape. Playing off scenes from the motion picture filmed in Cambodia and Iceland, the escape will include rocketing upward for a close encounter in an ice cave with menacing, razor-sharp stalactites and a face-first plunge straight down toward a pit of boiling, red-hot lava.

"Part of the thrill of the Tomb Raider property is the mystery and intrigue that surrounds each adventure. We want to preserve this mystery with the Tomb Raider ride until the first group of adventurers braves it in 2002 - so, we aren't going to disclose all of the surprises in store for riders," said Tim Fisher, executive vice president and general manager of Paramount's Kings Island. "But this attraction will change the face of thrill ride history and become one of the greatest adventure rides in the world."

In making the announcement, park officials unveiled a dramatic 42'x 28' in-park display featuring actual props used in the filming of the motion picture. Members of the project team visited the soundstages at Pinewood Studios outside London, England and hand-selected key props to use throughout the ride experience. Some of these props are a part of the display located at the base of the park's signature Royal Fountain and Eiffel Tower attraction. The movie props on display throughout the summer include:

The impressive six-armed Brahma statue, known as the Warrior Goddess Durga, featured in the Cambodian tomb
The evil stone monkeys that are mobilized in the Cambodian tomb raiding scene

"It is our intention to bring the excitement, adventure and technology of Tomb Raider to life in a stunning multi-dimensional experience. Ensuring the authenticity of this experience is of the utmost importance to us," Fisher said. "We want guests to feel like real tomb raiders from the moment they enter the attraction."

TOMB RAIDER: The Ride is currently under construction in the Rivertown section of the 364-acre theme park. All will be revealed in 2002 when the park expects to unveil the new attraction.

Paramount's Kings Island is owned and operated by Paramount Parks. Paramount Parks, a unit of Viacom, Inc., is a leading developer and operator of regional theme parks and location-based entertainment attractions. The company currently manages: Paramount's Kings Island (Cincinnati, Ohio); Paramount's Kings Dominion (Richmond, Va.); Paramount's Great America (Santa Clara, Calif.); Paramount's Carowinds (Charlotte, N.C.); Paramount Canada's Wonderland (Toronto, Ontario, Canada); and Star Trek: The Experience™ at the Las Vegas Hilton, (Las Vegas, Nev.)

Viacom is the No. 1 vehicle in the world for advertisers, with preeminent positions in broadcast and cable television, radio, outdoor advertising and online. With programming that appeals to audiences in every demographic category across virtually all media, the company is a leader in the creation, promotion and distribution of entertainment, news, sports, and music. Viacom's well-known brands include CBS, MTV, Nickelodeon, VH1, Paramount Pictures, Infinity, UPN, TNN, CMT, Showtime, Blockbuster, and Simon & Schuster. More information about Viacom and its businesses is available at www.viacom.com.

Eidos Interactive, Inc. is a leading developer and publisher of interactive entertainment products for the PC, PlayStation® game console, PlayStation2 game console, Sega Dreamcast™, and Nintendo® Game Boy® Color. Eidos Interactive is part of London-based Eidos plc (NASDAQ: EIDSY) with offices in San Francisco, Paris, Hamburg, and Tokyo.

Information from the official 'The Ride' Website:

Nothing can prepare you for the mystery, intrigue and sheer pulse-pounding excitement of Tomb Raider: The Ride, inspired by Paramount Pictures' Lara Croft: Tomb Raider starring Academy Award winner Angelina Jolie. Descend into the ancient tomb of the illuminati guarded by the Warrior Goddess Durga, just as the planets align - and become enmeshed in an epic test of fire and ice! Hurtling through the darkness, you'll come face-to-face with glistening, razor-sharp stalactites and roiling, red-hot lava pits, twisting and turning as you struggle against the fury of nature's polar opposites in a desperate effort to escape! So suit up and strap yourself in. The ride of your life is coming in 2002!