What: Ghost Blasters interactive laser-gun ride
Price: $5
Length: 3 minutes
Rundown: This is a pretty basic ride: you sit in a small car on electric tracks, gripping a laser-pointer gun, and shoot mediocre-looking 3D ghosts as they pop up. You compete with your seat neighbours to see who gets the highest score. There are apparently other Ghost Blasters elsewhere in the United States, all of which popped up in the same era of the late ’90s to early 2000s. This particular one arrived at the Great Canadian Midway in 2002—and it shows. The designs feel dated and lame, while the whole thing has a cheap and dirty quality to it. We should note there’s also a backstory to this ride: Bleakstone Manor is haunted by some dude named “Boocifer”, which, according to the premise, is not so much a problem in and of itself, but rather because the ghosts are driving down nearby property values, which is such a hilariously stupid concept that only middle-aged, upper-class white men could have come up with it. It’s your job to shoot ghosts with lasers so neighbouring yuppies can sell their homes for bullish market values. Fun! Beyond the NIMBYist premise, though, the ride itself is pretty weak. The targets aren’t particularly clear, the ride is slow and it’s all over too quickly, to boot.
Worth It? Unless your kids are really into ghosts and blasting things, skip it.
