Pirates,ghosts and customer loyalty – Reviewing the dark ride experience

Despite theme park corporations increasingly investing in new attractions and fun rides, the topic of customer loyalty is still under-researched in this context. In fact, investments into dark rides are largely unpredictable.Other disciplines (e.g. culture, psychology etc.) and popular science provide us with a vast and discombobulated amount of literature. In this study, we review the literature from the perspective of management research, exploring the underlying process causing customer loyalty in regard to the theme park ride.On the basis of a systematic literature review, we derived a model which illustrates the effect mechanism experienced by dark ride attendees. Our model goes beyond psychological relationships, including consequences on marketing and sales. It illustrates essential effects on customers and, thus, provides guidance to park operators. Managers may capitalize from the moderating effect of 'prior knowledge' and 'cultural implications', to intensify the effect of storytelling on immersion.