In
the late 1990s, Lou Nasti’s Mechanical Displays Inc. was commissioned
by Astroland to make big changes to Dante’s. “They took me through
the ride and showed me where they wanted to put things,” recalls
Nasti. “That worked out great because I love to stand in a space
and visualize what could go there. I had a budget to work with
and I later presented them 15 illustrated concepts. They picked
the ones they liked.”
Nasti
created Dante’s new stunts in his factory and installed them
in the ride with photoelectric switches. He also introduced
digital sound to the ride. Nasti said he removed all but one
of the original stunts; one that he recalls was housed in a
building. This may have been the ‘evil king” stunt which currently
sits in a dark corner of the ride, unseen by riders. (A close-up
look at this stunt’s face reveals striking similarities between
the faces of the original stunts in the Flying Witch dark ride
at Playland Park in Rye, N.Y.; supporting a theory that the
stunts were created by the same designer).
Repeat
riders on Dante’s soon realized that some of Nasti’s sets had
“supporting casts”. For instance, just below the werewolf is a
spider dangling from his web. When the mummy makes his appearance,
a snake gyrates beside him, and behind the Butcher Shop victim
is an assortment of severed body parts.