Since they began building rides, both Pretzel and Traver saw the potential in using the motive power of the ride cars as a force to apply movement to display figures. Traver designed simple linkages connecting stunts to a movable abutment extending into the path of a passing car. Here, a lion crouches in a corner awaiting the next carload of victims.
Inset: The car pushed the end of the extended steel bar (1), The bar pivoted on its pylon, its opposite end pulling another piece of bar stock (2) which was connected to a lever on the floor (3). The base of the lever was attached to a shaft or pipe that rotated within a pair of bushings. Another lever was attached at the opposite end that extended to the underside of the lion's body (4). As the first lever (3) was pulled back by the linking bar (2), the shaft and lever (4) were rotated such that the lion was lifted forward on its haunches in a lunging motion. Springs returned the apparatus to its resting position when the car had passed. A "Third Rail" observed in the larger photo would have turned on the light fixture.

Two more examples of car-powered stunts in the Playland Laff In The Dark:

The bottom arrow shows the point of impact of the car on the rotating striker bar. The linkage extends from the opposite end of the bar to a lever at the left side of the skeleton. The lever is connected by cable to the support above the skull. When pulled forward, the skeleton is rotated up and outward.
The photo below shows a large face that comes into view when the car approaches. The face is supported by an arm attached to a vertical shaft that runs down to the floor. Another arm extends from the bottom of the shaft and is linked to the actuating rod which, when pushed by the car, rotates the shaft and causes the face to swing out from behind the barrier.