Mafia Mayhem

History

Based on the extremely successful, albeit less than legal, business ventures of the Mafia in the 1920's, this ride will take you on an adventure through a 1920's speakeasy. Speakeasies, also known as blind tigers or blind pigs, were establishments devoted to the sale of alcohol. They popped up in the 1920's after the ratification of the 18th amendment in 1920. Speakeasies used novel techniques for the time to attract customers. Some of these included integration, or allowing both blacks and whites to use the establishment at the same time. Owners of speakeasies were also known to shift their focus on attracting women to their businesses. The idea here was that women and alcohol would be a foolproof way to gather more male customers. As a result of operating these bootlegging operations, gangsters of the 1920's amassed incredible amounts of wealth. In fact, at the height of his operation, Al Capone was raking in over $60 million per year.

The methods used to workaround the 18th amendment have connections to bitcoin, a cryptocurrency invented in the 2010's. Bitcoin is used as an anonymous payment method to purchase goods or services in an untraceable manner. Both of these historical developments were extremely experimental, and in both cases extremely successful.

Features

Upon entering a two man cart, the passengers will have access to two replica Tommy guns that shoot invisible lasers at targets. The ride will take you through a stereotypical speakeasy and will have you shooting various targets to accrue points. At the end of the ride your totals will be displayed on a set of displays, allowing you to compete with your friends. Whoever wins will be awarded the mafioso award by Stefano Moretti.

The ride lasts 4 minutes and takes the riders along a winding 240 meter course that has them going underground through smuggling tunnels, through the actual speakeasy, and has them participate in a shootout with mafia members! The average velocity of this ride is 1 m/s and the cart is constantly moving increasing the difficulty.