Project Oasis: Journey to the Forbidden Temple

A fully operational theme park style ride designed and built by Cal Rustad (MIT ’28). Opened to the public in Fort Worth, Texas, welcoming over 500 riders on Halloween Night.

The custom ride vehicle‘s motorized rotation, pneumatic motion base, and a motorized drive offered a thrilling yet smooth experience with unlimited reprogrammability, capability for randomized ride profiles, and real-time monitoring. The attraction featured a custom ride film, animated in-house and “squinched” to match ride vehicle motion. Custom audio was recorded and mixed for the 16 channels of speakers for full immersion, then programmed and synchronized using real Alcorn McBride show control hardware—fully integrated with ride control system feedback to match the caliber and functionality of professional theme park attractions.

After pitching the concept for the ride, 13 incredible companies sponsored the project, (leading sponsor Alcorn McBride) donating a combined $30,000 in valued equipment and funding for the attraction.

Cal was the sole designer, programmer, and fabricator of this 12-month + project.