'You Can't Help But Smile': Meow Wolf's Kaleidoscape Ride Gets Set For Debut At Elitch Gardens

DENVER (CBS4) - Meow Wolf's Kaleidoscape, an eagerly anticipated new ride at Elitch Gardens in Denver, is opening this weekend. The ride is being described as the world's "first artist-driven dark ride."

"This new ride is something that no one has seen before. It's a brand new one-of-a-kind experience, and it's going to send guests on a creative journey through a cosmic universe, really," Elitch Gardens spokeswoman Jolie DuBois said. "It's just a whole new take on a theme park ride."

CBS4's Mekialaya White got a sneak preview and interviewed artist Frankie Toan while riding through Kaleidoscape on CBS4 This Morning. Toan is one of several Denver-based artists whose work is featured in Kaleidoscape.

"Primarily I work in soft sculpture, so I use fabric and a sewing machine and I make shapes and I stuff them so they become 3D objects," he said.

Toan said he was excited to participate in the project because the non-traditional arts venue will expose "all kinds of different people" to his work.

"It also allows artists to make art in a new way," he said. "You don't get to make things like this necessarily for a gallery show or something like that, so it's a really fun opportunity and challenge as an artist."

For those not in the know, a dark ride takes participants in moving coaster cars on a flat single track in the dark.

Meow Wolf is an arts and entertainment company which got its start in Santa Fe, New Mexico. It's currently constructing a large building in a space adjacent to the amusement park that will house their new permanent installation.

"This really started with our ownership group Revesco partnering with Meow Wolf," DuBois said. "They're going to be our new neighbors and we had this (space) already existing right here and it was just a perfect spot to get a brand new ride."

"And with the arts scene in Denver just on the rise it just seemed like a perfect fit for us to partner with Meow Wolf to create this whole new experience. And I know they really wanted to create a dark ride, too, so it just all kind of worked out."

The ride is family friendly and features unusual sounds and music as well as strange lighting that includes neon and black lights.

"It's so fun. It's just a wild ride and I think you can't help but smile when you go through this," Toan said.

PHOTO GALLERY: Meow Wolf's Kaleidoscape

The ride is open whenever Elitch Gardens is open. Elitch's opens for the season on Saturday. Visit their website at elitchgardens.com.