FROM BEHIND THE SCENES
A vintage carousel, reimagined for the world’s leading immersive destination
A venue that doesn’t do ordinary:
inside Area 15
Some carousels are built for nostalgia. The Looper was built for something else entirely.
Designed and fabricated by Kansas-based Chance Rides for AREA15 in Las Vegas, the Looper takes the familiar shape of a carousel and turns it inside out.
This is not polished brass and painted ponies. This is neon. Saturation. Motion. Light that wraps and chases as the ride spins. It’s a carousel perfectly suited to AREA15.
Located in Las Vegas, Nevada, AREA15 is an immersive entertainment district known for blending art, technology, music, and experiential design into one dynamic destination. Since opening in 2020, the complex has become a hub for large-scale installations, interactive attractions, and boundary-pushing creative concepts that attract both festival-goers and design enthusiasts alike.
This is the kind of place where surreal supermarket worlds expand into narrative adventures, where mirror rooms distort perception, and where audio-visual exhibits, VR quests, and infinity-lensed galleries invite visitors to step into alternate realities. Attractions such as Meow Wolf’s massive “Omega Mart,” a sprawling surreal art installation that rewards exploration at every turn, and “Wink World,” a kinetic light and mirror experience from a Blue Man Group co-founder, are just a taste of AREA15’s visual ambition.
So when AREA15 put out a special request to build a carousel that fits them, Chance Rides answered in a way that felt unmistakably of the venue: sculptural, neon-infused, and bold.
Reimagining a classic ride for a modern playground
The concept began with a simple but striking idea: what if the traditional carnival bulbs were removed and replaced with neon?
Not glass. Not fragile tubing. But clean, continuous lines of light.
“To match the venue’s futuristic, kinetic energy, [we} set out to transform a classic carousel into an illuminated showpiece.” – Chance Rides
ENTTEC System Overview:
● ENTTEC Neon Flex creating continuous neon-style contours
● Pixelator Mini delivering high-density pixel output
● IP PLink distributing pixel data cleanly across moving elements
● S-PLAY providing cue-based show control and automated states
● ELM (ENTTEC LED Mapper) handling precision pixel mapping
Chance Rides set out to recreate the “neon bulb” aesthetic using modern LED technology: safer, more durable, and engineered for real-world operation. The goal wasn’t just to make the carousel glow. It was to build a system that could deliver bold visual impact while supporting the demands of a high-traffic attraction.
The Looper would look dramatic, and perform with the precision and longevity expected of a Chance Rides attraction.
But delivering the neon-forward vision required more than swapping out lighting fixtures. It meant rethinking how a carousel could express character through light. AREA15 needed something visually assertive; something that could hold its own alongside immersive experiences like Meow Wolf’s Omega Mart, Wink World, and the venue’s constantly evolving lineup of large-format AV installations.
For Chance Rides, whose legacy is rooted in timeless, traditional attractions, the Looper represented a bold departure. Their catalogue is filled with classic carousels, coasters, trains, and family rides familiar across the country: designs shaped by craftsmanship, reliability, and timeless silhouettes. The Looper, however, invited them into new territory: sculptural mounts, contemporary colour palettes, and an aesthetic built entirely around light as a design language.
Lighting that shapes the experience
Turning that vision into reality required lighting technology capable of both artistry and control. At AREA15, installations can’t just glow – they have to hold their own in a space filled with bold, kinetic attractions, and they need the stamina to run long hours without losing impact.
ENTTEC’s Neon Flex was installed along the carousel’s ornate scenery panels, mount contours, and canopy frames, forming uninterrupted illuminated lines that tie the entire structure together. Its flexible profile allowed it to follow tight curves without banding or hotspots: creating a clean neon aesthetic in a format that can survive daily operation.
Behind that glow, ENTTEC’s control ecosystem powers the choreography.
ENTTEC Features:
• S-Play SP-1
• Pixelator Mini
• Customised Neon Flex
• IP Link System • ELM Software
“The teams collaborated closely to translate the creative intent into a practical lighting system -balancing aesthetics, serviceability, and control.”
S-Play and Pixelator Mini drive synchronised pixel effects across the ride, enabling dynamic colour transitions, chase sequences, and programmable lighting states. IP PLink distributes data cleanly throughout the structure, keeping the installation organised and efficient. ELM extends pixel mapping and control, allowing the lighting to move as fluidly as the carousel itself.
The result is lighting that doesn’t simply decorate the ride. It defines it. As the carousel spins, colors ripple and build. The glow intensifies. The structure feels alive. Dreamlike. Surprising. Playful.
A carousel that feels like a dream
Choosing a mount is part of every carousel’s charm. The Looper amplifies that joy. Neon giraffes. Glowing dinosaurs. Graffitied horses. A lion in steampunk goggles. Each sculptural figure outlined in light, each one bold and full of personality.
It feels like stepping into a carousel pulled from a neon-lit dream: familiar in form, unexpected in execution.
“A ride that complements the venue’s artistic narrative while offering the operational reliability expected of a Chance Rides attraction.”
That balance of spectacle and structure, creativity and control, is what makes the Looper more than just visually striking. It’s built to last. Built to run. Built to surprise.
“Depending on the actual time of day in the terminal, you will see the sky that reflects that in real time. And after much testing, we landed on a result we were all happy with.”
With so many curves, mounts, and layered details, the Looper needed more than simple chase patterns. ENTTEC LED Mapper (ELM) was used to design, preview, and refine effects across the carousel’s geometry before they ever went live on site.
Using ELM, the creative team could see how colours would travel around the outer scenery, how highlights would land on each mount, and how different looks would read from across the AREA15 floor. That made it easier to create shows that felt cohesive – not just bright.
The result is a ride that can change personality with a few clicks. From slow, atmospheric glows to high-energy chases timed to the soundtrack, ELM gives the Looper a flexible visual language that can evolve with new events, seasons, and creative ideas at AREA15.