The creator of a Tennessee theme park attraction that seeks to recreate the site of the crash that killed Princess Diana insists that the attraction is not in poor taste, The Independent reports.
The mother of Princes William and Harry died on August 31, 1997, at the age of 36. Having been hounded by paparazzi for most of her life during and after her marriage to Prince Charles, the constant harassment got even worse near the end of her life. And on the night she died, she was in a car whose driver was trying to outrun the photographers.
The crash occurred as the driver, Henri Paul, drove from Paris’ Ritz Hotel. Shortly after midnight, as the car sped through the streets of Paris, Paul lost control of the vehicle at the entrance to the Pont de l’Alma tunnel. Diana was killed when the car struck a support pillar.
Now, visitors to Pigeon Forge, Tennessee, the home of Dollywood, can experience Diana’s death for themselves, via a 3D experience at the National Enquirer Live attraction.
Robin Turner, one of the investors in the attraction, describes how visitors will experience Diana’s death.
“It’s projected, and you see the buildings and everything in a 3-D presentation. And it shows the pathway as she left the Ritz hotel, and the paparazzi chasing her, and the bang-flash that we think blinded the driver — and how it happened.”
Princess Diana’s death turned into morbid attraction at Tennessee theme park https://t.co/AvSRANQIUq pic.twitter.com/QZNolZtDzk
— New York Post (@nypost) May 24, 2019
Turner insists that there’s no blood or gore, and the attraction is merely digital. He explains that the entire experience consists of 3D projections and animation.
What’s more, he insists that the attraction is not in poor taste. Rather, he says that it simply allows users not familiar with Paris to get a feel for the topography and streets of the City of Lights; at least, that portion of the city that Diana traversed on her last day alive.
Turner’s claim that the attraction isn’t in poor taste may not hold water with all visitors, however. Other experiences in the National Enquirer Live attraction include a recreation of the balcony where Michael Jackson famously dangled one of his children above the crowd; and a replica of the crime scene where the body of O.J. Simpson’s ex-wife was found murdered.
Diana’s former associate, Dickie Arbiter, certainly doesn’t buy any claim that the attraction is in poor taste.
“I wouldn’t call it an attraction, I’d call it very tacky. Tacky is not strong enough, but I don’t think there is a word that’s strong enough,” he said to a British newspaper.
As of this writing, the royal family has not commented on the attraction.