It Started With One Car...
- Matt Daniels
- Aug 12
- 4 min read
Our new video is live — here's the story behind Gotham Cinema Rides.
Some dreams start big. This one started with a single question a lot of people still ask us first: why the Ecto-1?
For our founder Nick, the answer goes all the way back to being an '80s kid glued to Ghostbusters. That car wasn't just a car — it was a character, with its own personality, pulled straight out of the movie and the Saturday-morning cartoon. The thought was simple at first: how cool would it be to just own one?
Simple, but not easy. Only around 90 of those cars were ever made, and finding one took the better part of a decade — years of constant eBay searches, long before Marketplace existed. When one finally popped up from a private collector, Nick scooped it up, flew out to get it, and spent two more years hunting down parts and talking to anyone who could help. From the moment the exterior came together, one question took over: what else can we do with this?
That question is basically our whole company.
So what is Gotham Cinema Rides?
Honestly, it's hard to pin down — and we like it that way. In Nick's head it's always evolving. At the core, we're an experiential entertainment company built around iconic movie cars, and everything we do is about delivering experiences in them:
NYC filming-location tours in the Ecto-1
Comic conventions with the DeLorean
Community events with the Batmobile
Themed party planning — balloon arches, cakes, candy tables, character costumes, the works
And our headquarters, where you can experience the cars up close, play the arcade, browse vintage toys, and sit in a drive-in theater to watch your favorite film in your favorite movie car
Picture watching Back to the Future from inside the DeLorean and flipping on the flux capacitor. Or catching Ghostbusters from the Ecto-1 and running the lights right along with the movie. That's the idea.
The Ghostbusters tour
Our first big experience — and still one of our favorites — is the Ecto-1 filming-location tour through New York City.
You roll past Central Park West, the church where the Marshmallow Man made his entrance, Tavern on the Green, the public library where it all opens, down Fifth Avenue, and finally to the firehouse, where guests grab the proton packs and pose for photos. All the gear rides with you — proton packs, traps, PKE meters, sirens.
And the city reacts. People run into the street for photos. Cops get excited — one squad car once followed along blasting the Ghostbusters theme. Your driver is a real Ghostbuster too, ready to tell you about the tough one they caught in the Empire State Building. ("Well, it's a movie, right?" "No — it's a documentary.") As Nick puts it, the car is a magnet for joy, and that never gets old.
The team behind the wheel
None of this is a one-man show. It's ideas from everyone — the team, and the people we meet at events.
Matt, our Creative Director, first crossed paths with Nick over a shared idea to tour Ghostbusters locations for a YouTube video. First meeting: Nick handed him a uniform, they drove around New York, and Matt was "the most red-faced and excited I've ever been since I was 10 years old." A friendship — and a working partnership — took off from there.
Then there's Kevin, who builds and rebuilds every car top to bottom — bodywork, paint, wiring, engines, transmissions, suspension. His motto says it all: "I just want to build something that runs, drives, and will outlive us all." And Chris, who leads our marketing from Louisiana, joined the family through — you guessed it — one of the tours.
We're now up to nine movie cars, including the Gotham City police car, the screen-used SWAT van, the '89 Batmobile, Jurassic Park vehicles, the Scooby-Doo Mystery Machine, two Ecto-1s, a Lightning McQueen replica, and the DeLorean. If Kevin can fix it, Nick will buy it.
What's next: the Turtle Party Wagon
The project we're just as proud of is coming: our Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Party Wagon. Chopped roof, cartoon-accurate shape, side door that opens up so you can sit on it — a childhood icon brought to life.
The plan? A mobile pizza catering truck you can book for events, served up by turtles in full '90s costume — plus NYC tours of the best pizzerias in the city. (Being handed a slice out of the back by a fully dressed turtle is, officially, on the founder's personal to-do list.)
The heart of it
At the end of the day, this is about joy. Everything we build is made to be used, sat in, jumped on, driven cross-country — never just props behind a rope.
"It was my dream to sit in this car, and you made that happen."
That's what keeps us going. If there's one thing we could all use more of, it's joy — and a chance to reconnect with the kid inside us. Creating those moments for other people is the whole point.
Watch the new video above, and come make some memories with us. 🎬
Want the Ecto-1 at your next event, or ready to book a ride? Get in touch — let's create something unforgettable.
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