Mack Group’s FlowDiner turns a three-course meal into a moving strawberry-themed dark ride in 2027

# What the FlowDiner is and how it works Mack Group's FlowDiner is a new type of attraction that integrates a multi-course meal with a dark-ride experience. Guests sit at an autonomously moving table that takes small groups through a sequence of five themed scenes while a three-course meal is served course by course. The vehicle is battery-powered and moves at a deliberate speed of roughly 0.5 meters per second.

# The debut at Karls Erlebnis-Dorf The first public installation will be called Erdbeer-Speisereise, or Strawberry Dining Journey, and is scheduled to open in summer 2027 at Karls Erlebnis-Dorf in Elstal, outside Berlin. The strawberry theme ties directly to Karls' existing brand—strawberry fields and strawberry-themed attractions—and the story traces the historical discovery of the garden strawberry as a multisensory narrative.

# Seating, pacing, and the guest experience Each FlowDiner table seats up to six guests: four adults and two small children. The ride's movement and the timing of food service are coordinated with projections, sets, lighting, audio, and motion to align each course with a scene. Mack Group positions the concept between a conventional restaurant and a regular ride—neither a simple restaurant with a show bolted on nor a ride with food as an afterthought.

# How this builds on previous work Mack Group developed Eatrenalin at Europa-Park, an individual-seat immersive meal that lasts about two hours and serves multiple courses. FlowDiner and the broader eatX initiative adapt that engineering, culinary, and storytelling expertise into a shared-table, family-oriented format meant to be shorter and more approachable: a three-course meal over a one-hour journey.

# Business and operational angle Mack frames eatX as a product for operators as well as an attraction: the FlowDiner can turn ordinary food-and-beverage real estate into a reservation-only destination, giving operators a way to sell the dining experience itself rather than only supporting other park attractions. If the Karls deployment succeeds, Mack intends to offer the system to other parks and attractions to tell different stories through food and motion.

# Development timeline and public reveal Mack Group says the FlowDiner vehicle took two years to develop. The eatX concept and the FlowDiner were displayed publicly at the IAAPA Expo Europe in London ahead of the Karls opening.

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