Thursday, April 25, 2024

Using Simworx Stargazers, Hyperakselerator attraction is awarded Thea Award for Outstanding Achievement

Hunderfossen Eventyrpark and project partners Simworx, Qvisten Animation and Farmer Attractions were awarded a Thea Award for Outstanding Achievement – Attraction with a Limited Budget for their latest attraction the Reodor Felgen’s Hyperakselerator.

The award announcements for the 28th Annual Thea Awards took place at this year’s IAAPA Expo in Orlando, Florida.

Hunderfossen Eventyrpark, founded back in 1984, is located in Lillehammer, Norway. Inspired by fairy tales and trolls, it is also home to the most famous and photographed giant Troll. This tourist attraction for Norway promotes the country’s history, fables and culture throughout its rides.

Reodor Felgen’s Hyperakselerator, the park’s latest attraction, was delivered despite the challenges brought about by the COVID-19 pandemic and opened in time for the 2021 season. The ride promotes the message of major climate challenges related to sustainability in the automotive and transportation industry. The ride is based around the characters from the famous Norwegian author and illustrator, Kjell Aukrust’s Flåklypa Universe, and features characters Solan and Ludvig, as they test out, Reodor, the crazy Norwegian inventor’s solution — a totally green hydrogen fuel made by harvesting the gas from Norwegian farm animals and converting it to hydrogen to power the Hyperakselerator.

The attraction consists of four of Simworx’s, 8-seater Stargazers that utilise 6DOF motion simulators, which allow for a wide variety of movements — making the ride both smooth and adrenaline-inducing. The vehicles, with industrial DIY-inspired theming, were designed to look like Reodor’s Hyperakselerator from the story and combine old and traditional elements to resemble something of a snow sled with a high-tech upgrade.

Photo courtesy of Hunderfossen Eventyrpark.

Producing the media content for the project was Norwegian studio Qvisten Animation; the award-winning filmmakers who have previously created animated features centered around Aukrust’s books. Creating the custom content from scratch the team at Qvisten came up with the initial idea for the Hyperakselerator vehicle which was then translated into the real-life versions for guests to climb aboard.

The film begins at Felgen’s workshop, entertained by Solan and Ludvig’s witty commentary, before setting off on a crazy and unpredictable dash down the mountainside. “Qvisten believes that all forms of entertainment start with a good story. At Hunderfossen they wanted to make an immersive and truly wild ride, but at the same time being able to captivate the audience with lovable characters and a great story driven adventure,” says Director Rasmus Sivertsen at Qvisten.

Arriving at the attraction, guests enter a hut, which looks like Reodor’s workshop, full of all sorts of knick-knacks and inventions. Illustrations by Kjell Aukrust cover the walls and pre-show media sets the scene for the adventure they’re about to take.

Photo courtesy of Hunderfossen Eventyrpark.

Since opening, the ride has attracted over 150,000 visitors.

“This is just fantastic!” says Hogne Høstmælingen, CEO of Hunderfossen Eventyrpark. “We’re always having a goal of being extraordinary when developing new attractions. Storytelling, theming and play & learn are important aspects for us. When we realized how funny and engaging the Hyperakselerator would be, we actually put on even more ‘extra fuel’ to compete for the prestigious Thea Award.

“The Thea award is an enormous motivation for all of us, and it inspires us to develop even better attractions in the future!”

The Thea Awards were created by the Themed Entertainment Association (TEA) to help realize a key mission of the association: bringing recognition to achievement, talent and personal excellence within the themed entertainment industry. The official Thea Awards Gala where Hunderfossen will be presented with their award will take place April 23, 2022, at Disneyland Resort in Anaheim, California.

The Thea Awards Judging Committee’s official statement:

“Reodor Felgen’s Hyperakselerator delivers rich characters, an engaging storyline, a thrilling ride experience, impactful special effects, and high quality 3D media content. The Hunderfossen team leveraged the existing Flåklypa IP to create a rich and immersive experience with thoughtful and focused theming. It is beautifully executed, seamlessly blending whimsical mechanical machinery with the woodwork of a traditional Norwegian sled. The environmental conservation messaging that underpins the story is conveyed with humor and light-heartedness. Reodor Felgen’s Hyperakselerator delivers the perfect balance of story, thrill and classic humor and will deliver millions of guest smiles for years to come.”

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