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Bellewaerde Park prepares the opening of Huracan
with ZIERER and TAA Industries
Update : 23/06/13 - 16h59Published by François Mayné the 30 January 2013, New.
While the opening of the season is approaching at Bellewaerde Park, the management team of the Belgian amusement park wished to invite the media and fansites to have a closer look at the construction site of its brand new ride: Huracan.
Announced in late September last year, this indoor family rollercoaster is a major investment for Compagnie des Alpes which consented to a budget of €4 million (about $5.4 million) for the entire project. "I feel extremely proud," said Stefaan Lemey, general manager of Bellewaerde Park. "This is our biggest investment since 1999, we are excited to open this new attraction and to get the feedback from our visitors."
Huracan will be unique in several ways. Its location firstly, because the track was custom-designed to fit into a building that housed the boat dark ride 'Los Piratas' since 1991. The latter was dismantled in a few weeks last summer, the majority of accessories and animatronics having been retrieved for subsequent use, eg for next Halloween festivities.
Unique also is the layout of the coaster, which will consist of a dark ride section (divided into several rooms with sets and special effects) and a brief stint outdoor, the track exceeding the height of the roof before plunging back into the black. Finally, the trains will be the first in Belgium to be equipped with an onboard audio system.
Bellewaerde Park, in collaboration with the creative department of Compagnie des Alpes (CDA Productions) has imagined a theme for Huracan inspired by the Maya mythology, a topic that corresponds to the direct environment of the attraction because it is located in the Mexican themed area.
According to the scenario, the mighty god of wind, fire and storm Huracan took refuge in a temple, chased by a two-headed serpent whose role is to protect humanity from its destructive force. Upon entering the temple, visitors embark on board this snake trying to escape the wrath of the deity that unleashes the elements (water, fire, fog, wind) before pursuing them in the darkness ... until the end of the adventure where it is stopped by a luminous medallion.
The design and manufacturing of the ride was entrusted to the German manufacturer ZIERER which has extensive experience in the field of family rollercoasters and which has already delivered similar projects with dark ride sections, including for LEGOLAND theme parks. It is also in the ZIERER workshops that the two trains were built and decorated. Each will load 20 passengers divided into 10 cars of 2 seats with individual lap bars and the onboard audio system (3 speakers and a subwoofer by car).
The track will be 500 meters long (~1.650 feet) with a maximum height of 15 meters (~49 ft), a maximum speed of 50 km/h (~31 mph), a ride duration of about 2 minutes and an hourly capacity of 800 to 1000 riders. The end of the track will be equipped with magnetic brakes, the dark ride section and the lift using rather friction wheels. Particular attention was drawn to the sound insulation of the queue, particularly with filling of the supports with sand to reduce the noise impact of the vibration of the trains.
The overall theming work, outside and inside the building, is made by Theming and Animatronics Industries (TAA Industries) of which one of the specialties is the projection of concrete over steel structures. With this technique, the company realizes the walls of the dark ride section and the temple entrance where its team of a dozen workers and artists imitate old stones and wooden beams by carving the concrete. "We are very proud to realize this first major project for Bellewaerde and Compagnie des Alpes," says Christian Angenvoort, Marketing and Sales Manager at TAA Industries. "Huracan will complement our portfolio of dark rides, it is a great opportunity to show our excellent quality and our best value for money in this business area."
Double communication strategy
In the offices of the marketing department of Bellewaerde Park the arrival of Huracan is actively being prepared. Although located in Flanders, the amusement park is indeed close to the French border, so with two very different markets. "In Belgium, we will conduct a national communication plan with a TV commercial in Dutch and French. We will also use other channels such as print, display or radio," explains Marc Guffens, Director of Marketing at Bellewaerde Park. "In France, it is rather a regional target limited to the region of Nord-Pas-de-Calais. In this market, we will focus on a billboard campaign and probably on local radios with a short commercial."
Social media also play a role in the promotional campaign of Huracan, "We believe it is important to invest in a communication strategy on social networks. It is a tool to develop and strengthen contacts with our visitors . We have excellent returns, our Facebook page, for example, is close to 100,000 fans against just 15,000 two years ago! " concludes Marc Guffens.
Target: Opening on March 30, 2013
All teams working on Huracan have only one goal in mind: the rollercoaster needs to be ready for Saturday, March 30, the opening day of the 2013 season. They still have a little more than two months to complete the work, while the construction site was slowed by snow and freezing temperatures. "In the state of things, we plan to begin testing the ride in mid-February. This operation will take about ten days and then we will receive the certification agency TUV, " says GM Stefaan Lemey.
He concludes: "We have four weeks to finish most of the work, including the dark ride section. It will be a challenge to be in time but for now, we are well in our planning. ZIERER, TAA Industries and all the other companies that are involved in this project meet the delivery deadlines. We are particularly pleased with the quality of their work and their professionalism. "
For more photos of Huracan's construction site, please check out our Facebook page.
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NewsParcs will do a full coverage of the IAAPA Attractions Expo 2013 in Orlando to have a look at the latest trends and developments of the global theme park industry.
In the offices of the marketing department of Bellewaerde Park the arrival of Huracan is actively being prepared. Although located in Flanders, the amusement park is indeed close to the French border, so with two very different markets. "In Belgium, we will conduct a national communication plan with a TV commercial in Dutch and French. We will also use other channels such as print, display or radio," explains Marc Guffens, Director of Marketing at Bellewaerde Park. "In France, it is rather a regional target limited to the region of Nord-Pas-de-Calais. In this market, we will focus on a billboard campaign and probably on local radios with a short commercial."
