In this Summer Special of Skip the Queue, guest host Owen Ralph is joined by three theme park operators for a closer look at their new attractions for 2026. Lawrence Mancey discusses Paultons Park’s new viking realm Valgard, and also the UK’s park’s accommodation plans. Blackpool Pleasure Beach’s James Cox spotlights the awesome Aviktas thrill ride and long-running Hot Ice show. Meanwhile Hogne Høstmælingen from Hunderfossen in Norway tells us about the new Rally Flåklypa dark ride and the working with both intellectual property (IP) and trolls.
In this Summer Special of Skip the Queue, guest host and attractions industry journalist Owen Ralph is joined by three theme park operators for a closer look at their new offerings for 2026.
Lawrence Mancey discusses Paultons Park’s £12 million themed area Valgard, the largest ever investment at the UK park, also home to Peppa Pig World. He explains how the viking theme was a ‘no-brainer’, why the family-run park likes creating its own IP, and also tells us about Paultons’ embryonic holiday park plans.
Blackpool Pleasure Beach’s James Cox highlights the famous park’s new £8.7 million Aviktas thrill ride and its long-running Hot Ice show. He also explains how the team is trying to revitalise neglected areas of the seaside site and why its operating season is longer than most other British parks.
Finally, Hogne Høstmælingen from Hunderfossen in Norway – celebrating its 40th anniversary this season – tell us about the Lillehammer park’s troll roots and much more. We hear how an IP first introduced in 2014 has spawned three attractions including a rollercoaster, Thea Award-winning simulator experience and the new dark ride Rally Flåklypa.
Show references:
Guest host:
International Editor, Kirmes & Park International
Regular contributor, Blooloop/World’s Fair
Marketing and Technology Director, Paultons Park, UK
Director of Marketing, Sales and PR, Blackpool Pleasure Beach Resort, UK
General Manager, Hunderfossen, Norway
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Credits:
Written by Owen Ralph
Edited by Steve Folland
Produced by Emily Burrows and Sami Entwisle (Plaster)
Owen Ralph:
Hello and welcome to Skip the Queue, the podcast for and about the attractions industry. I'm Owen Ralph, your guest host for this episode, our summer special. For my entire career, I've been writing about theme parks and attractions and today I'm going to be talking about them as we hear from three different park operators about their new attractions for 2026. Later, I'll be catching up with James Cox from Blackpool Pleasure Beach as he tells us about the Victus, the British park's awesome new thrill ride.
James Cox:
138Ft swings, 120 degrees, as well as.
Owen Ralph:
Its long running hot ice show.
James Cox:
This will be the 90th year of hot ice, so, you know, huge milestones.
Owen Ralph:
We'll also speak to Hogne Høstmælingen, general manager of Hunderfossen in Norway, which recently launched a new dart ride featuring an intellectual property, an IP to you and me that the park has been working with now for the past 12 years.
Hogne Høstmælingen:
They asked us if we would invest in this movie. Well, we have never been investors like that before, but we thought that it could bring along a new attraction as well.
Owen Ralph:
Let's get started with the conversation I had with Lawrence Mancy from Polton's park at the opening of Valgard, Realm of the Vikings. The 12 million pound themed area is the most expensive addition ever to the park in the south of England, which is also home to Peppa Pig World. Lawrence, who is Polton's marketing and technology director but also part of the park's owning family, starts by telling us why they chose Vikings.
Lawrence Mancy:
It's a fairly straightforward theme. It's hard, it's an easy message, gives you lots of great backstory and a real plethora of lore and mythology to tap into.
Hogne Høstmælingen:
Yes.
Lawrence Mancy:
So there's loads of different stories you can tell with the Viking theme and with the Norse mythology side of it. Whereas Drakon and the ravens and the feasting halls. It's a nice theme to add those little touches.
Owen Ralph:
Are there any particular stories you've drawn on, stories you made up?
Lawrence Mancy:
The Trolls is quite a nice one. The sort of cheeky trolls in the field swing.
Hogne Høstmælingen:
Yeah.
Lawrence Mancy:
Which is obviously the UK's first wild swing attraction, which is going down really nicely. But that's a nice little story with the cheeky Trolls. We always try and keep our themes very straightforward and that you can explain them in a sentence. Yeah. Because it's the backdrop for a lot of people. You know, theming is really important to us and we do a really good job on it. The most important Thing is, the guests feel like it's a quality experience, quality environment.
Hogne Høstmælingen:
Yeah.
Owen Ralph:
So how did you decide on the attraction mix for Felgard?
Lawrence Mancy:
We knew we needed to step it up. We needed to be a more thrilling attraction for the. For older kids obviously. We've worked with Gerstlauer in the past on Cobra which opened in 2006. So having that interaction between Raven and Dracon is a great element. You know when you on Raven you see Dracon coming over the top of you like that.
Owen Ralph:
Yeah.
Lawrence Mancy:
It's an incredible part of the ride. So that was a big factor. The vertical lift is a great marketing selling tool. Taking a photo of that, you know, it's a. It's a great. It's a great photo. Very photogenic. Having that hero shot is really important.
Owen Ralph:
When you see it as you come from the car park.
Lawrence Mancy:
Yeah, yeah. It was really fairly straightforward to honest. We knew, we knew about the art Wild swing. Yeah. We went to trips drill to try theirs.
Owen Ralph:
Tried.
Lawrence Mancy:
So in 2024 both James and I got off it like. Yeah, we. This is a perfect Poulton's ride.
Owen Ralph:
Got kick through.
Lawrence Mancy:
Oh yeah. 95 Centimeter restriction. So still. Still quite a young child on it. Yeah. So good family ride and the playground. Working with touchwood was great.
Owen Ralph:
Uk.
Lawrence Mancy:
Uk. Yeah. Bristol. Yeah. They did a great job. It's all natural material, Robinhood wood and stuff, which really fits in with the environment. And we knew we needed another big high capacity restaurant over here in the feasting hall and that's great. People want to eat where they are. They don't want to have to go back to the entrance to eat. Park to eat over here and you're hungry. You want to give them the option there. In there?
Owen Ralph:
Yes.
Lawrence Mancy:
So that was important to us.
Owen Ralph:
Can you give me some of the basic stats for the coaster for Drakkon?
Lawrence Mancy:
So Dracon is 20, 23 meters high.
Hogne Høstmælingen:
Yeah.
Lawrence Mancy:
44 Mile an hour top speed, two inversions with the dispatch to breaks about a minute ride. Experience the vertical lift hill beyond vertical drop for a first inversion coaster. Then where you had to. I was speaking to a young kid earlier, he was like that was my first inversion. And I was like, wow, that is quite the coaster to have your first inversions on. Exactly what we wanted people to grow up with Fultons as they go through the Peppa Pig face. Great. But as they get into their 6, 7, 8 year olds, you start looking at tornado springs and then this and keeping them for their whole childhood.
Owen Ralph:
You've worked with leg again, have you? Yeah.
Lawrence Mancy:
Yep. So the Leisure Expert group did the masterpiece planning and the. And the design of theming. That process actually ended in December 2024.
Hogne Høstmælingen:
Right.
Lawrence Mancy:
When they delivered the final. The final package of designs. And at that point it's over to us to create them. But they play a massive part in the process. And while that. That ends in December, they're always there because we're always referring back to the source material. It's booklets this thick for each attraction, for Raven, for Dracon, for, you know, all the layouts, the queue lines and how the guest flows work and the sight lines. And obviously they've designed it all together with the. With the new attraction over there as well. So it's all going to come together at the end of the project.
Owen Ralph:
So this is really the last corner of the park to be themed, isn't it?
Lawrence Mancy:
Yeah, yeah. There's obviously, as you walk from the entrance to here, you go through that old sort of play area section. Yeah. There's always parts of the park that pay attention. So we're starting to flesh out our plans for the. For the next few years.
Owen Ralph:
Would you ever look at another IP?
Lawrence Mancy:
We quite like creating our own. It gives you a lot more control. Yes, it gives you a lot more control and it's a unique. It's a unique experience that you can't get anywhere else. Yeah, Working with an IP is great. We loved working with Pepper. We still do love working with Pepper, but Pepper is such a great preschool brand for us. Looking for a brand that is for a slightly older child. We feel like we do such a good job with our themed areas that we can take that on ourselves.
Hogne Høstmælingen:
Yeah.
Owen Ralph:
And there's more Evergreen.
Lawrence Mancy:
Yeah, exactly. We enjoy it, you know, we enjoy creating our own. It's something. We enjoy doing that creative process and creating Valgard and all the. All the characters and all the team can get involved and, you know, you can have a real good energy about the place when you're going around and making those quick decisions as well, is what we like to do. And sometimes you have to go through a bit more of a process with an IP to make sure you get it exactly right.
Owen Ralph:
I think it's testament to you that obviously they've gone and done stuff with big groups, but they're still happy to work with you as the original.
Lawrence Mancy:
Yeah, no, we're very pleased and we love having Pepper at the park.
Hogne Høstmælingen:
Yeah.
Owen Ralph:
What can you tell me about the accommodation you're planning?
Lawrence Mancy:
Not too much. We're still in the very early process at the moment. We're still working on the planning application.
Owen Ralph:
Yeah, but it's the Scandinavian thing.
Lawrence Mancy:
Yeah. Sort of a Scandinavian. Yeah, sort of. Yeah. It won't be Vikings, it'll be more of a modern, Nordic kind of feel because we wanted to have that premium modern feel to it. It will be a very exciting development whenever it does happen, but we don't have much of a time scale yet.
Owen Ralph:
And why lodges rather than a hotel? Is that just where the markets are?
Lawrence Mancy:
I think that's where the markets are. I think you can have different types. Much easier to have different types. A bit more variation.
Hogne Høstmælingen:
Yeah.
Lawrence Mancy:
So we've got three houses, we've got the sort of a frame, lodges, some. Some riverside ones, some borrowed ones. So it gives you that variation.
Owen Ralph:
Yeah.
Lawrence Mancy:
Slightly easier maybe to phase the project. So if you don't want to build it all at once, you can build.
Owen Ralph:
And to expand as well.
Lawrence Mancy:
Exactly.
Hogne Høstmælingen:
Y.
Owen Ralph:
How's the season so far? And given all the uncertainty in the world, how do you feel about, you know, the economy and leisure generally?
Lawrence Mancy:
Hospitality is a tough industry at the moment. We're seeing that across the board with this opening as well. There's a lot of different factors going on. We're not quite sure what's causing what. The weather hasn't fallen quite right for us at the early part of the year. Perhaps it was sunny when it could have been rainy and rainy during the holiday period. So over Easter. Not quite sure what's causing it at the moment, but we're hoping with the launch of Valgard, you can see the high quality environment, the great rides, the great experience that you can have here. And they'll make their visit sometime coming into summer.
Owen Ralph:
You join me now with James Cox from one of the UK's best loved amusement parks, Blackpool Pleasure Beach. James, you're the director of marketing, sales and pr. How long have you been there now?
James Cox:
Knocking on for 13 years, I think. 2013 I started. Yeah. 13Th season. Season 13th. Groundhog Day.
Owen Ralph:
Compared to some other parks and resorts in the uk, you do have quite a long season.
James Cox:
Yeah. And I mean, we've made it longer as well, obviously. We've opened in February in Nickelodeon Land only now for two years and we've made the commitment early already to. To do that again next year. But we're actually opening a bit more of the park as well. So it won't just be Nickelodeon Land. I think this is exclusive, actually. It won't just be Nickelodeon Land. We're looking at getting a few of the other attractions in there to make it a bit More wider, appealing as well, to help some of the thrill seekers maybe come down, get the first thrill fix of the year.
Owen Ralph:
Speaking of thrills, let's jump in and talk about the big news for this year and something that's probably going to keep you in the news for quite a while. Victus is your new 8.2 million thrill ride.
James Cox:
8.72? Yeah. You just shaved 500 grand off there, Owen.
Owen Ralph:
That's including everything, I guess, the ride, the hardware, the landscaping, theming.
James Cox:
Exactly, yeah. Foundations. Concrete in the foundations, everything. But it's no small investment on our part to make sure that we're giving UK and European fans something new to look forward to. And I know you've been on it yourself and it's quite the ride, isn't it?
Owen Ralph:
It is, yeah. And the views. It sounds cliche, but they are fantastic, you know, because it's quite strategically placed almost along the promenade and next to the big one, isn't it?
James Cox:
Yeah. So were in. I say were in two minds. There was two trains of thought internally. One was around the area near Launch Pad and whether it would be a good location there. But Amanda was adamant with the location of what was the Bowler Drone Arcade, which was a part of the park that was probably a bit tired, a bit jaded. And so the opportunity was that we reinvigorate a tired and jaded area of the park whilst also strategically putting in this ride. And as you mentioned, the way that it swings obviously supports the park from. From the far from afar. So I live locally in Blackpool. I was driving down the promenade on Saturday or Sunday, and from a good way off in the distance, I could see a Victor swinging.
James Cox:
And that's obviously what we want for the day trippers who come to Blackpool who maybe don't think about going in the park just yet.
Owen Ralph:
Yeah. Or think everything's the same as it was or.
James Cox:
Yeah, yeah. It's not the main reason for coming. Bang on. The kids are looking up in wonderment at this amazing new ride, Spark. Either an impulse visit on that day or a planned visit later on in the year. So, yeah, it's very purposefully put there for being viewed from outside of the park, because Icon was a great ride and Swell is a great ride, but you can't really see that from outside of the park. So that huge investment didn't have that same impact. But this one's purposefully done for that. And also from being on the ride as well, you get the views, you know, around the park in front of you. And to the left of you. But also you get that coastal view that you kind of get when you go over the top of the big one too.
Owen Ralph:
And we should say for those people that don't know, I can't imagine there's many in the people in the industry that don't. What is the ride?
James Cox:
Yeah, so it's a Intamin Gyro swing. So there are a few obviously around the world. Some of our, well, some of our directors, obviously. Amanda knows the industry very well and people who own these rides at other parks. It's a what I would call a queue chewer. It seats a lot of people in one sitting. So, you know, it just chews through those queue lines as well as providing a great experience. I think most people, I say universally that would be wrong, I guess, but a lot of people, significant majority of people agree that type of ride, the Intamin gyro swing, is probably the best flat ride in the world. So that was an important factor in our purchase.
James Cox:
Obviously weren't looking for a coaster at this moment in time, but were looking for something that fit within that price scale and provided, you know, world class experience for our guests.
Owen Ralph:
It is a flat ride, but it's also very tall. Just give me some of the stats on the ride.
James Cox:
138Ft, swings, 120 degrees, negative GA4G. I think I want to say might have to fact check that, but I'm sure some people will let us know. So, yeah, some, you know, intense numbers there. And I think the numbers translate through to the experience. And obviously I'm sure a lot of people who listen to this podcast will already know, but the rider restraint is what makes those numbers feel, you know, pass through into the feeling. Because the air time that you get is huge. The, the freedom, the feeling of weightlessness you get is huge. Those restraints just enable, you know, so much movement on your side. You don't feel like you're locked in and it's tense. You feel free. So you're free to experience all of that.
Owen Ralph:
And the name and the concept. So there's a. I believe the name sounds great, but it doesn't mean anything, I believe. And theming is kind of based on a serpent, isn't it?
James Cox:
Yeah. So, I mean, does the name have a literal English dictionary definition? I would say not prior to May 21, 2026, but hopefully it does now. But the origin of the story came from its location so it's located near to the River Caves. That ride, obviously long established ride here from the 30s, that ride from the family point of view, the Thompson family, the owners of the park, that was basically paying homage to the grandfather's travels. So every time Leonard Thompson would go away around the world to different areas, they would typically come back with some purchases from that area and create a new scene within the River Caves.
Lawrence Mancy:
Right.
James Cox:
Amanda's got old cinecam footage of some of those travels and one of them was Angkor Wat in Cambodia. And that then was the inspiration for Victus. So the idea that, you know, a snake egg had been found in the River Caves during the reimagining and made its way after hatching through underneath the rubble of what was the Bowler Drome site and launched this new kind of energy that would become the force behind the ride we now know as Victus.
Owen Ralph:
And Amanda Thompson obe, the park's managing director, she's had quite a hand in the design of this. And it's similar, I would say a bit to Icon and also the hotel boulevard.
James Cox:
Yeah, yeah. I mean, a bit of a hand's probably a downplay. If you ask the people that have been working on that site, I think they'll say there's been a bit more than a bit of a hand.
Lawrence Mancy:
Yeah.
James Cox:
But you know what's been done, I think is very impressive for me. And this kind of follows through one of the philosophies I think we're going for with the part now, which is, you know, to look at these areas that need a bit of love and to completely reinvigorate them with something new and impressive area. We, you know, we could have just planted the ride and gone, there you go, new gyro swing. Great go on that. But we've not, we've used the excuse to really improve the whole aesthetic of the area from the grass, the new, you know, the archway, even the painting on the River Caves wall, we didn't need to do that, but it enhanced it all. It brought it together. Yeah. So it was a wise decision to do so. So, you know, she's been heavily involved, done an amazing job.
James Cox:
And you know, for me now what was probably one of the most depressing areas of the park, I think actually it's probably the best area of the park. And that view that you get when you walk in, you know, now when you see that big thing swinging as you walk down Main Avenue towards it's. It's really impressive.
Owen Ralph:
Yeah, it's quiet. It draws your eye in and also it kind of bridges two areas of the park really, doesn't it? You've got the ramp up the side, up towards the Big Dipper, etc, so it's visible from a lot of places.
James Cox:
I think that's one of my favorite bits of the ride, the fact that's become an unintentional viewing platform. You know, that walkway, nothing more. Now on a sunny day, you walk and head towards that and there's like a hive of activity of a crowd not even on the ride, don't even know anyone on it, but they just stood there, captivated, watching it and enjoying it for a different reason.
Owen Ralph:
This is the summer special episode of the podcast and you've got a second attraction which returns every summer, opening soon, which is Hot Ice. The long running ice show at the at Pleasure Beach. One of the relatively few ice rinks in the north of England, to be fair, is on park, isn't it? Just tell me a bit about that show and why it's so important to you.
James Cox:
Yeah, so I mean, like I said at the start, I guess, you know, 13 years I've been here and every year is ingrained in my memory as to kind of hot ice opening night. And this will be the 90th year of hot Ice. So you know, huge milestone for Amanda in particular, but for the show itself, you know, there's not many ice rinks left in the country, let alone in the northwest. This is the only purpose built ice arena for shows, so the majority of the others are for just generic skating without kind of the seating area that we have. It is one of those shows that you don't really appreciate it fully until you see it.
James Cox:
You see the pictures, you see some video, you see how amazing the costumes are, but when you see what actually goes into it here behind the scenes, you know, 30 odd skaters from around the world. It's a huge spectacle. There's a reason it's been going for 90 years and that is the quality of the show.
Owen Ralph:
So it starts July 9th and it runs until when?
James Cox:
September 10th. He's tested me there, Owen. September 10th. Yes. Yeah. And this year obviously we've also got Alice Frozen in a Wonderland of Dreams, the matinee show. So we're doing something a little bit different this year which is to have a different matinee show completely to the evening show, which is XC in celebration of its 90 years. So we're excited to see how that works. It's obvious a bit more difficult Planning two shows rather than. But we're trying to again going back to guests guest experience and flexibility. We're trying to make sure that every guest has something that they can look forward to and that appeals to them.
Owen Ralph:
You've had a few rides removed and a few sort of spring cleaning the past few years. One of my favourite rides was the Grand Prix but I know that took up a lot of room and was probably quite hard to maintain like older rides often are. So what can we expect in the next few years? There's more on the way, right?
James Cox:
Without a doubt, Avixus was kind of the end of our last five year plan and we are embarking in to a new five year strategic plan. And as part of that plan there are definitely some rides. Like I said at the start, you know, the philosophy at Pleasure Beach now is to find areas of the park that we can invest into while also upgrading that infrastructure in the whole area of the park. And that's definitely our goal. They're the goal post that we're aiming for with our next planner and we're looking to do some big things in that plan. I can't say too much but there's a little folder on my desk and obviously Amanda's desk and most people, you know, the director's desks here, that's that. I'm sure a lot of people would love to have a look inside then.
James Cox:
It's, it's definitely not empty. There's quite a few folders in there for quite a few different rides. And I think the thing I would say is, you know, I've been on these videos that we do in our season launch saying, you know, this is a transition period and it still is a transition period because what we are transitioning to is this more modern day theme park amusement park that has more frequent rides ride investment. And because we know we need to keep the reasons to visit coming and we need to keep upgrading the park and creating new ways for people to make new experiences as well as, you know, relying on the old ways that people make experiences. We can't just rely on our heritage.
James Cox:
We have to blend our heritage that we know, that we love, that we're proud of with what the modern day 2026 guest expects from a theme park amusement park. And we need to blend those together in order for us to thrive as a business. And so that's what the five year outlook looks like. It's blending the two to make sure that we have as many amazing reasons to visit new and old and that we can package all that up into a really great value day out for all. Overall, season's looking good, lots to look forward to. We've just been waiting and pushing for Victus to get open and it now is. So we are ready to welcome everyone over the summer and welcome, you know, hopefully hot ice too. But yeah, very excited for the season ahead.
Owen Ralph:
I'm here with Hogne Høstmælingen from Hunderfossen in Norway, a cute little park just outside Lillehammer. Hello, Hogner.
Hogne Høstmælingen:
Hello. Hello.
Owen Ralph:
Just tell me a little brief history about your park.
Hogne Høstmælingen:
It was established in 1984 by our founder and still the chairman of the board, Anders Huse. He was traveling a lot in the States at that time in another job, and he experienced that EPCOT was quite popular and there were no parks in Norway at that time. And he. He had a large farm situated in a beautiful valley right north of Lillehammer. He thought that, yeah, this could be an option for this area. So we started with a small family park that has expanded and now it consists of more than 60 attractions and rides and experiences based upon play and learn in general. And definitely a theme park with topics like trolls and fairy tales as our main core business.
Owen Ralph:
You have a troll at the heart of the park, don't you?
Hogne Høstmælingen:
Yeah, it's the world's largest troll, actually. Built in 1984. That as well. It has a grotto inside with 14 tableaus beautifully made of an artist called Ivo Caprino. On the deep of that cave, it's actually a quite good restaurant called the Troll Salm, where six large trolls are carrying the roof, the ceiling. So it's heavily themed all around and it's a la carte restaurant. Quite unusual for a theme park of our size. So we're the third largest park in Norway, about between 250 and 300,000 guests each year. We're in an area of very many inhabitants. It's like 200,000 within a ring of one hour. And we are depending heavily on national and international tourism. So during wintertime, 40% of our guests are from UK and Denmark and Sweden and Germany mainly. But during summertime, only 10% are from other countries than Norway.
Hogne Høstmælingen:
So they're traveling a lot in Norway to reach our park to be here for some days, like, yeah, two or three days. So we have a children's farm, kind of a petting zoo. We have a hotel and a lot of cabins and large camping site as well. So on the peak day in July, There are about 1,500 guests sleeping close to the park. And we also have our own train station actually. So that's quite unusual for a park of our size.
Owen Ralph:
So in 2014 you introduced an intellectual property into the park when you opened a new roller coaster. Can you tell me about that brand and how you've expanded it?
Hogne Høstmælingen:
This year with your new attraction, 2014, we made a huge step forward. Then we installed our large ZIR ride, 535 meter long roller coaster. And it's not a standard roller coaster because this has a very special design of the vehicle. The car itself is based upon the IP of Shelaghurst called Flo Klippach. And it's a supercar called Iltempo Gigante. It's a fabulous car. And we thought this was impossible to create as a roller coaster. But with a good help from specialists in Munich, we realized this. And the car is a fabulous ride. And people are stunned by seeing it and riding it. And we also installed the Q system, so we are quite close to the ride.
Hogne Høstmælingen:
So on the thin glass between the queue and the ride itself, and where the heavy banking curve is about 30 cm from the queue, it's safe and sound and very funny. So that was start of our cooperation with Euclist IP and in 2019 we opened the indoor attraction based upon the same IP based upon a movie called moonlight in the Flow Clipper. And that was props from the stop motion movie that we installed as a walk through attraction. And it was so popular that we realized that, wow, we could do more of this. So during COVID we had a fantastic meeting with SimWorks UK company and the question that makes all the stop motion and cartoon movies from this same universe.
Hogne Høstmælingen:
And we thought that yeah, we could make a funny ride out of this with the stargazers from simworks and this IP from Euclust and with a kind of a local twist where you start on the top of half hill is local ski arena and you're driving. It's wild down on the sledges, down the hill and they fly over the river. And the Crash Land at Hunderfelsten where you take some twists over the roller coaster and you see the fairytale castle. And yeah, it's an arrow back in the location where it all started. And that hit the T award as the world's best new attraction that year. And for budgets below US$10 million, were stunned actually.
Owen Ralph:
So tell me about the new ride for this summer.
Hogne Høstmælingen:
Yeah. Kristen asked us like four years ago after the success with the Hyper Accelerator, if were interested investing In a new film that they were working on budget of 5.5 million euros. Quite large in the Norwegian market, but also international ambitions. With this movie. It's based upon the same IP with a crazy inventor, Rudolf and his companions Ludwig and Sula. Quite charming. And it's actually the strongest brand in Norway. According to different tests. They asked us if we would invest in this movie and well, we have never been investors like that before. But we thought that it could bring along a new attraction as well. And we thought that, okay, let's go. And we developed a plan for this new ride where we could combine strong marketing efforts in front the premiere of this new movie.
Hogne Høstmælingen:
And just afterwards we could open a new ride, a new attraction based upon the same movie content. Where we actually could pick the cherry picking of the best scenes from that movie. As well as making our own story to add on the top to make it a complete story for our own. We've been working for that the last three years. It's a quite small building complex, like 6 or 700 square meters. We had to take out all the inside dividing walls. We had to reinforce the roof construction technical rooms, so only the shell of the building was left. We would like to take care of this environmental, not build up unnecessary new buildings. Use the same old stuff instead. But inside we made up queue system where you enter a room together with 18 other people, dividing in three groups of six.
Hogne Høstmælingen:
Where you get a presentation of the mayor of Floclipa. And that audience has to help the team from Flocipa to actually come back. So you're going further into a cinema where you're getting a presentation of the different competitors in this race. And when you enter the race there are four vehicles running continuously in synchronization. Funny themed vehicles, new system, never been seen before, with special wheels in allowing us to roll sideways and turning quite quick. Perfectly adapted with a movie from Kristen that is exposed on all the walls, some of the tunnels repeated. So it's a three minutes ride. Quite funny and ride full of nerves. Where you definitely are going to win this race and the mayor of Floclepada and welcome the team from Frogkleber back to their village. So it's a happy ending.
Hogne Høstmælingen:
And when you leave the vehicles you come into a huge room, a large room, heavily themed with the Paris topic from the movie. And you also see this fabulous iltan po gigante, measuring 6 point meters long and 3.5 meters wide. So that's a stunning photo point where people are taking pictures and get the final kick before they leave. And then they also serve ice cream in that area. So it's a kind of a parlor, giving an outdoor experience in an indoor facility.
Owen Ralph:
And I've been lucky enough to visit the park and see the attraction. You wouldn't think from the building, from the outside, that there was a dark ride in there. It's used to be a museum.
Hogne Høstmælingen:
I think it was previously a wax museum. So it has changed a lot since then.
Owen Ralph:
And we should say that the manufacturer of the ride is Bold Move Nation from Belgium. Right.
Hogne Høstmælingen:
And the vehicles are from Biotech, French company, where Bold Move Nation has done all the planning. And, yeah, quite eager to bring up this fantastic traction. So that has been a very funny cooperation with that.
Owen Ralph:
Did many manufacturers tell you they couldn't build a ride in that space because it's so small?
Hogne Høstmælingen:
Yeah, that's right. Actually, it was too little and not possible. So we reused some of the location twice. That's a smart gimmick to realize. Fantastic ride on a small footprint.
Owen Ralph:
And if people want to visit Hunderfossen, just tell us how long the season runs now.
Hogne Høstmælingen:
Yeah, we're open until the start of September and we have some weeks in the fall as well in week four, 1041. And then we also have a winter park in February, quite spectacular with Ice hotel and Snow Chapel, where we have weddings also from the UK and other countries coming here to spend the days.
Owen Ralph:
And will the new ride be open during the winter season?
Hogne Høstmælingen:
We haven't yet decided because it's in the inner part of the park. But in the future, definitely. But we don't know if it will be for the upcoming winter because we're building up this new winter park concept and have to take it brick by brick. So it's not the same attendance as during summertime. So we have to do it smart.
Owen Ralph:
So if people want to see the new ride, they should visit between now and September. But winter's a magical time.
Hogne Høstmælingen:
Yeah, definitely.
Owen Ralph:
Thanks to Hogne and also James at Blackpool Pleasure Beach and Lawrence at Paulton's Park for joining me in this Skip the Queue summer special. You might like to know that Paulton's have already announced that Valgard will be expanded for 2027 with a new water coaster called Serpent's Curse.
If you get a chance to visit any of these parks, I highly recommend it. You'll find links in the show notes to this episode. I've been your host, Owen Ralph. You can read me in the Kermis and Park magazine. That's Kermis, spelt K I R M E S and amongst other places, also on Blue Room or Find me on LinkedIn.
This episode was edited by Steve Folland and produced by Emily Burrows and Sami Entwistle from Plaster, as well as Wenalyn Dionaldo from Skip the Queue HQ.
Owen Ralph:
They're all off to the Beach right now, but if you've enjoyed this summer special, please like share and comment in your podcast app. It all helps to spread the word about us and the amazing attractions and industry professionals that we work with. If you'd like to see a transcription of this episode, be sure to visit Skiptheque fm and do listen to the rest of this season, or all seven seasons so far. Have a great summer.