We were invited to the VIP opening event for Champi'Folies, the new €3m interactive dark ride at French theme park Le PAL.

Champi'Folies is the first ever Smash & Reload interactive media-based dark ride, by BoldMove Nation and Triotech. In this compact new attraction, riders are tasked with saving a city from being invaded by creatures called Mushies, using the new TooMush IP created by Polymorph.

The two-day media event included a behind the scenes tour, exclusive ride time and an overnight stay at the stunning hotel, Le PAL Savana RESERVE.

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Champi'Folies

On the first day of the event, after some time to explore the park, we enjoyed a panel discussion with Ernest Yale (Founder of Triotech), Arnaud Bennet (President of Le PAL), and Benoit Cornet (CEO of BoldMove Nation).

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Champi'Folies has replaced former attraction Le Ciné Dynamik 3D, a motion similar ride that opened at Le PAL in 2000.  The 300 m2 building where the attraction is installed retains its original structure, however, it has been completely transformed with new theming and a ride system that makes advantage of cutting-edge technology.

The mission for players is to save a city from an invasion of crazy mushrooms that were transformed by industrial pollution, by aiming at and freezing them in blocks of ice. Players board one of six ride vehicles from Gosetto, each for up to six riders. It has a capacity of 450 people per hour.

Thanks to an impressive sound system and the interactive technology, players enjoy a thrilling experience from start to end. From the rotating vehicles, riders load their pointing device with ice cubes at machines throughout the ride and then turn to play the game, an action repeated across four scenes during the three minute ride.

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In the pre-ride waiting room, a screen explains the mission and how to play. Players use a blaster to freeze the mushrooms. The device is activated using a string on which you have to pull frantically to recharge it or to target the Mushies. It's really intuitive so most people will be able to dive straight in on their first go.

With a minimum height requirement of just 1m to ride, the attraction is suitable for the majority of visitors and it's therefore perfect for the family audience that Le PAL attracts.

A form of AI technology has been applied, so the reaction of a Mushie can change based on certain instances (i.e. presence of other Mushies, intensity of the action), so the Mushies can act differently and surprise even the most accustomed player. This increases the re-rideability and makes the game less predictable.

At the end of the ride players' scores appear on a digital board, with the list of the day's best players' scores being displayed at the exit. We liked the competitive element, between riders in the same vehicle and then others throughout the day.

The new attraction is currently unique in Europe, and at this time, is also the only one of its type in the world. However, due to the remarkably small footprint and modest budget required, we expect versions of this to appear at regional theme parks around the world.

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Arnaud Bennet, President of Le PAL, said:

"It was time to replace our aging 4D-cinema with an attraction to position us for the future and offer something totally different to our guests. We started scouting the market and it became rapidly clear that the solution offered by BoldMove and Triotech is the most suitable for an all-family and immersive experience. It blends advanced technologies and a gameplay into an enjoyable attraction for young and old, making it very inclusive. The story is built around fun mushrooms and mixes a lot of humour and a subtle sustainability message that perfectly adheres to our vision."

Bruno Cambon, Operations Director at Le PAL, said:

"A deciding factor for our choice was the very high throughput of over 400 persons per hour across five vehicles, which allows us to spread visitors and reduce waiting times during busy days. Many visitors will be encouraged to return and improve their game so they can move up their position in the high score ranking. Another key element for us was that the ride has been designed to fit the space we have available in the building, which means no major construction work. The entire attraction is a turnkey project delivered by the BoldMove and Triotech teams. BoldMove has also taken care of the creative and experience design so that the queue line and building façade gear up visitors towards the experience. We are very charmed by the universal and nice IP with intuitive interactive system."

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Benoit Cornet, CEO of BoldMove Nation:

"We're thrilled with the result of Champi'Folies. Our creative concept has been fully realized, and our teams created an amazing ride that surpasses our expectations. We've blended physical and digital worlds to create a memorable experience for guests, and we're proud to have worked closely with our partners to create an attraction that's truly world-class. We bring the characters alive on screen, and together with our partner Polymorph we added Artificial Intelligence to personalize guest experiences. Cherry on the cake is the extensive theming we created with 3D decoration up to a real car, all of these reflecting their digital counterparts."

Ernest Yale, Founder of Triotech:

"Our teams worked closely together to deliver a ride that is unique to the market with a high thrill level on a very small footprint. We had to be smart with our technology approach so we could make optimum use of the space for the ride. We leveraged Triotech’s technical and design know-how and worked diligently to synchronize media, hardware, software, and theming, in close cooperation with the team at Le PAL."

The future development of the park is set to include the creation of a Nordic village inspired by Finland with islands, a lake, rafts made of logs, colourful houses, as well as a Mack water roller coaster expected in 2024, which will will be the biggest attraction built at the park since its creation.

Le PAL Savana RESERVE

In a 5-hectare park, Le PAL Savana RESERVE includes 60 family suites, divided into 5 buildings connected by footbridges on 3 levels.

The hotel has been designed so that every room benefits from a panoramic view, and from our balcony in just a short time we experienced close encounters with zebra, giraffe, rhino and ostrich. The animals came so close that we didn't need the binoculars provided in the room, but we thought that was a nice touch.

Complete with magnificent African decoration, we enjoyed the cocktail bar located on the terrace and breakfast, lunch and dinner in the restaurant Le Victoria. The quality of the food and drink was superb, and we discovered that most of which is locally sourced.

We would thoroughly recommend staying at Le PAL Savana RESERVE when visiting the park, to enjoy the unrivalled views, comfortable accommodation and direct access to the rides and attractions.

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