“Animatronic of the Future” Complements Croatia at Europa-Park

(eap) After Europa-Park opened its new Croatian themed area with the extraordinary Stryker coaster “Voltron Nevera powered by Rimac” at the end of April this year (read also our cover story in EAP 3/24), the new area has now been complemented by a special animatronic.

The figure of the visionary inventor Nikola Tesla, on whose experiments the story of the coaster is based, is described by the park as a “world first” and is located on the forecourt of the roller coaster. It offers visitors an electrifying show every 30 minutes. The animatronic was created in collaboration between Mack One and the five-time Oscar-winning special effects experts from Wētā Workshop, based in New Zealand.

The animatronic was built from more than 2,000 individual parts and has 60 mechanical joints, 25 of which are in the head alone. Due to this sophisticated technology and the lifelike character design, Michael Mack and Wētā founder Richard Taylor call it the “animatronic of the future”, which is intended to lay the foundation for the development of further interactive characters. ■