Walibi Belgium can look back on the 2019 season with a smile. They recently received the Diamond ThemePark Award for “Best Theme Park in Belgium” for the fourth time in a row, and their new attractions are nominated for several renowned awards. One of those new attractions is Popcorn Revenge, designed by Alterface and realized with Barco projection.
In 2018 Walibi Belgium announced a renewal wave with new family-friendly rides in order to open up their offering with attractions that excite all ages. The new rid Popcorn Revenge definitely fits this strategy. Like many other existing dark rides from the interactive attractions specialist, Alterface, the Popcorn Revenge features a wide range of innovative technologies including projection mapping, 3D shooting and special effects.
Barco and Alterface have an impressive track record together with amongst others the award-winning Basilisk ride in Legendia (Poland) and Maus aus Chocolat in Phantasialand (Germany). Convinced by the great price-performance ratio of our projectors, the manufacturer of multi-dimensional customized solutions for theme parks and other visitor attractions called upon Barco’s expertise again with the installation of eight Barco projectors for the new interactive ride in Walibi.
The projectors support an immersive journey through a Bollywood-inspired cinema complex with seven different rooms: the popcorn machine, a central hall, four themed movie theatres where visitors are presented with iconic film scenes, and of course a grand finale. In these rooms the journey is suddenly disturbed by the popcorns come to life; with the help of the laser guns in the trackless vehicles, passengers can shoot away the annoying creatures. Visitors always see only six of the seven rooms in random order, so multiple trips are needed to experience all the different scenarios.
The Barco laser phosphor projectors are the quietest laser phosphor projectors currently available. Theme parks significantly benefit from the combination of these low noise levels together with vivid color performance and razor-sharp image quality to enhance the immersive experience of the dark rides. What’s more, with the laser phosphor light source offering a long lifetime and low maintenance needs, they minimize the risk of visitors disappointed because their favorite attraction is closed for maintenance. The reliability of our Barco projectors enables our theme park customers to keep their guests happy at all times.
Jean-Christophe Parent, Walibi Belgium managing director, is pleased with the results: “The ride has met and even exceeded our expectations (…) with unsurpassed image rendering and projection quality! The new ride obviously involved some technical challenges but we managed to get it all right and work smoothly together with Alterface teams and expert partners.”
A graduate of DeVry Institute of Technology, Doug has been in the Technology industry since 1976 and actively oversees Fearing’s daily operations. Along with his wife, Lois, and three others, Doug started Fearing’s in a 600 square-foot facility in Portage, Wisconsin. In the 25 years since, the company has grown to over 30 employees with offices in Madison and Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Doug likes to say he’s a “TV Technician with a dream� going back to his history with the family’s original business-Fearing’s TV and Appliance.
Doug values time with family, watersports, hiking, snowshoeing and skiing. In addition to being a devoted member of his church, Doug serves as Board President for Kinship Mentoring of Columbia County, Board member of Schools for Haiti and Scripture Chair of the Gideons-Portage camp.
A graduate of MATC, Lois oversees Fearing’s daily book keeping along with various HR responsibilities.
Along with Doug, Lois is deeply connected to community outreach, serving as a Board member and Fundraising Committee Chairperson for Kinship Mentoring of Columbia County. She also serves on the Schools for Haiti Fundraising committee. In addition, Lois’ ongoing passion and commitment to provide care for the elderly comes from her 10-year history of working in a Reedsburg, Wisconsin Nursing home.
Lois enjoys singing, hiking, sunny days on the pontoon, and spending time with her 4 grandchildren.
Ehren drives Fearing’s technology by continually seeking out trends to enhance capabilities while supporting Sales, Engineering and Installation teams. Throughout his years with Fearing’s, Ehren’s talent and vision have joined forces to create a wide variety of projects and strategic solutions that exceed expectation.
Ehren loves music, family time, movies, nature, sustainability efforts and electric vehicles.
With 10 years with Fearing’s and over twice that long in the industry, Ben continues to lead, coordinate, and develop the Commercial AV team.
By consistently delivering an outstanding experience and outcome, Ben contributes to the Fearing’s legacy of long-lasting partnerships that truly make a difference. Whatever the Commercial AV need may be, Ben and team deliver at the highest level.
Ben is an avid fisherman and photographer. He enjoys coaching his sons and other youth.
Chris has been with Fearing’s for 20 years and in the industry for over 2 decades. As a Certified leader in Sales Acceleration and trained in EOS (Entrepreneurial Operating Systems), Chris successfully utilizes his skills to lead the Fearing’s Salesforce. Chris and team are motivated and driven to develop new client partnerships while continuing to reinforce loyal long-term relationships with ongoing Service excellence.
Married for 19 years with 3 children, Chris enjoys skiing, hiking, fishing, boating, hunting, camping and golf. He’s also been actively involved as a Youth Football and Softball coach for his family and others.
