Outlaw Run charges into Silver Dollar City - Amusement Today

22 AMUSEMENT TODAY April 2013Ingenuity from R&R Creative Amusement DesignsAqua Talkers poised to add ‘cool’ to waterparks, spraygroundsSTORY: Dean LamannaSpecial to Amusement TodayANAHEIM, Calif. — Ifwaterparks, theme parks andother fun spots attract somecolorful patrons looking forfun, they may find their matchin some animated charactersthat are seeking a berth in theworld of amusement.Called Aqua Talkers andsprung from the ever-playful,multi-award-winning mindsof Southern Californians RickBastrup and Richard Ferrinof R&R Creative AmusementDesigns, these friendly andhighly vocal interactive fountainsare aimed at keepingpark guests engaged longer inan age of decreased attentionspans.“We’ve incorporatedmore than 30 years of experiencedoing dark rides andanimated characters into thissystem,” said Rick Bastrup,speaking with AT at his company’sresidential office notfar from Disneyland — wherehe and Ferrin, as park employees,struck up a friendship andthen formed their company in1981. “Kids just love it, and italways attracts a crowd.”Working with the HawaiianFalls waterpark chain inDallas-Fort Worth, for whichit has been doing overall parkdesign, R&R Creative beganconceptualizing Aqua Talkersabout seven years ago.The patent-pending animatronicsystem, which incorporateselectronics and up toseven spray features withina customizable character thatcomes with dozens of preprogrammedvoice scripts,music selections and soundeffects, was first tested at HawaiianFalls’ Roanoke, Texas,location before being fully introducedat its Mansfield parklast spring.That character, the TikithemedMaui Max, was sosuccessful that a Fort Worthbasedcompany, Aqua Talkers,LLC (www.aquatalkers.com), was organized to manufacturethe system and marketit industry-wide. It is beingpitched not only as an innovativewaterpark peripheral, butas a cooling diversion and/or promotional tool for themeparks, FECs, zoos and shoppingmalls.Bastrup pointed out AquaTalkers’ versatility. “You canoverride the automatic programmingand operate itmanually from a nearby locationfor maximum interactivitywith guests,” he said, addingthat his company suppliesscripts and voice recordingsfor the characters in additionto coordinating their assembly.“It has a built-in microphonethat allows the operatorto hear what guests are sayingand address them ‘in character,’as if there’s someone actuallyinside of it.”Considering the cost of attractionsthese days, Bastrupfeels that the current $35,0004See AQUA TALKERS, page 23Maui Max, the first fullythemed operational AquaTalkers character designedby R&R Creative AmusementDesigns, is a provencrowd-pleaser at HawaiianFalls Waterpark inMansfield, Texas.COURTESY R&R CREATIVEAMUSEMENT DESIGNS