Saratoga-based immersive entertainment design firm collaborates with theme park on the realization of Laff Trakk: first indoor, spinning glow-coaster in the United StatesRaven Sun Creative, an immersive entertainment design firm based in Saratoga County, NY, is proud to announce their partnership with Hersheypark on the creation of Laff Trakk, the country’s first indoor, spinning, glow-coaster, which is set to debut Memorial Day weekend.

Laff Trakk, set within a family-friendly house of laughs, spins riders through a 21st century reimagining of the classic American fun house—complete with glimpses of colorful characters, including classics like Laffing Sal, plus an engaging hall of mirrors, house of cards and an array of other hilarious sight gags and larger-than-life scenic elements. Laff Trakk offers a new experience with every trip as riders thrill to the sensation of floating and whirling along the coaster track.

“Our team took inspiration for Laff Trakk from researching iconic Hersheypark Fun Houses,” said
Louis Alfieri, Principal and Chief Creative Officer of Raven Sun Creative. “We looked at archival
images of ‘WHOOPS,’ ‘Laugh Land’ and ‘Laffing Sal’ with the goal of reimaging the nostalgic fun
houses of yesteryear in a state-of-the-art spinning coaster.”

“Raven Sun Creative is an award-winning creative firm that specializes in immersive design
entertainment,” said Kevin Stumpf, General Manager, Attractions & Entertainment at Hersheypark.

“We were impressed by their work with other theme parks and they were our first choice to partner with for this one-of-a-kind ride.”

Part dark ride, part family coaster, Laff Trakk will deliver a unique sensory experience with each trip on the innovative attraction. The number and size of riders affects the rotation of the coaster cars, giving riders a different view of this playful emporium of wonders overflowing with dazzling sights and sounds.

The coaster, which was manufactured by Maurer Söhne, a German company, features a four-seat ride vehicle with two seats in two rows, back-to-back. The design of the coaster car allows for a 360-degree free-spinning rotation. Reaching a maximum speed of approximately 40 miles per hour, Laff Trakk takes its riders along 1,400 feet of track which includes an Immelman turn (riders ascend into a half loop and then go through a half twist, curving out of the turn in the opposite direction in which they came), multiple high-banked curves (85 degrees maximum) and camelback airtime hills.

About Raven Sun Creative

Raven Sun Creative is an immersive entertainment design consultancy that creates compelling guest
experiences, interactive attractions, media, training simulators, and stage shows for theme parks,
mixed-use and retail environments, gaming venues, special events, and a variety of destination-based
settings and industries.

Alfieri, a veteran of Universal Creative, worked on such ground-breaking and award-winning projects as Transformers: The Ride-3D, Hollywood Rip Ride Rockit, Land of Oz, and Hollywood Dream—The Ride.

With more than 24 years of experience designing and building immersive entertainment for a wide
variety of venues, Alfieri is adept at assembling and leading teams of diverse talents to produce
innovative, world-class entertainment experiences and immersive environments. His reputation for
creative insight, resourcefulness, collaborative spirit, and a commitment to quality has made him a
leader within the industry.

Raven Sun Creative was born out of Alfieri’s vision for a new kind of forward-looking design firm. “I wanted to bring together the best and brightest talents—people who thrive by asking the question,
‘What’s next?’—and create a venture that pioneers the future of immersive entertainment,” explained Alfieri. “We don’t just seek to break new ground creatively. We also look for better, smarter, more
efficient ways to realize our clients’ goals. To that end, we have team members from a variety of
disciplines working from our creative studio and remotely around the globe. We are set up very much like the feature film industry model, offering enhanced agility, better creativity, international
collaboration, and cost-effective solutions within today’s reduced time frames.”

The firm is headquartered in a modern creative studio located in a renovated turn of the century three-
story barn on a 10-acre farm near Saratoga Springs, NY, while other team members are located in New Jersey; Los Angeles; Orlando; and Shanghai, China.

“We set out to create a culture and environment where creativity and collaboration would flourish,” said Alfieri regarding Raven Sun’s base of operation. “The Raven Sun Creative studio is a place where artists, clients, and international guests can come together in an intimate setting. This is both a high-tech workspace where we are able to brainstorm with international team members remotely and a beautiful pastoral environment where we can recharge and take creative inspiration from our
surroundings. In addition to utilizing the latest developments in digital design and computer graphics
modeling technology, we also have a model shop, wood shop, ceramic studio, and welding capability
right here in our studio, which means we can spontaneously explore ideas and their visualization in a
way that few others can.”

Although the Laff Trakk project was in nearby Pennsylvania, Alfieri’s work frequently takes him all over the globe. “Just in the last year, I’ve been to Dubai, Abu Dhabi, Australia, Italy, Germany, Switzerland, Austria, the Netherlands, and a dozen different cities in China,” said Alfieri.

“We are fortunate to have the best of both worlds,” he added. “On Monday, we can be in Beijing on site amongst 35 million people, and by 10 p.m. the same day, we can be back here in upstate New York writing, while the Milky Way slowly passes overhead out the studio windows. I often joke that we are time travelers. Really though, the creative inspiration that is offered by such a diverse range of experiences is both humbling and truly limitless.“

While Raven Sun Creative is contractually prohibited from mentioning their upcoming projects by
name, they can reveal that they’re involved with a number of world-class projects in China and the
United Arab Emirates; and are currently in negotiations for other exciting projects in Russia, Mexico, India, and the US.

For more information, please visit www.ravensuncreative.com. You can also like us on Facebook or
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