Reiterkogel’s famous family theme course in Saalbach Hinterglemm wasn’t just a visual facelift. Thanks to the assistant director’s passion for the fantasy genre, Kodok’s new in-house story was created.
Anyone who has taken children to Reiterkogel’s Saalbach Hinterglemm Follow in the footsteps Kodok remembers: Kodok was a cheeky villain who stole the Skicircus Clown’s hat. He was also responsible for all sorts of other nonsense. But even the scoundrels are getting older and obviously getting wiser. Because Kobold Kodok was recently able to look forward to a complete change of image and now presents himself to visitors as the friendly protector of the mountain. And the mountain needed a guardian because the trolls were about to do mischief there. Even the 346-year-old good fairy Lalith doesn’t help. This is where the kids come into play, who eagerly help solve the theft of Ma’stonay and Tol’nay trolls.
We met Christopher Kindler, deputy director of operations at the Reiterkogelbahn and Manuel Herner, managing director of the Saalbach Hinterglemm mountain railway. As we climbed the first stops at Mount Kodok, Christopher tells us: “The impetus for the new production of Kodok and his friends was the large playground ‘Kodoks Spielewelt’ at the recently built Roswald Reservoir. Kodok managed to get rid of her old-bad image.”
Kodoc 2.0 and companions
Christopher Kindler has the status of a true Wrangler and has just been defeated by Hundestoa Ranglen’s new Hagmoire. But one true fantasy fan sleeps in it, saying, “I’ve read hundreds of books, so I spontaneously decided to design the new Kodok character myself and give it a new story.” At Bergbahnen Saalbach Hinterglemm managing director Manuel Herner found great support so Kodok 2.0 was redesigned on his own. The story is full of puzzles, tests of courage and tasks of skill at the individual stations of the 3.2 kilometer ring road. Kids are hooked and can’t get from one station to another quickly. But we do take a rest at the picturesque Roswald Reservoir, as Christopher continues to tell us: “In order to give the story a new visual form, we found the perfect match in Italian graphic artist Elisa Zini.” -Shard Fantasy and settled on new characters, as it says itself: “Somewhere between Harry Potter and the Lord of the Rings.” According to the artist Krampus, who is rooted in the customs of the Alpine region, he was the godfather of Nemesis Sinister. And for the friendly little elf, I delved into Celtic and Victorian folklore.
As the kids excitedly play in the water rides, Christopher Kindler laughs: “I had so much fun designing and storying the new characters. It seems like I didn’t read so many books for nothing. Now, Kodok keeps the hurt and mischief away from Reiterkogel with her magical powers.”
Wooden ball tracks
We want to continue, because between the stations on the way back from Kodok, marble runs await us. You can let the wooden balls roll through the curves and pass the obstacles on the wooden marble tracks embedded in the landscape. This display was also created independently in the Bergbahnen workshop, as managing director Manuel Hirner explains: “The concept is simple but ingenious and the staff have unleashed their creativity. It inspires children and adults alike. After all the lanes are completed, the personalized wooden ball can be taken to home as a souvenir.”
Kids can’t wait to go on. We say goodbye to the two of us and the boys on their way to the next stop. The game passes a flap around the neck on the rope and the stylus comes out because they are in the middle of an adventure Kodok Mountain.
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