Park attraction · Spill Water · Rainbow MagicLand · Valmontone · 2011

Yucatan. Mayan temple.

The park's Spill Water, set among the Mayan civilisation ruins of the verdant Mexican region — the attraction that closes the water cascade beneath a temple we carved in fibreglass.

Story

Act one · The water ride

The Mayan ruins
over the river.

Yucatan is one of the opening attractions of Rainbow MagicLand in Valmontone, inaugurated on 25 May 2011 by Iginio Straffi — creator of the Winx — under commission from Alfa Park Srl. It is a Spill Water: the classic boat ride that climbs up a channel, reaches a crest, and plunges down a water cascade.

The setting chosen by Straffi is the Yucatan — the Mexican region where the ruins of the Mayan civilisation rise amid the tropical forests. It is also an echo of the Huntik animated series: in the Rainbow cartoon, the Yucatan is one of the key places where the protagonists search for the lost Titans.

For the crest of the ride we delivered our signature piece in our workshops: the fibreglass replica of the Mayan temple — stepped pyramid façade, central staircase, relief friezes with zoomorphic motifs of the Mayan pantheon, stone-coloured finish patinated by time. A scenography the visitor sees emerging from the tropical vegetation before the descent, and which hangs over the water like a ruin from another world.

Technique: hand-carved expanded polystyrene for the structure, stiffened in layered fibreglass. Finish with grey-ochre acrylic glazes for the eroded sandstone material effect; faux vegetation — tendrils, tropical leaves — applied at the edges of the temple to render the effect of the forest reclaiming the monument.

The Yucatan attraction installed at Rainbow MagicLand in Valmontone: view of the fibreglass Mayan temple delivered by Creation Art as the signature piece of the Spill Water, stepped pyramid façade with central staircase, tropical vegetation around, the ride's water course in the foreground — **The attraction installed.** The Mayan temple at the top of the Spill Water — official MagicLand press-kit photo

Behind the scenes

A Mayan monument
over a cascade.

The Spill Water is one of the most spectacular rides at a theme park: it combines water course, slow climb, and final cascade. The crest scenography has to deliver the "moment of wonder" before the descent.

Mayan iconography

The temple is inspired by the stepped pyramids of the Guatemalan Petén and the Mexican Yucatan — Tikal, Chichén Itzá, Uxmal. Truncated pyramid façade, central staircase, relief friezes mimicking the Mayan glyphs and Kukulkán's plumed serpents. Proportions are compressed: a park doesn't need the true archaeological scale, it needs the television scale that works in photography from 50 metres away.

The stone that endures

The piece must withstand twenty years of humidity — water cascade below, rain above, beating sun in summer. Layered fibreglass with extra thickness, exterior acrylic paints resistant to UV rays, static base anchored to the ride's mechanical rail. Minimal maintenance, chromatic touch-up every two-three seasons.

The Huntik link

In the Huntik: Secrets and Seekers cartoon (Rainbow, from 2009), the protagonists travel the world hunting for Titans — sealed mythological creatures. The Yucatan is one of the series' destinations. The Huntik 5D, the other attraction we delivered at the park, lives in the same narrative universe — together they build the extra-Winx world of Rainbow Spa at the park.

Spill Water

the ride type — climb + final cascade

25 May 2011

the opening date of Rainbow MagicLand in Valmontone

Maya

the iconography of Tikal, Chichén Itzá and Uxmal applied at television scale

Second life

The Mayan ruins
survive the restructuring.

After the ownership change since 2018, Rainbow MagicLand became MagicLand under Pillarstone Italy (KKR). Many of the Rainbow-themed attractions have been rebranded or readapted. Yucatan is one of those that has remained — the Spill Water is still in operation, the Mayan ruins we carved are still in place above the cascade.

The technique of the temple-ruin in faux stone applied here entered our standard repertoire. We find it again in subsequent commissions for period scenography — the elephant and Cabiria Gate at Cinecittà World, the Ebla Archive at the Colosseum, Christ The Lord by Nowrasteh with the walls of the Temple of Jerusalem.

Tech sheet

All production data

Attraction: Yucatan · Spill Water · Rainbow MagicLand · Valmontone (Rome)
Opening: 25 May 2011 · park opening day
Client: Alfa Park Srl · park operator · on behalf of Rainbow Spa (Iginio Straffi)
Setting: The Mayan ruins of the Mexican Yucatan in tropical forest · reference to the world of Rainbow's Huntik animated series
Piece delivered: Mayan temple in fibreglass at the top of the Spill Water — stepped pyramid façade, central staircase, relief friezes with zoomorphic motifs of the Mayan pantheon
Techniques: Hand-carved expanded polystyrene · layered fibreglass stiffening in extra thickness for humidity resistance · grey-ochre acrylic glazes with eroded sandstone effect · faux vegetation applied at the edges
Iconographic references: Tikal (Guatemalan Petén), Chichén Itzá and Uxmal (Mexican Yucatan) · proportions compressed to the park's television scale
Our role: Complete delivery of the temple · sculpting, stiffening, polychrome finish, transport to the park and installation above the ride's rail
Second life: Attraction still in operation · the Mayan ruins are still in place above the cascade despite the transition of management from Rainbow to Pillarstone (KKR)