Company profile
The supplier profile Toverland Creative Team / Gepla BV / Themics Philippines Inc. should be read as a project credit for Waterdwarf Alley, an interactive outdoor experience in Toverland's Avalon area. Unlike a coaster builder or water ride manufacturer, this collaboration does not provide a standardised ride system. Its value lies in combining in-house park design, construction execution, finishing, sculpture, mechanical figures and small interactive effects. EAP described Waterdwarf Alley as a street with four interactive scenes where visitors meet Avalon's water dwarfs. The same report states that Toverland designed and decorated this part of the expansion in-house, that Gepla realised the construction, and that the animatronics came from Themics Philippines.
Toverland acts as the creative owner and guardian of the story. The park developed Avalon as a world shaped by Merlin, Morgana, dragons, water dwarfs and other fantasy characters. Waterdwarf Alley is not a mechanical headline ride, but a narrative layer within that world: guests walk past small houses and activate effects around the blacksmith, magical objects and characters that respond to visitor actions. Its attraction value therefore depends less on speed or hourly capacity and more on atmosphere, detail and repeatable discovery.
Gepla BV contributes a different form of expertise. The Limburg-based company describes itself as a finishing and fit-out specialist that creates complete interiors and environments, including leisure applications, and it lists earlier Toverland work in Port Laguna and Avalon. In this profile Gepla is most relevant as the construction and finishing partner that turns themed design into a durable physical setting. Themics Philippines complements that work with character fabrication, sculpture, animatronics, animated props and installation. Themics' own Toverland case material specifically links the company to Waterdwarf Alley, as well as characters such as Spicy Pete and Juna. Together, the profile illustrates a wider pattern in contemporary themed entertainment: the park operator owns the concept, local or group-related building partners realise the environment, and specialised international studios provide the animated details that make the space feel alive.
History
The history behind this composite credit does not begin with a single manufacturer, but with three separate lines that meet at Toverland. Gepla BV is the oldest dated company component. Public company-profile sources list 1987 as its incorporation year and place the business in Elsloo, Limburg. Gepla developed as a finishing and fit-out specialist for buildings and interiors, later applying that expertise to leisure environments. The relationship with Toverland is notable because Gelissen Group identifies both Theme Park Toverland and Gepla as independently operating companies that can support one another.
Toverland itself grew through the 2000s and 2010s from a regional indoor park into one of the larger day attractions in the Netherlands. With Port Laguna and Avalon, opened in 2018, the park placed much greater emphasis on original world-building. Gepla lists this entrance and themed area as a reference and describes work such as themed ceilings, walls and prefabricated ticket booths. That experience helped create a practical foundation for later, smaller but highly detailed projects inside the park.
Themics Philippines comes from a different tradition. The company presents itself as a design-build theming supplier with a production facility in the Philippines, a European presence and expertise in sculpture, moulding, composites, scenic finishing, animatronics and installation. During the 2023 Avalon expansion, these strands came together. EAP reported that Toverland designed and decorated Waterdwarf Alley in-house, Gepla realised the construction and Themics Philippines supplied the animatronics. Blooloop also described the role of Themics and Petro Art Production in bringing the expanded Avalon area to life. Waterdwarf Alley therefore became an example of contemporary park development in which no single supplier creates the whole product: the park, the construction partner and the specialised studio each provide a distinct part of the final guest experience.
Innovation and technology
The technology behind this profile is primarily scenic engineering and animatronics, not rails, lifts or vehicles. Waterdwarf Alley operates as an interactive street with viewing houses and guest actions that trigger effects. Toverland supplied the concept and story layer, while Gepla translated the physical environment into built form. For this type of project, material knowledge, fire-resistant and acoustic finishing, prefabricated components, detailing and maintainability matter more than classic coaster-style ride engineering.
Themics Philippines adds the animated and expressive layer. Its services include character design, 2D and 3D design, sculpture, mould making and casting, composites, scenic finishing, wood and metal fabrication, animatronics and worldwide installation. In animatronics, mechanics, pneumatics or electronics are used to create different degrees of movement in figures and props. In its Toverland material, Themics refers to self-moving objects and compact visual effects within Waterdwarf Alley.
The technical challenge is keeping these effects robust in a public park environment. Guests touch objects, operate bells or controls and stand close to the scenes. The technology therefore has to be hidden but accessible, durable under heavy use and consistent enough to repeat the intended magical moment throughout a full operating day.
Industry impact
The influence of this collaboration is not about records or large-scale ride innovation, but about the way small interactive zones can add value to a themed land. Waterdwarf Alley shows that an expansion does not have to consist only of major attractions. Alongside Pixarus, Dragonwatch, Garden Tour and Jumping Juna, Avalon received an additional layer of viewing scenes, hidden movements and characters that make the world feel more believable.
For the industry, this is relevant because parks increasingly invest in dwell quality and micro-experiences. Such projects increase the density of a themed area: visitors have more to discover, families with young children gain extra rhythm in their day, and existing rides are connected by story. The Toverland, Gepla and Themics collaboration fits that development. It demonstrates how local construction knowledge and international character fabrication can create a relatively small attraction that strengthens the identity of an entire park area.
Current operations
As a composite credit, this profile does not have its own operating organisation. Current activity runs through the parties involved. Toverland operates Waterdwarf Alley as part of Avalon and uses the street as an interactive viewing and discovery experience for families. Gepla remains active as a Dutch finishing and fit-out specialist, with locations in Elsloo and Udenhout and a leisure branch suited to themed finishing in recreational buildings and park environments.
Themics Philippines operates internationally as a design-build theming supplier. The company lists presence or contact locations in the Philippines, the Netherlands, the United States, China and Saudi Arabia, and presents services from concept and sculpture to animatronics and installation. For Toverland, the collaboration remains most visible through the figures and effects installed across Avalon.
Design philosophy
The design philosophy behind Waterdwarf Alley is small-scale, narrative and tactile. Instead of a queue leading to a large machine, the result is a street where visitors slow down, look, try things and discover details. Toverland uses the scenes to make Avalon feel more inhabited: water dwarfs, dragons and magical objects occupy the spaces between the larger attractions.
For Gepla, such a design means construction and finishing cannot be neutral. Walls, houses, materials and details have to carry the story while remaining safe and maintainable. For Themics, the task is to create expressive figures that are not merely decoration, but suggest behaviour. The philosophy is therefore one of layered immersion: setting, object and movement tell the story together.
