Lands of illusion

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Nemanja Seslija/ITP

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Rollercoasters are popular at theme parks but not everyone enjoys such intense entertainment. (Getty Images)

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Intellectual property is a key to attracting visitors.

As the theme park market starts to take off in the Middle East, James Boley takes a look at the masterplanning behind the magic.

Some 50 years ago, Walt Disney bought 110km² of unpromising swampland in central Florida, USA and transformed it into a theme park resort.

That land is now the site of Walt Disney World (WDW), which brought in US$2.8 billion revenue during the first quarter of 2008.

WDW is testament to the commercial success a theme park can have, the potential of which the Middle East is just beginning to explore.

More than US$3 trillion will be spent on leisure and tourism projects in the region over the next 20 years in total, the head of the International Association of Amusement Parks and Attractions announced recently.

Projects such as Universal Studios Dubailand, Restless Planet, and Dreamworks are just some of the theme park developments on the horizon.

Telling tales

In contrast to other developments, the most important characteristic for a theme park is that it has a unified theme, according to designers.

"Designers and planners must roll in an excellent storyline and creative concept that will suspend belief, taking the park visitor to a whole different world of excitement," says Gordon Dorrett, president of theme park specialist Forrec, which is producing the design for Universal Studios Dubailand.

"If this is missing or overlooked then the project will undoubtedly run into problems."

Wild Wadi, a water theme park in Dubai, for example, based its design on the story of a shipwreck on a lagoon. The park features rides with names such as Breaker's Bay and Flood River.

"By creating some real sense of place and theme, you can evolve [the park] into something that allows you to provide a setting that ties into the experience," says Roger Nickells, who was project manager for Atkins on the masterplan of Wild Wadi.

Restless Planet, one of the theme parks currently under development in Dubai, meanwhile, is based around dinosaurs. Under design by theme park specialists Jack Rouse Associates, the park will use state-of-the-art electronics to transport visitors back in time to the prehistoric era.

Land of the unreal

Magic is another important ingredient in theme park design, the idea that a theme park should be an unreal experience, one that will entertain and suspend disbelief.
And it is magic, rather than size that is key to making a theme park a success, say experts.

"The magic doesn't need to be the size," says Nickells. "‘Bigger' doesn't necessarily mean 'better'." Coan echoes this call. "It's not the biggest and fastest coaster in these parks; people are looking for the best experience related to their intellectual property (IP) and content."

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