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Behind the magic: FORREC’s Eric O’Rourke reveals all about MOTIONGATE’s new John Wick and Now You See Me attractions | Planet Attractions
     

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Behind the magic: FORREC’s Eric O’Rourke reveals all about MOTIONGATE’s new John Wick and Now You See Me attractions

A pair of highly anticipated John Wick and Now You See Me attractions are making their way to MOTIONGATE at Dubai Parks and Resorts. Planet Attractions spoke to FORREC’s Eric O’Rourke about the record-breaking new additions




John Wick: Open Contract is one of two new additions to the Lionsgate Zone at MOTIONGATE   Credit: MOTIONGATE

MOTIONGATE at Dubai Parks and Resorts (DPR) has just launched an expansion of its Lionsgate Zone with the addition of two major attractions to the popular Middle Eastern theme park.

The Hollywood-inspired attraction, which first opened in 2016, now welcomes two more IPs to the table - Now You See Me and the super-popular John Wick.

For Now You See Me, MOTIONGATE is welcoming a record-breaking rollercoaster from Maurer Rides.

Reaching speeds of up to 70kmph (43mph), Now You See Me: High Roller is the world’s fastest single-car spinning coaster, with the ride themed on the twists and turns of the heist thriller franchise.

Featuring drops, non-inverted loops and Immelmann turns, riders will feel like they’re part of a daring Horsemen escape as they race to expose the antics of a criminal mastermind.

John Wick comes to MOTIONGATE with the S&S-designed John Wick: Open Contract coaster. John Wick’s arrival also marks a theme park debut for the popular franchise, which has grossed more than US$600m (US$530m, £440m) in worldwide box office takings since it was first released in 2014.

Set over a 310m (1,017ft) track and reaching speeds of up to 61kmph (38mph) and heights of 109ft (33m) the 4D free spin coaster is inspired by the film franchise, with guests stepping inside The Continental hotel to embark on an epic action-packed journey either with Wick or his enemies as riders make a choice as to whose side they fight on.

The new additions also bring MOTIONGATE's total number of rollercoasters up to five, earning them the title of the theme park in the Middle East with the most rollercoasters.



Experience design firm FORREC is one of the companies behind the landmark new attractions at the park, master planning the Lionsgate expansion. Eric O’Rourke, senior director of Theme Parks for FORREC spoke in-depth to Planet Attractions about the creation of these new additions.






CREDIT: FORREC

“There are three new attractions at the existing MOTIONGATE theme park in Dubai. The park has been open for five years and FORREC was brought in to help them realise some new and exciting attractions.

Like most location-based entertainment facilities or theme parks, you have to expand and add to them to keep them top of mind and relevant, so FORREC was brought in originally as the master planner to revitalise both Bollywood and MOTIONGATE.

As with any project FORREC works on, and as the creative design partners, our process is for the team to first come together in a collaborative effort to determine what needs to get done, how we can support the client, and ultimately, bring the vision to life. Within four months, our team completed the concept masterplan revitalisation study, and it was determined by DXB Entertainments - the owners of DPR - that the Lionsgate IPs would be the first to be expanded in MOTIONGATE.

Lionsgate has a collection of major IPs, and one of the first steps was working out and narrowing down what we could best marry to the most appropriate ride systems. You can't just take a random IP and a random ride and necessarily make it work well, so we went through that kind of blue-sky visioning to select the ride system that we could tell a story with that was faithful to the IP.

The work will see the Lionsgate land doubled or tripled in capacity, with two anchor rides being added, along with an interactive, immersive pedestrian street with food and beverage, retail and other supporting facilities to increase the length of stay in the land and make it more exciting.”

CREDIT: MOTIONGATE

“Immersion can be very surface level, or it can go very deep. We tried to push the envelope within reason, given project and IP guidelines. We considered a variety of options including interactive windows, virtual queues, pulsed queues – ways to engage the guest longer and not have it seem as though they're waiting in a queue.

With John Wick, the team decided on what I call a 'choose your own adventure' piece. Prior to boarding the ride, guests are given a choice on which experience they want. In this case, you have the option to fulfil a blood oath and to help protect John Wick or become an assassin and try to kill John Wick. As a guest, you're led somewhat, but you still have some agency and role to play in making that selection. Depending on the rider’s choice, they will have a different queue experience. So, you're immersed in the movie and you're also likely coming back through to try the other experience.”

CREDIT: GOVERNMENT OF DUBAI MEDIA OFFICE

“Of course, every park needs to expand to stay current. In this case, being able to design, expand and enhance MOTIONGATE, with our long-standing client DXB is enormous. This enhanced Lionsgate land will provide another draw and destination in the park. The new coasters and engaging experiences provide MOTIONGATE with a new destination land to attract and draw guests. It also positions them as the coaster capital and as a must-visit theme park thrill destination in the UAE.

This is the first John Wick attraction in the world, and it's certainly a well-renowned IP. Those that like John Wick, love the brand and know it well. On the other hand, Now You See Me is somewhat esoteric, which makes it very intriguing and inviting. The FORREC team used this to inform and make the guest journey suspenseful, exciting and memorable.

We have been working with DXB at DPR for many years. We were involved in the initial design efforts for several of the parks and most notably, Legoland and the Six Flags Park that unfortunately didn't get realised. To be able to come back and help DPR and DXB expand MOTIONGATE, and Bollywood was like coming home for us.”

CREDIT: LIONSGATE/NIKO TAVERNISE

“I love working with IPs. We get to retell or explore in more detail movie stories or narratives in an immersive environment.

The first thing our team did was spend endless hours watching all the movies. We had to become very, very familiar with them on an intimate level. The team typically starts with a blue-sky story narrative-driven approach first. The idea is always to translate that IP. We interpret it. We write the narrative, but we need to create a faithful interpretation of the movie. Ultimately, it's a new guest journey that hasn't been created before. Being the first to translate that into an experience is exhilarating.

With this one, we blue-skied it for a couple of weeks and tried to marry and write a short narrative that we could attach to a ride system and then went back and forth with Lionsgate and DXB to get alignment on those. It took some time to get it right but we finally arrived on an overarching narrative and a general ride system, which allowed us to move ahead with the project.”

CREDIT: CANVA

“In the early stages, we worked with the manufacturer to make sure we understood all the specifications, like the load/unload and features of the ride. There are technical specifications and requirements we need to work with, but in the early stages, it really is that blue-sky visioning, and therefore our technical inputs were limited.

As the technical team got deeper into the design process, those technical aspects are taken into account. FORREC was the creative design partner on the project and the Dubai-based, technical team carried on from our work and delivered the technical drawings, integrating and coordinating all the disciplines.”

CREDIT: CANVA

“There are always challenges, which I divide into two parts - there are the functional design considerations that we need to take into account and then there are the more creative challenges that need to be addressed.

The functional design elements are relevant for any project, but I think for this unique project, some of those design fundamentals are heightened. They're all that more important and prevalent because you're working within an existing framework or an existing theme park and we're infilling with new attractions, so there are existing external factors that we need to consider. For example, within the infrastructure, utilities were already in the ground, and you can't put a ride column on top of a utility.

Some of the functional things specifically in Dubai are walking distances from point A to point B. As we know, it's incredibly hot in Dubai and people want comfort and shade. So our team tried to use taller building facades, canopies and landscapes as shading devices to make it more comfortable for the guests. Providing weather protection that's primarily from the sun using big canopies like the 50m (164ft) long LED canopy in Now You See Me, overhangs, and shade from the buildings is the realisation of addressing some of these functional design challenges

As we were expanding Lionsgate and working with the existing Hunger Games rides and attractions, we needed to look not just at designing the attraction but also working out how the land’s circulation works.

In terms of futureproofing, you also don't want to use up all the available real estate, which was one of the considerations in the masterplan.

I would say the creative challenges and narrative challenges resulted in the unique memorable moments of the project. With a challenge comes a solution and those solutions in this case are the special points and moments of these attractions.”

CREDIT: LIONSGATE

“One of the ‘aha’ moments was with our IPs. They are two independent, wonderful IPs but are seemingly and on the surface, unrelated.

The two IPs have nothing to do with one another, yet they're side-by-side in this park. We needed to create a connection, and we had to choreograph the transition between those two attractions, while also creating a connection to Hunger Games. That was done through area development, show sets and scenery. There were instances where we had one building with three different themes or facades, depending on what side of the building you were facing. The team also created a story that allowed Now You See Me and John Wick to be located side by side.

For Now You See Me it's set in a variety of locations, primarily Las Vegas. But it dawned on us that the opening scenes were in New York City and that aha moment was the fact that John Wick in the Continental is an art deco building set on Wall Street in New York City, so we were able to make the location connection.

One of the unique moments that the guest will experience comes as they enter the Now You See Me attraction into a Las Vegas casino lobby. You're part of the Four Horsemen and you're part of this heist. As you board the ride, you’re taken on a journey and teleported to New York City. When you exit the ride in New York, you're looking up at the Continental, so while there isn't a connection between IPs in terms of storytelling, we created a location connection between them that won't be lost on the guests.”

CREDIT: GOVERNMENT OF DUBAI MEDIA OFFICE

“For Now You See Me, you enter the zone down a 50-meter long covered street with bright neon lights and an animated LED screen overhead. It’s got all the scenery, all the facades. It's shiny. It's scintillating, reminiscent of that sometimes-sinful location destination of Las Vegas.

The Four Horsemen are a group of illusionists, and they each possess a unique skill set that complements the wider offering of the group.

As a guest, you enter a casino lobby and you're a modern-day Robin Hood. You're trying to right the wrongs of this evil hotel/casino owner and as part of that, you’ve joined the Four Horsemen on a world tour where you witness their theatrical stage events and help to balance the scales of justice.

There are a few gags along the way. We created a group experience, so you’re sent through in smaller groups through what is seemingly the back of the stage or the auditorium where the Four Horsemen are performing.

To escape casino security, guests have to navigate through the “back of house” to get to your escape vehicle, which is the spinning coaster. So there'll be a certain amount of immersion between the guests in the group to solve some challenges. It's a bit like an escape room to get on to the rollercoaster. Some of it will be automated, but seemingly you will have to perform those challenges to be able to escape.”

CREDIT: LIONSGATE

John Wick is set in the iconic Continental on Wall Street, a location that is so identifiable in the movies.

There was no other setting or location when we thought about it, it had to be The Continental as so much of the three movies are set within the building.

In the story we created, John Wick has been declared ex-comunicado. Being a marked man, he's trying to defend the Continental and you as the rider have that option that we talked about. You'll either attempt to claim the US$56m bounty that’s been put on his head, or you can honour your blood oath and defend him from the high table enforcers. That's where the guests are given that option when they enter the lobby.

When you enter the ride building, you're greeted by the concierge, and you're given a token depending on which choice you make and then join either on the left or the right of the queue. Each one of those queues will lead you to an elevator to take you to the upper levels of The Continental where you enter the war room - the ride load/unload area. The elevator is not an elevator, but you'll have the sense of being taken up, and while you're in the elevator, you're briefed on your mission and what's going to happen.”

CREDIT: MOTIONGATE

“It’s always an interesting dynamic. It's easy when you're dancing with two people, more difficult when you have three people dancing together.

You've got an operator who has a set of goals, you have a brand or an IP, which you need to be faithful to and that brand and IP wants the best expression possible for their brand because that is their calling card.

We as the designers walk a fine line. It ends up being a push-pull. Throughout the process, DXB and Lionsgate were incredible to work with. We all have common goals. It just takes time to realise those goals and make sure that everybody's needs are being met. At the end of the day, our job is to figure out how to dance with three people, and I think we did a great job.”

CREDIT: CANVA

“Of course. It certainly slowed progress a little bit on our side. We were right in the throes of designing the attractions when the pandemic hit and it took a little while to adjust to the new communications with the client, operator and the IP.

It also impacted the construction progress on-site in Dubai. They had restrictions on the number of workers on-site at any time and they closed both the parks and corporate offices. So it certainly impacted development. No doubt.”

CREDIT: LIONSGATE

“In Now You See Me, we have Iong's Magic Shop, which was a pivotal location in the movie. It's been brought to life as an anchor retail experience where guests can purchase branded merchandise and try their hand at some magic tricks.

We also created and “hid” several Easter eggs embedded in the show sets for the diehard fans across both attractions. It's a deeper level of understanding for the guests that have seen the movies.”

CREDIT: LIONSGATE

“You have to tell the story, so it works for the aficionado, but also for the non-engaged.

Working in Dubai is like no other place. There's lots of competition. Dubai's always been about the ‘EST’. Whether it's the fastEST, the tallEST, the coolEST, the shiniEST, the longEST. Both rides do offer their own EST.

John Wick features the tallest 4D flying coaster in the world and Now You See Me has the most spinning revolutions of any spinning coaster in the world. And they will remain that way for at least a couple of years. I think that will appease the non-IP engaged guests.

At the end of the day, Dubai likes their thrill rides. They like their coasters. That was one of the reasons why we landed on these two attractions and ride systems because they do speak to the demographic and the experiences that the guests like.”


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Behind the magic: FORREC’s Eric O’Rourke reveals all about MOTIONGATE’s new John Wick and Now You See Me attractions | Planet Attractions
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Behind the magic: FORREC’s Eric O’Rourke reveals all about MOTIONGATE’s new John Wick and Now You See Me attractions

A pair of highly anticipated John Wick and Now You See Me attractions are making their way to MOTIONGATE at Dubai Parks and Resorts. Planet Attractions spoke to FORREC’s Eric O’Rourke about the record-breaking new additions




John Wick: Open Contract is one of two new additions to the Lionsgate Zone at MOTIONGATE   Credit: MOTIONGATE

MOTIONGATE at Dubai Parks and Resorts (DPR) has just launched an expansion of its Lionsgate Zone with the addition of two major attractions to the popular Middle Eastern theme park.

The Hollywood-inspired attraction, which first opened in 2016, now welcomes two more IPs to the table - Now You See Me and the super-popular John Wick.

For Now You See Me, MOTIONGATE is welcoming a record-breaking rollercoaster from Maurer Rides.

Reaching speeds of up to 70kmph (43mph), Now You See Me: High Roller is the world’s fastest single-car spinning coaster, with the ride themed on the twists and turns of the heist thriller franchise.

Featuring drops, non-inverted loops and Immelmann turns, riders will feel like they’re part of a daring Horsemen escape as they race to expose the antics of a criminal mastermind.

John Wick comes to MOTIONGATE with the S&S-designed John Wick: Open Contract coaster. John Wick’s arrival also marks a theme park debut for the popular franchise, which has grossed more than US$600m (US$530m, £440m) in worldwide box office takings since it was first released in 2014.

Set over a 310m (1,017ft) track and reaching speeds of up to 61kmph (38mph) and heights of 109ft (33m) the 4D free spin coaster is inspired by the film franchise, with guests stepping inside The Continental hotel to embark on an epic action-packed journey either with Wick or his enemies as riders make a choice as to whose side they fight on.

The new additions also bring MOTIONGATE's total number of rollercoasters up to five, earning them the title of the theme park in the Middle East with the most rollercoasters.



Experience design firm FORREC is one of the companies behind the landmark new attractions at the park, master planning the Lionsgate expansion. Eric O’Rourke, senior director of Theme Parks for FORREC spoke in-depth to Planet Attractions about the creation of these new additions.






CREDIT: FORREC

“There are three new attractions at the existing MOTIONGATE theme park in Dubai. The park has been open for five years and FORREC was brought in to help them realise some new and exciting attractions.

Like most location-based entertainment facilities or theme parks, you have to expand and add to them to keep them top of mind and relevant, so FORREC was brought in originally as the master planner to revitalise both Bollywood and MOTIONGATE.

As with any project FORREC works on, and as the creative design partners, our process is for the team to first come together in a collaborative effort to determine what needs to get done, how we can support the client, and ultimately, bring the vision to life. Within four months, our team completed the concept masterplan revitalisation study, and it was determined by DXB Entertainments - the owners of DPR - that the Lionsgate IPs would be the first to be expanded in MOTIONGATE.

Lionsgate has a collection of major IPs, and one of the first steps was working out and narrowing down what we could best marry to the most appropriate ride systems. You can't just take a random IP and a random ride and necessarily make it work well, so we went through that kind of blue-sky visioning to select the ride system that we could tell a story with that was faithful to the IP.

The work will see the Lionsgate land doubled or tripled in capacity, with two anchor rides being added, along with an interactive, immersive pedestrian street with food and beverage, retail and other supporting facilities to increase the length of stay in the land and make it more exciting.”

CREDIT: MOTIONGATE

“Immersion can be very surface level, or it can go very deep. We tried to push the envelope within reason, given project and IP guidelines. We considered a variety of options including interactive windows, virtual queues, pulsed queues – ways to engage the guest longer and not have it seem as though they're waiting in a queue.

With John Wick, the team decided on what I call a 'choose your own adventure' piece. Prior to boarding the ride, guests are given a choice on which experience they want. In this case, you have the option to fulfil a blood oath and to help protect John Wick or become an assassin and try to kill John Wick. As a guest, you're led somewhat, but you still have some agency and role to play in making that selection. Depending on the rider’s choice, they will have a different queue experience. So, you're immersed in the movie and you're also likely coming back through to try the other experience.”

CREDIT: GOVERNMENT OF DUBAI MEDIA OFFICE

“Of course, every park needs to expand to stay current. In this case, being able to design, expand and enhance MOTIONGATE, with our long-standing client DXB is enormous. This enhanced Lionsgate land will provide another draw and destination in the park. The new coasters and engaging experiences provide MOTIONGATE with a new destination land to attract and draw guests. It also positions them as the coaster capital and as a must-visit theme park thrill destination in the UAE.

This is the first John Wick attraction in the world, and it's certainly a well-renowned IP. Those that like John Wick, love the brand and know it well. On the other hand, Now You See Me is somewhat esoteric, which makes it very intriguing and inviting. The FORREC team used this to inform and make the guest journey suspenseful, exciting and memorable.

We have been working with DXB at DPR for many years. We were involved in the initial design efforts for several of the parks and most notably, Legoland and the Six Flags Park that unfortunately didn't get realised. To be able to come back and help DPR and DXB expand MOTIONGATE, and Bollywood was like coming home for us.”

CREDIT: LIONSGATE/NIKO TAVERNISE

“I love working with IPs. We get to retell or explore in more detail movie stories or narratives in an immersive environment.

The first thing our team did was spend endless hours watching all the movies. We had to become very, very familiar with them on an intimate level. The team typically starts with a blue-sky story narrative-driven approach first. The idea is always to translate that IP. We interpret it. We write the narrative, but we need to create a faithful interpretation of the movie. Ultimately, it's a new guest journey that hasn't been created before. Being the first to translate that into an experience is exhilarating.

With this one, we blue-skied it for a couple of weeks and tried to marry and write a short narrative that we could attach to a ride system and then went back and forth with Lionsgate and DXB to get alignment on those. It took some time to get it right but we finally arrived on an overarching narrative and a general ride system, which allowed us to move ahead with the project.”

CREDIT: CANVA

“In the early stages, we worked with the manufacturer to make sure we understood all the specifications, like the load/unload and features of the ride. There are technical specifications and requirements we need to work with, but in the early stages, it really is that blue-sky visioning, and therefore our technical inputs were limited.

As the technical team got deeper into the design process, those technical aspects are taken into account. FORREC was the creative design partner on the project and the Dubai-based, technical team carried on from our work and delivered the technical drawings, integrating and coordinating all the disciplines.”

CREDIT: CANVA

“There are always challenges, which I divide into two parts - there are the functional design considerations that we need to take into account and then there are the more creative challenges that need to be addressed.

The functional design elements are relevant for any project, but I think for this unique project, some of those design fundamentals are heightened. They're all that more important and prevalent because you're working within an existing framework or an existing theme park and we're infilling with new attractions, so there are existing external factors that we need to consider. For example, within the infrastructure, utilities were already in the ground, and you can't put a ride column on top of a utility.

Some of the functional things specifically in Dubai are walking distances from point A to point B. As we know, it's incredibly hot in Dubai and people want comfort and shade. So our team tried to use taller building facades, canopies and landscapes as shading devices to make it more comfortable for the guests. Providing weather protection that's primarily from the sun using big canopies like the 50m (164ft) long LED canopy in Now You See Me, overhangs, and shade from the buildings is the realisation of addressing some of these functional design challenges

As we were expanding Lionsgate and working with the existing Hunger Games rides and attractions, we needed to look not just at designing the attraction but also working out how the land’s circulation works.

In terms of futureproofing, you also don't want to use up all the available real estate, which was one of the considerations in the masterplan.

I would say the creative challenges and narrative challenges resulted in the unique memorable moments of the project. With a challenge comes a solution and those solutions in this case are the special points and moments of these attractions.”

CREDIT: LIONSGATE

“One of the ‘aha’ moments was with our IPs. They are two independent, wonderful IPs but are seemingly and on the surface, unrelated.

The two IPs have nothing to do with one another, yet they're side-by-side in this park. We needed to create a connection, and we had to choreograph the transition between those two attractions, while also creating a connection to Hunger Games. That was done through area development, show sets and scenery. There were instances where we had one building with three different themes or facades, depending on what side of the building you were facing. The team also created a story that allowed Now You See Me and John Wick to be located side by side.

For Now You See Me it's set in a variety of locations, primarily Las Vegas. But it dawned on us that the opening scenes were in New York City and that aha moment was the fact that John Wick in the Continental is an art deco building set on Wall Street in New York City, so we were able to make the location connection.

One of the unique moments that the guest will experience comes as they enter the Now You See Me attraction into a Las Vegas casino lobby. You're part of the Four Horsemen and you're part of this heist. As you board the ride, you’re taken on a journey and teleported to New York City. When you exit the ride in New York, you're looking up at the Continental, so while there isn't a connection between IPs in terms of storytelling, we created a location connection between them that won't be lost on the guests.”

CREDIT: GOVERNMENT OF DUBAI MEDIA OFFICE

“For Now You See Me, you enter the zone down a 50-meter long covered street with bright neon lights and an animated LED screen overhead. It’s got all the scenery, all the facades. It's shiny. It's scintillating, reminiscent of that sometimes-sinful location destination of Las Vegas.

The Four Horsemen are a group of illusionists, and they each possess a unique skill set that complements the wider offering of the group.

As a guest, you enter a casino lobby and you're a modern-day Robin Hood. You're trying to right the wrongs of this evil hotel/casino owner and as part of that, you’ve joined the Four Horsemen on a world tour where you witness their theatrical stage events and help to balance the scales of justice.

There are a few gags along the way. We created a group experience, so you’re sent through in smaller groups through what is seemingly the back of the stage or the auditorium where the Four Horsemen are performing.

To escape casino security, guests have to navigate through the “back of house” to get to your escape vehicle, which is the spinning coaster. So there'll be a certain amount of immersion between the guests in the group to solve some challenges. It's a bit like an escape room to get on to the rollercoaster. Some of it will be automated, but seemingly you will have to perform those challenges to be able to escape.”

CREDIT: LIONSGATE

John Wick is set in the iconic Continental on Wall Street, a location that is so identifiable in the movies.

There was no other setting or location when we thought about it, it had to be The Continental as so much of the three movies are set within the building.

In the story we created, John Wick has been declared ex-comunicado. Being a marked man, he's trying to defend the Continental and you as the rider have that option that we talked about. You'll either attempt to claim the US$56m bounty that’s been put on his head, or you can honour your blood oath and defend him from the high table enforcers. That's where the guests are given that option when they enter the lobby.

When you enter the ride building, you're greeted by the concierge, and you're given a token depending on which choice you make and then join either on the left or the right of the queue. Each one of those queues will lead you to an elevator to take you to the upper levels of The Continental where you enter the war room - the ride load/unload area. The elevator is not an elevator, but you'll have the sense of being taken up, and while you're in the elevator, you're briefed on your mission and what's going to happen.”

CREDIT: MOTIONGATE

“It’s always an interesting dynamic. It's easy when you're dancing with two people, more difficult when you have three people dancing together.

You've got an operator who has a set of goals, you have a brand or an IP, which you need to be faithful to and that brand and IP wants the best expression possible for their brand because that is their calling card.

We as the designers walk a fine line. It ends up being a push-pull. Throughout the process, DXB and Lionsgate were incredible to work with. We all have common goals. It just takes time to realise those goals and make sure that everybody's needs are being met. At the end of the day, our job is to figure out how to dance with three people, and I think we did a great job.”

CREDIT: CANVA

“Of course. It certainly slowed progress a little bit on our side. We were right in the throes of designing the attractions when the pandemic hit and it took a little while to adjust to the new communications with the client, operator and the IP.

It also impacted the construction progress on-site in Dubai. They had restrictions on the number of workers on-site at any time and they closed both the parks and corporate offices. So it certainly impacted development. No doubt.”

CREDIT: LIONSGATE

“In Now You See Me, we have Iong's Magic Shop, which was a pivotal location in the movie. It's been brought to life as an anchor retail experience where guests can purchase branded merchandise and try their hand at some magic tricks.

We also created and “hid” several Easter eggs embedded in the show sets for the diehard fans across both attractions. It's a deeper level of understanding for the guests that have seen the movies.”

CREDIT: LIONSGATE

“You have to tell the story, so it works for the aficionado, but also for the non-engaged.

Working in Dubai is like no other place. There's lots of competition. Dubai's always been about the ‘EST’. Whether it's the fastEST, the tallEST, the coolEST, the shiniEST, the longEST. Both rides do offer their own EST.

John Wick features the tallest 4D flying coaster in the world and Now You See Me has the most spinning revolutions of any spinning coaster in the world. And they will remain that way for at least a couple of years. I think that will appease the non-IP engaged guests.

At the end of the day, Dubai likes their thrill rides. They like their coasters. That was one of the reasons why we landed on these two attractions and ride systems because they do speak to the demographic and the experiences that the guests like.”


 



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