People profile: Anton Vidal
Anton Vidal is director general of Poble Espanyol which has completed a 10-year, €10m improvement plan
Interview: Coen Bertens
Fairytale theme park Efteling has
gone from strength to strength
during its 65-year history, enchanting
more visitors last year than
ever before. We talk to COO Coen
Bertens about its success
Promotional feature: EAS - Learning curves
This year’s Euro Attractions Show promises to
be the biggest in the history of the event, with
a brand new schedule of seminars to match
Aquariums: High Waters
We visited the brand new Aquatis
Aquarium-Vivarium in Switzerland
for a journey through our planet’s
freshwater environments
Promotional feature: nWave - The big picture
With more than two decades
of experience creating high quality
original content, nWave looks
ahead as it continues to produce
its own industry-leading creations
Analysis: TEA/AECOM Theme Index 2017
The TEA/AECOM Report 2017 shows major theme park
operators had an outstanding year, while stabilised global
economies and strong investment planning bodes well
for the global attractions industry going forward
Analysis: EMEA Focus
Margreet Papamichael, founder of CLEAR Associates about what The TEA/AECOM Report 2017 means for the EMEA region
Review: MuseumNext
Intellectuals from across the
museums sector gathered recently for
the European edition of MuseumNext
Theme parks: Playing the Looney Tune
As new and exciting leisure opportunities
increase in the Middle East, Yas
Island welcomes the US$1bn Warner
Bros World Abu Dhabi. We speak to
the two key members of the team
behind the landmark project
Museums: License to Thrill
A brand new James Bond visitor attraction,
nestled snugly inside a mountain peak
in Sölden, Austria, opened this July. We
talked to the operator and architect
Aryzon headset lets guests ‘view the sky as an expert’, says Jeremy Fontana null,National Geographic has teamed up with augmented reality provider Aryzon to create the world’s first open-air planetarium, using AR to project images into the night sky for a unique stargazing experience.
Recently installed at Au Diable Vert in Quebec, Canada, ‘ObservEtoiles’ allows up to 180 visitors to observe the night sky with a digital overlay showing the constellations and names of the stars and planets.
The Aryzon headset uses mirrors to project 3D mixed reality images. Using the device, visitors can observe a selection of 17th-century illustrations of the constellations overlaid over the real stars and planets, without obstructing viewers’ line of sight.
Users can keep the cardboard headset and use the app to explore the stars at home.
“We wanted to create a headset that would display the stars with augmented overlay without detracting from the night sky experience,” explains Aryzon CFO and co-founder Alexander Ceha.
The outdoor show will feature a “star guide”, who will narrate the experience with specially-created content from the “Night Sky Guy”, Andrew Fazekas – a science writer and consultant for the Canadian Space Agency.
“It’s been a really exciting project” says Jeremy Fontana, owner of Au Diable Vert and creator of ObservEtoiles. “You put the headset on and see the sky full of constellations. It lets you view the sky as an expert.”
Au Diable Vert has recently been certified as Quebec’s second Dark Sky Reserve, acknowledging efforts to remove light pollution from the area for clearer night skies.
attractions-kit keyword: ARYZON
Alexander Ceha, Aryzon
The virtual reality headset allows users to see constellations overlaid on the real night sky
The virtual reality headset allows users to see constellations overlaid on the real night sky
Play Disney Parks app represents how the guest experience can be enhanced by digital technology, says Vivek Sharma
Vivek Sharma, Disney
Disney is gamifying its park experience, releasing a new app to add a layer of interaction.
Available as a free download at both the Disneyland and Walt Disney World resorts, the ‘Play Disney Parks’ app has been created with group play in mind, offering visitors a new activity while waiting to ride its attractions.
Gamification of queue lines is a major part of the new application, with a number of interactive experiences available for select rides. At California Adventure, ‘Playset Party’ will be available for the Toy Story Mania ride.
The same ride at Hollywood Studios also offers the game, as well as ‘Andy’s Boardgame Blast!’ at the Slinky Dog Dash rollercoaster.
Peter Pan’s Flight and Space Mountain have gaming experiences called ‘Off to Neverland’ and ‘Rocket Race’ respectively, with the same rides and games on offer at both parks.
In addition, guests can earn, collect and share uniquely themed achievements, as well as rewards for playing games, answering trivia, completing challenges and experiencing select attractions.
“Play Disney Parks represents the next step in how we use innovative digital technology to enhance the guest experience in our parks,” says Vivek Sharma, senior vice president of Digital Guest Experience.
“The app is designed to help guests immerse themselves in the Disney stories they love.”
attractions-kit keyword: DISNEY
"Play Disney Parks represents the next step in how we use innovative digital technology to enhance the guest experience in our parks,” says Vivek Sharma, senior vice president of Digital Guest Experience."
The app is a first for Disney and is designed to enhance the existing park experience
Guests reach their musical potential with Acoustic Arts, says John Walls
John Walls, Acoustic Arts
Acoustic Arts, a UK-based manufacturer of outdoor percussion musical instruments, has launched a range of instruments that can be played using the whole body.
Part of the new collection is the company’s latest release, the Wobble Drum. Consisting of a shallow drum, mounted on a spring and anchored to the ground, the Wobble Drum is a sealed drum that contains bells, balls or rattles. Users stand on the drum, moving their hips or gently rocking from side to side to create a rhythm.
“Acoustic Arts’ products are designed to bring out people’s innate musical potential with an activity that combines creativity, rhythm and coordination,” says Acoustic Arts managing director, John Walls.
“This presents an exciting and fulfilling challenge on an individual level, the experience moves to another level when other people join in.”
Mounted in hand-built timber frames, the instruments are designed to provide fun, interactive experiences for visitors and can be installed as a standalone piece, or combined to create a dynamic musical play area.
attractions-kit keyword: ACOUSTIC ARTS
“Acoustic Arts’ products are designed to bring out people’s innate musical potential with an activity that combines creativity, rhythm and coordination,”
Acoustic Arts creates dynamic musical play areas for attractions
COMPANY PROFILES
instantprint
We’re a Yorkshire-based online printer, founded
in 2009 by Adam Carnell and James Kinsella. [more...]
Polin Waterparks
Polin was founded in Istanbul in 1976. Polin
has since grown into a leading company in
the waterpa [more...]
Clip 'n Climb
Clip ‘n Climb currently offers facility owners and
investors more than 40 colourful and unique
Cha [more...]
Holovis
Holovis is a privately owned company
established in 2004 by CEO Stuart
Hetherington. [more...]
People profile: Anton Vidal
Anton Vidal is director general of Poble Espanyol which has completed a 10-year, €10m improvement plan
Interview: Coen Bertens
Fairytale theme park Efteling has
gone from strength to strength
during its 65-year history, enchanting
more visitors last year than
ever before. We talk to COO Coen
Bertens about its success
Promotional feature: EAS - Learning curves
This year’s Euro Attractions Show promises to
be the biggest in the history of the event, with
a brand new schedule of seminars to match
Aquariums: High Waters
We visited the brand new Aquatis
Aquarium-Vivarium in Switzerland
for a journey through our planet’s
freshwater environments
Promotional feature: nWave - The big picture
With more than two decades
of experience creating high quality
original content, nWave looks
ahead as it continues to produce
its own industry-leading creations
Analysis: TEA/AECOM Theme Index 2017
The TEA/AECOM Report 2017 shows major theme park
operators had an outstanding year, while stabilised global
economies and strong investment planning bodes well
for the global attractions industry going forward
Analysis: EMEA Focus
Margreet Papamichael, founder of CLEAR Associates about what The TEA/AECOM Report 2017 means for the EMEA region
Review: MuseumNext
Intellectuals from across the
museums sector gathered recently for
the European edition of MuseumNext
Theme parks: Playing the Looney Tune
As new and exciting leisure opportunities
increase in the Middle East, Yas
Island welcomes the US$1bn Warner
Bros World Abu Dhabi. We speak to
the two key members of the team
behind the landmark project
Museums: License to Thrill
A brand new James Bond visitor attraction,
nestled snugly inside a mountain peak
in Sölden, Austria, opened this July. We
talked to the operator and architect
Aryzon headset lets guests ‘view the sky as an expert’, says Jeremy Fontana null,National Geographic has teamed up with augmented reality provider Aryzon to create the world’s first open-air planetarium, using AR to project images into the night sky for a unique stargazing experience.
Recently installed at Au Diable Vert in Quebec, Canada, ‘ObservEtoiles’ allows up to 180 visitors to observe the night sky with a digital overlay showing the constellations and names of the stars and planets.
The Aryzon headset uses mirrors to project 3D mixed reality images. Using the device, visitors can observe a selection of 17th-century illustrations of the constellations overlaid over the real stars and planets, without obstructing viewers’ line of sight.
Users can keep the cardboard headset and use the app to explore the stars at home.
“We wanted to create a headset that would display the stars with augmented overlay without detracting from the night sky experience,” explains Aryzon CFO and co-founder Alexander Ceha.
The outdoor show will feature a “star guide”, who will narrate the experience with specially-created content from the “Night Sky Guy”, Andrew Fazekas – a science writer and consultant for the Canadian Space Agency.
“It’s been a really exciting project” says Jeremy Fontana, owner of Au Diable Vert and creator of ObservEtoiles. “You put the headset on and see the sky full of constellations. It lets you view the sky as an expert.”
Au Diable Vert has recently been certified as Quebec’s second Dark Sky Reserve, acknowledging efforts to remove light pollution from the area for clearer night skies.
attractions-kit keyword: ARYZON
Alexander Ceha, Aryzon
The virtual reality headset allows users to see constellations overlaid on the real night sky
The virtual reality headset allows users to see constellations overlaid on the real night sky
Play Disney Parks app represents how the guest experience can be enhanced by digital technology, says Vivek Sharma
Vivek Sharma, Disney
Disney is gamifying its park experience, releasing a new app to add a layer of interaction.
Available as a free download at both the Disneyland and Walt Disney World resorts, the ‘Play Disney Parks’ app has been created with group play in mind, offering visitors a new activity while waiting to ride its attractions.
Gamification of queue lines is a major part of the new application, with a number of interactive experiences available for select rides. At California Adventure, ‘Playset Party’ will be available for the Toy Story Mania ride.
The same ride at Hollywood Studios also offers the game, as well as ‘Andy’s Boardgame Blast!’ at the Slinky Dog Dash rollercoaster.
Peter Pan’s Flight and Space Mountain have gaming experiences called ‘Off to Neverland’ and ‘Rocket Race’ respectively, with the same rides and games on offer at both parks.
In addition, guests can earn, collect and share uniquely themed achievements, as well as rewards for playing games, answering trivia, completing challenges and experiencing select attractions.
“Play Disney Parks represents the next step in how we use innovative digital technology to enhance the guest experience in our parks,” says Vivek Sharma, senior vice president of Digital Guest Experience.
“The app is designed to help guests immerse themselves in the Disney stories they love.”
attractions-kit keyword: DISNEY
"Play Disney Parks represents the next step in how we use innovative digital technology to enhance the guest experience in our parks,” says Vivek Sharma, senior vice president of Digital Guest Experience."
The app is a first for Disney and is designed to enhance the existing park experience
Guests reach their musical potential with Acoustic Arts, says John Walls
John Walls, Acoustic Arts
Acoustic Arts, a UK-based manufacturer of outdoor percussion musical instruments, has launched a range of instruments that can be played using the whole body.
Part of the new collection is the company’s latest release, the Wobble Drum. Consisting of a shallow drum, mounted on a spring and anchored to the ground, the Wobble Drum is a sealed drum that contains bells, balls or rattles. Users stand on the drum, moving their hips or gently rocking from side to side to create a rhythm.
“Acoustic Arts’ products are designed to bring out people’s innate musical potential with an activity that combines creativity, rhythm and coordination,” says Acoustic Arts managing director, John Walls.
“This presents an exciting and fulfilling challenge on an individual level, the experience moves to another level when other people join in.”
Mounted in hand-built timber frames, the instruments are designed to provide fun, interactive experiences for visitors and can be installed as a standalone piece, or combined to create a dynamic musical play area.
attractions-kit keyword: ACOUSTIC ARTS
“Acoustic Arts’ products are designed to bring out people’s innate musical potential with an activity that combines creativity, rhythm and coordination,”
Acoustic Arts creates dynamic musical play areas for attractions
London Museum will open four new food and drink destinations when it launches its new home
at Smithfield on 28 November, making hospitality a central part of the visitor experience at one
of the capital's biggest cultural openings of the year.
OMA has completed a major transformation of New York's New Museum, creating a larger
cultural campus that combines expanded exhibition spaces with learning, performance,
hospitality and public programming.
A US$50 million (£44.2 million, €51.2 million) transformation of Chicago's historic McCormick
Mansion has created a new destination that combines live magic, immersive theatre, dining and
private membership under one roof.
The Montana Historical Society has officially celebrated the opening of its new Montana
Heritage
Center, a US$107 million (£79 million, €92 million) destination that combines immersive
storytelling with cutting-edge audiovisual technology to bring the sta
San Antonio Zoo has reported a US$283 million economic impact for 2025, following a decade-
long transformation programme that has seen almost US$200 million invested into the Texas
attraction.
Plans for the AU$180 million redevelopment of Reef HQ Aquarium in Townsville, Australia, are
progressing, with the project set to transform the attraction into a global centre for reef
education and conservation.
Abu Dhabi-based investment firm Mubadala Capital has made a binding, fully financed
€1 billion
offer to acquire Pierre and Vacances SA, the European holiday resort operator behind the
continental European Center Parcs business.
Disney has reaffirmed its commitment to investing US$30 billion in its US parks and cruise
business by 2033, using new America250 celebrations to underline the role its attractions play
in supporting jobs, tourism and economic growth.
Expo 2030 Riyadh is being planned as a permanent visitor destination, with organisers
confirming the six-million-square-metre site will become a Global Village after the event closes.
The owner of one of Australia's best-known waterparks has acquired a major competitor,
creating a new attractions business spanning two of the country's largest visitor destinations.
