The frenzied response, mostly courtesy kids and teens, at the exclusive screening of The Angry Birds Movie last week at NOVO Cinema in The Pearl, should be fair indication of the flood of euphoria that the much-awaited Angry Birds World theme park will bring out.
The screening, hosted by Doha Festival City (DFC), in partnership with Talal Bin Mohammed Trading (TBMT) and ADabisc, turned out to be an ideal pre-cursor to the opening of Angry Birds World, the first such theme park in the Middle East where visitors get to play and hang out with characters from the wildly popular video game series Angry Birds.
To know more about how the realm of flightless birds plan to take over the town along with three other theme parks in DFC’s ambitious Family Entertainment Complex, Community caught up with Kareem Shamma, CEO of Doha Festival City (DFC), and Riad Makdessi, Chief Creative Director/Partner of ADabisc.
What does the Angry Birds World theme park mean for Qatar?
Shamma: The Angry Birds game was created by a group called Rovio Entertainment in Finland. So far, there is only one Angry Birds World theme park in the world, which is in Finland, where the video game was created. This upcoming one in Qatar, therefore, is only the second such place in the world.
Makdessi: Actually, the format in Finland is called Activity Park. Qatar’s, therefore, can be called the first actual Angry Birds World theme park.
Shamma: That’s true. And for Qatar, this is very significant. To say that Qatar has the first Angry Birds World theme park in the world puts it on the map and it supports the drive for increasing tourism in Qatar significantly. That’s the importance of the theme park, in particular.
In terms of the inherent challenges you faced in putting this facility together, what was the most daunting of all?
Shamma: Surprisingly, the process has been fairly easy and straightforward. I say that from a developer’s point of view. Before we met ADabisc and TBMT, we had certain plans for the entertainment zone. When we met, there was great synergy between us. We had to modify our base build to accommodate the Angry Birds theme park; from rights to requirements, but then that’s part of the development process. Once we agreed on everything, it was on track. The base build is now more or less done. The fit out of the parking site is starting soon. We are hoping to open the Angry Birds World park within the first quarter of 2017.
Makdessi: This is truly a one-of-a-kind development. If you look at mall developments in the world, you will realise that a family entertainment complex such as this, in terms of size or the offering, attached to a magnificent mall like the DFC, is rare. Even if you find such a place, it would fare less on the family entertainment offerings and variety. The flexibility and willingness that the DFC showed in adjusting and modifying the plan is commendable. All of these were done keeping in mind the end user. Both companies are motivated by what the customers will eventually experience.
Could you share an example of how you have pushed the envelope in terms of ideating?
Makdessi: In the outdoors area, we started working with Rovio while they were doing the production design for The Angry Birds Movie. We have been working with the same directors and crew who were doing the storylines of the film, and we put details from that to use for our outdoors section. The indoor park is based on Angry Birds classic, which, too, has a lot of diversity. We have maximised the benefits of the space we have. For instance, based on the game Angry Birds Go! — the kart racing game which is the eighth in the Angry Birds video game series — we laid down one of the longest karting tracks in the region. This track starts indoors and goes outdoors on multiple levels and then returns indoors, backed by a new technology that has kept us guarded on the safety aspect. To make the karts more interactive, we have derived some points and storyline from the game and applied it to the karting experience.
How many such unique attractions does the Angry Birds World theme park have?
Shammi: We have more than 35 attractions. One of the most iconic ones is the Reverse Bungee Cage. We all remember the catapult in the Angry Birds world. This reverse bungee cage, which is pulled down and released and is among the very few such operational ones in the world, is very representative of the catapult. Another interesting attraction is the Rapid River. In the outdoor area, people get into rafts and are taken around very enjoyable and very exciting rapid river rides.
Apart from the Angry Birds World theme park, there are three other theme parks in DFC’s Family Entertainment Complex — Snow Dunes, Virtoucity, and Juniverse. What was the thought behind setting up facilities to drive these distinct themes?
Shammi: These themes are very carefully chosen to represent the full age range of our potential customers, visitors and guests, which we believe are from very young to full adults.
Makdessi: Considering the matrix of DFC’s target customers, we have designed the four different theme parks that enable everybody to have something for entertainment. This is also to integrate the family unit together. Usually most of the entertainment offerings disintegrate the family unit — the kiddies stay with the family, young adults want to go separately with their friends. This complex in DFC will bring the whole family together again. These theme parks are all connected to a Central Atrium, to which you can return to and meet. This is also connected to the food court and to the mall.
What does the game Angry Birds mean to you two?
Shamma: It makes me very angry (laughs). Well, the makers of Angry Birds have created fantastic characters. You can’t help but smile when you see them. When you see this movie you will understand much more about what they are all about. And once you have seen them in the movie, you will want to come and experience all that in real life. So it’s a beautiful tie-up and synergy between the movie that’s now out in theatres and the park that’s soon to open.
Makdessi: First off, there have been 3 billion downloads for the Angry Birds games since its release in 2009. In terms of number of downloads, it’s the number one game in the world. It has a massive fan base, and I, too, am a fan. Moreover, Rovio’s development of characters and the assets they give us to work with is spectacular. This offers us a lot of opportunities to create a fun, entertaining environment; a happy place where everybody can enjoy. What I really like about Angry Birds is the commitment on Rovio’s part to develop more in this franchise. So with more set to come, it holds us in good stead for the future.
Speaking of the future, is there any sort of concern over the fact that at the end of it, Angry Birds is a video game in an era where everything has a limited lifespan?
Shamma: I think Angry Birds in itself will stand the test of time. They satisfy a basic instinct in children who associate with lovable rogue-type characters. Now you will witness a huge spike in interest again with the release of the movie worldwide. It’s the Angry Birds renaissance… the birds are hatching again.
What sort of visitor numbers are you expecting?
Makdessi: The first three or six months will bring a sharp rise in numbers because everybody would want to try out. Our expectation of annual attendance is around 600,000 for Angry Birds alone.
Shamma: Overall, we are expecting a stabilised annual footfall of around 20 million for DFC. It’s huge. It’s one of the largest retail malls in the Middle East. It’s a completely unique place for Doha, a centre of all leisure, entertainment, shopping, dining and hospitality.
How does DFC plan to use Angry Birds to create value for the mall itself?
Shamma: We have developed around 40,000 sq mt of entertainment and Angry Birds is a key component of that. What we are using it as is obviously a centre of attraction and a leisure entertainment offering that hasn’t been seen in Qatar before. It will certainly drive footfall to the project and DFC as a destination.
THRILLED: Children interacting with the Angry Birds Movie characters u2014 Chuck and Red u2014 before the screening.
