Fun, Adventure and Entertainment!

RITIKA SHARMA / Emirates Business

From children to grown-ups and from tourists to residents, probably all of us, either visiting or living in the UAE, need no introduction to the world-famous Ferrari World Abu Dhabi and the Yas Waterworld. These ultimate unwinding and adventure-triggering destinations have made UAE stand apart as one of the most-sought-after tourist destinations, when it comes to competing with global cities as a hub for entertainment.
Certainly a lot of efforts go behind maintaining Ferrari World, the world’s first Ferrari-branded Theme Park, and Yas Waterworld, the UAE’s unique water themepark. Farah Experiences LLC, which was established in 2008 to provide world-class entertainment experiences, is successfully managing and operating these two places.
As per records, millions of satisfied guests have already visited the two iconic family attractions set in the heart of Yas Island, ideally located at 10-minute drive from Abu Dhabi International Airport, 30-minute from downtown Abu Dhabi and 45-minute from Dubai.
Emirates Business talks to Roland Zieher, Vice President of Operations — Farah Experiences, who speaks about the company, the theme park industry, what is new for Abu Dhabi and more.

Entertainment and theme parks is a constantly transforming industry. What would you say is the newest trend in the sector?
Trends in the entertainment industry are strongly driven by customers, and customers today want to be wholly engaged in an experience. That’s why IP-based (Intellectual Property) experiences have taken precedence at many new attractions, utilising the popularity of famous IPs to derive stories and interpret them into unique worlds, not just theme park experiences.
Then you have the “extreme thrills” niche. This USP becomes even more riveting for customers when coupled with IP-based stories and values — and that’s the case at Ferrari World Abu Dhabi which boasts of several record-breaking rides with gripping stories that make them unique in every way possible. For example, the Flying Aces rollercoaster is not only holder of the world’s record for tallest non-inverted loop, and steepest and fastest inclined cable lift — but is also an extreme flying experience that simulates the maneuvering flights of 1900’s fighter plane pilots, a story inspired from the original owner of the now famous Ferrari ‘Prancing Horse’. Guests are immersed even more profoundly in the back story through the meticulously themed journey to the loading bay, where they can see, feel and touch the world, which those fighter pilots had actually lived and experienced.
Another trend that’s taking over the theme park industry is media-based rides and attractions, thanks to new technologies that enable developers and designers to place audiences at the heart of multi-sensory experiences, making them part of the storytelling in more ways than was previously possible.

What important role does technology play in your industry? What are you doing to keep yourself up-to-date with it?
As I mentioned before, customer demand drives our industry including the technology. At concept development phase, we usually look into the technologies available in the market that can help us interpret our ideas into state-of-the-art experiences with high entertainment value. Sometimes the technology is adapted or even invented to cater to the best experience. For example, the Formula Rossa train is catapulted utilising the same technology used to launch a jet plane from an aircraft carrier. We also had to develop and custom design the hydraulic launch system to achieve the record-breaking top speed of 240-km/h; a record that remains unchallenged.
Staying on top of the latest customer and technology trends is an essential part of operational management, otherwise one would risk the integrity of the experiences on offer and that would negatively reflect on customer satisfaction. A multi-disciplinary approach to research and development is key to achieving that, including following research in technical areas such as materials science.
We are in constant development mode alongside attraction vendors, and we will keep pushing the limits of technology further as we continue to come up with new experiences never attempted before. The dynamics of our business are truly exciting.

Safety is a big concern when it comes to superlative drives. What do you have to say about this?
In order to sustainably operate iconic attractions such as ours, we have to apply best practice and comply with highest international standards in management and operations. This is how we ensure safe and memorable experiences of our guests. That in mind; design, manufacturing and commissioning, operations and maintenance of all rides — including our record breaking rides – follow best in-class standards and practices. We also train our staff extensively on applying these standards, and continuously carry out parts and ride performance and maintenance reviews as part of our daily operational management requirements. Furthermore all our rides undergo an annual inspection by an accredited third party to ensure preventative mitigation strategies are in place.

Tell us more about Farah Experiences? How long have you been with the company?
Farah Experiences is the company managing and operating the theme parks on Yas Island; Ferrari World Abu Dhabi and Yas Waterworld.
I joined Farah in 2011 to look after facility management, engineering and maintenance operations. Looking back, it certainly feels much longer than five years with all the exciting work and projects I have been involved in various projects such as the development of Yas Waterworld, and the transformation of Ferrari World Abu Dhabi into an amazing world-class attraction that it has become today.

How is the entertainment and theme park industry growing across the world?
I think we can safely say that theme parks have become a ‘commodity’. As theme parks become more and more accessible to people around the world, a trip to a theme park has become a common family activity and a contender for weekend leisure time (not only duly planned vacations). That in mind, I think we will continue to see a surge in new theme park developments and especially in new markets such as the Middle East and Asia, catering to new leisure preferences of customers in these regions.

What do you have to say about sustainability in your industry? How important does it become to take environmental responsibility for the area around the theme parks?
When you are considering such large scale attractions as our theme parks, the question of sustainable operations is one that is raised at early design and development stages. We do our best to maximise efficiency through applying best engineering practice and following European and American standards on preserving resources.
For example, when the world’s fastest rollercoaster at Ferrari World Abu Dhabi (Formula Rossa) was being designed, a key question that we raised concerned the energy supply required to launch the coaster with 20,000 horse power to reach 240-km/h in less than 5 seconds.
Part of the solution innovated was to use an energy storage system which accumulates hydraulic power through compressing nitrogen and releasing the full power as and when required, thus reducing the peak demand of electricity by more than 50 percent.
Another example is the way we designed the drive system for Flying Aces — Ferrari World’s recently launched rollercoaster. As the motor requires 1.2 mega-watt to pull the train over the lift at 30-km/h (a world record), we implemented a regenerative electrical system which feeds electricity back into the grid when decelerating the drive at each cycle.
At Yas Waterworld, we raised the question of efficient water usage during development, and integrated technology in the build which made it possible for the park to use 30 percent less water than other waterparks of a similar size. Today the Park uses intelligent water conservation, filtration and mechanical systems to prevent water wastage and reduce high evaporation rates, and was awarded the Estidama One Pearl green sustainability rating.