dubai parks resorts feature - april l2016
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An interview with Brian Machamer, Vice President of Theme Park Operations for Dubai Parks and Resorts
Theme park of the future
Business Review Middle East
talks to the man responsible
for theme park operations at the ambitious
Dubai Parks and Resorts project
Wri t ten by: LUCY DIXON Produced by: JORDAN PLATTEN
LEADERSHIP INTERVIEW
Theme park
of the future
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“I WISH I was 16 again so I could
work another 30 or 40 years on this
project,” says Brian Machamer, Vice
President of Theme Park Operations
for Dubai Parks and Resorts. The
project he is so enthusiastic about
comprises three theme parks, a hotel
and a retail and dining area, due to
open later this year in a prime location
between Abu Dhabi and Dubai. And
Machamer has been working in the
theme park industry since he was
16, so clearly knows this is a project
worth getting excited about. He says:
“It’s not just the construction that’s
unique, it’s the offering that we have.
We’ve got a Bollywood theme park
that caters to multiple demographics.
Legoland® Dubai more for the younger
kids and a water park that is designed
specifically for younger kids. And we
have motiongate™ Dubai, a Hollywood
movie-based theme park. So when a
guest comes to the resort, with kids
of all different ages and there is really
something for everyone to do and I
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LEADERSHIP INTERVIEW
of the parks is run independently,
and it is Machamer’s job to ensure
a high quality guest experience,
emphasising the fact it has been
designed to offer an integrated resort
destination experience. He says: “It’s
really about looking at everything
from guest services to safety, and the
overall guest experience. Somebody
comes to the park, whether they go to
Bollywood™ Parks Dubai, motiongate™
Dubai or Legoland® Dubai, it should
feel like a very seamless experience
The number of rides and attractions16
think that’s unique as well. If you went
to Orlando you would have to spend
time driving between different parks,
taking away from your experience.
Here you can stay at the hotel and
park hop to really maximise your
time since all of our theme parks are
located so close to each other.”
From his first job serving food
in Disney’s Magic Kingdom as a
teenager, Machamer now looks after
operations for all the theme parks
at Dubai Parks and Resorts. Each
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on all fronts. So, it’s really important
to bring the operators together and
get them to single mindedly worry
about the experience.” And when the
project first began three years ago,
there was a very limited management
team so it was the job of the general
managers to deal with everything
before the more specialised team
started. Machamer says: “As your
director of food and beverage comes
online, he might say, ‘I want the
kitchen laid out this way’, versus what
we have already designed. So we
“I wish I was 16 again so I could work another 30 or 40 years on this project” – Brian Machamer, Vice
President of Theme Park Operations for Dubai Parks and Resorts
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LEADERSHIP INTERVIEW
have to manage those expectations
and limit changes. Of course, we
want things to work as efficiently as
possible and sometimes we will go
back and review a change request, but
as you get closer to opening, you have
to stop doing that or you will never
finish building. So on opening day
it’s as close to perfect as it can be.”
Machamer says how important
it has been to get the operations
team involved in the project from an
early stage. He says: “This helps to
make sure that when the park opens
The number of rides and attractions including Smurfs Village, The Hunger Games and Ghostbusters
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it’s designed in the most efficient
way from a guest experience and
operations standpoint and major
changes don’t have to be made
after opening day. We see a lot
of things at other parks that we
would redo or do it differently.”
Machamer’s working week is
changing as the park opening date
approaches and ironing out any
issues or picking up on where the
construction has deviated from
the plans is a key part of his role.
Recruitment is also one of his main
tasks at the time of our visit “I’m
mostly focused on recruiting to get
the park staffed and ready to go later
this year.” And hiring over 4,000 staff
is not easy, particularly when you
consider the limited availability of
local theme park skills, something
that Machamer has experience of
from when he was recruiting for a
theme park in Singapore. “It was a
similar situation where we didn’t have
a theme park operating in Singapore
so we had to hire all the staff from
other industries, and we hired 99
percent Singaporean. We basically
had to look at who would be the right
candidate to work in a theme park –
people with a hospitality background,
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LEADERSHIP INTERVIEW
The number of Lego-themed rides40+
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Machamer adds: “That gives them real
on-the-job experience versus reading
a training manual. Those initial staff
that we hire usually then progress
within the next year into more of a
team leader or even a supervisor role
as they get a better understanding of
how theme parks operate. There’s a
lot of growth from the ground up.”
Listening to Machamer talk about
Dubai Parks and Resorts, its easy
to see why he was drawn to the
ambitious project. As he says: “The
last project I was on was a very
large integrated resort in Singapore,
but I’ve worked in the theme park
industry my whole life and this is
the first time we are building three
theme parks and a water park, with a
nighttime entertainment complex and
hotel. We have over 100 attractions
coming online out here and its a
The number of water slides and attractions 20
‘Each of the parks is run independently, and it is Machamer’s job to ensure a high quality
guest experience, emphasising the fact it has been designed to offer an integrated resort
destination experience’or who had been working in a guest
services function in a hotel or perhaps
the zoo. We look at what sort of
hospitality and service background
they have and that will hopefully set
them up for success in the theme
park model. And there’s a lot of that
in Dubai.” Training of staff for the park
has already started, and ten UAE
nationals have been sent to Orlando
to pick up the necessary know-how.
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Themed dining and shopping destination, with over 50 units
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throughout the park to improve
and enhance the guest experience
in a number of different ways. For
example, smart technology will give
guests accurate and up-to-date
waiting times for popular rides. “In
the past, the attraction wait time sign
was a metal wheel with numbers on
it and staff would just spin that wheel
and change it from 30 minutes to 45
minutes to 60 minutes. Then we got to
a digital wait time sign. So what we’re
big deal to open even one major
ride. So to have all those attractions
coming online simultaneously,
that’s what makes it so unique.”
One element of the project that is
really innovative is the use of smart
technology, alongside partner Etisalat.
Machamer explains: “We wanted to
take advantage of all the technology
that’s out there, and set ourselves
up for adaptability or expansion in
the future.” Technology will be used
Polynesian-themed family resort
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looking in our parks is when the queue
wait time is changed from 30 minutes
to 45 minutes, that automatically
updates the main information boards
around the parks and updates your
mobile app, so as you’re navigating
the park, you can adapt your plans.
So, it’s smart and the communication
is instantaneous.” Other ways Dubai
Parks and Resorts is harnessing
technology is by using an e-wallet
system, which essentially means
you dont need to take any cash or
credit cards into the park. “When I
buy my theme park ticket, that ticket
has RFID capability and I can load
it up with credit so I can purchase
food, retail merchandise or even
onboard ride photos. Everything gets
charged back to your one portfolio
and it makes it very seamless, which
equals a good guest experience and
usually higher per capita spending.”
Queueing is an unavoidable part of
LEADERSHIP INTERVIEW
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visiting a theme park but, Machamer
says, it is something that guests are
expecting so it isn’t really a problem.
“The tolerance that some people
have for queue lines if it’s a very
popular attraction is amazing. We
do have a queue fast system that
you can get you front-of-the-line
access and we limit the number of
those tickets on a daily basis we also
have guided VIP tours of the parks.
Using the mobile application to plan
your day will also help – looking to
see what wait times are. All of our
queue lines are interactive, with
themed video monitors
and other elements, so really the
experience starts when you enter
that queue and that’s really for
me the difference between an
amusement park and a theme park.
An amusement park will have a
standard queue line with minimal
interactivity whereas the theme
park, the experience really starts the
moment you enter that attraction.”
Emaar Square, Building 1, Level 2, Dubai, UAET. +971 4 5114500 | F. +971 4 5114992www.dubaiparksandresorts.com
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