issue 84, October 2020 inparkmagazine.com SimEx-Iwerks helps facilities soar with new FlyRide® installs Warner Bros. World Touchless technologies The technology behind Abu Dhabi’s Solutions for parks, attractions and museums seeking to minimize newest indoor theme park touch interactions for ticketing, touchscreens and more Meet the press Learn what drives the InPark editorial inner circle in our third installment of this four-part series Joe Kleiman, Martin Palicki, news editor publisher Question from Judith Rubin Question from Joe Kleiman hat’s the special something you bring to the InPark ou’ve traveled around the world to visit theme parks Wdynamic? Yand attractions and to meet with themed entertainment designers and manufacturers. What are some of your I have the thickest beard. Besides that, it would be the favorite memories traveling for InPark? understanding of niche markets within the attractions community - giant screen, museums, and the performing arts - an I made a conscious decision a few years back to focus most of understanding from working as a manager and director in these my travel each year on work-related trips, adding on side trips markets. I was also an IMAX projectionist and motion simulator when possible for fun. It was a smart decision. In addition to technician, and worked with animals in a couple of zoos and a being present at important industry events around the world, dolphin rescue facility, so those are fields I understand closely as there is so much to see and do out there that really helps inform well. All this experience has been put to good use at InPark. Now, a well-rounded editorial viewpoint. if we ever do a piece on rebuilding a 1960s Mustang, I’m calling dibs. I’ve been lucky to enjoy several show openings with the ECA2 team in China. The opening of “Fountain of Dreams” in Wuyishan was particularly special. We had an afternoon to explore this rather remote city where almost no one spoke Judith Rubin, English. Ordering a meal without the use of language can be fun editor – as long as you keep an open mind! Last year Alterface organized a press trip to Belgium for the Question from Martin Palicki Popcorn Revenge attraction. We got tours of the city, the new Alterface office and Walibi Belgium even opened several of its know you like to bake. What is the perfect recipe for a best rides for us. At the end of the day organizer Anja d’Hondt I great article or story (include a shopping list, please!)? prevailed upon the kind hotel staff to keep the lounge open for us so we could share our experineces on the new ride. It’s always Successful baking involves good ingredients, the right tools a treat to socialize with other industry journalists. and resources, creative experimentation and of course an understanding of who is going to eat the end result. In a corollary Since the three members of InPark’s core editorial team all live in to creating a great article or story... Ingredients = information. If different states, we don’t have traditional office relationships (but you are having trouble making a meaningful statement, then you our remote working skills have come in very handy this year). It’s need more information and understanding of your topic. Dig in, always a huge pleasure to travel and see industry colleagues and ask more questions. Tools and resources = how you communicate friends at fantastic sites and events around the world. Whether and share the story, including structure, formats and platforms. it’s a WhiteWater rooftop cocktail party in Berlin or dinner Creative experimentation = finding a way to say it that makes overlooking Shanghai Disneyland at TEA SATE Asia, it’s so people take notice. In the last, eaters = audience. Make the story much more enjoyable because it’s with all the amazing people I’ve relevant to them, their needs and the culture of their business. come to know and cherish in our industry. InPark Magazine (ISSN 1553-1767) is published by Martin Chronicles Publishing, LLC. 2349 E Ohio Ave. Milwaukee, WI 53207, USA. Shipping address: 2349 E Ohio Ave. Milwaukee, WI 53207, USA. Phone: +1-262-412-7107. Printing by Johnson Press of America. Contents © 2020 InPark Magazine. All rights reserved. Nothing in the magazine may be reproduced or used in any manner without the prior written permission of the magazine. InPark Magazine is not responsible for unsolicited manuscripts, photographs or illustrations. Such material must be accompanied by a self-adressed and stamped envelope to be returned. Postmaster: Send address changes to InPark Magazine 2349 E Ohio Ave. Milwaukee, WI 53207, USA. Subscriptions are available annually for $45 per year ($70 international). Opinions expressed in editorial matter are not necessarily those of InPark Magazine or its publishers, Martin Chronicles Publishing, LLC. 2 inparkmagazine.com issue 84, october 2020 Meet the press 2 The IPM editors interview one other, round three The power of the wearable 4 Connect&GO brings RFID solutions to a Quebec waterpark • by Michael Oliver Flights boarding now 8 SimEx-Iwerks installs the FlyRide® attraction in two US venues • by Joe Kleiman Device developments 13 Freetouch™ BYOD technology helps museums and attractions keep interactives in play • by Judith Rubin New game in town 16 Former Disney Imagineer Steven Grant leads new Themed Environments Integration program at UF Orlando CityLab • by Judith Rubin Smart park systems 19 Warner Bros. World Abu Dhabi delights guests with immersive attractions backed by the latest in show control technology • by Martin Palicki Dubai 2021 and beyond 22 World expos upcoming, proposed and planned • by James Ogul TEA Thea Awards Digital Case Studies showcase 26 TEA maintains its prestigious awards cycle in an online format • by Joe Kleiman Transitions: New faces and roles in the industry 28 Stephane Battaille and Maya Guice • by Martin Palicki team & contributors PUBLISHER DESIGN Martin Palicki Martin Palicki COVER: Guests on board the FlyRide® attraction from SimEx-Iwerks enjoy the sensation EDITOR CONTRIBUTORS of flying above scenic landscapes. Judith Rubin James Ogul Michael Oliver Photo courtesy of SimEx-Iwerks NEWS EDITOR Joe Kleiman inparkmagazine.com 3 The power of the wearable Connect&GO brings RFID solutions to a Quebec waterpark by Michael Oliver s one of the largest waterparks in Quebec, Super Aqua Club, How does RFID work? Alocated 30 minutes from downtown Montreal, boasts over Radio Frequency Identification goes back as least as far as 45 rides and attractions, including the Tsunami and Tornado thrill WWII when radar, developed in the decade prior, was used to rides, a heated wave pool, private beaches and multiple children’s signal the approach of aircraft. In those early days of electronic attractions. detection, there was no way to know whether the aircraft was “friend or foe,” until a British radar expert got the idea to equip Super Aqua Club has been operating for three decades and its each RAF aircraft with a transponder (a combination receiver new owner Nadine St-Amant, who acquired the park in May 2019 and transmitter) capable of receiving an interrogating signal and and who actually worked at the park as a teenager, has brought in sending a specific signal back to the radar transmitter; thus, the numerous upgrades, including state-of-the-art technical systems transmitter became a “reader” of the identifying signal. This is using Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) to enhance the the basis for RFID technology. guest experience and bring under one umbrella myriad multiple functions such as POS (point of sale). To achieve this, she called Some 75 years later, and after a long evolution, we now can upon Connect&GO, a Montreal-based supplier described by install the transponder - which, thanks to the miracles of Crunchbase as “a global leader in RFID deployments in the miniaturization and materials development, can be as small as a entertainment industry.” grain of rice, far smaller than the bulky, radio-sized affairs used in WWII - in a specific material, say a silicone wristband. Encoded RFID technology has come to the fore in recent years, especially in the transponder chip would be just the basic information of an in access control at large events (e.g. concerts, festivals and identifying serial number, which would link to data recorded and major sporting events) and all aspects of inventory management. stored in a back-end computer system, with software specifically Anthony Palermo, co-founder of Connect&GO, recognized that designed to handle such data (think of data like access to events the technology had untapped potential for attractions, especially and activities, meal packages, locker assignment, as well as dates with advancements in that field over the last 10 years or so. and times of ticket purchases). 4 inparkmagazine.com When a “reader” is within range of the wristband/transponder actions and use the data to improve service and boost per capita (and a reader can be a hand-held device, or part of a more spending. As Palermo says, “With access control via RFID, we permanent structure, like an activity portal, for example), the know when people bought tickets, when they came, what times reader’s signal will activate the transponder, which will send a they came.” This allows the operator to reserve a specific number signal of its own back to the reader, identifying the guest and of tickets in advance for specific time periods each day, as well linking the wristband directly to all relevant data points (i.e., as better manage the customer flow and movement throughout amenities the guest has purchased). So, for example, a guest the park. Being able to anticipate the likely number of guests may enter a particular attraction by merely swiping his or her partaking of a particular area of the venue at a particular time wristband across a reader.