Irish firm brings Disneyland touch to UAE

Dubai: It’s only been two years in the making, but Motiongate Dubai’s development is on schedule; it will open its doors as the biggest theme park in the region this October.

And it’s a small company that’s responsible for much of the progress.

The Deluxe Group, a Northern Irish company working alongside Dubai Parks and Resorts, landed the project as it was part of a global entertainment initiative that fell within their niche: movie franchises.

But Deluxe Group had not always focused on amusement parks. Operating since 1969, the privately owned, family-run firm had generally stuck to the commercial, retail and luxury residential market sectors. Then 25 years ago they decided to specialise in theme parks. A year later, they landed their big break: developing Disneyland in Paris.

“Our first large project was Disney in Paris and in fact we just passed the 24th anniversary of that theme park,” business development manager Richard Hill told Gulf News. “We even completed [the] Ratatouille [ride] in Paris just a couple years ago.”

Deluxe Group was first made aware of the project through visits to the UAE that were facilitated by Invest Northern Ireland in 2015. The company become proactive in pursuing a role in Motiongate’s development once it heard its mission.

Experience pays off

When the company became the contractor for the largest theme park in the UAE, all they had to thank was their resume. “Our set works and interior of our Disneyland Paris attractions had been well received in the industry for quality of theming,” Hill said.

“Some of the client team involved at Motiongate were veterans of Disney and knew of the quality of our workmanship. It was encouraging that Dubai Parks and Resorts wanted a quality lead approach to produce something that we are delighted to be a part of,” he said.

"The plan to build a park themed to DreamWorks, Sony Pictures, Lionsgate, Smurfs Village and Studio Central animation characters emerged to take the form of Dubai’s newest leisure and entertainment destination in 2014. Motiongate Dubai will be part of a larger complex of theme parks, which will include Bollywood Parks Dubai and Legoland Dubai. The entire complex will estimated to cost Dh10.5 billion that will cover 25 million square feet on the south side of Dubai near the border with Abu Dhabi. The complex is expected to attract 6.7 million visitors in its first year of operations.  Motiongate Dubai will boast 27 attractions, with dining, retail and entertainment options throughout the area," he said.

In addition, the park will boast 27 attractions, with dining, retail and entertainment options throughout the area.

Dubai Parks and Resorts estimate Dh2.4 billion in revenue will be made after a year of operation and more than 5,000 jobs will be generated across the sector thanks to the expansion.

But this isn’t anything out of the ordinary for Hill. His role as the business development manager of the 47-year-old firm has always been to find projects and look for a strategy to mature further business in the market. He believes this is made possible through the company’s continued focus on investing in new technology and prefabrication methods.

Quality of construction

“Our sets and props for Motiongate are prefabricated in our workshop in Northern Ireland, which has a new state-of-the-art facility of 40,000 square feet,” Hill said. “This allows the client’s art direction team to approve quality throughout the process and in such a fast-track construction programme as Motiongate allows us to minimise site installation time.”

So although they are not quite the typical size of a company that many assume handle big-time amusement parks, their technological know-how ensures that big plans are not too far out of reach. “There are at least another two major parks in development in the UAE that we are keen to be considered as a candidate for,” he said.

“The scale of investment shows a significant ambition in the region to create a tourist destination for families that will rival Florida.”

Although he has only visited Dubai in the past two years, Hill has noticed a change in the trend of the cities marketability. To Hill, the UAE has switched its focus as a huge tourist destination for couples by turning its overall strategy to becoming a family-friendly environment.

There are 13,500 workers and 41 contractors on site building attractions and rides inspired by Ghostbusters, Kung Fu Panda, The Hunger Games and more, and it’s no understatement that the hype is carrying the park to new heights.

But the team at The Deluxe Group are excited to take on that sort of pressure.

“Once everyone visits Motiongate I hope they will agree that we have succeeded.”

The writer is an intern at Gulf News.