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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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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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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

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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