PLAY@Malaysia

Atan’s Leap in ESCAPE.

PLAYGROUND FOR THE PEOPLE: Malaysia is fast emerging as a regional playground for the masses as more and more theme parks are built or expanded to cater to local and regional visitors

Leisure seekers and theme park goers are getting spoilt for choice as plans for more theme parks to be built or expanded began to unravel over the past few weeks.

To date, both Legoland Malaysia and Puteri Harbour Family Theme Park have attracted large crowds to the southern state of Johor during weekends and school holidays alike. According to Wee Soon Chit, Executive Director of Landserve (Johor) Sdn Bhd, the number of visitors flying directly to Senai Airport in Johor has increased by 30 per cent since the opening of Legoland Malaysia.

Sunway heads to Iskandar
Property developer Sunway Berhad, well-known internationally for its Sunway Lagoon Park, was recently reported to have set their sights on opening another park in Medini, Iskandar Malaysia. Bill Holman, Consultant Director of Sunway Lagoon Sdn Bhd, who has constructed and commissioned a number of theme parks both locally and abroad, during an exclusive interview with NST RED says, “We are currently conducting feasibility studies on the project site before determining the type of theme park which will suit the area.”

The co-owner of Justgood Pty Ltd remains tight-lipped when asked for details of Sunway’s latest theme park design. He however agrees that it will be an eco-theme park built to co-exist in the lush greenery of the identified location. “We try to avoid chopping down trees as in the long run, it will bring negative impact to our planet. Moreover, the project site is lined with mangrove trees which are necessary to protect Malaysia’s coast,” he explains.

Holman says the theme park that Sunway has in the pipeline on its 200-acre land in Iskandar Malaysia will hopefully draw both avid theme parks goers and nature lovers.  The Australian also hopes visitors will be entertained as well as educated when it is open in due course.

Such aspiration will surely strike a positive chord among environmentalists and academics alike amongst whom is Senior Lecturer Dr Azlina Md Yassin from the Real Estate Management Department of Universiti Tun Hussein Onn Malaysia.

“In planning a certain project, several important principles must be considered. 

Among them is maintaining the green corridor along the water body (Pendas River) as it will provide an important amenity for visitors. Educating the public about environmental concerns by providing them information or edutainment will also help to achieve the objective of maintaining desirable quality of the environment,” the UTHM lecturer points out during an e-mail interview.

Nusajaya‘s newest attraction
Prior to Sunway Berhad‘s southward venture, Legoland Malaysia and Puteri Harbour Family Theme Park were the first to open their doors to leisure seekers in the Iskandar region.

Legoland’s first theme park in Asia which began operations on Sept 15, 2012 was recently reported to have attracted 250,000 visitors since its opening day. 

In October this year, it plans to open a water park to complement its theme park which was specially designed for families with children between the ages of two and 12. General Manager of Legoland Malaysia, Siegfried Boerst was quoted as saying that the water park will feature slides, wade pools, rides, an interactive water-play structure as well as a Build-A-Raft River where families can build their own raft using soft Lego blocks.

Commenting on the attraction of water bodies, Dr Azlina says, “Water does provide a pleasant environment for all sorts of activities. If managed properly, these developments will surely be a magnet for human populations looking for leisure as well as recreation.”

Late last month, Legoland unveiled LEGO® Star Wars™ Miniland Death

Star interactive model display built using more than 750,000 Lego bricks and 10,000 special glow-in-the-dark tiles. Weighing almost 800kgs and reaching six metres in height and measuring two metres wide, it is the largest display of its kind in the world.

“Miniland is known as the ‘heart’ of all Legoland Parks,” Boerst was quoted to have said.

Angry Birds in JB
Meanwhile, in a joint venture with game developer, Rovio Entertainment Ltd which is based in Finland, Damansara Assets Sdn Bhd, a subsidiary of Johor Corporation (JCorp), is said to be working on the opening of the Angry Birds Activity Park by May next year.

According to Nur Adila Nuha, Head of Marketing, KOMTAR Johor Bahru City Centre (JBCC) where the first Southeast Asia’s Angry Birds is to be built, “Theme parks are a place where families can go to escape from the daily chores and grind. As such, the Angry Birds Activity Park aims to provide fun and educational activities for the whole family in a conducive and safe environment.”

Adila also states that Komtar JBCC Mall in Johor Bahru’s central district was chosen due to the government’s incentives for tourism industry in Malaysia and good infrastructure. In addition, there are “existing parks nearby which provide ready visitors from Malaysia and the rest of Southeast Asia.”

The indoor theme park will cover 26,000 sq ft and will be located on the third floor of JBCC. Prior to its launch, the people behind Angry Birds Activity Park have conducted studies to determine if there is a market for such a theme park. “The detailed design was then created,” notes Adila.

Combining both physical and digital worlds in a totally new way, Angry Birds Activity Park will be designed around a relatively inexpensive concept to attract visitors all-year round. “We aim to bring an irresistible dimension to theme and amusement parks. In this park, the birds and characters from the game not only appear on the equipment and as physical figures, they also encourage visitors to move around and be active,” says the marketing chief.

Though acknowledging that Malaysia is still in its infancy when it comes to theme parks, Adila believes that with the right concept, design and marketing, the industry will soar to new heights with the opening of bigger and better theme park attractions.

Eco-park up north
Over in Kedah, two eco-tourism projects are being designed and developed by Pekan Artisan Sdn Bhd, which signed an agreement earlier last month with the Langkawi Development Authority (LADA).

Chief Operating Officer of Pekan Artisan Sdn Bhd, Saifful Azhar Sabarudin says that the planned Paradise Island Gardens will not be a ‘conventional‘ theme park but rather an eco-theme park.

“Pekan Artisan has worked extraordinarily hard to develop attractions that embrace and celebrate the rich cultural and ecological heritage of Langkawi. Moreover, we also want to preserve local traditions and share the local mythology to honour the uniqueness of these islands. Among our attractions will be an immersive Omnidome 3D flight, created in partnership with National Geographic Cinema Ventures,” Saifful reveals.

According to the COO of the developer of tourism resorts and high-impact attractions, Langkawi’s rich diversity and exotic landscape will also be celebrated in a Bio-Dome which will allow a range of Langkawi’s fauna to peacefully cohabit in an outstanding architectural feature.

“The islands and its population are unique, and have inspired us to work harder to create a park that celebrates Langkawi and all it has to offer. Its location in the region allows within a few hours‘ flight a large catchment of potential tourists. The infrastructure for both landing planes and transportation is already in place and allows for international arrivals. Langkawi is also duty free so this adds an incentive to encourage visitors to spend money here. All these reasons make the island a perfect fit for our project,” elaborates Saifful.
Pekan Artisan is also fully committed to sharing the Langkawi story with visitors to the island.

“We are now reaching out to local experts to help us refine the plans further to ensure we remain sensitive to the local environment. Hence, Paradise Island Gardens will surely be special because it will celebrate everything that defines Langkawi!” enthuses the COO.

ESCAPE to Penang
For Sim Choo Kheng, founder and chief executive of Sim Leisure Group, a theme park should encompass the concept of reconnecting people with nature through participation in exciting activities rather than experiencing mere fantasy.

Having been in the leisure business for 23 years and earned a reputation as an unconventional as well as well-known industry player, Sim recently opened the ESCAPE eco-theme park in Teluk Bahang, Penang.

When asked whether Penang was chosen simply because it is his hometown, Sim replies, “This by itself was not the only reason ESCAPE was born here. It was more of a convergence of thoughts and events that brought about the ideal conditions for me to realise my dream of creating ESCAPE. Having spent over 20 years consulting, designing and operating theme parks from Europe through the Middle East and Asia, my desire was not only to bring this wealth of experience back to my hometown but to create a tourist attraction like no other. ESCAPE hopes to give Malaysians something they can be very proud of.”

Moreover, the idea to build the theme park came about from Sim‘s intention to reintroduce the fun and play from his childhood days.

“Many theme parks around the world are built around trying to maintain or extend the branding of movie studios, or showcasing the fastest, highest and scariest mechanical rides. At ESCAPE, there’s no orchestrated experience. In short, ESCAPE defies the conventional approach of theme parks,” he points out.

The current phase of ESCAPE, the Adventureplay has 18 attractions. These attractions are targeted at Future Kids, Junior Kids, Big Kids (ages 13 to 60) and Super Kids (over 60). Among them are Monkey Business, Tubby Racer and Atan’s Leap, where the emphasis is placed on physical activity, problem solving, hand-eye coordination and conquering one‘s fears.

Sim believes that the attractions at ESCAPE challenge the visitor to gain new experiences in a natural environment. As for ESCAPE‘s future plan, his answer is, “At the moment, we are on target to hit 200,000 visitors in our first full year. By the end of December 2013, ESCAPE will open its Waterplay water park.”

Parks in Genting, Malacca and Selangor
In a move to provide a much needed facelift for its 35-year old theme park in Genting Highland, Resort World Genting will build a new theme park in collaboration with Twentieth Century Fox.

Designed around the concept of popular films which include Ice Age, Life of Pi, Predator, Rio, Alien and Night at the Museum, the theme park hopes to reopen its doors in another two or three years‘ time with 25 more new rides. Chairman and Chief Executive of Genting Malaysia Bhd, Tan Sri Lim Kok Thay has reportedly said that Genting Highland hopes to double its number of visitors, which currently stands at 20 million per year when the Twentieth Century Fox Theme Park begins its operations.

Over in Malacca, Eden Incorporation Bhd recently announced its plan to create a dinosaur theme park. The park, which will showcase moving dinosaurs from the Cretaceous, Jurassic and Triassic periods is projected to draw millions of visitors from neighbouring Singapore, as well as China, Taiwan, Hong Kong and Indonesia when it is ready by 2015. Eden was also reported to be in the process of selecting a consultant to provide research, design, construction, and marketing services on the project.

And finally in Selangor, WaterWorld at i-City, developed by I-Bhd, recently became the first water theme park in the country to open at night. The water theme park which is located in Shah Alam offers a unique experience to both local and foreign visitors to catch up with friends and relax at the Giant Jacuzzi. In addition, the more adventurous are encouraged to try the Tornado Ride. Equipped with a stage and LCD screen, i-City water park has also become a popular venue for private functions and events such as weddings, cocktail receptions and private dinners.

I-Bhd’s Information manager Tan Soke Cheng reveals that the company will be introducing a RM25 million wax museum as well as a house of horror this month. The wax museum will showcase 100 wax statues of famous people, such as celebrities and scientists.

With the launching of the new attractions, the company expects the number of visitors to double from 90,000 per week, with the wax museum alone anticipated to attract 30,000 visitors per month.

The additional attractions are expected to double its revenue next year from RM32 million last year, says Tan, adding that they expect a 20 per cent rise in contribution from their online ticketing business.

Live, work and PLAY
Judging by the latest happenings in the leisure industry, theme parks are definitely on the way up, and in Iskandar Malaysia, they are definitely on the verge of becoming bigger world class parks. As Bill Holman of Sunway Lagoon notes, the vast land bank in the region provides a new opportunity for theme park developers, designers and operators alike.

Although Iskandar Malaysia in Johor is seen as the catalyst for the leisure industry‘s growth, other states namely Kedah, Penang, Malacca and Selangor are not to be left behind. And with plans to build several theme park attractions of their own, the whole country will not only become a place to live and work, but is set to emerge as the region‘s biggest playground.

-nst online.