Webinar: Walking the Tight Rope: Balancing Design, Cost, and Economics

Event Type: Education
Venue: Online
Member Price: $0 | Nonmember Price: $29

1-2 p.m. ET

Themed projects require specialty resources, often include content that has never been done before, and could sometimes take several years to complete. Theme parks and attractions are notorious for budget and schedule over runs. So how do you build a budget for something that has never been done before and then successfully manage to that budget?

The discussion aims to explore challenges and solutions to managing budgets by engaging with a range of disciplines that deliver these projects: creative, cost estimating, economics, and architecture.

Panel discussion topics include:

  • Budget Development  
  • When to engage your estimator 
  • Managing your ROI
  • Tips for working with the design team to manage to your budget 
  • Recommended practices

A question and answer session will follow the webinar. 

Speakers

Asif Parkar

Asif Parkar

Vice President
Themed Entertainment, Cumming

Asif has been providing construction cost estimating services since 1996. He currently focuses on the themed entertainment sector and has led the in-house themed entertainment group at Cumming since 2012. Project scopes involve project management and full project estimating, including show and ride disciplines.

Asif has led teams on numerous high-profile multi-billion-dollar projects including Universal Beijing Resort, Dubai Parks & Resorts, Shanghai Disneyland Resort, and land expansions in Anaheim and Orlando. He is also currently leading a team on a major park being planned for Orlando. 

The types of projects Asif estimates includes theme parks and attractions, zoos/aquariums, virtual reality, water parks, family entertainment centers and full resorts. In this sector, he has worked for industry leaders such as Disney, Universal, and Merlin Entertainments, along with a number of highly regarded creative design and architecture teams. His project portfolio is international in scope.

Prior to leading our themed entertainment group, Asif specialized in hospitality and resort projects where his clients included Marriot Vacation Club International, Hilton Hotels Corporation, Hilton Grand Vacation Club, and KSL Developments. Before joining Cumming, Asif was trained in Quantity Surveying in the United Kingdom.

Linda Hung

Linda Hung

Vice President
FORREC Ltd.

Linda is one of FORREC’s leading vice presidents. FORREC is an entertainment design company, based in Toronto, that creates places of escape and destinations of distinction all over the world. Linda’s project experience covers a broad spectrum, ranging from large-scale destination resorts such as Resorts World in Singapore to major parks including LEGOLAND, and Universal Studios.

John Robinett

John Robinett

Vice President
AECOM Economics

Mr. Robinett is based in AECOM’s corporate headquarters in Los Angeles and oversees the Leisure and Culture Economics practice at AECOM.  He has had a 35-year career in evaluating the economics of leisure, culture, entertainment, and sports facilities.  His work has included consulting for theme parks, water parks, resorts, museums, zoos, aquariums, stadiums, arenas, and specialty attractions.  This includes consulting for the new Academy Museum and the J. Paul Getty Center in Los Angeles, the 9-11 Memorial and Museum in New York, analysis of major attractions for Disney, Universal Studios, Premier Parks, and Warner Bros., sports and real estate related economics for Anschutz Entertainment Group, and the Oakland Raiders.

He has taught at the University of California Los Angeles and the University of Southern California on entertainment economics, and prior to joining AECOM, worked for the Walt Disney Company in business planning for the company’s theme parks and resorts. John has an MBA from the American Graduate School of International Management (Thunderbird) in Arizona, and a BA in business from Loyola Marymount University in Los Angeles.

Tom Sze

Tom Sze

Entertainment Leader
Principal, Gensler

Tom is a Studio Leader and Design Director in Gensler’s Los Angeles office. Known for his expertise in the creation of innovative, immersive environments, Tom understands the importance of storytelling in designing authentic, engaging experiences. He believes that every project – large or small – begins with a story. Tom’s professional career includes 14 years with Walt Disney Imagineering, where he was instrumental in bringing to life some of the world’s most memorable theme parks and environments. His expertise in big-picture theme park conceptual design and execution gives him the flexibility to provide design leadership for projects of any scale. Tom is a registered architect and earned a Bachelor of Architecture from Cornell University.