Miral Experiences invited Funworld to a special preview of SeaWorld Abu Dhabi in the United Arab Emirates. Here are 10 ways the theme park is pushing innovation—from design and structure to technology and people.
No. 1: The Arrival Experience
When guests arrive, they will enter the all-indoor park and find a traditional baggage screening. For employee comfort, the security screening is done inside, where air conditioning is at work in the lobby. A covered outdoor queue ensures waiting guests are not exposed to direct sunlight. The journey from the baggage screening includes a trip up two escalators flanked by waterfalls and a recreation of a vintage Abu Dhabi village before reaching the ticketing counters. The distance allows guests to spread out, reduce the formation of lines, and create a sense of wonder, thus generating a more peaceful arrival process before they reach the turnstiles.
No. 2: Visual Technology
SeaWorld Abu Dhabi is designed with a “hub and spoke” layout, where guests can depart from a central area and enter one of the eight realms of the park. The circumference of the massive room is surrounded with an infinity screen, where video of everything from the ebb and flow of a kelp forest to tropical vistas are shown.
No. 3: Animal Welfare
Located inside the the new park structure but maintaining its own entry and operating staff, the Yas SeaWorld Research & Rescue facility is designed from the ground up with the mission to rescue, rehabilitate, and release animals back into their native habitat. The Yas SeaWorld Research & Rescue center is equipped with specialized field and laboratory equipment, state-of-the-art aquaculture facilities, and a dedicated research vessel. Dr. Elise Marquis, a marine ecologist and director of the center, tells IAAPA News this facility is the first of its kind in the region and has already begun researching the distinctive characteristics of the Arabian Gulf’s threatened marine ecosystems—from microbes to megafauna—and will work to support their restoration.
- Learn more about the professionals working at the center and their research here.
No. 4: Theming
Each of the different habitats are designed for animal comfort and guest satisfaction. From a coastal Norwegian village in the Arctic realm to the balmy Tropical Ocean complete with flamingos, each area is immersive and convincing. The HVAC and lighting in the ceiling of Topical Ocean are masked with a rhythmic tapestry that shrouds the necessary overhead fixtures from view. Meanwhile, a tropical vista printed on canvas that spans the interior wall above the dolphin habitat is backlit with thousands of light emitting diodes (LEDs). The LEDs reflect the time of day, creating a digital sunrise and sunset that mimics the sky outside.
No. 5: Native Storytelling
The first (and last) realm guests encounter is Abu Dhabi Ocean. The area home to admissions and guest services also has waist-high habitats holding small marine creatures that may be touched. Sea stars and aquatic invertebrates allow guests to safely participate in a hands-on experience. The atmosphere is reminiscent to an authentic fishing village that supported pearl diving in the United Arab Emirates (UAE), complete with flooring textures that replicate sand and boats on land and water. A stage allows the Live Entertainment department to present a mermaid show and pearl diving show, where performers enter the water with sea life.
No. 6: Digital Enhancements
Game terminals await visitors in each of the realms. Some are embedded in rock work, like in the Arctic realm, while others appear as panels of the futuristic walls, like in Endless Ocean. The SEA Guardian games ask young guests to “tap in” using a card as they journey through the park. The game encourages visitors to better understand man’s relationship with the ocean and make environmentally conscious choices once they depart the park.
No. 7: Transparency
Animal care takes center stage at SeaWorld Abu Dhabi. Two-story windows allow visitors to gaze into the food prep area supporting the 150 different species who call the park home. Days before the park’s opening, Global Humane—the international arm of American Human—announced the certification of both the SeaWorld park and Yas SeaWorld Research & Rescue. It is the first zoological facility in the Middle East and North Africa region, signifying the high standard of professional care provided at the facilities.
No. 8: Marketing
To generate excitement, the park created an activation center in the nearby Yas Mall. The trade show-like “booth” features an eye catching subsumable vehicle (complete with portholes inside broadcasting video that references each of the park’s eight realms), a video wall, character meet-and-greets, selfie-stations, a rotating camera perfect for TikTok videos, and a point-of-sale station where the park could drive early revenue by offering season passes.
No. 9: Food and Beverage
The new park has 18 food and beverage (F&B) centers where guests can sit down to a meal or grab a snack on the run. Many of the F&B locations feature dining rooms next to animal habitats where guests can gaze through large observation windows to see animals. Many menu selections are made-to-order. At Uberto’s, chefs will make pasta items in front of hungry visitors. Items are served on china; straws are not plastic, rather eatable; and cutlery is silver, ensuring there is no single-use plastic entering the waste stream.
No. 10: Honoring the Team
While many operators use different nomenclature for their employees, Miral creates a sense of professionalism by referring to their frontline staff as “colleagues.” Hourly colleagues receive cost-free housing at the Miral employee village, where they also receive complementary meals. The same is true inside the Colleague Canteen, embedded inside SeaWorld Abu Dhabi, where the kitchen is open 24 hours a day to support the workers caring for the park’s animals and tending to the life support systems. At SeaWorld Abu Dhabi, frontline workers hail from 25+ countries. The differences in culture and background are celebrated with surrounding international parties.
This story, filed from Abu Dhabi, originated in the IAAPA News Hub. Click here for more news and information from IAAPA News.
- Further coverage of the creation and operation of SeaWorld Abu Dhabi will appear in the September/October issue of Funworld magazine from IAAPA News.
