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has been saved for future expansion. For the time being, a funicular railway, escalator or some other form of people-moving system would work well here as a means of linking the upper and lower levels of the park and “closing the loop” rather than forcing guests to retrace their steps the long way round, uphill (no fun in the heat). The 60,000 trees and shrubs that have been planted on site should eventually provide some welcome shade. Down the hill from the shopping mall (and accessible by escalator!), is an area called AveaPark, set to host a series of 25 open air concerts and events this summer, including a special programme for the ongoing month of Ramadan. Halloween and New Year’s Eve may also be used to extend park opening hours later in the season. Currently it closes at 7pm on weekdays and 9pm at weekends. There is no live entertainment yet within the park
itself, but there are plans to introduce a large stage in front of Little Explorers together with strolling entertainers and street theatre. Coming soon is a family of five costumed characters including Captain Gaga (no relation to Lady), the park mascot.
Vista land
Despite its flaws and the relatively limited number of attractions so far, Vialand has much going for it. Credit should go to TAA for its efforts on the theming, but there are also some great vistas to be enjoyed simply by looking out from various elevated points around the park. According to Tuna, Eyüp has not always been one of the more desirable Istanbul suburbs, but there’s a renewed sense of community spirit since the arrival of Vialand, and property prices are on the rise. Best of all, “nowhere in more than 15 minutes away”. Shuttle buses transport Vialand visitors to various parts of the city and 8,000 parking spaces are available, including 4,500 beneath the shopping mall.
The park’s daily capacity is 10,000. “I could see us having to close this park because of capacity issues,” adds its operations manager. “Istanbul is a city of 16 to 17 million people. That’s why I think we have got the pricing right. Gürsoy really trust their product, they don’t want to sell it too cheap. If we did
The park as seen from the shopping mall
Theme park vs Luna park
Çilgin Nehir, by Intamin
Istanbul is home to more than 10 “Luna parks”. Most are relatively small facilities with off-the-shelf Turkish or Italian rides, and little or no theming. Vialand operations manager Cem Tuna believes “Turkey’s first world- class theme park” is different. “In Istanbul families need a place to play,” he says, “they look for security, they look for cleanliness. That’s what we are trying to provide at Vialand. It’s an escape from city life, somewhere you can let the kids can run around while you enjoy an ice cream. And if your kids do get lost, with our radio system we can find them in three minutes or less.”
“Once upon a time in Istanbul” theming
JULY 2013
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