Scent www.parkworld-online.com


remembered from it was the atmospheric AromaPrime scents. Due to its deep effect on our memory, aroma is an ideal tool to help attractions leave a positive impression in people’s minds for years and years," says Florentina. Scents are used in a number of ways within parks and


attractions, for example: in interactive displays, scents related to the displays' theme are added to make visitors really feel what they see; for localised scents - depending on the theme, when a visitor passes part of the attraction and ‘feels’ the scent, they will become more immersed in the atmosphere, transforming their memory of it permanently; in interactive theatres - during the show scents are released at specific times to create a truly immersive experience; on rides - scents are released in parts of the ride to surprise; while overall scents are used for the entire attraction. Smells are also matched with specific moments in a story to garner a reaction. “It’s all about the science behind it,” says Florentina. “The


receptors that pick up smell are directly linked to the fear centres of our brain, meaning that a scent can trigger memories and emotions with unbelievable power. If we whiff an odour that we associate with something frightening or uncomfortable, our minds switch on and alert our body. Naturally, this is an ideal trick for scare experiences, but the same influence can be used in other venues. For example, the warmth of nostalgia can be elicited by the scent of cinnamon in a Christmas grotto, or appetite can be heightened in a bakery which emits the enhanced scent of fresh bread!” Asked which types of scent are most in demand, Florentina


says it really depends on the time of year. “Smells like ‘Egyptian Mummy’ and ‘Rotting Flesh’ do well at Halloween, while ‘Chocolate’ does better at Easter. Some of our most popular signature scents include everything from wood smoke and bonfire to crusty bread and dark chocolate, to fish market and dungeon.” There’s no such thing as an unusual request either. “At


AromaPrime the weird and wonderful never stops!” she says. “We continuously have unusual requests, it’s what we do and this is why people come to us year after year. After working on scents like rotting flesh, giraffe in heat and flatulence there is really nothing that we consider unusual. Our customers can be confident in speaking about any kind of scent and we can find a way to achieve it.”


The design process AromaPrime works with stakeholders at a number of levels: with the attraction or marketing team when they already have the attraction and want to add an extra dimension for visitors; with the ride/attraction manufacturer for new rides; with the design and theming companies for new projects; with event organisers to add scents related to their seasonal or one off productions and with museums exhibitors and exhibit producers to create a specific environment for guests. “With the escape room design experience on our team,


we have recently branched into designing smell-based puzzles for escape venues, an incredibly unique and unexpected selling point to get visitors talking,” she says. The company also creates entirely new scents and machines for customers. AromaPrime is currently working on its biggest project yet and while Florentina can’t disclose too many details, what she will say is that it is in collaboration with a VR company to transform their project into a multi sensory one by using brand new machines. Watch this space….


Many of AromaPrime’s clients and connections are long standing, which is testimony to the service Florentina and her team provides. Ailsa Easton was part of the creative team at Tussauds Studios then Merlin Entertainments for 16 years and during this time she was among the first people to use AromaPrime’s scents. Now creative director at THEME3 she continues to work with the company on a number of projects. Here’s why. People experience life using all their available senses so it’s obvious that if you’d like to


create an immersive experience that feels authentic and has depth to it then you’d logically have to include aroma. That’s mainly how aroma is used in this part of the industry; to give realism to a faux environment. I’ve used that very effectively in attraction design for over 18 years. There are many examples where this works extremely well to add layers of authenticity and interest to an experience; from creating stinking plague streets to a charred dragons lair, and it’s been wonderful to work with companies like Aroma Prime who have developed a completely unique range of horrible whiffs for me. This process has included very funny conversations about what Sweeney Todd’s ‘cat pies’ would have smelt like exactly or can they add more 'gunpowder notes' to an aroma for a barrel to go under parliament... But what is more interesting is the development of aroma as a ’spot effect’ in itself to trigger a more visceral reaction.


These punchy aromas, timed to be discovered or released at exactly the right moment in a


story or experience, can have a dramatic impact not just to boost the story but actually tell a story on its own. Aroma can be so evocative that it has the power to instantly transport people to another place and time; to tell people, in a very immediate shorthand, of sickness, poverty or wealth, ships, and ghosts! Without even realising it you can be taken places that sometimes are obvious, and others are just a subtle sense - enough maybe to make the hairs on your neck stand up. Using aroma in this way is not a new thing. When you purposely restrict some senses, for


example in a scare walkthrough, where lighting is low or even complete blackout, other senses can be exploited to tap into instinctive fears - such as using damp smells to aid a claustrophobic feeling that you’re going somewhere abandoned and underground perhaps. One very effective use is to use aroma to enhance the telling of scary ghost stories. The first time we used it whilst telling the story of a little Victorian girl ghost that was spotted always accompanied by the smell of lavender- that then becomes a sensory ‘trigger’ later in the experience - just the smell alone is enough to trigger an extreme reaction! It can really freak people out in a different way to a visual or aural stimulus; it’s as if it’s tapping into another level of their imaginations. We used a similar trick again at the London Dungeon Tavern where they tell the true story of a poor match girl that was horribly disfigured by the phosphorus used in the factories - we used an actor-triggered controlled release of sulphur smell to create a well-timed burnt match aroma. It’s more than just authenticity, it’s about using every tool you have to fire people’s imaginations - often subliminally. Peoples sensory memory is a long one - many people can remember clearly smells from early


childhood - so that’s interesting to play with. The downside to aroma generally is that it’s incredibly subjective; one person’s ‘grandmothers beautiful roses' is another person’s 'window cleaner'. One memorable time when I got it hilariously wrong was for an adult horror maze in the US based around major horror brands such as Texas Chain Saw Massacre, where Aroma Prime (then Dale Air) created for me a hideous ‘burnt flesh’ smell. They carefully blended rancid meaty smells with acrider aromas and sweet undertones - took a bit of doing but eventually we had it! Then during testing, people were coming out of the very gory maze saying they mysteriously felt hungry as they’d been smelling cooked bacon!! So even though the gore looked incredibly real, and the fear and adrenalin levels were high when faced with a 6ft masked chainsaw-wielding maniac, the bacon smell trigger overpowered what the eyes were seeing. It’s also relatively common to use aromas as part of ‘discovery interactives’ aimed at younger


children that want to smell what a penguin had for breakfast or a medieval latrine. These are normally push buttons or pull out a drawer style set ups - where it’s a contained aroma that’s very localised and relatively low maintenance for operators. It’s possible to use spot aromas as part of escape room experiences - using our ability to identify aromas as part of clue solving - but in these scenarios, because of the subjectivity, it’s still advisable not to be too subtle!


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