Cover Story
www.parkworld-online.com
The Flyer
– San Francisco A state-of-the art attraction offering a 3D film composed of both live action footage and computer- generated imagery (CGI), masterfully combined to create a fully immersive experience. Guests are treated to amazing views and incredible thrills as they fly over and through San Francisco’s iconic landmarks, sites and streets. USA Today listed it as one of the 12 most anticipated rides of 2019.
Full support While an increasing number of companies are producing media-based attractions, few rival Triotech in terms of size and resource, says Ernest. “The bigger companies have 30 to 40 employees, but most have only a few. We have more than 200, so we have more resources in terms of engineers and we can do five or six of these projects at a time. That said, we admire what these companies have done, and a lot of these attractions have inspired me. They are friendly competitors and the important point is how can we bring the next generation of attractions and the only people who benefit from that are the operators as they get a comparable product at a fraction of the cost of other types of attraction.” Despite all of his achievements Ernest is and
always has been, very grounded. “We have always tried to stay humble, you have to be to keep the innovation alive and develop next attraction. When we have made mistakes, we have tried to recognise it and correct it for the next generation.
Part of being in leadership position in a segment
is learning and realising that overall you are growing the media-based attractions category. You need an offer that is varied and offers a wide appeal, leader or not, it’s about your contributing to the segment.”
Looking ahead Ernest and the team are working on the next generation of media-based attraction – and while he won’t reveal too much, what Ernest will tell me is that it’s a dark coaster that will “bring video game technology to the rollercoaster experience, with interactive game play, motion, large screens and high definition. “I think every roller coaster will have technology
eventually. The industry tried adding VR, while it offered a great experience, it lowered capacity and increased wait times, so mostly failed. If we can add a tech layer that doesn’t slow down the throughput, I think it could work.”
Summing up “We’re a a team of passionate people who love what we do,” says Ernest. “Half of our time is spent travelling, engaging with customers and end users. It’s important to always be updated on what’s happening out there, knowledge is the No.1 thing.” A world first isn’t the be all and end all either.
“We don’t start from scratch; we look at how can take an existing product and make it a next generation one. Most world firsts fail on the market. The person who creates an attraction is usually all about the passion, the innovation, but they fail to understand the operator side. When you are buying an attraction, you are not buying something that has to operate at a trade show for 10 days. It has to be cost effective and work at least 99.9% of the time. An inventor might think they have the next big thing, but to get it to market and make it work in the real world, they are going to need a bit of help.” Again, Ernest can’t say too much, but this might just be something he Triotech does in the future - watch this space and remember, you read it here first!
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SEPTEMBER 2019
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