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World-Class FEC
John Elderkin, assistant editor, Funworld
This year IAAPA invited FECs from around the world to enter its inaugural Top FECs of the World awards program. Eleven winners were chosen, and each issue of Funworld this year will feature one of the winners.
Toon City, one of the most unusual FECs in the Middle East, is the realization of Suleiman Al-Abdullah’s longtime dream to open a park unlike any other in the region. Located in Jeddah City, Saudi Arabia, beside the Red Sea, Toon City opened to rave reviews in the spring of 2003.
The concept of the family entertainment center is relatively new in Saudi Arabia; the first such facilities began appearing there in the early 1990s. When Al-Abdullah, who had always been interested in theme parks and entertainment, visited these FECs, they captured his imagination. But, he says, the facilities were usually one dimensional, often utilizing simple themes. He decided that what Saudi Arabia needed was a more sophisticated operation, so before he committed to planning and opening his own FEC, he traveled throughout the United States and studied the offerings there. Finally, in 2002, he and John Kasperowicz of XPA Architecture in Las Vegas, Nev., began serious design work on the project that would become Toon City.
Al-Abdullah insisted on creating a strong theme that would allow for maximum guest interaction. The park layout follows the logic of a normal city—with houses, a train station, an airport, a movie theater, a police station, and other familiar sites. But the town, Toon City, is populated by cartoon characters who go about their daily routines while visitors stroll about and interact with the mayor of Toon City, a walrus named Thadeous P. Sodapop, a race-car-driving turtle named Timothy Tailgater, and other characters unique to Toon City.
The toon theme and the top-to-bottom design of its indoor center make Toon City a completely immersive environment, and this has been a key to ensuring family enjoyment. The town center features a full range of family entertainment, including a party hall, rides, and food services that offer Arabian, Chinese, American, and continental meals. And the rides reinforce the theme—the train that takes the toons to work, for example, is a natural extension of the cartoon theme.
Toon City also offers special services that are unique to Saudi FECs. For example, there is a party room that is designed like an old-fashioned cinema and offers puppet shows and face painting. Visitors using the party room can also order food from four separate menus. Much of Toon City aims to please children under 10, and the party room gets plenty of use for professionally catered birthday parties.
When Al-Abdullah opened Toon City, the park operated for five days without any advertisements. Because he is located in a large mall, he wanted to find out what sort of walk-by traffic he’d get. He also hoped that his staff could settle in and train better without the pressure of a Grand Opening ceremony. On the sixth day, however, advertising in various media began, and large crowds came to see his creation. “We knew our efforts were in the right direction when people said, ‘Wow, it’s like Disney,’” says Al-Abdullah.
Interestingly, Toon City receives visitors from all over the world. Jeddah City is the second largest city in the country, where people from the Middle East, Asia, Europe, and America work and make up much of Toon City’s customer base. Al-Abdullah’s vision of bringing a high-quality FEC to Saudi Arabia has been a success, and he now proudly sets the standard for the region.
