Leisure Parcs, Blackpool Tower Case Study
The Real Theming Company was chosen to implement the first stage of Blackpool Tower's multi-million pound redevelopment programme. The brief was to provide a themed food court and state of the art children’s play and party environment. The project needed to complement the heritage of the Tower and its grand Victorian roots, the Tower is world famous for its grand baroque Ballroom and magnificent palatial Circus arena, and of course the Tower structure itself, the only other in the world to mimic the Eiffel Tower in Paris. Our instillation has been heralded as the Tower's fourth major attraction. The Tower is truly a Victorian eccentric masterpiece of design and engineering. In keeping with this image we created a ‘Jules Verne ‘inspired food court that embraces the achievements of the industrial revolution, with its glory of iron and superstructure. This is complemented with gentlemanly wooded panelling, flock wall coverings, embossed leather, gleaming brass work and stained glass windows. To complement this age of adventure and inspiration, we uncovered a ‘Lost World’ as the theme to the ‘New’ Jungle Jim's Adventureland, a magical environment set in the original grand Palm house that spans half of the building's top floor beneath the Tower.
A traditional play structure is encased in an ancient Inca Temple – a jungle landscape that has been visited by explorers in their fantastical Heath Robinson like vessels. These provide the party venues for a new generation of children. The surrounding village facades complement the setting, with an image of an erupting volcano acting as a backdrop. We added our touch of ‘Theatre‘ to the experience by providing a 'Quest' to the theme, - hidden in the depths of the play structure, we provided a hidden chamber, complete with a state of the art interactive floor, where children fight off animated creepy crawlies to get to the sacred ‘Altar’ where a diamond is mounted – however all is not what it seems, the Alter is protected by a fierce dragon that appears out of nowhere, all to find that the gemstone itself is nothing more than an illusion!
