Adventureland Maroc adds extra flair to Morocco Mall
IAAPA Funworld, July 2013

If the shops, a spectacular dancing fountain, and a circular aquarium that gives guests 36O-degree access to the marine life inside weren’t enough, Morocco Mall has another gem up its sleeve: Adventureland Maroc. This $15 million 53,820-square-meter (54,000-square-foot) indoor family entertainment center (FEC) features an ice rink, 15 rides, and more than 100 video and redemption games.

What makes this little gem extra special is that it was not included in the mall’s original blueprint. After travelling to malls around the globe, the developers quickly realized today’s consumers want a lot more from their mall experience. This discovery turned their attention to the offerings dominating Middle Eastern cities such as Dubai in the United Arab Emirates. “The Dubai model excited a lot of people,” says Shahram Foroughi, a principal architect at Edifice Design & Proiect management and partner in the Adventureland brand. His group of companies oversaw the design and construction of the project and now manages its day-to-day operations. “They decided to follow the same idea of a shopping center that comes with a food court, entertainment, a cinema, ice rink, and more. It’s become a format for malls, particularly with the onset of online shopping— there is more focus on entertainment and ever-sophisticated projects.”

So the developers, Morocco’s Group Aksal and Saudi Arabia’s Al Jedaie Group, turned to two UAE investment groups for help: the Bukhatir Group and Ghubash Group—which include Foroughi’s interests—that had already built a similar concept inside a shopping mall in the UAE emirate of Sharjah.

The Journey Begins

For Edifice’s Foroughi and his partners from design company Gulf Leisure & Entertainment Network and attractions operator Funquest, Adventureland Maroc was a lucrative contract. They not only designed and built the FEC but also operate it on a day-to-day basis. Foroughi says his team was first approached in 2010, starting construction the following year. Phase one of the indoor theme park—the ice rink and a handful of attractions—was open by December 2011, but the “wow factor” was missing, and it quickly closed. “The mall realized the impact was not there. People were looking at the boards that were up and asking what’s happening?” recalls Foroughi. When the project fully opened in April 2012, the wow factor had certainly arrived. For Casablanca, the business hub of Morocco with a much more commercial feel than the popular tourist destination of Marrakech, the park changed the feel of the city. “The local community was very pleased to welcome a park in the absence of similar offers. Based on customer feedback, they are delighted to finally have a place of entertainment rich in activities, offering a secure environment for their children,” says Hayssam Hajjar, general manager of Morocco Mall, “It is the new temple of play and fun in Morocco and has revolutionized the world of amusement parks and entertainment here,”

Nestled between the beach and an affluent residential area, Morocco Mall is the first step in a major redevelopment of the city’s corniche area. The FEC inside acts not only as a destination for the city, but also for the nation and the wider region. With its 3D movie theater -the first Imax screen in Morocco-the 360-degree aquarium featuring sharks and stingrays, and the dancing musical fountain that stretches over 656 feet, the mall is a spectacle in itself.

The Thrills and Spills

So how does Adventureland add to that spectacle? “It’s the entertainment,” says Foroughi. “Until now the city didn’t have proper facilities for families, particularly indoors. On the weekends, families would go to the beach or travel to other cities two hours away. Now they have a family entertainment center right here in Casablanca.” That is certainly true. Adventureland Maroc is not only the first major themed entertainment center in Casablanca, but it is also the first in the country operating to international, rather than local, standards. Customers are invited through a medieval themed castle, positioned on the mall’s first floor just below the food court. Inside, the attractions are set against a castle courtyard with a medieval village and an 800-square-meter (8,600-square-foot) ice rink themed as an ice-covered lake with snow-capped mountains as its backdrop. There are also a number of firsts: the nation’s first indoor elevated train; its first indoor thrill rides such as the “Astrolabe,” a wave blaster, the “Cyclovolant,” magic bikes that allow riders to pedal up into the air as they spin around; and its first and largest children‘s soft play area spread over three levels. There is also Chez Araignee, a colorful climbing wall; “Baitaille Navale,” a bumper boats concept; “Coupe Poissons,” a coral reef-themed bumper cars attraction; and “Expedition Antarctique,” a convoy ride that takes children through an ice cave. The ice rink, Lac Blanc, is proving particularly popular with local residents, who have never had a rink in the city before. “One of the most successful elements of Adventureland Maroc is the ice rink. It’s the first in Casablanca and only the second in Morocco,” says Hajjar. “Because of its quasi-monopoly character over the city of Casablanca, we can only conclude that it attracts more visitors to the mall.”

The Bottom Line

With a total of 15 rides and attractions, as well as more than 100 video games, simulators, and redemption games, there is plenty to keep the visitors busy, Open from 10 a.m. to 10 p.m. with a total capacity of 1,500 at any given time, the park recently celebrated its first anniversary, hitting its target of 600,000 visitors for the first year.

When it comes to revenue, the center uses a play card system allowing visitors to upload credit onto a card that can be exchanged for rides or games. During development. there was talk of an entrance fee, but Foroughi and his partners resisted. “We still get some complaints about that,” he says. “Because it’s open to everyone, the weekend gets very full, and some people find it too busy. People ask us to make it exclusive but we say, “no, it should be open to everyone.”

However, in terms of capital spend per customer, the operators’ expectations have had to be lowered, particularly in comparison to what the operators of the UAE property are used to. The park mainly attracts local residents, with tourists tending to visit in the summer peak season, generating an average footfall of 43,000 per month. While the average UAE spend rate is close to $15, in Morocco the figure is $8 per capita. “Even Moroccans have been hit by the impact of the financial crisis; therefore they don’t spend like the UAE does,” says Foroughi.

The Sharjah Template

Foroughi moved to the UAE from France in 1995. With experience at Euro Disney, he began working on a number of regional projects that included Dubai’s Wild Wadi Water Park, built in 1998. Along with his associates, he began looking at a new style of shopping center that incorporated indoor entertainment centers. Investors were scarce until he linked up with the group behind the Sahara Shopping Center set to be built in Sharjah.

Foroughi and Figueroa’s team took on the design, construction, and management of Adventureland UAE with both the shopping center and the theme park opening in 2001. Ten years in, the Sharjah project faces strong competition from newer malls in nearby Dubai, and Foroughi admits he has seen footfall drop since its 2008 peak.

This is why the brand looked outside the UAE for new ventures, eventually finding Morocco when it decided to launch its first major mall complex. But building an entertainment center in a country that isn‘t used to such facilities come with challenges. “One limitation was the height,” says Foroughi. “ln Sharjah we have a clear height of 49 feet, but in Morocco it’s only 21 feet, so we could not have a roller coaster or an indoor log flume as we do in Sharjah.”

Other challenges for the developers included navigating their way around Morocco’s red tape and language barriers, as the Arabic spoken by those in Morocco and in Dubai is different. Getting all the elements ready in such a short time frame was also tricky. “For the ice rink, we dealt with a French company because they were close to Morocco, there were others in Canada and America, but we had a problem with the immediate requirement because it had to be done quickly,” Foroughi says. “And Morocco did not have the kind of expertise you find in Dubai. We had to fly everything and everyone in.” With the successes of the UAE and Morocco behind them, the Adventureland team is now looking for new locations. The team aims to open a further seven facilities around the region with two very strong contenders in the UAE expected to sign soon. Like Casablanca with its medieval theming, the two new UAE projects will have a more dominant theme than the Sharjah center. But why did the team choose a medieval castle for Morocco, a nation steeped in so much heritage and tradition of its own?

“We thought it would make a contrast,” says Foroughi. “All the movies and trends point to fantasy castles, and if you are a kid in Casablanca, you will not have much opportunity to travel. Adventureland takes them to another world.”