David Snook is given the official tour of the Middle East's largest and most impressive indoor FEC to date

The world’s largest family entertainment centre opened its doors with a spectacular sound and lighting effects display on April 7, bringing to a triumphant conclusion several years of work for Fun Fair Company CEO Michel Koborsi and his team.

The grand opening of Gondolania, the anchor entertainment attraction at the giant Villaggio shopping mall in Doha, Qatar, was attended by a specially-invited audience and a host of national and international media.

At a press conference, Koborsi told members of the press that the location had in fact been in operation for over a year. “We had a soft opening,” he said, “in fact, a series of soft openings as each section or major attraction came online; but now for the first time every facet of Gondolania is operational.” He remarked that the US$40m project had actually shown a profit in its first year, which surprised even the most optimistic of his management team.

The 22,000sq.m amusement park is shielded from the fierce Qatar sun by its totally enclosed air conditioned atmosphere and even the roller coaster operates comfortably under the 20m roof.

The members of the press and the specially-invited guests - outside suppliers who had been instrumental in the creation and development of the location - then toured the facility’s amusements and admired the latest - and final - addition to the features, the sound and light show. Spectacular colours alternated across the Venetian-themed buildings of the main square in the centre, accompanied by programmed musical effects, smoke emissions and ghostly images to create an experience to be remembered by the thousands of visitors who poured into Gondolania after the official opening.

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“It has taken us some time to get to where we are today,” said Koborsi, who heads The Fun Fair Company, operators of Gondolania. “but we are very proud of the end result. There is an incredible feeling of accomplishment among the entire management team. Our biggest attractions are now fully functional and the entertainment in the park is on par with any major theme park in the world.”

This was emphasised by a team of 25 Russian circus acrobats who strode 15ft tall across the central area of the park on stilts and in bright, colourful costumes to perform to the music. They were due to turn out three times a day for the three days following the opening. It was part of a continuous programme of entertainment which Gondolania will stage for guests.

“Producing the sound and lighting show became one of our biggest challenges,” said Koborsi. “At some point we didn’t think that we were going to be able to do a job of sufficient quality to satisfy our own standards. It is the largest indoor sound and light show in Qatar and took eight kilometres of cable to accomplish it as well as many technological aspects.”

The opening came with great satisfaction too for Yannnick Maes, managing director, and Julie Soete, business development manager, at Belgium’s KCC Entertainment Design, who were among the guests. Their company did much of the initial design work for Gondolania. The location is named after the Venetian gondola boat which is the theme of Villaggio mall with its indoor water canal feature upon which guests can ride in gondolas.

The park has over 200 coin-operated games tied together by an Intercard debit card system and 15 major rides, the largest of which is the spinning roller coaster which travels to the ceiling and then plunges 19m underground. There is a 4D cinema - the only one in the country - with seats operated on an air-driven servo motion and a hosts of features.

There is a dark ride, tenpin bowling, a go-kart track, drop tower, bumper cars, carousel, giant Ferris wheel, kiddie train and party rooms. They are accompanied by a wealth of restaurants, soft play, food courts and merchandise shopping. Koborsi, a former TV producer who gave up his career in media to enter the amusement park industry, has incorporated almost every FEC-supporting facet seen on the international market into Gondolania - it even has a giant ice-skating rink.

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The park already attracts between 3,000 and 5,000 people each day during the week and 12,000 on weekend days. Part of the reason for such a strong response from the people of Qatar is the work which the Gondolania team under park manager Andy Arevalo puts into its marketing activities, to ensure full awareness of the park and its attractions. In addition, they have worked closely with local schools and sporting organisations to spread the word.
Already more attractions are in the pipeline for Gondolania, including an even bigger and more up-to-date go-kart circuit and Tagadesko, a spinning giant musical wheel.

For Koborsi, who cut his teeth on the smaller Circusland FEC in Doha before embarking on the Gondolania project, there are a number of ambitious new projects on the way for Fun Fair Company.