IMMERSIVE GAMEBOX / MERLIN

Mission:  

Merlin Entertainments contracts Spider Entertainment Services (SES) to provide project delivery of the opening of Immersive Gamebox (IGB) locations globally.  The first venue deliveries are located in Sea Life Centres in Sydney, Australia and Oberhausen, Germany.  These two new attractions were successfully opened on time and on budget in 2023.  The rollouts are continuing with additional IGB’s to be delivered by SES in major destinations in the APAC, Europe and US regions in 2024.

What is Immersive Game Box Experience?  

Merlin Entertainments and Immersive Gamebox announced in October 2023 a multi-million pound and multi-territory global partnership. The deal kicked-off with two venues in Australia and Germany in 2023, with more to be confirmed at other Merlin Entertainments locations over the next five years across the UK, US and APAC. 

Immersive Gamebox, uses motion tracking, projection mapping, surround sound and touch screens to create an immersive group gaming experience, leveraging well known IPs such as Squid Game and PAW Patrol. The company currently has 27 locations in the UK, US, Europe, and UAE. 

Link to Website

Locations

Project Overview 

Spider Entertainment project delivery service provides Merlin Entertainments with an overall assessment on how best to move forward in the build process of a particular venue. We collaborate by taking on the risk with Merlin to open the site on time and on budget. We start with a site visit and provide a descriptive overview and site description of each location. Working with local suppliers, our project management includes a key risk assessment, a full programme delivery schedule, and a cost analysis and budget to begin the General Contracting process. 

Spider Services Utilized:

Project Management and Delivery 

Spider provides full turnkey Set-Up & Delivery of your FEC or Location-Based Entertainment Experience or we can support in the areas that are most needed.  James Orchard is Spider's COO / Development Director and hand hold's clients through the delicate stages of gearing up for opening.

· Project and programme development and implementation

· Marketing planning and execution

· Operations set-up 

· Project Management / GC oversight

· Opening plan and execution

The Spider Operations Management Team:

The Spider Team comes with creativity, experience and innovation.  We have developed cultural exhibitions, museums, visitor attractions and immersive game installations for a wide variety of clients in the UK and internationally. 

We pride ourselves in looking at the whole ‘experience’ package from an interpretative and experiential point of view right through to a practical and commercial one. Many of our team have also operated museums or attractions so are fully aware of the practical implications of going live, and as such provide an experienced approach on future maintenance, seasonality, flexibility, and operation. 

Meet the Team!

James Orchard – Chief Operations Officer

Background: James has 20+ years experience in Project Management and Operations Management delivering $100m+ projects across multiple sectors in location based entertainment.  Familiar with working with international design and construction teams he led the re-opening of KidZania UK bringing the delivery of the opening on time and in budget. Specialist in early risk identification for site acquisition strategies. Highly experiences in cost reduction, project delivery and procurement strategies.

Sally Reynolds – Chief Experience Officer

Background: Sally led the project to develop, fund, design and build the Silverstone Museum from its inception in 2011 to its official opening by the Duke of Sussex and Sir Lewis Hamilton in 2020. She then led museum operations until March 2022 when she left to join Spider Entertainment Ltd.  Sally has 25 years’ experience in the attractions and museums industry, six with the world's second largest attraction operator – Merlin Entertainments Ltd.

In addition to our Lead Operations Management Team James Orchard and Sally Reynolds, we rely on the contributions of fellow Spider team members Kev Smith (Operations Management) and Ashley Lynch (Design Delivery/Creativity). 

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