Park-ride

A day in the life of a 

theme park-ride designer

Brad and a very big truck ©Merlin Entertainments

We love theme parks so meeting Brad Wynne, a ride designer for Merlin Magic, got our adrenalin pumping. Brad gets to create some of Britain’s biggest and scariest rides…

There’s no such thing as a typical day in my job. I generally start work between 8-9am but I often get called in earlier, particularly towards the end of a project when I’m needed on site. Most of our magic-making is done during the closed season as we want to keep the surprise element for guests, so we operate under the cloak of the closed park gates. I love what I do so I’m more than happy to put in longer hours when I need to.

I’m part of the Merlin Magic Making team, the create and delivery division of the Merlin Entertainments Group. There are three of us who work across all of our UK parks – Chessington World of Adventures, Alton Towers, Thorpe Park and Warwick Castle. Mornings might involve a brainstorming session, to thrash out some ideas. I’m a bit of a cinema buff so naturally film is a source of my inspiration – The Lion King is my favourite movie of all-time. Or we may get an update from our research and development team on the findings of our customer market research.

This could be followed by a phone call to one of our specialist manufacturers to discuss how they can create the technical aspect of our rides and deliver the goods. And after lunch I could be writing a document to outline visuals and descriptions of every element of a proposed attraction – right down to the audio, lighting and even smell. This will then be used to brief special effects contractors, landscapers, engineers, architects… the list goes on.

The last few months have been quite hectic. We’re about to launch ZUFARI: Ride into Africa!, a brand new attraction at Chessington, so we’ve been working round the clock. The creation of ZUFARI in its currently proposed format has been on-going for at least 18 months, although it’s been in the pipeline since 2009.

There are about 150 people involved in the ZUFARI project and my job is like the creative glue that binds it all together. I’m not responsible for every design detail but it’s up to me to make sure the end result is as close to the original ‘vision’ as possible.

On safari with ZUFARI ©Merlin Entertainments

How can I describe ZUFARI? It’s a combination of a theme park adventure that includes an interactive pre-show cinema experience, and real-life safari animals. It was surreal to go into work and see zebra, white rhino and giraffe in the park. It’s the kind of thing you’d expect to find in Africa, not Surrey! We wanted to make ZUFARI as authentic as possible – even the plants are traditionally native to Africa.

If I’ve been based on site I catch the train to Waterloo, then jump on the tube back home to North London. The journey takes about two hours so it gives me a chance to reflect on the day’s events. Then it’s off to the gym. I try to go at least three times a week if I’m not required to work late into the night. But when you’re working with technology, effects and animals, you can’t predict what will happen!

Brad’s quick-fire questions
How did you get such a cool job?Perseverance. I have a degree in architecture which probably helps but I kept contacting Merlin Magic until I eventually managed to secure some work experience. Then a junior position became available in the resort theme parks department and I was lucky enough to get it.

Are people jealous when they find out what you do for a living?I actually get quite embarrassed talking about it. When I go to the hairdressers I feel like they think I’m making it up.

What’s the scariest ride you’ve made?Nemesis Sub Terra. I challenge you not scream. I’ve seen grown men coming out crying. I’d be lying if I said that didn’t make me smile, because that’s the reaction we were after – we were tasked with creating a scary attraction experience.

What’s the best bit about your job?Seeing an attraction materialize in front of your eyes is extremely gratifying, especially when you can hold up the concept visual and say “wow, it looks just like the visual”. That’s when I know I’ve done my job properly.

What type of ride would you most love to design if you haven’t already?I’m working on my first rollercoaster project. It’s very top secret at this stage so I can’t reveal any more than that.