Part of the show

Our next project started small but quickly grew to be the largest we've ever tackled. It lasted almost five years full time and another five years part time. Our task was to redesign and re-theme an entire five acre theme park - the largest indoor theme park in the world at the time. The amazing thing about this job is that there was no master plan. We designed and built as we went. The biggest challenge of this project was to do it all without shutting down the attractions and not working at night. We became part of the show and worked in full view of the public most of the time with only a three foot tall fence separating us.

We also themed many other attractions in the mall including the Deep Sea Lagoon areas and Professor WEM's Adventure Golf. 

Learning about project management

We've built many different projects through the years including houses and commercial buildings. As we began in the theme park business I learned that managing a project of this sort is a whole new ball game. We jumped in the deep end of the pool. Our first complete theme project was in a little town called Coombs on Vancouver Island in British Columbia. It was built for five partners (each with their own ideas) in a poor location, behind a small local drinking establishment. As it happened, that little bar was where most of the contractors and labourers were hired. That too was a lesson all in itself. Keeping track of and being responsible for many different contractors was a bit like juggling cats at times. Despite the incredible challenges the project turned out great and was finished on time. We learned plenty and survived... although the business venture did not.

That project led to another right next door. An already successful tourist attraction needed a landmark on the road. Working around tough signage regulations (but no building code) we designed and built an 'entrance portal'. This was the first time we used a weld on scaffold which was cut off as we worked our way down the feature.

Dreaming hard

While we laboured hard on client's projects we were rapidly building our skills. We were also dreaming of themed projects of our own. One such project was an adventure golf. We seriously considered many properties in diverse locations, and drew up many plans. The first version was called Forest Island. That dream would have to wait for a decade to come to fruition. While we waited I kept drawing concepts and building models.