Join us at the Festival of Innovation for a session exploring Innovation in Immersive Attractions at 10 am GMT on Thursday 16 January.
Our guest speakers for this session are Ernest Bakenie, senior director of entertainment at Christie, Ernest Yale, president, CEO and founder of Triotech, and Kees Rijnen, strategist at Efteling.
Bakenie will lead a discussion about the process of creating a dark ride and trends within immersive attractions from more personalised experiences, AR and AI, and how to extend the guest experience beyond the theme park. Plus, Kees will speak about Efteling’s new dark ride, Danse Macabre.
The session will be available on demand for 30 days.
blooloop’s Festival of Innovation is taking place from 15 to 16 January 2025. The free online Festival invites the international visitor attractions community to explore the most innovative projects, products, and organisations that are shaping the future of the space.
Meet the speakers
Ernest Bakenie is the senior director of entertainment at Christie, and works closely with the themed entertainment industry. Bakenie started his career as an international sales representative following an MBA in International Business and Information Technology at the University of California. He quickly rose to positions including international sales manager and vice president of worldwide sales and marketing.
With more than 25 years of experience, he has held leadership roles at Showscan Entertainment and Kraftwerk Living Technologies, and as director of entertainment sales, APAC at Christie.
Bakenie’s current position focuses on generating growth and developing market-leading solutions for Christie’s themed entertainment business. His love for the industry, technical knowledge of audio-visual technology, and sales ability make him an invaluable member of the Christie team.
He says: “I’m thrilled to work at Christie. It gives me the opportunity to use my unique background in the themed entertainment industry to deliver solutions that create awe-inspiring experiences. There is no better industry to work with than themed entertainment. It’s incredibly rewarding to help clients create the thrills and excitement that audiences love.”
Ernest Yale has always had a sense of entrepreneurship. He began creating his own video games aged just 12, and co-founded Triotech in 1999. He is now the company’s CEO and majority owner. Under Yale’s leadership, Triotech has evolved from an arcade video game business to a renowned creator and producer of media-based digital interactive attractions.
Over the past 20 years, Triotech experiences have welcomed over 985 million visitors at thousands of activities and attractions located across more than 100 countries.
Yale continues to drive the company’s vision and strategy and is actively involved in product design, sales, marketing, and the creation of new technologies. He has played a significant role in all of the company’s major projects and products, such as the award-winning interactive dark coaster Primordial, acclaimed dark rides such as Wonder Mountain’s Guardian at Canada’s Wonderland, and products including XD dark ride interactive theatre Typhoon, the Storm coin-op VR ride, SuperBlaster! coin-op motion-based interactive ride for FECs, and more.
Yale serves on the boards of a range of high-tech startups, is a seed and angel investor, and is a venture partner of Triptyq Capital, a VC seed fund that makes investments in innovative software firms that drive advancements in interactive media and digital entertainment. He graduated from UQAM in Montreal and was named as one of the University’s ‘Originals’, an honour that recognises his entrepreneurial success and significant contribution to the creative and digital entertainment industries.
Kees Rijnen focuses on shaping Efteling’s long-term vision and developing strategic plans for sustainability, accessibility, diversity, and inclusion. A further priority is the improvement of the park’s immersive experiences so that visitors fully experience the Efteling magic.
Rijnen and the team develop visionary and actionable plans for Efteling’s future. Their work includes the guest journey, technology and innovation, and the development of strategy and policy documents for the Board of Directors and Supervisory Board.
The Innovation Awards
The blooloop Innovation Awards presented with AREA15 celebrate the extraordinary dynamism, imagination and creativity that drives the attractions industry.
The winners of the 2024 Immersive Attraction category will be revealed at this session. Attendees can browse all the entries during the event, and vote for their favourite to win our Public Choice Award.
Register to attend here.
