Qatar’s first-ever indoor theme park, Quest, opened in 2021. Located in Msheireb, Quest is a 32,000 sqm. novel indoor entertainment destination which caters to an audience of all ages, comprising over 30 rides and attractions, featuring a mix of adrenaline-heavy thrill rides, media-controlled simulators, virtual reality experiences, miniature thrill rides for the younger guests, and family-friendly attractions, all offering an experience unlike any other in Doha.
Quest features signature rides such as the EpiQ Coaster, the world’s tallest indoor roller coaster, and Magma Blast, the world’s tallest indoor drop tower ride.
The offering, which also includes F&B outlets Space Cantina, Quest Cafe, Sarab Kiosk and Planet Hollywood Doha, is a destination attraction that draws adrenaline junkies as well as families, with story-driven theming, and plenty to keep everyone entertained.
A career in attractions
Heiko Engels is the vice president of operations for MR-Pro Fun at the Doha Oasis project. He draws on a decade of experience in the industry. In his previous role as GM at Trans Corp, he worked on the Trans Studio Bali indoor park, which was then under construction, defining procedures, and setting up the operating team.
Before this, he worked for ProFun as an operational consultant at what was then known as 20th Century Fox World Malaysia in Genting Highlands, now Genting SkyWorlds Theme Park. In this role, he built on his roles at Dalian Wanda Group, where he defined operational standards for planned theme parks throughout China, and as regional operations director at Filmmaker MEA in Dubai, reviewing and improving operations at sites across the Middle East.
He told blooloop:
“Quest is part of the Doha Oasis project, comprising the mall, residences, and a hotel. The idea, specifically, was to develop a high-quality theme park in Doha for their residents and locals.”
The Quest philosophy
A futuristic ‘destination’ magnet project, the Doha Oasis is a ‘city-within-a-city’ in the heart of Msheireb, Qatar. Totalling 37,000 m2 of hotel suites and exclusive residences, the complex features two ultra-luxury, 20-story elliptical glass residence buildings, each with nine floors of duplex apartments.
In addition, there is a 29-story, seven-star hotel with 7 restaurants, and a business centre, alongside a 72,000m2 ‘Themed Experience Centre’ (TEC) comprising twenty-six experiential attractions, and the Doha Oasis Boutique.
“The Quest philosophy is to exceed our guests’ expectations,” Engels says. “We have three zones in the park: Oryxville, City of Imagination, and Gravity. Each of the zones reflects one timezone: the past, the present, and the future. Our idea is to guide our guests from the past through the present and to the future of Qatar. The storytelling, rides and theming are rooted in the three zones.”
Themed lands
Immersive tech has been used to allow guests to time-travel into the region’s history in the first zone, Oryxville, which represents the ancient Arabian past. He explains:
“As you travel into Oryxville, it’s like looking at ancient Qatar: – old stone, sand. The rides add to this impression. We have a 3D motion simulator known as Legend of the Golden Oryx, which allows guests to experience the story of Aura, who is in search of the legendary Golden Oryx.” In the story, the Golden Oryx, a massive Arabian Oryx, believed to be nothing but a story by most of the residents of Oryxville, is gifted with the power of flight.”
Further rides and activities in this zone include the Oryx Express roller coaster, the Dune Bashers, Laser Oasis, and Magis’ Wonder Zone, while younger children can play at The Clubhouse.
Quest explores imagination
The second section is City of Imagination, which represents the present:
“It’s about imagination, what is happening now, what can happen, and what might happen in the future,” Engels says:
“One of the rides is Wings of Destiny, a 3D flying theatre. The ride tells the story of the eccentric inventor Firnas, and his bird, Flap. Together with these characters, riders step onto Firnas’s flying time machine for a ride through the past, then the present, and the future, exploring the inventions of Qatar, and of the world.”
“It’s a celebration of creativity and imagination.”
This zone is also home to a Cloud Coaster from Extreme Engineering, a leading adventure attractions company. This ride, called Fly With Flap, boasts an overall track layout that soars guests above Quest’s thrill rides and restaurants, giving them a stunning view of Quest’s different worlds.
Riders enter the Cloud Coaster’s ride vehicle and are then launched over 600 linear feet of track (200 meters), with sudden drops and swooping turns that provide the sensation of a bird in flight.
Looking to the future
The third zone, Gravity, focuses on the future.
“The rides are futuristic. The biggest, of course, is the EpiQ Coaster. Spike, one of the park’s main characters, is going on the run in the universe to find new planets.”
Riders are invited to test drive a ‘revolutionary solar-driven vessel’ endorsed by daredevil space-faring hedgehog Spike.
“This ride is the tallest indoor rollercoaster in the world. It’s an amazing experience,” Engels comments.
EpiQ features a 197-foot twisted vertical spike that riders climb in the world’s fastest reverse launch. The record-setting attraction is set within a vertical tunnel with integrated projection mapping, creating an augmented reality experience alongside top-of-the-range coaster thrills.
A wide range of attractions
Altogether, Quest boasts more than 30 rides and attractions from the world’s largest manufacturers, designers and operators., including thrill rides, media-controlled simulators, virtual reality (VR) experiences and family-friendly offerings. One such example is the ParadropVR virtual reality flying experience from Frontgrid, an expert in adventure leisure and virtual reality attractions.
“Virtual reality is a trend we have embraced, but in general terms, what is more important to us than trends is that we listen to our customers. We do daily guest surveys to find out what can we do better, what should we do differently, and what our guests want.”
“We strongly believe that we can only be successful if our guests are happy; if our guests are not happy, we can’t be successful. So far, this has worked very well. We have just installed new attractions recently, and are in the process of installing another. I feel we are good at listening to our guests and turning their feelings and ideas into a reality in our park.”
Future additions at Quest
Keeping the offering fresh is particularly important, as the focus is on a domestic and local market, where repeat visitation is common.
“We have just installed three new attractions, including Gravity Wheel,” Engels explains. “We have kept space clear for future development, and are planning to install a number of further rides.”
Further rides include Gravity Wheel, where the floor drops away, an Aero Flip attraction, and Robomania:
“Robomania is a typical robocoaster ride. Again, it’s very thrilling, because the complete range of movement is unexpected. We are also working on the installation of Qatar’s first iFly.”
SkyVenture, the creator of iFly, is supplying Quest with state-of-the-art, GEN 9 technology in a 10.5’ wind tunnel. The design is compact and power-efficient. As the first of its kind in an indoor theme park, iFly complements Quest’s portfolio of ‘firsts’.
“We have space to extend,” he says. “We can always find a bit more. For Gravity Wheel, we used a space that hadn’t yet been developed. For iFly, we are using a space that wasn’t particularly interesting, and that wasn’t working for our guests.”
See also: Top theme parks and water parks in the Middle East
A popular destination
The visitor response to Doha Quest has been, he says, excellent:
“It has been perfect. Basically, our goal is to obtain feedback from at least 5% of our daily guests. We have our guest service team who ask our guests about their experience. We believe that if we ask in person, we are more likely to get additional feedback and further details. So far, the feedback we have received is that 98% of our guests are happy with Quest, and would recommend it to friends and family, which is an absolutely amazing result.”
In terms of future plans, he adds:
“We have started construction on our iFly skydiving tunnel, and it will open at the beginning of next year. The installation of Aero Flip attraction is complete. We just need to do some fine-tuning and training to operate it properly, and we will open it in the next week or two.”
Additionally:
“Obviously for the future, the World Cup is approaching, so we are planning to install three short-term football attractions in the park to create a football feeling and atmosphere for our guests,” he says. The World Cup 2022 takes place in Qatar from 20 November 20 to 18 December.
“Then, going forward, we will continue constantly reviewing what our guests want,” he adds. “From that information, we will be able to see what we need to adjust and change.”
Quest: boosting the attractions offer in Qatar
Commenting on the local attractions market, and how he envisages it will develop over the next few years, Engels says:
“The local attractions market is developing massively in Qatar. An increasing number of hotels are being built, and we believe that the development will draw a lot of positive attention in terms of tourism. We are an ally to that tourism market; we feel our offering will draw tourists as well as locals.
“Quest is generating a great deal of attention. In addition to Quest, there are a number of lesser facilities, parks and so on, under construction in Qatar now, which will add to the draw, and help fulfil the needs of tourists and visitors.
“As far as Quest is concerned, all the news outlets around the world have made videos here, so the word is spreading. Everyone wants to come here, see what we have done, and show it to their viewers.
“We are leading the way in terms of leisure here.”
