Skip to main content

Dark Ride Innovators: Pitch directly to Merlin R&D at a new online event

News
Merlin R&D Dark Ride Pitch event

Merlin R&D wants to work with industry innovators to create the next generation of dark rides.

Together with Blooloop, Merlin R&D is holding a first-of-its-kind one day online event on July 6th to brainstorm the evolution of this hugely popular and flexible form of attraction.

Merlin R&D reaching out

Merlin R&D is the creative hub of Merlin Entertainments, with a remit to find new ways to delight, thrill and entertain guests. The team is reaching out to innovators to collaborate on the next generation of visitor experiences for the post-pandemic world, starting with dark rides.

Justin East, Global Senior Creative Director, Research and Development at Merlin Entertainments explained in an interview with Blooloop:

“We’re establishing a platform where people in the Blooloop community who have rides or exciting products can have a conduit into Merlin, and can, every month or so, pitch new ideas to us. If they tell us about a new product coming out that we think will be interesting, we can champion it at our quarterly pitch [to Nick Varney] where we bring up and discuss new innovations.”

The Blooloop Innovation Pitch event offers a unique opportunity for suppliers to connect directly with the creative hub of Merlin.

How can innovators take part?

Suppliers will be able to submit their ideas for review and feedback on an online platform.
All submissions will be reviewed by Merlin R&D and everyone will receive written feedback.
All entrants will also be invited to a 1 hour live webinar on July 6th during which Justin East and Jeff Parker, Research and Development Creative Lead at Merlin Magic Making, will talk about Merlin’s view of the future of dark rides. There be an opportunity for Q&A and discussion.

Six suppliers will be chosen by Merlin R&D for longer private meetings on an online event platform on 6 July, during which they will be able to discuss their ideas in more depth.

Access to the event is limited to applicants only.

Who should apply?

Merlin R&D is looking for innovative companies that have the capability to deliver a dark ride or a significant key component of a dark ride.

This is a unique opportunity to get in front of the team creating Merlin’s future attractions.

In particular they are interested to hear from the creatives and technical teams, rather than sales, about exciting ideas in the pipeline. Merlin R&D wants to see the next big thing, rather than be presented with products that are already on the market. The exception to this is if you are using an existing product in an innovative way.

We don’t want to see what we already know!

Justin East, Global Senior Creative Director, Research and Development at Merlin Entertainments

Please do not apply if you are an individual or only have a concept and no means of production. Merlin R&D have developed other pathways for creatives like you to get in touch, with their Creative Network and internship programmes. Find out more here.

Merlin R&D also have an internship opportunity for Summer ’22. Find out more here.

The Pitch application process

The application process is designed to capture the essential information about your innovation as easily as possible. We are not looking for slick promotional videos or presentations. Please treat this as an “elevator pitch”, think about how your idea for the next generation of dark rides could fit within Merlin’s portfolio.

Please submit:

  • A maximum of 300 words outlining your idea and how it would fit well within Merlin’s portfolio.
  • A maximum 3 minute video. This can be a simple to-camera pitch – it doesn’t have to be beautifully produced. Content is more important than production value!
  • Optional – If needed you can submit a pdf to support your application but please keep it short and remember this should be an addendum only.
  • There is an admin fee of £100 + UK VAT.


Key dates

Submissions open 27 May and close midnight 26 June.

Feedback will be provided on 1 July.

The event takes place 6 July online, with six companies invited for private meetings online on the day.

Any questions, please contact Alice at events@blooloop.com.

Share this
Rachel Reed

Rachel Read

Rachel is co-founder and FD of blooloop. She has a degree in engineering from Cambridge University, is a Chartered Accountant and has a certificate in Sustainability Leadership and Corporate Responsibility from London Business School. Rachel oversees our news, events and sustainability.

More from this author

More from this author

Related content

Your web browser is out of date. Update your browser for more security, speed and the best experience on this site.

Find out how to update