Dynamic Attractions, a creator of cutting-edge theme park rides for the likes of Universal and Disney, is to be sold for CAD$2 million (USD$1.5m) to a Hong Kong-based financial services firm.
Founded in Vancouver in 1926, Dynamic Attractions is behind Disney’s Soarin’ and Universal’s Harry Potter and the Forbidden Journey rides.
It also built the track for Disneyland’s Space Mountain coaster, and created the Mario Kart: Bowser’s Challenge ride for the first Super Nintendo World in the US.
The company is set to be sold out of bankruptcy to Promising Expert Limited (PEL), Forbes reports. This comes after it had signed contracts to build three advanced SFX coasters for several theme parks.
These include the new Mission Ferrari attraction at Ferrari World Abu Dhabi. The other two SFX coasters are still under construction at Genting SkyWorlds in Malaysia.
To fund the development of the SFX coasters, Dynamic took out a number of loans, one of the largest of which came from PEL.
SFX coaster loans
Via Forbes, Dynamic’s filings reveal that the creation of the SFX coasters led to “significant cost overruns” that exceeded USD$21m.
The filings said the cost overruns on the SFX coaster projects “significantly impaired the cash flow available to the Dynamic Group”.
The sale process was handled by FTI Consulting, which said PEL’s “proposed purchase price is both $2 million and 25 percent higher than any other bids”.
As for the new SFX coasters at Genting SkyWorlds, the filings revealed that “because of the complexity of the ride system, and the design changes that would be required to make it operational, there is a risk that the client could cancel the contract and demand that the ride components installed to date be removed from the facility”.
Mission Ferrari features the world’s first ride system of its kind. It opened in January after several years of delays, attributed to the complexity of the ride system and the pandemic.Â
Images: Disney / Miral
