Theme Development

Theming is what makes a park feel like somewhere, not just a set of rides. Theme development is Mast Parks' name for creating it.

Theme Development turns the park concept into a physical theme. A theme is more than a colour scheme. It is the story, the look and the mascots, plus the revenue streams built around them: food, events and merchandise. Done well, it links the rides, the food and the merchandise to one story, so that a guest feels one place rather than a collection of attractions.

The service is the fourth in the Concept and Planning stage of the 13 Mast Parks services. It follows Concept Creation and comes before Master Planning, because the designers need to know the theme before they decide exactly where it appears.

The story

The story is the idea every zone belongs to. It gives the park a reason to exist and gives each area a reason to be where it is. A story can come from mythology, history, nature, a region, a culture or an original idea. The story also guides the writing of ride content, signage, names, food menus and events.

The look

The look is how the park appears to a guest: the colours, the materials, the buildings, the landscape, the entrances and the way each zone is dressed. It is the story made visible. A consistent look is what turns a park from a set of rides into a themed park.

The mascots

Mascots are the characters that carry the theme. They give the park a face for guests, children in particular, and a way to be remembered. They also become the base for merchandise, events and content.

The revenue streams around the theme

The theme also shapes the way the park earns. Food outlets can follow the story. Events can be planned around it. Merchandise can carry the characters and the look home with the guest. Planning these from the start means they belong to the park instead of being added later. See Merchandising and Content and Events.

An owner brings the agreed concept and the decisions made so far, together with any stories, names or traditions that matter to the project. Where a park already exists, the owner brings its name, its history and what guests already know about it.

The owner receives a complete theme: a story, a look, a set of mascots and a plan for the revenue streams built around them. Images and concept art are added to this page by the team once rights are cleared.

Theming is needed by new parks, and by existing parks that want to refresh or diversify what they offer.

Theme development is used by private landowners, existing park owners, family businesses, government and tourism bodies, and temples and religious trusts. It applies to all eight park types. A new park uses it to start with a clear identity. An existing park uses it to be re-themed, so that rides, water areas and other attractions sit under one idea.

Nicco Park, the oldest surviving park in India, was themed throughout by Mast Parks. Mast Parks redesigned its mascots, and each mascot belongs to one section of the park.

Fun World in Bangalore was re-themed so that its amusement park, water park, aquarium and snow park sit under one theme, with new merchandising options and a dark ride. Dreamasia was re-themed by Asian countries, with zones representing China, Japan and Indonesia, mascots and a dark ride with original content.

At Jungle Adventures, an adventure park in a tea estate, the theme is the Jungle Book, using open IP, with a themed entry, characters and original Jungle Book merchandise. At a Mast ecological park in Telangana, an eco-park was transformed into a thematic place based on mythological stories.

At a Mast spiritual park in Maharashtra, the concept draws on Vedic knowledge: the Vedic way of life was conceptualised in Bharat for the wellbeing of all citizens. A Mast amusement and adventure park in Karnataka is a spiritual park built around five Shiv Lingas, designed to make the devotees' experience better.

Theme development takes the concept from Concept Creation and hands the theme to Master Planning, which decides how it is carried out and exactly where it appears, including the placement of props and mascots. The theme then runs through Ride and Attraction Planning, Team Hiring and Training, Marketing and Branding and the services that follow.

To discuss a theme for your park, use the contact page.

A theme is a set of decisions that, taken together, give a park its identity. Theme Development settles these.

• What story will the park tell? This is the base for names, ride content, food and events.
• How will it look? The colours, materials, architecture and landscape that guests will see.
• Who are the characters? The mascots, and where guests will meet them.
• How far does the theme reach? Some parks carry it into every detail. Others apply it to key zones and entrances. The choice depends on budget and ambition.
• How does the theme earn? The food, events and merchandise that belong to the story.

Without a theme, a park can look like any other park with the same rides. A guest has little to remember and little to tell others. A park that adds theming late often has to rework parts of the design or the build, which costs more than planning it from the start.

A theme also needs to be kept alive after opening. Staff, signage, content and events should all carry it, which is why theme development connects to training, marketing and operations.

At Fun World in Bangalore, the park already held four parts: an amusement park, a water park, an aquarium and a snow park. Each had grown separately. The task was to bring them under one theme, so that the park felt like one place. A single theme gave the four parts a shared story and look, and made room for new merchandise options and a dark ride.

The example shows that a theme is also a way of organising a park. It tells the designers what belongs in each part, and it tells guests that the parts belong together.

• Theme. The concept made physical: its story, look and mascots.
• Mascot. A character that represents the park or one of its zones.
• IP (intellectual property). A story or character that someone owns. "Open IP" means material that anyone may use.
• Re-theming. Giving an existing park a new theme.
• Revenue stream. A source of income, such as food, events or merchandise.