Ride Attraction in Abu Dhabi Traces History of Emirate

Jacksonville, FL.: Twin editions of one of the most complex animatronic characters ever seen outside the U.S. are en route from Sally Corporation (Jacksonville, Florida) to the Emirate of Abu Dhabi. The character, a fourteen-year-old schoolboy named Hamed, will narrate a unique, multi-media, time tunnel-type ride set to open this summer at Abu Dhabi’s Kalifa Park.

“He’s an amazingly realistic character…or characters, since there are two identical Hameds,” says Sally President Howard Kelley. “Each boy has 27 motions, ranging from the standard head turns, body bows, etcetera, to extremely subtle motions such as eyebrows and full hand individual finger motions. This was a tremendous challenge for our mechanical and pneumatics designers since he is small and slender and so many parts were required.”

The character was sculpted and modeled from photographs supplied by the client of a fourteen-year-old schoolboy from the Mid-East.
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Hamed is first seen in a classroom setting in the queue area; beginning a report to his classmates. His voice follows as you board a dhow and enter the ride. Hamed recounts the story in both Arabic and English while five thousand years of history unfolds in a variety of scenes.

Among the many unusual elements included in the ride by the British design company MICE is a large aquarium. The dhow ride vehicle moves around this aquarium which illustrates the country’s historic relationship to pearl diving and modern-day offshore oil drilling.

The second Hamed provides the wrap-up in the final scene, which shows modern day Abu Dhabi with its skyscrapers and contemporary lifestyle. At the end of the ride, visitors are directed to the second floor where an extensive exhibit of artifacts from the Emirate is on exhibit.

Kalifa Park is a public park with gardens. The park opened a year ago and is owned by the municipality.

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