Brains behind ‘Gangsta’ ride reveal how they got star to back their idea
DAVID WALLIAMS PLAYED A BIG PART IN DEVELOPMENT PROCESS
THE creative executives at a new attraction based on the work of David Walliams have spoken about how enthusiastic the author was to see his characters come to life.
The World of David Walliams, which has been in development for about three years, is set to open later this month at Alton Towers Resort.
And the brains behind it have spoken about how enthusiastic David was through the planning process.
Creative lead John Burton said: “We first approached David about three years ago with the idea.
“The idea came from the fact that we knew people were going home after visiting the theme park and reading his books as a family. That’s where the idea came from really.
“We looked through his books as we tried to decide which one would be best for a ride.
“We picked Gangsta Granny because of the themes of togetherness and the love between families. I think it is so key after the pandemic has driven us apart.
“When we took the idea to David he was instantly on board and enthusiastic about the whole thing.
“He was a big part of the development process. When we were working and storyboarding the ride he would pop into our sessions and contribute lines and ideas.
“He had us in stitches with some of the things he was saying. We incorporated a lot of his humour from these sessions into the ride itself. It was clear from his scripting that we wanted him to be as involved as much as he could be.”
John said the main difficulties came from turning a two-dimensional picture into an animatronic figure on the ride.
He added: “You have to make everything bespoke. We took the illustrations drawn by Tony Ross in the books and had to turn them into a proper animatronic.
“We were having the weirdest conversations, including about whether we thought that Granny’s bum was too big, which of course, David thought was hilarious.
“With our version, we wanted it to be focused on the book. We took the best key scenes from Gangsta Granny and had to turn them into a
We were having the weirdest conversations, including about whether we thought that Granny’s bum was too big.
five-minute ride.”
One of the other leads, Roma Swordsmcdonnell, has spoken about the difficulties in bringing the world to life, particularly Raj’s Shop, a shop based on the character who appears in David’s work.
She added: “For the first time, the idea was so brief but it was still very exciting to work on.
“It was mostly how we get David’s personality and humour through what we are doing. We had to stay really close to what he said.
“So for Raj’s shop, you have lots of hidden gems, little easter eggs that fans of his work will pick up on.
“It is fully immersive, I don’t think we could have designed a more immersive area.
“David loved the designs, and we’re really excited to welcome people in.”
John has also spoken about what it was like showing Gangsta Granny: The Ride, to David for the first time, comparing it to being on Britain’s Got Talent.
He added: “We took David on the ride for the first time earlier this week and it was like being in my Britain’s Got Talent audition.
“This idea has been in the works for the last three years, so it was very nerve-wracking.
“The first thing that David said when he got off the ride was ‘AGAIN AGAIN.’ That was my golden buzzer moment. I was ecstatic, I had worked on the project for the last three years and I couldn’t be prouder of the team.
“I’m really confident that families will love the ride, especially as it is about coming together and the love families show each other.”
Jonn Burton