Six Flags, Qiddiya City

Client
Qiddiya Investment Company
AtkinsRealis

Location
Riyadh, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia

Collaborators
Bouygues Batiment International
Saudi Almabani General Contractors
AtkinsRealis

Sector
Attractions & Theme Parks
Location-Based Entertainment

Six Flags Qiddiya City marks a defining moment in Saudi Arabia’s emergence as a global entertainment destination. Set within the Qiddiya giga-project near Riyadh, the park brings large-scale themed worlds, landmark attractions, and public environments together at a scale never before seen in the country.

Scruffy Dog Creative, a Journey studio, delivered a major fabrication and show integration package for the park, shaping many of its most visible guest-facing elements through technical development, in-house fabrication, and on-site delivery. The work spanned scenic, kinetic, and animatronic features distributed across multiple areas of the park. Close coordination with the client team and creative partners was essential throughout, particularly within a fast-moving, multi-contractor site environment.

Across the park

The package extended across multiple themed zones and included large-format centerpieces, and animatronic encounters embedded directly into ride and guest environments. Rather than a single installation, the work demanded consistency of approach across numerous locations, each with its own spatial constraints, interfaces, and operational requirements.

The unique environmental conditions of Qiddiya shaped delivery throughout. Outdoor exposure, dust, wind loading, and extended daily operating hours were central to material selection, structural design, and mechanical specification across the package. The program pressures associated with a live construction site required fabrication and installation strategies that reduced on-site risk while staying faithful to the original creative intent.

From Thought to Thing

Fabrication was led from schematic design through to on-site delivery. Key features were designed, developed and fabricated in-house, then installed on site to meet the operational, environmental, and safety demands of a large-scale outdoor theme park. Working closely with the wider project team, Scruffy Dog Creative, a Journey studio, ensured each element translated cleanly from design intent into durable, guest-facing installations that now operate as part of the park’s day-to-day experience.

Delivery and installation

Our team was involved from start to finish. Early design ideas were taken and worked through in detail, so everything could be built, moved, maintained, and operated safely once the park opened. From there, the physical elements were made in-house, including large scenic pieces, structural components, and animated features, all designed to cope with constant outdoor use.

Each element was prepared for transport as complete sections and shipped to site ready to install. On site, teams oversaw how everything was put together, checked that movement and alignment were right, and made sure each piece worked as intended alongside the surrounding attractions. This work took place within a live construction environment, with close coordination across multiple teams to keep the wider park on track.

“It’s a lot like the guest experience. Journey offers a client experience that’s top shelf. The best part is the people, kind, considerate, respectful, and genuinely passionate about what they do.”

— Bradley Caruk, Global Director of Creative Theming and Show Design, AtkinsRealis.

The Astrolabe Citadel Centerpiece

This monumental piece sits at the heart of the Citadel zone, forming one of the park’s most recognizable landmarks. At eight metres tall, it sits above the plaza as a constant point of movement, with six rotating rings circling a three-metre AV globe at its center. Mechanical movement, lighting, and media run continuously, while access, safety clearances, and servicing are built into the scenic form rather than added around it.

Crocodile Encounter, Valley of Fortunes

These unsettlingly realistic crocodiles burst from under the water as guests pass through the scene along a ride path in the Valley of Fortunes. Their movement is physical and immediate, timed to ride pacing and sightlines. Hydraulic systems drive each figure independently. Submerged bases, sealed scenic skins, and concealed access points allow the figures to operate reliably in wet conditions, with safety and maintenance resolved quietly within the surrounding scenery.

Spitfire Model

‘Spitfire’ is one of the standout attractions at Six Flags Qiddiya City. The coaster, manufactured by Intamin, features the world’s tallest inversion. Our team fabricated a full-scale model of the eponymous iconic aircraft that anchors the ground level, giving the attraction a physical presence before riders enter the queue. Work began with a master pattern machined from rigid foam on a five-axis robot, followed by FRP casting and scenic finishing to introduce surface depth and wear. Subtle animatronic elements were added to bring controlled movement into the form.

A flagship contribution

Six Flags Qiddiya City is now open, and the work delivered here is a core component of how the park is encountered day to day. Their scale and movement give the park much of its physical character. This package reflects the demands of delivering an entertainment project of this ambition – the scale, movement, and physical presence of these pieces give much of the park its character. Large-scale fabrication, integration, and site delivery had to function reliably within a complex, live environment. At Six Flags Qiddiya City, that work now exists as part of the park’s everyday operation.