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Volume 2, No. 10. June 14, 2002

New Arrivals

It’s a haunted maze!
Sentosa in Singapore announces the arrival of The Scorpion King Live, June 1, 2002. Measurements: 3,000 square feet (909 meters), 20 scenes, 15 actors. Delivered by Avery Events and The Sudden Impact! Entertainment Company.

The theme for the island resort's annual Sandsation festival this year was "Mysteries Of The Nile," and operators decided to supplement the master sand sculptors' displays with a haunted maze themed on the most mysterious, if mythical, king of the Nile. Designed by Lynton Harris of The Sudden Impact! Entertainment Company, Scorpion King Live continues his tradition of building scare mazes based on the popular movie franchise; he did The Mummy at Madison Scare Gardens in New York City three years ago and toured Mummy Returns at parks in the United States and Australia last year. After its Sentosa run, which ends when Sandsation closes on June 23, Scorpion King will head to Ocean Park in Hong Kong for the autumn.

Building the maze as part of Sandsation presented some challenges for Harris. “It’s the first time we put an attraction on the beach,” he said, meaning the scenes and walls had to be set on sand. “The beach floor certainly added to the authenticity,” he said. The live scorpions in the first room and the actor walking around with a live snake on his shoulders also gave Harris cause for pause, especially when Kelven Tan, Sentosa’s deputy director of events and outdoor attractions tried to place a scorpion on Harris for a photo.

“Staging Scorpion King Live within the environs of an epic Egyptian sand city—festival with awesome sand monuments—added to the mystique of Scorpion King Live,” Tan said. “I think it is accurate to say that Sandsation and Scorpion King Live complimented each other very well, presenting visitors with a complete and eventful experience.” Culturally, the scares translated well—“People were running out and laughing and screaming and carrying on,” Harris said—but the actors greeting pedestrians outside the attraction took some getting used to for the local clientele.

“Interestingly enough, the visitors warmed up quickly, and as the crowd thickened, many curious onlookers approached the characters for photos,” said Eileen Lee, public affairs officer for Sentosa Development Corporation, the company which operates the island’s attractions. “My guess is people were awed by Hollywood-marketed movie characters, Dwayne Johnson or not.”

Sentosa also was pleased with the attendance for the weekend, for both the maze and the festival. Pulling 1,500 people through Scorpion King Live alone was considered a huge success in light of the events’ biggest competition, the same competitor that infringed on the opening of Crealy Adventure Park’s newest attraction in England: World Cup football.