With a giant-size mascot holding a horsetail to give royal welcome to visitors and a captivating 40-metre high Ferris wheel that attracts passersby, in addition to other numerous fun-thrilling paraphernalia, Hi-Impact Planet Nigeria says it has uniquely claimed its topmost position in Nigeria’s and indeed, West Africa’s tourism industry.
Situated on a 185,000 square metre landmass, the amusement park is situated in Ibafo, Ogun State; 12 kilometres away from the hustle and bustle of Lagos, Nigeria’s most populous city and economic nerve centre.
From one end of the sprawling edifice to the other, the resort and amusement park has modern, real, make-belief and technology-driven attractions that could hold visitors, tourists and fun lovers spellbound for hours, even days.
Close to the park’s gate is the animatronics’ section that easily draws attention with its larger-than-life mascot gorilla trapped in a make-belief bamboo garden. There are other animals and make-belief hunters and traditional praise singers (onijala) that combine to give the environment a typical sense of an African jungle.
However, the experience will not be complete without electricity. Hence the park’s Assistant General Manager, Corporate Affairs, Victoria Odimba, explained that: “With power, all these objects will move. The hunters will move, the onijala will wax panegyric and you can have a typical sense of a hunting expedition in an African jungle.”
To engage fun and adventure seekers, Hi-Impact says it has in its custody, over 40 games and rides. In the list are the 15-seater 12-D cinema, the 5D/3D cinema and the Maxi cinema that can accommodate 150 people at a time. Hi-Impact Arcade hosts indoor games for children between the ages of two and 12; bumper cars, a combat arena where they could use laser guns and wrestle with zombies, ice rink for skaters, a newly installed Aqua Zone for fluid rides, freestylers and bumper boats.
Others include the Boeing 7, a make-belief private jet that can take its occupants to anywhere in the world, the Mexican fiesta, the hoopla, the 40-metre high Ferris wheel, samba balloon and the go-kart race designed for 16-year old and above teenagers, among other fun-thrilling attractions.
The park’s management also says it has a lounge for night life, a swimming pool, a gymnastic centre and three food courts where parents and their children can have continental dishes.
“While the whole idea behind Hi-Impact is to make available to Nigerians what many often rush to see and experience in Europe and America, we are also much aware of our immediate environment. And without compromising global standards, we have brought in affordability in a way that will make the park more attractive and accessible to many of our prospective customers.
“This is well reflected in the packages we offer. For instance, our Hip-Regular which is N15,000 allows fun lovers with unlimited access to all of the games and attractions except for the arcade, aqua zone and the go-kart. On the other hand, we have the hip-flex arrangement that will cost fun lovers N5000 as entrance fee while they pay for any specific game they wish to play. For each session per game, they may have to pay N500 or a little more.
“And for those who may not want to miss out on anything, we have the combo package which combines the hip-regular package, plus the go-kart or aqua zone and the arcade,” Odimba said.
Odimba further observed that the percentage of Nigerians that patronised amusement parks was still low, hence the Hi-Impact idea of giving a total getaway or vacation experience to individuals and families. In doing this, she said the management came up with the provision of rooms for lodging.
“The customers’ choices will determine what we give to them, but we have ensured that all of the services they may ask for are in place.
As we speak, we ensure there are single rooms, studios, two-bedrooms, three-bedrooms and even five bedrooms, all at affordable prices,” she said.
And as part of the flexibility and attraction by the management, customers are allowed to come and host birthday parties or any other party in their rented apartments.
Instructively, accessibility to the pool and lounge, as well as the gymnasium, is all complimentary to customers’ lodging experience.
To underscore its seriousness as a business entity, the amusement park and resort has on standby, two buses to convey customers who are visiting in groups or students who are coming on excursion. On arrival, there are staff that will convey customers’ luggage to their apartments.
For those who may wish to hold a convergence in an expansive, safe and secured environment, Hi-Impact says its 250 capacity Events Hall or the 5000 capacity Arena are specifically designed to accommodate them.
“Because we take safety and security of lives of our customers seriously, we have put in place technologically-advanced screening machines at the gate, ensuring that every individual coming in or out of the park is thoroughly searched. And in case of emergencies, you can see our well-equipped clinic, staffed with doctors, pharmacists and nurses,” Odimba said.
The park’s image maker further attested to the wide acceptability being enjoyed. She noted that between December 2015 when the park opened its doors to the public and July 2017, over 10,000 visitors had been hosted, and that the park had received encouraging patronage from schools, churches and many corporate organisations.
“In fact, we have had cases where every of our rooms were fully booked and some of our customers who had booked online were magnanimous to shift their bookings to more comfortable times. We were amazed with their understanding.
“In fact, when as part of our corporate social responsibility, we hosted school children for fun and sight-seeing at the last Children’s Day, free of charge, the entire park and lodging section were filled up because aside the Children’s Day, there were other programmes going on. So, I can say, gradually the culture of relaxation, fun and amusement are taking shape among many Nigerians and we have not just the space but the technical know-how to get it delivered to them,” Odimba said.
Hi-Impact Planet Amusement Park and Resort is the entertaining arm of Solution Media, a brainchild of Prince Adeyanju Lipede. Solution Media has made a name for itself in cinematography for many years. On annual basis, it always hosts children to parties at the Tafawa Balewa Square in Lagos under what it calls: Hi-Impact for Creative Kids.
“But along the line, we realised that the parties kept getting bigger and better. So, the management decided to put in place a more organised, more structural entity and that was how we arrived here,” Odimba said.
The park and resort says its future goal is to become the most sought-after amusement and pleasure destination on the continent of Africa and one of the most sought-after in the world. “Already we have raised the bar in Nigeria and indeed West Africa. What we are assuring our customers and prospective ones within and outside Nigeria is that we won’t rest on our oars and in the next couple of years, we want to be the most-talked about tourism destination in Africa,” she concluded.
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