HOMEPAGE / PLAYGROUND / VIDEO GAME / MUSEUM / THEME PARK / FEC / SPORTS COMPLEX / RPG

EVALUATION CRITERIA

- Instead of selling merchandise, I wanted to sell a service, because I felt that the memory would last longer.

- I also wanted to attract a wide target audience. In my experience, live performances of a theatrical kind leave lasting memories in people of all ages.

- Efficiency was key in my design of the building. I wanted the table assignments to be fast and well organized in order to prevent confusion.

- The most innovative part of this particular dinner theater is the fact that it combines food with live entertainment in a way that has never been done. The moving tables give this restaurant a theme park like feel.

THE PALACE AT NOTTINGHAM

The Palace at Nottingham is a never before seen first class, five star dinner theater located in Las Angeles California. Instead of selling trinkets and souvenirs like other retailtainment restaurants, The Palace at Nottingham offers a truly unique dining experience for all ages.

THE SETUP

The building itself takes on the appearance of a Nottingham towers from the Robin Hood tales. It is twenty stories tall and fashioned in a cylindrical manner. The bottom floor is the reservation and lobby area where guests wait to be seated. From the second floor to the top of the building is the actual dining area, which is split into several parts. The dining tables are lined on the inside edge of the building, and they corkscrew upward, like a spiraling staircase, to the top. This arrangement leaves a very large gap running down the middle, which is used for the entertainment part of the restaurant. The entire building, excluding the first story, is split into five equally spaced sections. Each section is closed off from the other, and contains a singular setting from which the story of Robin Hood plays out in front of its perspective crowd of dining guests. And since there are five separate sections, then there are five separate settings all tied to key points in the story. Once a scene has ended, the tables, which run on a panel attached to a track, slowly corkscrew upward until they reach the next level. This procedure continues until the topmost grouping of guests reaches the top of the building and the end of the play. Once this happens, these guests ride an elevator back down to the bottom, where there car will be waiting for them.

THE DINING EXPERIENCE

Apart from the entertainment, the actual dining experience is unique as well. A wide assortment of foods, domestic and exotic, fill the five star menu. Once inside the first level of the restaurant, guests order their drinks, appetizers, and meals. Their drinks and appetizers are served at the first level, but the meals are served at the next two levels. The fourth and fifth level is reserved for deserts and after-meal drinks.

TABLES AND RESERVATIONS

In order to accommodate all guests, without making others wait for a long period of time, reservations are strongly recommended. With a reservation, a group of people can show up at a specified time without having to wait in line. But for those who don’t have a reservation, they need not wait for very long. The tables themselves are unique as well. Each one can be modified to fit any number of guests. This allows for a first come first serve routine without having to wait for a larger (or smaller) table to become available. Checks are given to each table at the end of the show, and they are paid for at the bottom of the building.

THE SHOW

The entire show lasts about an hour, which gives guests plenty of time to eat, socialize, and enjoy the show. If guests feel the need to leave early, elevators are waiting on each level. In order to preserve continuity between one scene and the next, each actor in the play must follow his perspective crowd as it moves up the building. So at any given time, there are five different people playing Robin Hood. This kind of experience, although unforgettable, is also very affordable.