Creative Dialog was appointed by Miral to undertake a portfolio-wide visitor experience audit across Yas Island's flagship theme parks.

Over the course of a year, the team identified systematic wayfinding deficiencies and delivered a four-pillar transformation framework — Arrival, Navigation, Mapping and Exit — that sets out a phased path from immediate safety interventions through to long-term digital integration.

Expertise: Theme Park Wayfinding Strategy, Navigation & Visitor Experience Audit
Sectors: Theme Parks & Entertainment, Tourism
Location: Yas Island, Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates

Objective

The engagement was commissioned to assess the effectiveness of wayfinding and navigation systems across Miral's premium entertainment portfolio — covering all of the operator's flagship theme parks on Yas Island. The objective was clear: identify deficiencies, benchmark performance against international standards, and provide strategic recommendations to enhance visitor experience, operational efficiency and safety compliance.

Drawing on three decades of accumulated wayfinding experience, Creative Dialog took on the role of trusted strategic partner — delivering a multi-stage engagement encompassing detailed site audits, technical analysis, and a coherent roadmap for portfolio-wide enhancement.

Our Approach

Creative Dialog approached the engagement as both a portfolio-wide diagnostic and a strategic roadmap exercise — combining behavioural observation, technical analysis and benchmarking to surface deficiencies and define a path to remediation. The goal was a coherent framework Miral could implement in phases, balancing immediate safety interventions with long-term digital integration.

We undertook a year-long, portfolio-wide visitor experience and wayfinding audit, applying a consistent methodology across each of Miral's flagship theme parks.

We mapped visitor journeys from pre-arrival through departure, documenting every touchpoint photographically and capturing the full navigation funnel from highway approach through parking, arrival, in-venue wayfinding, mapping and exit.

We conducted formal and informal interviews with visitors and operational staff, paired with behavioural observation studies, to understand where and why navigation broke down in practice rather than in theory.

We assessed signage against multiple criteria — size, position, quantity, messaging effectiveness, zoning logic, accessibility compliance and overall system coherence — including a technical review against ADIAS accessibility standards.

We undertook a structured gap analysis and system architecture assessment, identifying areas requiring additional guidance and zones where the existing logic was working against visitors rather than for them.

We formulated a transformation framework structured around four pillars — Arrival Excellence, Navigation Excellence, Mapping Excellence and Exiting Excellence — paired with a phased implementation roadmap from immediate safety interventions through to long-term digital integration.

The Outcome

The audit revealed systematic challenges across the portfolio — including inadequate roadside directional signage, absent journey planning tools at venue arrivals, fragmented zoning, ineffective mapping, and critically absent exit signage. In response, we delivered a transformation framework structured around four pillars — Arrival Excellence, Navigation Excellence, Mapping Excellence and Exiting Excellence — paired with a phased implementation roadmap from immediate safety interventions through to long-term digital integration. The work positions Miral's portfolio to deliver a consistent, confident visitor experience from highway approach through to departure.

What We Delivered

Portfolio-Wide Wayfinding & Visitor Experience Audit

Visitor Journey Mapping from Pre-Arrival to Exit

Technical Review Against ADIAS Accessibility Standards

Gap Analysis & System Architecture Assessment

Four-Pillar Transformation Framework covering Arrival, Navigation, Mapping and Exit

Phased Implementation Roadmap

Ongoing Maintenance & Performance Monitoring Frameworks