CASE STUDY: Club Tropicana Party – Fun & Sunshine as summer comes to an end!
19 September 2018
It’s been the hottest summer since 1976 and what better way to celebrate the hard work of our teams here at Merlin over those hot weeks than with a huge Club Tropicana Party!
After a London wide vote, it was decided that we would be going back to the garish colours and high energy of 1983 with a Club Tropicana Themed staff party! Rosie Leigh (Events Manager, Merlin Events) was tasked with bringing this brief to life and creating an unforgettable party for 400+ members of Merlin Entertainments in London.
The themes ‘neon’ and ‘school disco’ lost out to Club Tropicana, so it was time for Rosie to get her thinking cap (and pink sunglasses) on to interpret the brief at one of our most famous attraction venues, Madame Tussauds London!
ON THE NIGHT
After being presented with multi coloured leis, guests were welcomed into a drinks reception in ‘Party’ area of Madame Tussauds by a steel drummer, giving a real tropical vibe, and presented with a choice ‘Sex on the Beach’ (of course), prosecco, wine or beer! The atmosphere was electric with all staff pulling the stops out with their outfits, splashes of orange, green, neon pink and electric blue with all sorts of head gear and eye wear. There was anticipation in the air for what was to come during the event. Guests enjoyed the chilled out vibes of the steel drum along with roaming face painters to decorate every guest’s face with hibiscus flowers, neon art and of course, a little glitter!
FUN AND SUNSHINE…
A beach themed photo wall with all the Club Tropicana props you could think of was lit and ready to go with our professional social media photographer getting the biggest smiles out if every group of guests! Giant green sunglasses, inflatable flamingos, multi-coloured leis and grass skirts were picked up and shapes were thrown, making for some incredible photos of the night.
The guests then moved into the main party area in ‘World Stage’, met by a huge set of bamboo welcome doors, transporting them into Club Tropicana. The walkway was lined with 8ft Palm Trees and food stations serving Caribbean inspired food. In what is usually our ‘Royal Tea’ area, we had more food stations set up as well as a bamboo Tiki Bar!
CARRIBBEAN FOOD – THERE’S ENOUGH FOR EVERYONE
A delicious menu was created by Food by Dish for this event comprising of Caribbean inspired dishes:
Jerk chicken skewers
Jerk Salmon skewers
Pulled Pork Sliders
Caribbean beef patties
Caribbean Veggie patties
Mango Slaw
Rice & peas
DANCING THE NIGHT AWAY
There was a real club vibe going on with everyone loving our live DJ playing a mix of 80s themed dance music and modern hits thrown in there from the likes of Drake and Rihanna to name but a few favourites. The neon colours, scents of spiced sweet potato, high energy music, palm trees and cocktails took us all out of London and away to Club Tropicana. A night to remember which I’m sure our colleagues will be talking about and looking back on with a smile!
ROSIE’S BEST BITS
“I loved planning this event as I got free rein of it all! I loved thinking up fun ideas for entertainment, props and food. I tried to keep most things a surprise as I wanted to really WOW guests as they came into the event. One of my favourite parts of the Club Tropicana Party was seeing World Stage set up. I’d hired in lots of props for this area and along with colourful lighting and the creative food stations, the space looked amazing, like I’ve never seen it before! The ultimate best bit was seeing all the guests have an absolute blast, let loose and really enjoy themselves – this is always a great feeling!”
Plan your next party with us. Ask us for inspiration – we’re always here to help!
