Read the press release below:

Cedar Point has some pretty big plans for next summer.

The Sandusky, Ohio, amusement park/resort earlier today announced plans to introduce Dinosaurs Alive! on Adventure Island, a prehistoric themed attraction, for next summer. The new attraction will be located on four acres on the wooded island that is located in the lagoons toward the back of the park.

In addition to Dinosaurs Alive!, Cedar Point will also add a mat-racer slide complex to the Soak City waterpark located adjacent to the park. Dinosaurs Alive! will cost approximately $1 million to build.

The journey into Dinosaurs Alive! will be multi-sensory and interactive. Guests will be able to see approximately 50 life-size animatronic dinosaurs that will roar and move. Each will be handcrafted and covered with skin-like materials that will replicate almost every feature. Four of the dinosaurs will have interactive consoles that will allow guests to guide their movement to create an up-close look at how these dinosaurs moved their arms, tail, eyes and mouth.

“We are extremely excited about introducing Dinosaurs Alive! to our guests next summer,” said John Hildebrandt, vice president and general manager of Cedar Point. “Our guests will have the opportunity to visit the Jurassic Age up close and see some of the amazing creatures that called it home. Dinosaurs Alive! will be educational but fun, too.”

Overall, Dinosaurs Alive! will feature approximately three dozen types of dinosaurs. The dinosaurs will range in size and height. The largest will be the Ruyangosaurus that will stand nearly 40 feet tall and 72 feet long. The smallest will be an Angustinaripterus that will only be two feet tall and eight feet long.

Other dinosaurs in Dinosaurs Alive! will include the vicious Tyrannosaurus Rex, Irratator, Baryonyx and Spinosaurus, the largest of all known carnivorous dinosaurs. A plated Stegosaurus and three-horned Triceratops will also inhabit the island. The half-mile-long path will feature more than a dozen themed exhibits and displays and will veer underneath several of the larger dinosaurs providing a very intimate encounter with the prehistoric beasts.

Guests will enter Dinosaurs Alive! by crossing a bridge near Camp Snoopy. In addition to the dinosaurs, explorers will also encounter an excavation site and paleontological dig. There will also be informational signs for each exhibit and guides and fossil displays that will make Dinosaurs Alive! an entertaining three-dimensional educational tool for school groups as the discovery and identification of new species of dinosaurs increases annually. At the conclusion of the journey, there will be a prehistoric-themed gift shop.

Admission to Dinosaurs Alive! will be $5 per person. Special rates for groups and schools will also be available.

With the addition of Dinosaurs Alive!, the Paddlewheel Excursions boat cruise will be retired from the park. The pioneer-themed boat ride will be in daily operation through Labor Day, Monday, Sept. 5.

Cedar Point’s newest attraction will be created and produced by Dinosaurs Unearthed, an innovative traveling exhibition company that creates dynamic, multi-sensory experiences about the world of dinosaurs. Since 2005, the Richmond, British Columbia, Canada,-based company has provided multi-faceted exhibitions to museums, science centers and zoos throughout the world.

Next to Cedar Point, the Soak City waterpark will also have a new look for 2012. Next summer it will add a new mat-racer complex that will offer racers a speedy ride through a series of dips and plateaus. Additional information will be available later this year.

In many areas of the world, an amusement park is often referred to as a theme park. If you are searching for popular amusement park destinations, you may always want to consider searching for theme parks, as well. Theme parks differ slightly from amusement parks. The only difference is that there is often a theme present. This theme may involve popular cartoon characters, a particular style of music, animals, or other popular topics.

Once you have made the decision to select an amusement park as your next vacation destination, you will have to find the park that you want to vacation at. To enjoy a vacation on a budget, there are many individuals who consider visiting an amusement park that is located near their home. If you are interested in making more out of your amusement park vacation, you may want to examine parks located in other areas of the world.

One of the many concerns of vacationers, maybe even yourself included, is the amount of activities found at an amusement park. Amusement parks come in all different sizes. If you are interested in traveling a long distance to reach the amusement park of your dreams, you may need to make other accommodations. To eliminate additional plans, you may want to consider vacationing at an amusement park resort.

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Amusement park resorts are resorts that have an amusement park, as well as other additional facilities and accommodations. Onsite hotels, golf courses, spas, and restaurants are just a few of the many facilities that can be found at an amusement park resort. The additional facilities and activities are often what make these resorts so appealing. In addition to enjoying amusement park attractions, you could spend the day at the spa or on the golf course.

In the United States, three of the most popular amusement park resorts include Disneyland, Disney World, and Orlando Studios. If you are interested in booking your next vacation at one of these well-known resorts, you are encouraged to book your reservation well in advance. Without a reservation, you will still be granted admittance into the park, but reservations are often needed for hotels, fine dining restaurants, and golf courses.

While amusement park resorts are popular, they are often expensive. If are looking for a way to vacation at an amusement park without having to pay a large amount of money, you may want to consider traditional amusement parks. These amusement parks may offer onsite camping or hotel accommodations, but they are not considered resorts. If you are only interested in the rides and attractions at an amusement park, then you may be able to save money by avoiding popular resorts.

In the United States, well-known amusement parks include, but are not limited to, Bush Gardens, Sea World, and Six Flags. Many of these amusement parks are not considered resorts, just traditional theme parks. All Sea World parks focus on marine life. In addition to park rides, aquatic shows are available. Many Six Flags parks have a Looney Tunes theme. This theme is apparent as soon as you walk in the door and are greeted by popular cartoon characters. Many Bush Garden parks have a safari theme. In addition to park rides, many parks have onsite zoos.

Once you have found an amusement park that you’d like to visit, you can easily begin preparations to reach your destination. Once there, you and your family will have fun vacationing at a destination that is designed to bring out the thrill seeker in you.

For youngsters, a favorite XBox 360 video game is Cars, which is aptly named and modeled after the hit film of the same name. This story-based journey lets youngsters play through key movie moments, and have some fun in over thirty different races and games. There are over ten characters that kids can play and multi-player mode makes automobiles even more fun!

Kids and adults will adore playing DJ Hero for XBox 360. Have a battle of the DJs in your own home or online with turntables and a Guitar Hero controller. You get a turntable and mixer controller with your DJ Hero game – these let you scratch and mix to a variety of music content – you can choose the genre that suits you most perfectly. Multi-player modes include DJ vs. DJ, DJ and guitar, or DJ and DJ.

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Call of Duty : Modern Warfare is high on the inventories of XBox 360 gamers everywhere. This game for mature players brings warfare to the present day with updated automobiles and weaponry, and new locations. Several multi-player modes add to the excitement where method and talent are utterly vital for survival.

DragonAge : Origins is a new and high in demand single-player role playing fantasy game letting players travel the lands of Ferelden to decide the fate of countries and ultimately the player him or herself. Players have plenty of character customization options including appearance, abilities, race, class, and appliances.

For XBox players that like dealing with the challenge of zombies, Left4Dead two is the most recent XBox 360 video game that may be a must-have. The player’s performance decides the level of customization for enemies, effects and even music. Levels, weather and lighting can even be customised to add to the excitement. Require some cool zombie fighting weapons? Try the new melee weapons – chainsaw, baseball bat, frying pan and axe. These let you get close and private with the undead that are on your trail.

If you have an XBox 360 gamer on your xmas gift list, try any of these great games – each offering thrills, fun and maybe even the occasional chill! Check out Amazon for the best prices and reviews.

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Find More Video Games Articles

In many areas of the world, an amusement park is often referred to as a theme park. If you are searching for popular amusement park destinations, you may always want to consider searching for theme parks, as well. Theme parks differ slightly from amusement parks. The only difference is that there is often a theme present. This theme may involve popular cartoon characters, a particular style of music, animals, or other popular topics.

Once you have made the decision to select an amusement park as your next vacation destination, you will have to find the park that you want to vacation at. To enjoy a vacation on a budget, there are many individuals who consider visiting an amusement park that is located near their home. If you are interested in making more out of your amusement park vacation, you may want to examine parks located in other areas of the world.

One of the many concerns of vacationers, maybe even yourself included, is the amount of activities found at an amusement park. Amusement parks come in all different sizes. If you are interested in traveling a long distance to reach the amusement park of your dreams, you may need to make other accommodations. To eliminate additional plans, you may want to consider vacationing at an amusement park resort.

]]>

Amusement park resorts are resorts that have an amusement park, as well as other additional facilities and accommodations. Onsite hotels, golf courses, spas, and restaurants are just a few of the many facilities that can be found at an amusement park resort. The additional facilities and activities are often what make these resorts so appealing. In addition to enjoying amusement park attractions, you could spend the day at the spa or on the golf course.

In the United States, three of the most popular amusement park resorts include Disneyland, Disney World, and Orlando Studios. If you are interested in booking your next vacation at one of these well-known resorts, you are encouraged to book your reservation well in advance. Without a reservation, you will still be granted admittance into the park, but reservations are often needed for hotels, fine dining restaurants, and golf courses.

While amusement park resorts are popular, they are often expensive. If are looking for a way to vacation at an amusement park without having to pay a large amount of money, you may want to consider traditional amusement parks. These amusement parks may offer onsite camping or hotel accommodations, but they are not considered resorts. If you are only interested in the rides and attractions at an amusement park, then you may be able to save money by avoiding popular resorts.

In the United States, well-known amusement parks include, but are not limited to, Bush Gardens, Sea World, and Six Flags. Many of these amusement parks are not considered resorts, just traditional theme parks. All Sea World parks focus on marine life. In addition to park rides, aquatic shows are available. Many Six Flags parks have a Looney Tunes theme. This theme is apparent as soon as you walk in the door and are greeted by popular cartoon characters. Many Bush Garden parks have a safari theme. In addition to park rides, many parks have onsite zoos.

Once you have found an amusement park that you’d like to visit, you can easily begin preparations to reach your destination. Once there, you and your family will have fun vacationing at a destination that is designed to bring out the thrill seeker in you.

Related Amusement Parks Articles

By Damian McKnight
Designschools.com Contributing Writer

Theme park designers and master planners are unique in that they design to entertain, amaze and transform their audience through the right balance between immersive environments, high-tech thrills, and high-impact emotional content. Theme Park designers employ a variety of techniques including experiential, environmental, and breakthrough theatrical and film techniques; their aim being to create a theme park or attraction that visitors will want to revisit again and again.

By blending creativity and innovative technological advancements, the creations of theme park designers have enabled us to experience the thrills of an African river excursion, race down a Himalayan mountain, encounter swashbuckling pirates, and enjoy a spooky tour of an ominous haunted house, all without ever leaving the safety confines of a themed environment.

Legendary amongst theme park designers are Disney’s Imagineers. Walt Disney Imagineering (also known as WDI or simply Imagineering) is the master planning, creative development, engineering, production, and research and development arm of The Walt Disney Company. Walt Disney Imagineering boasts an extensive resume – since its inception in 1952 the company has created eleven theme parks, a town, two cruise ships, dozens of resort hotels, water parks, shopping centers, sports complexes, and various other entertainment venues . WDI has also produced some of the world’s most distinctive attractions and experiential storytelling, including using Audio-Animatronics characters to tell the swashbuckling tales of Pirates of the Caribbean, to technological advances such as the Circle-Vision 360 film technique and the FastPass virtual queuing system.

“It was all started by a mouse,” Walt Disney once famously said. Thankfully, there appears to be plenty of imagination to go around among today’s theme park designers.

The Work

According to industry veterans, the average theme park job lasts 18 months and can be located anywhere in the world. The majority of work is done on a project basis, so it is important for successful designers to network heavily so they can move around from job-to-job without much difficulty. The majority of theme park design firms are located in Los Angeles and Orlando, FL so location can be everything.

Theme Park designers possess a broad range of skills and talents, and thus over 150 different job titles fall under the banner of theme park design. Here are a few careers:

Illustrators are instrumental in the design of an attraction and it is often their inspiration that determines a final look. Illustration can be learned at a public or private art/ design school.
Engineers do the math and programming that allow the mechanics of a themed environment to work. Engineering schools are found at major colleges, universities, and private universities. Structural, electrical, computer science and mechanical engineering are the most common majors.
Architects are trained and licensed in the planning and designing of the attractions and participate in supervising the construction. An architect must understand building and operational codes, the construction methods available to the builder in constructing the attraction’s show building and structures, and the desired results with the actual costs and construction schedule limits.
Interior designers draw upon many disciplines to enhance the function, safety, and aesthetics of themed interior spaces. Their main concerns are with how different colors, textures, furniture, lighting, and space work together to ensure that an attraction’s theme is complete.
Video and film production specialists are needed to produce the ride films for attractions. For the upcoming Harry Potter and the Forbidden Journey, filmmakers were utilized in creating the attraction’s newly created ride system. The ride will envelop guests in filmed action scenes and moves those scenes with them as they travel through the ride. The combination of pioneering, state-of-the-art ride technology and innovative filmmaking make this attraction the embodiment of the Harry Potter book and film series-and the future of theme park entertainment.
It is the show writers’ job to create the compelling story that you will experience in the ride.

This was just a small sampling of the types of specialists that are needed to produce a theme park or themed attraction. Literally hundreds of trades are needed: industrial designers, set decorators, graphic designers, lighting designers, carpenters, model builders, contractors, landscapers, lawyers, sculptors, and painters. The list is endless. So to be involved in this industry, you simply need to find a specialty career that you like, and go out and pursue it.

Education

There are no college degree programs specifically in theme park design, so how can aspiring designers get the info and experience they need to jump-start a career? The answer to that question is both simple and complex. There are many hundreds of career fields involved in theme park design because it takes many disciplines in order to produce one.  The real key is finding an area that you would love to work in and then becoming skilled in that area(s).
The following schools of higher education are recommended:

The Art Institutes
The International Academy of Design & Technology
Art Center; Pasadena, California
California Institute for the Arts; (CalArts), Valencia, California
Ringling School of Design; Sarasota, Florida
University of Cincinnati; Cincinnati Ohio
Many schools in Southern California like Cal State Fullerton, USC, UCLA, and UC Irvine are good choices as they are close to where the themed entertainment industry is located.

It is also a good idea to join professional organizations like the International Association of Amusement Parks and Attractions, (IAAPA) and the Themed Entertainment Association (TEA) and go to their meetings and conventions. Conventions are a great place to get to know the right people and the companies that design theme attractions.

Outlook

“Disneyland will never be completed…as long as there is imagination left in the world,” Walt Disney once said. For those who are looking to conjure up some theme park magic, there are currently many theme park projects planned in Dubai, China, South Korea, and Australia.

Recently, one of the most exciting projects in the theme park arena is The Wizarding World of Harry Potter located at the Universal Studios Orlando Resort. Attractions will include the Wizarding World’s signature ride, “The Forbidden Journey” and a life-size recreation of the village of Hogsmeade. The breakthrough attraction, a fusion of robotic technology and filmed scenes that has never been achieved until now, promises to take guests through scenes and rooms from the blockbuster movies inside a richly detailed remake of Hogwarts Castle.

“We have created an entirely new way to place our guests into the heart of one of the most compelling stories of our time,” said Mark Woodbury, president of Universal Creative. ”What we have done will forever change the theme park attraction experience.”

Here are some of the areas of theme park design, followed by average (median) annual earnings figures.

Article also available at http://www.designschools.com/careers-jobs/theme-park-designer.html.

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Amusement Parks

Let’s start by defining the term “Amusement Park” first because amusement parks were the first to appear on the scene. By most definitions, the amusement park has been around for hundreds of years, since about the 16th century. It can be defined simply as a fixed location where multiple rides and attractions are assembled to entertain people. Simple enough.

Over the years, however, the definition of an amusement park has been clouded by changes in ride design, the invention of the automobile and the mass media, and the need for entertainment to match or exceed the expectations of its audience. These changes have caused upgrades and innovations of some parks and bankruptcies and closures at many others. But, one thing remained consistent, the parks, themselves, were always just collections of attractions, no matter how disjointed or tacky looking the collection appeared. Excellent examples of these include Coney Island in Brooklyn or the Riverview Park in Chicago…neither of which exist today by the way.

Theme Parks

While it’s debatable when the “theme park” was introduced, most experts believe that Walt Disney was its inventor. Disney was, however, highly influenced by Knott’s Berry Farm and the amusement parks of Europe. So, you could make the claim that Knott’s Berry Farm was the first theme park, but certainly Walt Disney took the theme park to a whole new level. So what makes a theme park different from an amusement park?

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A true “theme” park consists of different themed lands or regions. Great efforts are made to create the illusion of another world or culture using landscaping, architecture, music, food, employees, and attractions. In a theme park the rides often take second place to the environment they are placed in. The more a park is able to take its guests out of the “real world” and into a world of fantasy, the truer the label “theme” becomes. Because Walt Disney used film directors instead of architects for the design of his park, he was able to create a true escape from reality, as if the theme park were a movie on a screen.

Theme Resorts Take Theme Parks to a Whole New Level

With the opening of Walt Disney World in Florida in 1971, the next step in the evolution of the theme park took place. Going beyond just the Walt Disney World rides and attractions, Disney combined the theme park with hotels, golf courses, water recreation, and (eventually) more theme parks. We like to call this the “Themed Resort”.

The idea of the theme resort is to attract guests and then keep them on your property for everything they could ever want or imagine. It is quite possible, with the advent of Disney’s Wide World of Sports – the sport fishing, water and field sports and tournament capabilities – that just about everything one could do on a vacation can now be found in one location. The themed resort has become a one-of-a-kind, one-stop shop for the dream vacation and the numbers are proving Disney’s idea to be the right kind of thinking. Disney is not alone in this market. Universal Studios in Orlando consists of two separate theme parks, hotels and dining to create the Universal Orlando Resort. Disney learned in the 80′s that keeping people close was the key to profits and that is certainly proving true.

Final Thoughts

It’s easy to become frustrated by comparisons that are commonly made between amusement parks and theme parks, even though those comparisons by definition shouldn’t be made. When someone says “I think Cedar Point is a much better amusement park than Disney World”, they’re correct in a sense because Walt Disney World is not an amusement park, and will never pretend to be a roller coaster enthusiast’s heaven. At the same time, however, they’re also wrong because they’re comparing apples to oranges. To make things even more confusing Cedar Point will sometimes call itself a theme park simply because they give labels to different areas of the park. Sorry Cedar Point. Theming is more than just labels.

So, the next time someone says they enjoyed Dollywood or Six Flags much more than Disney World, don’t bother to argue. They may as well say they enjoy sushi more than a bicycle.

www.totallyfuncompany.com

So you want to design a theme entertainment project?

Okay, so where do you start?

You start by selecting an architect, right?

Well, not necessarily! Asking an architect to create a theme project is like asking a multiplex theater designer to direct a movie: you’re putting the cart before the horse.

In a theme resort, store, restaurant or any themed entertainment project you are creating a “show,” a three dimensional movie you can smell and feel. You are not creating a ‘place’ as architects do…you are creating sets, and populating them with actors, as in a film. In a theme entertainment project, the role of the actors is played by the visitors (called guests) and employees (called “the cast”). You enhance these actors’ performances with props, special effects, lighting and theme architecture…the sum total of the experience is called “the show.” The “show” is everything the guest sees, hears and experiences during his or her visit. The architecture can be seen as the “stage” upon which the “show” is performed.

Since theme design is about creating a “show,” one of your first acts should be to select a “show designer.” This “show designer” should be someone with proven experience in the theme design field. They will utilize design principles originally pioneered in the theme park industry to create your project. Whether the project is a resort hotel, restaurant, shopping center or theme park doesn’t really matter. Regardless of the land use, it will be the show designer’s job to create an environment that immerses the guest in an emotional experience. If they do their job well, your guests will be immersed inside a world that may intrigue, amuse, or even frighten them, but always entertains them; a world your guests will want to visit again and again.

So, what are the principles of theme design that your show designer will utilize
to create this world? Well, there are too many to enumerate in one short article, but I can discuss a few, starting with the first stage of theme design, concept development.

Architects start with a phase known as “schematics.” Theme design starts with a phase known as “concept development.”

In schematics, the architect works with the client to develop a “program” (i.e. determining the building’s functions and size) and then develops schematic drawings that show the layout and general appearance.

In theme design, we often start with no more than the thought that the project needs to be entertaining and should attract a certain number of people in a certain market. Sometimes the client will bring a basic “notion” to the show designer, other times we start with a blank page. The process of filling in the blank page is called concept development. We can fill that blank page with words, drawings, illustrations, plans, models or mock-ups or any combination of them, but when the concept is complete, the client will have an understanding of what the project is all about.

One of the major differences between theme design concept development and architectural schematics is the “invention factor.”

In schematics, architects don’t need to invent the building type, i.e. thousands of hospitals or office buildings already exist. However, in theme park concept development we sometimes need to invent some device or system just to make “the show” work.

For example, during the concept development for the Back To The Future Ride at Universal Studios, we needed to create a flying De Lorean, as featured in the movie. The idea to accomplish this was invented out of “blue sky:” I figured we would put a dozen or so De Loreans inside a large format, domed film theater, each De Lorean would ride on top of their own simulator motion base, and by cutting off the site-lines to the rest of the theater, guests inside each car would feel like they were flying. My boss (fearless Universal Executive Jay Stein) said, “That will never work. It’s such a good idea, if it could work, someone would have thought of it already.” Then Jay, who knew how to motivate his design team, bet me a thousand dollars it wouldn’t work.

In order to prove out the idea (and get my thousand dollars), during concept development we made a foam core mock-up of a De Lorean Ride Vehicle, and took it to the Omnimax Dome at Caesar’s Palace in Las Vegas. Even moments before the first test, my friend (and later, one of the producers of the ride) Craig Barr bet me an additional twenty dollars the “invention” wouldn’t work. However, as soon as the lights went down and the film rolled, Craig put a twenty dollar bill in my outstretched palm. What we saw from inside the foam core mock-up was amazing. Just by cutting off site-lines and isolating our vehicle from the stationary parts of the theater, we produced the sensation of flying. I’m still waiting for that thousand dollars from Jay, but for richer or poorer, we had invented a new ride system necessary to the development of that concept.

It was only after we were able to develop this “first of its kind” ride, and assure ourselves that it worked, that we were able to begin designing the actual BUILDING that housed the ride. Two things drove that process: the need to accommodate two eighty foot diameter Omnimax domes, and the need to break the guests up into groups of eight-the capacity of each De Lorean. What we ended up with was a futuristic building we called “The Doc Brown Institute” (after the crazy scientist in the film) that maximized efficiency in terms of loading the ride.

In summary, first we came up with the “show,” then we designed the building in which to stage the show. Also, it’s important to note that we developed a ride system necessary to the development of the concept, and not the other way around. In theme design, technology is created to help tell a story, while good stories are rarely, if ever, created by technology. Thus, the ride system invention flowed from the story, and not the other way around.

This raises an important question: what stories do we want tell in concept development? Are there any guidelines about what kinds of stories are best told in theme environments? Are there any lessons we have learned that might prevent your brainchild from turning into “Seed of Chuckie?”

A few years ago, I was working with the Walibi Theme Park chain, which at that time owned a number of parks in Europe. We had helped improve the profits of a couple of their parks by applying our brand of theme park show design, so they asked me to come up with ideas to help the “dog” of the system, the one park that had never proven popular, the Smurf park near Metz, France.

The Smurfs, as you may recall, were little blue cartoon characters (Papa Smurf, Smurfette, Brainy Smurf, etc.) who were wildly popular back in the seventies. Unfortunately, the character’s success on television had not translated into theme park attendance: only 700,000 guests had attended during the park’s first year (1989) versus the projection of 1,800,000, and attendance had declined thereafter. By the time I got there, the park was virtually empty.

As I walked through the park with the General Manager I noticed something: everything was Smurf-themed. They even had a “Future Smurf” world, like Tomorrow Land, only filled with Futuristic Smurfs. When I first entered the park I kind of liked the Smurfs, but by the time I left, I was sick of them: they had too many Smurfs. “And if you don’t like Smurfs,” The General Manager said sadly, “You don’t come to the park.”

From that I learned a lesson: selecting a single theme for an entire park, resort, shopping complex or entertainment center can be risky. The best bet is to provide a variety of themes and thus appeal to the largest possible demographic. Disneyland is a good example. Walt could have themed the whole park to his cartoons, but instead he themed one land to Main Street USA, another to the future, another to the American frontier, etc. The bottom line: if your project is of large enough scale, follow Walt’s lead and try to include several themes.

Once you select your themes, you have created a roadmap which you use to explore the rides, shows, restaurants and shops that will make up a land, and from there, design both the buildings that house them and the “area development” or public spaces the guests will flow through to access them.

In the early nineties, Time Warner acquired the Six Flags chain, which then consisted of seven theme parks. At that time, the parks had gone through several owners and had been decreasing in value and attendance for years. While the parks had originally been designed as family adventures, the addition of roller coaster after roller coaster had turned them into teenage amusement zones, and as the families left, the revenues and the profits of the chain declined.

The new Time Warner-appointed Six Flags CEO, Bob Pittman, wanted to turn that around. Time Warner had just released the first Batman film, which had been a huge hit, and there were sequels in the offing, so I suggested we use Batman as the theme of several family-oriented attractions. I “pitched” a simulator ride and a stunt show, but it was the stunt show that excited Bob Pittman. “So you can get the pyrotechnics and the heat of the flames right in the audience’s face, eh?” Bob asked excitedly.

I said yes, and about seven months later we opened the Batman Stunt Show in three theme parks. The impact on Six Flags was immediate and substantial. Attendance increased at all three parks, but more importantly, the stunt show format brought the families back to the parks, which increased the per capita spending, and turned the parks around. Bob Pittman told me later that the Batman Stunt Show had positively affected Six Flags success far more than the (more expensive) Batman (roller coaster) ride because the shows had changed the character of the parks and the demographics of the guests.

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What we had done was pick the right intellectual property-Batman-for the right format-a stunt show. The lesson was this: if possible, “brand” your concept with a hot intellectual property (like Batman was in the 1990′s) and utilize the brand in a format that will appeal to your demographic target.

From a design process standpoint, we started with an intellectual property, and then determined that an outdoor, arena stunt show would be the best use of that property. It’s important to note that we did not say, “We need a stunt show,” and then try to come up with some sort of subject for it: theme design flows from intellectual properties, not the other way around. So, as you develop your theme park’s concept, and you want a stunt show in the mix, start by finding an intellectual property that would make a good one, then design your theater or arena around that idea.

When you are developing a theme concept, it’s important not to get too full of yourself in the pursuit of creating “great art,” but rather to remember you are creating entertainment that appeals to broad demographic groups. It’s easy to design a monument…that turns into a monumental failure.

For example, shortly after the opening of National Maritime Center in Norfolk, Virginia, I got a call from the General Manager. He told me the project had been designed as an “Edu-tainment” facility, a combination of education and theme environment, but despite a healthy budget, they were not achieving their attendance goals.

As I drove up to the facility, I saw a massive, modern structure-painted the same gray as US Navy ships. It kind of reminded me of a big, beached aircraft carrier. I have an architectural book which describes this place, saying, “It escapes Disney-style literalism and succeeds in imposing itself…as a landmark.”

Unfortunately, the imposing landmark wasn’t drawing flies in terms of attendance. There were about fifty cars in the parking lot, most of them, I guessed, belonged to employees.

Inside, I saw some cool exhibits, including a shark “touch” tank where you could touch the fish, but the environment was cold and sterile: concrete floors, exposed steel roofs, muted colors, etc. No matter how clever and entertaining the exhibits, the sterility of the physical space made the place feel like a tomb. The designers had succeeded in designing a landmark, but in theme design, we are not designing landmarks, or monuments to ourselves or the owner. We are attempting to evoke emotional responses, just as is done in film and television. Just as in a film, our environments can evoke a sense of adventure, of comedy, of fear or risk, but never sterility or coldness. People are not going to sit through a two hour movie that leaves them cold, so why would they make a four to eight hour visit to an entertainment facility that does the same thing?

In architectural text books I’ve seen theme design referred to as “Populist Architecture” but it should really be called “Humanistic Architecture” because it is designed to elicit human emotional responses, and if you remember that in your concept design, you can’t lose. Another way to put it: the architecture is part of the show, and needs to be as entertaining as the other creative elements.

Once you have your concept firmly in mind, it is time to move on into more detailed design. In architecture, following schematics, you enter design development, where you bring in the “disciplines” (structural, mechanical, electrical engineering, etc.), then move into construction documents where you draw the details. Theme design follows a similar pattern on the “facility” (i.e. building) side, but includes literally dozens of other “disciplines” necessary to create “the show,” including script writing, ride design, show set design, costume design, lighting, special effects and many more.

It is these “show” disciplines that must take the lead, and often must be developed before the environment that houses them takes shape. There are, again, too many techniques that we use to discuss in one article, but I can discuss a few examples, and share with you what made them work or not work as the case may be.

Forced perspective, originally developed by motion picture art directors, is commonly used to create theme environments. Probably it’s most famous example is Main Street at Disneyland. Walt Disney wanted Main Street to re-create the warm, comfortable feel of a small American town. His show designers accomplished this by reducing the scale of the buildings: full scale at street level, then three quarter to five eighths scale as you reach the second and third floors. The result: the guests feel “bigger” than normal, instinctively more in control and therefore more relaxed. Emotionally, Main Street serves as a safe and friendly transition between the often chaotic and imposing “outside world” and the fantasy adventures in the theme park beyond.

Forced perspective can also be used to make things that are small appear larger. An example would be the Eiffel Tower in the French Pavilion at Disney’s EPCOT. The real Eiffel Tower is a thousand feet tall, while Disney’s is about a hundred, but because it is placed at the end of a vista, with the view of its base blocked by building facades in the foreground, it appears to be more distant than it actually is, and therefore we accept what is actually a model as being the real thing. Emotionally, the “Eiffel tower in the distance” gives the French street the feel of the real Paris, where views of the landmark are common, without the expense of creating a full size replica.

Like motion picture sets, theme environments are designed to create the impression that the guests have traveled to a particular place and/or time. Movie sets are almost always in the background, with the actors, of course, in the foreground, so the sets must be somewhat extreme in their design, so that they instantly “read” as what they are, even though they are not the focus of the film. Similarly, theme facades and interiors are archetypes, and their ability to evoke the feeling of being somewhere or some time is more important than their architectural correctness.

For example, at one time we designed an “Ancient Rome” section of Universal Studios, Florida using these motion picture design principles. The lead designer, three-time Academy Award winning art director Henry Bumstead, called “Bummy” by his friends, designed one façade inspired by the ancient Roman Forum. However, rather than a literal recreation of the Forum, he used fluted columns and ornate, Corinthian capitals on top of the columns, as opposed to the simpler non-fluted Roman columns and less detailed capitals of the real Forum.

An architect friend of mine who was also working on the job looked at Bummy’s design in horror and tried to point out the obvious “mistake.” He suggested Bummy correct his “error” by using the simpler Roman columns. Bummy patiently explained the rationale for his design this way, “When the guests walk up to our Forum, we want him to feel like a Roman Senator. We want to take him back in time, and so we combine the most extreme elements from the classical period into one building. Most guests don’t know Corinthian from Roman, nor do they care. But if we combine the “most classical” elements-the beautiful, ornate Corinthian capitals and the bolder fluted columns-we make him feel like he’s in ancient Rome, as he would imagine it to be. It’s the feeling that counts, not the textbook architecture.”

That is the essence of theme design: we are creating fantasy architecture that produces emotional responses, not attempting to recreate architectural styles brick for brick.

Often times you will be developing concepts based upon one or several brands or intellectual properties. If so, you must find the essence of the brand and then exploit it in a manner that is true to the brand.

For example, during the development of Universal Studios Florida, Steven Spielberg asked us to develop a theme attraction based on “E.T: The Extraterrestrial” that would be true to his film.

As you may recall, “E.T.” was the story of a lonely boy who finds an alien literally in his back yard and helps to get the creature back to his home planet. It was a very personal story for director Steven Spielberg, and even the suburban, tract house setting near a redwood forest reminded me a lot of where Steven went to high school in Saratoga, California. Unfortunately, “relationship stories” like E.T. that rely on two-hour long films to create their emotional impact are not easily translated into six or eight minute theme park rides, so designing a ride or show that captured the essence of the film presented quite a challenge.

I started the design process by watching the “E.T.” film over and over again, trying to figure out what would work as a theme park attraction. One section of the film stood out: Near the end, there was a great chase sequence where the little boy and his friends rescue E.T. from government agents and take him on their dirt bikes on a wild chase. At one point during the chase, E.T. uses his powers to cause the boys to “fly” over a government road block….

I thought this sequence could be made into a very cool ride, but it begged the question: where would the boys take E.T. once they took off? In the film, they landed in the redwood forest and bade goodbye to E.T., who then got into his spaceship and flew back to his home “The Green Planet.” It seemed to me that we could “suspend disbelief” just a little more, and have the dirt bikes fly all the way to the Green Planet.

I presented this idea to Steven Spielberg verbally and he liked it, but gave me some great coaching. “Remember E.T. is a personal story,” Steven said, “So at the end, the guests need a personal moment with him. And by the way, the Green Planet is a friendly place, not the usual scary, alien place.”

I thought about how to achieve the “personal moment” and said, “What if he knows your name? What if E.T. knows everyone’s name, and thanks them by name for bringing him home?”

Steven thought that would be great, so we then proceeded with the monumental task of developing a computer system that would recognize 20,000 names and allow our audio-animatronic E.T. to say each guest’s name in the final scene.

All we then had to do was come up with a design for the Green Planet that was both alien, and friendly. To accomplish this, I looked at every science fiction film and book I could find. Not one of them provided an insight as to what a “friendly” alien planet might look like. Apparently, no one had ever attempted to design a “friendly” alien planet before. It struck me that maybe “friendly” alien planet” was an oxymoron-you couldn’t use those words together.

Then I remembered that I had seen something that was both friendly an alien.
When I was a kid I had surfed in California, and when the waves were flat my my friends and I had done a bit of diving. I always remembered thinking how the plants and coral rock formations on the ocean floor seemed like an alien landscape. I immediately collected some research on underwater plants, and gave them to our art directors as models for the “alien landscape” and with that simple inspiration, they went crazy designing the “friendly” “alien” Green Planet.

After we developed the ride’s show, we were able to determine that it would be best housed in a “sound stage” facility, so the exterior architecture was very simple, but consistent with our Universal Studios “working movie studio theme” and appropriate for our park.

When Steven Spielberg first rode the E.T. Adventure Ride, as we called it, he told me that we had successfully combined the fun of “flying” on dirt bikes with a “personal moment” with an alien on his friendly home planet: capturing the essence of the “E.T.” brand.

In summary, we started with the ride’s “show” design, and then developed the facility to house it. Had we attempted the opposite and focused on developing a facility that communicated the “E.T.” brand through it’s exterior architecture, we would have used up all of the budget for the experience without providing the guests any entertainment.

When you are developing a theme area, remember that it is the entertainment or show elements that will make or break the attraction, and the environment
should be designed to present them as strongly as possible, never leaving the “show” as an afterthought to the architecture.

As a recent example, we were asked to develop a design brief for architects to guide them in the development of a resort hotel themed after the home of the British Royal Family, Buckingham Palace.

When most people think of Buckingham Palace, they think of the Queen of England and the famous Changing of the Guard ceremony. Most people can’t tell you what Buckingham Palace looks like, so the architecture-while still important-is less important than these “show” elements. Therefore, we asked the designers to develop the resort hotel based upon British Royalty and the Guards, and to recreate the grandeur of what the average person might believe to be “royal” rather than to recreate the exact look of the palace.

For example, we suggested that guests might enjoy having “high tea” with the Queen, so a “tea room” to accommodate a large number of guests would be a “must.” Since the “Changing of the Guard” ceremony was so important, we suggested that the courtyard in front of the hotel be graded to allow guests to get a good view. Finally, since the current Queen is just one of a long line of British Monarchs, we suggested that design elements within the hotel be devoted to other famous British Kings and Queens, everyone from Henry VIII to Elizabeth I to “Mad King George” to Queen Victoria, and so the interiors of different wings of the hotel were designed in schools of architecture reflecting those eras. We felt that the result would be a resort that people would want to return to again and again, partly for the fun of experiencing a different room themed to a different Monarch each time. As William Shakespeare once said, “The play’s the thing,” and theme design is best when that is kept in mind.

Developing Your Concept: The Budget: Beauty or Beast?

As a designer, you sometimes might think that a tight budget is your worst enemy, but sometimes it can be your best friend.

One example that comes to mind is the Land Pavilion at Disney’s EPCOT. While it was in an early stage of design, the “facility” designer, a brilliant architect, told me, “I’m an artist. I cannot be bound by budgets, and I intend to put every kind of compound curve and difficult to build structure into this building.” He succeeded in doing so, and we did not attempt to control him or limit his budget. Yet, when most guests visit EPCOT, “The Land” does not stand out as a great piece of “show” architecture, particularly not in comparison to the Imagination Pavilion next door, or to any of the World Showcase Pavilions. So, in this instance, having an unlimited budget did not enhance the “show value” of the project.

On the other hand, when we designed “King Kong: Kongfrontation” for Universal Studios Hollywood, we had a very tight budget, less than seven million dollars for the whole attraction, which by Disney standards was just about enough to design the front door and a bathroom. A lot of the budget went into the Kong figure, the special effects, and the “sliding bridge” which created the illusion that the big monkey was rocking the 88,000 pound Universal Super Tram back and forth. This left very little budget for the show sets, which were crucial if we were going to create the illusion that the guests on the tram were actually in New York City.

Given this situation, I told our two brilliant art directors, Henry Bumstead and Bill Tuntke, that they would have to use all their tricks to make this paltry budget stretch. They rose to the challenge, rolled up their sleeves and went to work designing a set using full scale buildings in the foreground, forced perspective miniatures in the mid-ground, and “cut out” flats in the background.

The result was pretty spectacular, but despite their best efforts, we just didn’t have enough money to cover every square foot with sets. The glaring hole: right opposite the King Kong figure…there was absolutely nothing, just a black wall. If the guests happened to look away from Kong as he “attacked” the tram, they looked at a blank, black wall and the illusion of being in New York City was broken.

Just before opening, I got nervous, because as both show designer and producer, the buck stopped with me. I asked my boss, Jay Stein, if he thought we could free up some more funds to build a set opposite from King Kong. Jay shook his head no, “If they are looking away from Kong, you have real problems.”

On opening day, I took a position near the King Kong figure to watch the guest reaction and sure enough, once Kong started to roar and the tram started to slide back and forth, no one-and I mean no one-looked at that blank wall. Jay had been right, the set across from Kong was not necessary.

I realized then that having a tight budget had probably helped our design, not hindered it. It caused us to design the show to focus guest attention on our strength-King Kong and the New York set behind him-and thus the guests never looked at our weaknesses.

In theme design we are designing a “show,” not a place as in architecture. It doesn’t matter whether our “show” takes place in a theme park, a hotel, a restaurant or a store, it’s still a “show,” not a building or complex of buildings. We generally start the design process by selecting an intellectual property as the basis of our theme, and then develop those stories to build a brand. We try to present the brand in formats (i.e. ride, show, hotel, shop, etc) that capture the brand’s essence and appeal to the demographics of the guests we want to attract. We focus our budget on what the guest will primarily perceive and those elements that will present the strongest “show.” Architecture can be an important part of this success, provided it is viewed as a part of the overall show, and not an end in itself. If we are successful in integrating all the design disciplines-everything from script writing to engineering to architecture-to “tell the story,” our design will create positive emotional responses in the guests and a successful project for the owner.

Learn all about the attractions and entertainment at Magic Kingdom Theme Park at Walt Disney World Resort in Florida. Learn more at www.Disneyworld.com.