My First Introduction to Walk Through Attractions My family took a summer vacation to Disneyland in the Summer of 1995. I was just returning home from my first semester of art school. All the joys of visiting “the happiest place on earth”, Disneyland, for the first time were exactly as I expected. But it was…
Everybody knows pretty much everything about Disneyland—how it got started, how the Imagineers do their thing, and so on. But nobody ever talks about the parks that most of us across the country enjoy far more often. The regional theme parks, different from amusement parks, owe their existence to the magical land Walt built in…
Creative sculpture that crosses borders At Themed Attraction we have access to a growing network of artists from across the world. Recently, were were lucky enough to find a sculptor and painter named Manolo Rubio, based in Valencia, Spain. It was a fantastic discovery. We think you will be impressed by the quality of his…
Benoit Cornet launches BoldMove Corporation for high-energy and affordable digital attractions Unique vendor-independent service to prep for post-crisis era Benoit “Ben” Cornet is proud to announce the launch of BoldMove Corporation to the entertainment market. With his team he will be advising theme parks & leisure venues on selecting the best technology for their digital…
Theme parks and crowd handling may never be the same after the Covid-19 period. The Covid-19 epidemic makes us humans look differently at other humans. We keep our distance as the other person might be contagious. We are more suspicious of others. How will this affect our feelings and behavior after this Covid-19 is gone?…
Miziker Entertainment, the themed entertainment company behind dozens of award winning shows, parades, media-based attractions, and memorable guest experiences, will host a 3-day mentorship and professional development weekend for eight qualified students from SCAD’s (Savannah College of Art & Design) pioneering undergraduate and graduate programs in themed entertainment design and related disciplines. The weekend, known…
One of the springtime traditions I look forward to all year long is the Themed Entertainment Association (TEA) Thea Awards. “The Theas,” and the TEA Summit that they cap off, bring together many of our cherished friends, colleagues, clients, and co-creatives to celebrate the great achievements of the themed entertainment industry worldwide. But just like…
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Get ready for fun! In this interview we are going head-to-head with one of the themed entertainment industry’s top “playologists,” Denise Chapman Weston of Infinite Kingdoms. Like many in this industry, Denise has been thinking up ways to create fun for other people since she was just a kid. She’s developed tons of innovative attractions,…
Everyone has a different journey to becoming a Disney Imagineer. This story is mine. I remember the day when I saw Walt Disney introducing his team of Imagineers on “Walt Disney’s Wonderful World of Color” television show in 1968. I was five at the time. I was a creative kid who loved to make movies,…
(SAN JOSE) – VBO Tickets launches new QuickBooks™ Online integration for its cutting-edge event ticketing software, a development that further advances an accounting solution in their platform. This integration allows accountants to easily custom create GL account logic in VBO Tickets and replicate box office sales transactions from their QuickBooks Online account. Items in VBO…
How the Location-Based Entertainment Industry Can—and Should—Do More to Ensure a Brighter and More Prosperous Future We live in an age of unprecedented change. A host of converging forces—technological, social, cultural, environmental, economic—are transforming the world around us at a pace never before seen in human history. The world is getting smaller and more interconnected.…
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Let’s go behind the temporary wall barriers into the construction zone with Dr. Jesse Kamm. Jesse is a 20 year veteran in the construction industry, leading teams as a construction manager, project manager and general contractor on projects inside and outside of the theme park berm. He is also a scholar with degrees in Engineering…
Shandong Huaxia Cultural Tourism Group Named for 2 Prestigious Awards The magic and wonder of Chinese traditions are alive and well at Huaxia theme park resorts in China. The Themed Entertainment Association (TEA) and the International Association of Amusement Parks and Attractions (IAAPA) have both named Shandong Huaxia Cultural Tourism group for two original, live…
DESIGNED/BUILD BY ADG, OPENING MAY 2020 February 20, 2020 (Cohoes, NY) Aquatic Development Group (ADG) has been contracted as design/builder of the 1-acre ‘Coconut Shores’ water play kid’s area renovation project at Kings Dominion Soak City Water Park (VA). The area is currently under construction and is slated to open May 2020. Kings Dominion approached…
“To all that come to this happy place, welcome. Disneyland is your land. Here age relives fond memories of the past, and here youth may savor the challenge and promise of the future. “ ― Walt Disney I’ve been involved with quite a few development projects throughout my career, in every project my goal has…
One major chapter of my upcoming regional park history book deals with how these parks lost their original design intent along the way. Decades of ownership turnover, corporate management, current trends for IP overlays, and so on rendered most of these parks nearly unrecognizable from when they were first built. Carowinds opened in 1973 as…
February 4, 2020 (Vienna, Austria): The world’s first Booster Unhinged debuted in the spring of 2019 at Prater Park and added yet another element of thrills to this traditional amusement park. The new attraction, dubbed King Size, puts a new twist on the classic extreme ride. “After over 20 years of success with our original…
The last installment introduced the idea of Genius Loci and its need. Just like one will know a person by the friends they keep or what kind of tree it is by its fruit, one can trace the Genuis Loci or, Spirit of a Place by its accompanied features. How to find the Genius Loci…
[Los Angeles, CA]: bohdri, LLC today announced the launch of bohdri.com, a new online job platform designed exclusively for the Themed Entertainment industry. bohdri offers a new way for individual talent and organizations in the themed entertainment industry to connect. It’s the new way to ‘gig’ in the industry. “Having run a design and production…
Summary – Earlier this month Themedattraction.com highlighted research presentations on dark rides, perceptions of theme park crowding, and immersion-as-inhabitation known as scenographic storytelling from the Themed Experience and Attractions Academic Society (TEAAS) 2nd annual symposium sponsored by the IAAPA Foundation. The symposium includes oral research presentation sessions and poster exhibitions relevant to themed experience and attractions.…
Efteling, the famed theme park in the Netherlands, has added the last two track sections for their new dual-tracked, powered roller coaster, Max & Moritz. Using nearly 5,000 bolts and nuts, the 59th and 60th track sections have today been installed. This completes the two different track courses of the new Mack Rides coaster. Located…
Read Changing Paradigms for China, Part 2 The last installment of “Paradigms” touched on Eco-tourism. The mere hearing of this term makes me think of a Dirty Harry movie, in which Clint Eastwood aims his magnum at a crook and threatens him to “make my day”. So much meaningless banter runs rampant on this subject,…
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Our guest this episode is the Chief of Guest Experiences at Carnival Cruise Line, Anthony Esparza. At Carnival, Anthony navigates the fun on the surface of the ocean, and before that he took guests deeper as the Chief Creative Officer for SeaWorld Parks. Anthony is as comfortable on land as he is at sea having…
Important: Please continue to check this post for updated information. We will add to this post as more information comes available. Introduction Themedattraction.com exists to inform, encourage, educate, and expand the themed entertainment / location based entertainment / attractions industry. We are pleased to announce the inaugural “Themed Attraction Student Showcase” for the 2020/21 academic…
On the final Friday of the IAPPA Expo, the Themed Experience & Attractions Academic Society (TEAAS) gathers to “enhance communication between themed experience and attractions researchers and educators”. Despite challenges associated with the Coronavirus, on November 20th, 2020, the TEAAS conducted a modified virtual symposium via Zoom. Unlike previous gatherings (which feature a series of…