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Our guest needs no introduction…because he’s always at the end of the show! Dr. Barry R. Hill, our very own show producer and designer, is the author of Imagineering an American Dreamscape: Genesis, Evolution, and Redemption of the Regional Theme Park. This book tells the long-overdue story of the regionals and the strong-willed individuals behind them—where they came…
Cornelius Vanderbilt Wood Jr. is the singular definition of an enigma. Few Disney fans have ever heard the name. The ones who have, have read anything from genius, showman, shuckster, to con man. The self-confident kid who got into college on a rope twirling scholarship was pure Texas and a born leader. His friends were…
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Our guests are two of the industry’s leading feasibility experts, the father/son duo Don and Doug Stewart of Economic Consulting Services. In the themed entertainment world, we like to think we build the impossible. But the impossible is not always feasible. The “Walt Disneys” of the world rely on experts like Don and Doug who…
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Joe Lanzisero is a 30-year Disney veteran who began his career in Disney animation and made the switch to Imagineering where he eventually became known as the theme park land expansion guy—think Critter Country & ToonTown in Anaheim, and Toy StoryLand, Grizzly Gulch and Mystic Point in Tokyo. Today, Joe is Executive Vice President at Zeitgeist…
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Eddie Sotto is a fixture in the themed entertainment industry best known for his contributions at Walt Disney Imagineering. He creative directed dozens of attractions at Disney Parks, including Main Street USA at Disneyland Paris, Mission: Space at Epcot, and the first ever trackless dark ride, “Pooh’s Hunny Hunt” at Tokyo Disneyland. Eddie’s work extends…
July 17 is such a special day. Disneyland opened 65 years ago…and Imagineering an American Dreamscape went on sale, well, a little less than that. It’s finally done, and what a fun journey it’s been putting it together. The book traces the evolution from the grand world expositions to Disneyland, laying the groundwork for…
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Our guest this episode is Jesse Crawford from WhiteWater West in beautiful Vancouver BC, the award-winning slide and water ride design firm responsible for many of the most incredible “immersive” (pun intended) attractions on the planet. Jesse is a sales engineer which means his work has taken him around the world to help theme parks…
Well, they finally made it. After several weeks of wondering if they’d be able to open at all, Hershey unveiled the brand new expansion we’ve been anticipating for so long. And who was worried? It was only the largest expansion project in park history, adding twenty-three acres and clocking in at $150 million. It’s a…
In the early years, regional theme parks offered souvenir maps for sale. These were beautifully illustrated works of art with lots of fun details to discover. One of the ideas for the park history book was to include excerpts from these opening/early season maps to help visualize the walk-through descriptions. That would have made the…
Two of the four Busch Gardens properties live on to this day. The first, in Tampa, started out in 1959 as a free, fun thing to do while touring the brewery; it was intended to promote the brand. But it became so popular the company decided it was worth more as a gated park, and…
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Our guests today have thought hard on how to tell great stories within a museum context and have the battle scars to prove it. John Kelton and Jon Taylor are veteran museum exhibit designers leading creative projects that educate while they entertain. They’re also buddies in real life so that means they’re a lot of…
One of the chapters in the upcoming park history book focuses on entrepreneurs who took Walt’s concept and found a way to make it happen in their own part of the country. These individuals had the drive, determination, resources, and sheer guts to jump head-first into waters they knew little about. Storms loomed ahead, threatening…
The regional theme park history book keeps pushing right along toward completion (hint…it’s close). To hold you over in the meantime, I’ll be sharing bits and pieces from the book and my research while tossing in other interesting items along the way. Three of them, in fact. I’m extremely pleased to have some wonderful folks…
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…
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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,…
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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…
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…
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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…
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Mike West is Senior Director and Executive Producer for Universal Parks and resorts around the world. With the first 25 years of his career spent at WDI, and a second half underway at Universal, Mike is one of those guys you can’t help but geek out over. All the while he hasn’t lost his joy…
That big $150 million dirt pile is getting serious these days. Along with the new buildings and creek retaining walls, Hersheypark’s 2020 hyper coaster Candymonium was topped off today. Reaching a peak of 210ft, the delicious-looking, sweet-smelling, chocolate-colored B&M will be the centerpiece of the park’s new expansion property. Visitors strolling through the new front…
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Kevin Sherbrooke is an AIA Licensed architect and show set designer who lives at the intersection of creative, blue sky concepts and the rigid structure of architectural design. Kevin’s background gives him a unique perspective on the ins and outs of an industry on the move. You can see his work in familiar environments and…
Hershey Park in 1907 was a local recreation area developed by Milton Hershey for his employees. The entire little town of Hershey was built around the chocolate factory, with many of the magnificent structures erected during the Great Depression. Before long, trolley service brought in other folks from around the area, and Mr. Hershey began…
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Our guest this episode is Senior Project Director for Miziker Entertainment, Sean Chung. Sean is part of a new generation of brilliant creatives making waves in themed entertainment these days. Sean has an amazing story that runs parallel to the story of modern China’s own transformation into the world’s fastest growing theme park and tourism…
We’ve all heard the story time after time. It’s a good one, though, and so our memories are imprinted with how Walt, Roy, and even that huckster C.V. barely got Disneyland built in 1955. There might be a few other names floating around the fringes, such as Buzz Price, Joe Fowler, or Van Arsdale France.…
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Our guest is Creative Director and project consultant, Chris Lange. Chris began his career in a scenic fabrication workshop in Germany before being tapped to design and implement an impressive string of major tourist attractions worldwide. Chris has been Creative Director for Merlin Entertainments, Mack Solutions, and the Genting Group. He’s led projects in California, Malaysia,…
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We’re taking a different route through the design jungle today as we interview a friend of the show, author Lou Prosperi. Lou isn’t our typical guest, but you’ll soon see why we asked him to join us. Lou develops curriculum for a large enterprise software company during the day. But his secret super power is studying…
Everyone’s focused on the $150 million dirt pile out front, but Hersheypark didn’t keep us waiting in the meantime. They brought back Sally Corporation and their go-to design partners Raven Sun Creative to reimagine the park’s Reese’s Xtreme Cup Challenge, a fun shooter dark ride that was based on a fairly luke-warm storyline. The new…
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To commemorate the 50th Anniversary of the Haunted Mansion at Disneyland, we tracked down former Creative Director for Walt Disney Imagineering, Tom Morris. Tom knows a little something about building theme parks and attractions. So who better to dig up the archaeology of Disneyland’s eeriest e-ticket attraction. We explore the rumors, true and preposterous, of…
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Howdy! This episode features show designer, writer, and music director for themed attractions from sea to shining sea, Mr. Rick Bastrup. Rick made his mark in regional theme parks and family fun centers for the past 30+ years. His time in the industry allowed him opportunities to work with legends like Ira West and Technifex…
What park can you think of with a better brand than Hersheypark? I mean, really. I drive through Hershey every day and it’s one of the most unique towns you’ll ever see, from the Kiss-shaped streetlights, the majestic Hershey Theatre and other ornate buildings erected during the Great Depression, and the original chocolate factory before…
One of my colleagues who recently retired from the college was a featured soloist in the United States Marine Band for over two decades. He was the youngest-ever member of the group, second only to John Philip Sousa, and he played for five presidents, from Eisenhower to Ford. And what stories he has! But one…
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This episode features Mike Schwalm, Creative Director at Storyland Studios. Mike was previously a Creative Designer for Walt Disney Imagineering working with James Cameron and Joe Rohde’s team to bring the immersive “Pandora – The World of Avatar” to life at Disney’s Animal Kingdom. He also worked on concept development for the Indiana Jones themed…
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Come along as Mel and Freddy dig into conversation with Mark Eades, one of the Disney Imagineers who helped bring Epcot to life back in the 80s. He cut his teeth in Disney animation and film and was called up to Imagineering by Marty Sklar to manage the production of Epcot’s film-based attractions. His attraction…
Perhaps it’s largely personal bias. I’ve loved the mountains my whole life, and I’d give pretty much anything to move back someday. But Dollywood absolutely has to be one of the most authentically situated parks anywhere. Whereas many parks try to cater to a variety of interests, featuring wide-ranging themed lands and attractions, Dollywood is…
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In this episode, Mel and Freddy head up to the beautiful San Bernardino Mountains where we meet the new owners of SkyPark at Santa’s Village. Santa’s Village was a small regional storybook park built in 1955 and became a go-to destination for families looking for mountain-top fun. The park closed in 1998 and would have…
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In part 2 of their interview with Imagineer Tony Baxter, Mel and Freddy get into the nitty-gritty of the development of Splash Mountain with Michael Eisner, the extended story of California Adventure, and the pros and cons of attractions built around intellectual properties. “Mr. E-Ticket” doesn’t disappoint. Listen after the final credits for a hidden…
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The IAAPA Attractions Expo is the premier conference and trade show for members of the themed entertainment and experience industry. Peers from around the world gather to connect and see the latest in technology and innovations on display. At the 2018 expo, Freddy (and Themed Attraction Founder, Nate Naversen) grabbed a mic and took to…
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Mel and Freddy take a trip to the San Bernardino Mountains to interview Walt Disney Imagineering’s former Senior Vice President of creative development, Tony Baxter. Known as Mr. E-Ticket, Tony’s work includes Big Thunder Mountain, Journey Into Imagination, Star Tours, Splash Mountain, and The Indiana Jones Adventure. He led the creative teams who redesigned Fantasyland…
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Ryan Harmon, President and Chief Experience Officer for Zeitgeist Design & Production, takes us on his personal journey from a young Imagineering wanna-be dreamer, to becoming a real Imagineer, to now working all over the world. Contact Ryan at https://zeitgeist-usa.com. Please give us a review on iTunes to help more people find us and browse…
The world suffers no shortage of theme parks, but few really live up to the name. Simply staging a few old tools in the queue and carving a clever name on the sign doesn’t cut it. A truly thematic experience is designed to immerse guests in a story or place so they believe they are…
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This is a very special episode about a brand new themed attraction (opened 12/8/18) that is sure to do more than immerse or entertain. It could change the world. Our guest is Alissa Whiteley, Director of Poverty Encounter, a walk-through educational exhibit that transports guests to scenes of extreme poverty around the world. Alissa previously…
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Evermore Theme Park Our guests for this episode are the lead creative team for Evermore Park, a brand new theme park (or “experience park” as they call it) just opened outside of Salt Lake City Utah in late 2018. Josh Shipley (Evermore’s Chief Creative Officer) and Josh Steadman (Evermore’s Director of Show Design and Production)…
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Sam parked his beautiful RV outside our studio and spent the hour discussing the heart and soul of theme parks. What makes them special? Why do they keep missing the mark? And what’s his latest journey about as he crosses the country? Tune in for an amazing dive into the DNA of park design. Our…
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Well, we got to talking so long we had to break it up into two episodes. Make sure you go back and listen to part 1 (episode 2) where we hear Tom share his ideas on design, decisions, and lots of stories from the parks. Our guest for today is Tom Morris. Theme music composed by…
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Tom happened to be at the studio one day working with us on a project, so we snagged him for a bit longer to discuss his long, long, long history with Disneyland, Epcot, Paris, Hong Kong, and so on. Learn from The Master himself as he discusses design concepts, decision making, and tells lots of…
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Hop aboard and join us for our inaugural cruise down the best of themed design. We’ll be discussing the how-to and why of designing attractions with lots of great stories from your favorite parks and destinations. Keep your hands and feet inside the boat…and watch those crocodiles! Theme music composed by Rob Watson, closing music…