Freddy Martin, MSML (freddy@themedattraction.com) is a writer, storyteller, and independent consultant. He began his theme park voyage as a skipper on the Jungle Cruise at Disneyland. Freddy co-hosts the Themed Attraction Podcast with Mel McGowan of Storyland Studios, is a contributing editor for ThemedAttraction.com, writes for InPark Magazine, and blogs at FreddyMartin.net.

Storyland Studios Welcomes Veteran Imagineer Jim Clark As Newest Executive Director

Storyland Studios is proud to welcome veteran Walt Disney Imagineer Jim Clark as their newest Executive Director. Clark’s 27-year tenure with the Walt Disney Company included work at Walt Disney World, Disneyland, and Tokyo Disneyland, with two decades at Walt Disney Imagineering. Most recently, he served as Senior Creative Producer for the Tokyo Disneyland Expansion,…

Storyland Studios to design four new location-based entertainment concepts for leading Latin American tourism operator Grupo Cataratas

Lake Elsinore, CA, April 27, 2021 – Storyland Studios has been appointed to design a series of new location-based entertainment concepts for Grupo Cataratas, the largest tourism operator in South America. Grupo Cataratas currently operates six sites in Brazil, with more in development. In 2019 alone, the group welcomed nearly six million guests. The group champions conservation,…

Storyland Studios Launches $20K Int’l Design Challenge to Themed Entertainment Freelancers

Lake Elsinore, Calif. – Experience design and themed entertainment firm Storyland Studios is excited to announce its inaugural Storyland Design Challenge, an all-new, international concept design competition for freelance designers working in the themed entertainment industry. Freelance designers seeking to make their name in themed entertainment are invited to pitch their design concepts for immersive,…

Storyland Studios Announces New Hires During Continued Growth

(Lake Elsinore, CA, September 22, 2020) – Storyland Studios announced today the hiring of three new leaders and promotion of one across multiple disciplines. The announcement comes as Storyland sees continued growth in the experience design business. The four strategic positions will play key roles in supporting the company’s rapidly expanding client portfolio.   Storyland…

Poverty Encounter Honored with TEA Thea

Storyland Studios, an experience design firm that helps brands connect their stories in three dimensions, congratulates Children’s Hunger Fund (CHF) for receiving the Themed Entertainment Association’s (TEA) Thea Award for Outstanding Achievement on a Limited Budget for Poverty Encounter, a permanent exhibit, at the non-profit’s Los Angeles headquarters.  Storyland Studios contributed concept development and design…

London Calling: Storyland Studios Opens UK Branch

Storyland Studios Opens UK Branch, Hires Former Disney Leaders Spatial storytelling design firm Storyland Studios announced Thursday that they are expanding their availability to clients by opening an international branch in London. Disney alumnus Ben Thompson will run the office just outside of London, England as Chief Strategy Officer and Head of International, effective August…

Themed Attraction’s First Pitchfest Elevates Collaboration & Community

Themed entertainment industry professionals from all backgrounds gathered May 29th on a public ZOOM call to listen as entrepreneurs, industry veterans and newcomers pitched their new concepts and ideas for potential investment. Organized by Cary Jardin and Lexington Blood, the event’s goal was to offer creatives and innovators an opportunity to present their ideas before…

Miziker Entertainment to host SCAD students for mentorship weekend

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…

Imagineers React to Notre-Dame

When reports first started circulating in offices and classrooms that Notre-Dame de Paris was in flames, people around the world seemed to recognize together the sad significance of this calamity.   A lot of tragic news passes through the culture these days. Perhaps the overarching tragedy is that the disasters, death, and mayhem that make…

TEA Summit 2019

The Themed Entertainment Association (TEA) Summit is a gathering of theme park and experience design industry professionals, which takes place every year at the Disneyland Hotel in Anaheim, California. It’s a three day event which culminates in a gala celebration of those projects honored with a TEA Thea Award, considered the industry’s highest honor.  …

TEA to Honor Universal’s Mark Woodbury with Lifetime Achievement Award

One of the themed entertainment industry’s highest honors will be presented to Mark Woodbury, Vice Chairman of Universal Parks & Resorts and President of Universal Creative, at the Themed Entertainment Association‘s (TEA) 25th Annual TEA Thea Awards Gala on April 13. Woodbury will receive the distinguished Buzz Price Thea Award for his Lifetime of Distinguished Achievements…

Garner Holt’s Lincoln Animatronic

The history of audio-animatronics cannot be told without Walt Disney’s tribute to America’s sixteenth president, Abraham Lincoln. In the same way, animatronics history also cannot be told without Garner Holt, one of the world’s foremost leaders in the craft. Disney’s historic animatronics show, Great Moments with Mr. Lincoln, debuted at the 1964 World’s Fair and…

Ferris-Wheel Water Slide “SlideWheel” Honored with 4 Top Awards

Designers and representatives from Wiegand.Maelzer, a water slide creator in Germany, knew they had something special with their water slide/Ferris wheel hybrid, “SlideWheel,” but they never expected the reaction from international theme park community. After the World Waterpark Association (WWA) Tradeshow in Las Vegas and the IAAPA Attractions Expo in Orlando, SlideWheel took home, not…

Poverty Encounter Preview

Stunned. That’s how we felt after a preview visit to Poverty Encounter, the new immersive attraction built by Children’s Hunger Fund (CHF) in Los Angeles. The non-profit is currently prepping their walk-through experience for public opening in December. The attraction is meant to be an eye-opening, educational look at the plight of the extremely poor…