Carowinds: March 31, 1973

The new state-straddling, Disneyland-lite park dedicated to the Carolinas was scheduled to open in 1972 after breaking ground in 1970. The weather had something to say about that, though, and so things were pushed back a year. Finally on Saturday, March 31, 1973, Carowinds proudly braved a dismal, rainy day and swung open the gates…

The story behind Canada’s Wonderland

We just released the latest episode of the Themed Attraction Podcast featuring Danusia Rogacki, Creative Services Manager at Canada’s Wonderland. It’s a fascinating interview that clearly reveals Danusia’s total love and dedication to the park. Go listen to that first…I’ll wait right here… …Ok, it was amazing, right? Such joy for going the extra mile…

Marriott’s Great America, Part 3

We’ll wrap up our trip down memory lane with a short post-Marriott summary. You can find the first two parts here and here, and more regional park history can be found at www.rivershorecreative.com (along with an abundant supply of tissues). Thanks for reading. Unfortunately for the Marriott company, attendance figures didn’t meet their expectations and…

Theme Park Designer Brian Morrow Wins HGTV’s Table Wars

The winner of HGTV’s newest reality show is theme park designer Brian Morrow. Known for his many years at SeaWorld Parks & Entertainment overseeing key multimillion-dollar, award-winning projects including the opening of TurtleTrek, roller coasters Manta and Mako, and the first-of-its-kind, fully-themed land, Antarctica: Empire of the Penguin, Brian took his creative chops to a national stage, and blew the competition away.

A Case for Wholesome

A Case for Wholesome There was a time when we had a plethora of things presented before us that contained the ingredient of wholesomeness – anything from television shows to movies to theme parks — all had a wholesome spirit to them. As Christmas approached and then swiftly left us (as all things in life…

Vintage park maps: Kings Island

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…

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…

Storytelling in the Details: Dollywood

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…

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…

Theme Parkology – Backstory

As developers and designers of themed entertainment, it is our responsibility to author backstories so rich and believable that our guests never question the worlds we create for them to enjoy. back·​story \ˈbak-ˌstȯr-ē noun, plural back·sto·ries. a narrative providing a history or background context, especially for a character or situation in a literary work, film,…