FORREC Hires Executive Producer, David Kenneth November 12, 2019 [Toronto, Ontario] – Emmy-nominated producer takes his skills off-screen, creating the ultimate immersive entertainment experience. FORREC, is proud to announce its newest hire, David Kenneth, as Executive Producer at the company for its new Media Studio. Kenneth began his career in live-action production before moving into…
Immersive Experiences by Falcon’s Creative Group Brings Jane Goodall’s Story to Life at National Geographic Exhibition Through a variety of innovative multi-media storytelling techniques and technologies, “Becoming Jane” delves into the iconic scientist’s remarkable journey and how she became one of the world’s leading conservationists. Learn more: https://falconscreativegroup.com/selected-work/becoming-jane-the-evolution-of-dr-jane-goodall Photo-realistic computer-generated imagery (CGI), 3D projection mapping,…
NEW 3D FILM IN COLLABORATION WITH MULTI AWARD-WINNING UK STUDIO AARDMAN 7 December 2019: Efteling – the fairytale theme park in the south of Holland – has celebrated the official opening of its newest attraction Fabula – a 4D film adventure complete with a new themed restaurant. Centred on the theme of nature, Fabula comprises…
One of the most sustainable, world-class destinations also reveals ‘six lands’ London, 5th December 2019 – The London Resort has revealed new, concept artwork, for the six lands that will be created as the first phase of the 535-acre site, the equivalent of 136 Wembley Stadiums. The visuals are the first to be revealed since…
Starnberg, November 21, 2019 wiegand.waterrides GmbH received the IAAPA Brass Ring Award for the best new product concept. The award ceremony took place at the great IAAPA Gala last night in Orlando, Florida. The new product is called SlideCoaster – a combination of roller coaster and water slide. It is the first coaster-waterslide-combination worldwide! This…
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…
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…
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…
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…
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…
A Milestone Year: The 2018 Global Attractions Attendance Report According to the 2018 TEA/AECOM Theme Index and Museum Index released by the Themed Entertainment Association (TEA) and AECOM, theme park attendance has topped half a billion for the first time in history. Additionally, 2018 attendance at the top 10 theme park groups grew 5.4% over…
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…
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. …
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,…
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…
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…
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…
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…
Dynamic Attractions Duel Power Coaster is the world’s most advanced roller coaster vehicle: If you had a Hot Wheels racing set as a kid, you’ve no doubt let your imagination run with some of the death-defying moves your car can make. But what if you could do all those same moves in a theme park…
Question: How many theme park professionals can you fit into a 30 x 30 convention booth? Answer: Depends. Can we use a Pepper’s Ghost? The Themed Entertainment Association (TEA) announced the recipients of their prestigious TEA Thea Awards at IAAPA’s Attractions Expo today. Clearly one of the most anticipated announcements of the week, the large,…
TEA Thea Award recipients to be announced at IAAPA – 11/13/18 at 2pm The Themed Entertainment Association (TEA) will officially announce the new slate of TEA Thea Awards recipients at a press conference on Tuesday, Nov 13, 2018 at 2:00 pm (local time) during the IAAPA Attractions Expo in Orlando. New TEA International Board President Michael Mercadante…
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…
The 2018 TEA Thea Awards, Anaheim, California. April 7, 2018 By Freddy Martin ANAHEIM – When civil rights activist and U.S. Representative, John Lewis, dedicated the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture (NMAAHC) in Washington, DC, his words echoed the triumph of generations; “See what a dream can do.” The NMAAHC was…
The Trolley Park may have been America’s first amusement park. These parks started in the 19th century and rose in popularity when Charles J. Van Depoele created an electric trolley pole which could power a trolley car. This new invention replaced horse-drawn streetcars in the United States around the beginning of the 20th century. Trolley…
The Disney Jungle Cruise Spiel: We have made this list in an effort to preserve the many hundreds of witty jokes that have been “spieled” on Disney’s Jungle Cruise for the last 60+ years since Disneyland opened. Many of the very best lines are lost over time as even the official Disney scripts change every…
Contagious Business Philosophy the “Disney” Way! Once every other decade a company comes around that dares to defy the odds and do things differently. We saw this with Henry Ford in the 1900’s-1920’s, with Walt Disney in the 1930-1960’s, and with Saturn and Netscape in the 1990’s. Here’s a friendly Q & A about how…
A Short History of Roller Coasters Today, they are high-tech marvels rising more than one hundred feet in the air with tubular steel tracks, loops, corkscrews and boomerangs. Their riders are hurled through space at 60 miles per hour — while sitting, standing or suspended from an overhead track. Their roots are still with us…
Universal Studios Florida Art & Design is the most experienced design house for haunted attraction design in the world. Unlike Universal Creative, charged with producing all of the permanent theme park rides; Art & Design is responsible for designing all of the new entertainment oriented shows and attractions for Univeral Studios. These are the yearly…