A long look behind the scenes at the Imagination Corporation
We’ve all longed for a close look behind the scenes in a creative studio to see how theme park projects are conceived, planned and built. Here’s such an opportunity.
TA Podcast E28: Don & Doug Stewart
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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…
TA Podcast E27: Joe Lanzisero
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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…
TA Podcast E26: Eddie Sotto
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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…
New upcoming book tells the long-awaited story behind America’s regional theme parks
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…
TA Podcast E21: Anthony Esparza
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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…
TA Podcast E20: Mike West
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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…
Sometimes it’s hard to say goodbye: Hersheypark’s Tudor entrance
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…
Mickey’s 10 Commandments – Marty Sklar
Marty Sklar dishes on the secret to creating great theme park attractions. Here are WDI’s “Mickey’s 10 Commandments” Every theme park designer should know great formulas for creating fantastic guest experiences. Benchmarks and precedents are extremely important. With that in mind, you should learn the ten guidelines to theme park design developed by Walt Disney…