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…
Katapult are working in partnership with ROARR! and Cyber Group Studios to open a brand new four-acre interactive play-themed area based on the internationally renowned Netflix, Tiny Pop and Disney+ hit series, Gigantosaurus.
The Katapult team has collaborated with visitor attraction, ROARR! Dinosaur Adventure in the UK, to create a new experience, Valley of the Dinosaurs.
Immersion has been the buzzword of the themed entertainment industry for a little over a decade or so. We’re in an arms race where every new project attempts to one-up the last by increasing the ‘immersiveness’ by another factor. Bigger, more enveloping, more detailed, and especially: more real. While some of the projects this has…
Photo Credit: https://www.nytimes.com/2021/11/26/theater/stephen-sondheim-dead.html Stephen Sondheim, famed musical theatre composer, lyricist, genius, and a personal idol of mine recently passed away. His death has recently caused me to reexamine a thought I’ve had from time to time: that rides are akin to songs. It might sound a bit strange at first to suggest that rides and…
As public discourse about the frequently misunderstood, so-called ‘metaverse’ becomes more common, the conversation will naturally extend to the world of themed and immersive entertainment. While large-scale brands and organisations will almost certainly seek to own as much of the consumer’s attention within this new set of spaces as possible, it may be best to look upon its development as an addition to the storytelling toolkit. Along with skills like architecture, landscaping, attraction design, writing and so many more, we now have a means of crafting virtual spaces which can serve guests by extending narrative beyond the boundaries of the physical environment.
Sparkling lights, cheery music, the smell of popcorn, cotton candy, and crisp churros floating through the air — bright colors, immersive worlds, elaborate spectacles from dawn past dusk. This is the imagery that’s conjured up when theme parks and other immersive experiences are discussed: fun, frivolity, and above all a disconnection from the real world.…
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.
Finalists and the eventual winner of the Theme Park Designer Competition, have collaborated with international themed attraction designers, Katapult, to create a brand new theme park design.
Everybody knows pretty much everything about Disneyland—how it got started, how the Imagineers do their thing, and so on. But nobody hardly 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…
Given the vast, seemingly universal popularity of sketch comedy, here’s a thought experiment to mull on — could some of the better known characters or skits from television ever be brought into a theme park attraction?
In 1972, one of America’s favorite playgrounds opened with great fanfare. Inspired by the post-Disneyland theme park boom, operators of a small amusement enterprise near Cincinnati realized they needed to go bigger—or go home. They chose big, and so they proceeded to design and build a magnificent property in conjunction with Taft Broadcasting, owners of…
Themed attraction and experience design company Katapult have launched a new homeschooling workbook for children, to inspire creativity and consider a career in the leisure and attractions industry in the future.
Partner PortAventura World Honored by TEA Thea Awards for Dark Ride Sesame Street: Street Mission JACKSONVILLE, FL: Sally Dark Rides, a leading creator of family ride experiences around the globe, today announced its partner PortAventura World was awarded the prestigious Thea Award for Outstanding Achievement for dark ride Sesame Street: Street Mission. Named by the…
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…
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…
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…
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…
The story of the Disneyland Jungle Cruise boat house: When designing theme park attractions, designers will put together a guest experience narrative to describe the background of the environment guests are to enter. In 1993 when the Jungle Cruise boat house was rebuilt in order to make room for Indiana Jones, several key changes took…
“The human spirit in design is one of the strongest thematic elements there is. A sincere and passionate project drawn straight from the heart can succeed at a deeper level as the audience can sense the sincerity but not point directly to it. That passion translates to a vigilant attitude that details matter and all…
Creating Realistic Rock Formations Can anyone share how Disney creates the realistic likeness of rocks and boulders throughout the world? I am fascinated by the authentic look and feel of these rocks at the theme parks and resorts. I’m sure it is a very simple technique but I would like to recreate some of these…