InPark Magazine - The Blog

The Chuck Jones Experience: A Review

2012-01-23T07:54:00.000-08:00

by Christopher Kirkman

When people talk about animation, they are often pulled to two very distinct ends of the spectrum: either animation is an amazing and reverential art form, or cartoons are just for kids. But when one walks into The Chuck Jones Experience, a unique interactive exhibit dedicated to one of the masters of animated films, I was captivated by the chronicles of an amazingly talent animator, and dizzy with the memories of antics from a certain rabbit and duck.

In other words, I was really excited. As a writer, I occasionally get to visit some exciting venues and meet celebrities, but Chuck Jones is something of an inspirational hero of mine and to visit this new exhibit AND have Jones’ grandson, Craig Kausen, be our personal guide was something of a dream come true

Charles M. Jones helped to create some of Warner Bros. Studio’s most famously known film stars. His legacy is lovingly and passionately presented here as a fitting addition to the family attractions inside the Circus Circus Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas. Even before entering, visitors are treated to several interactive gags, straight out of the Acme archives: giant spinning tops, a pair of spring shoes and an inviting “Do Not Pull” sign on a box of fireworks. Anyone who has visited Toon Town at Disneyland or Disneyworld will find some familiarity with aspects of the exhibit, but with a different flavor.

After picking up tickets at a booth that looks like it was pulled from one of Chuck’s animated shorts, visitors enter through a dark hall whose walls are inscribed with quotes from the artist. Emerging into the light, guests are instantly immersed into the cartoon world of Jones’ mind, a street comprised of brightly colored sign posts and store fronts owned and operated by familiar characters. A stylized movie theater gives guests a brief history of Jones’ life and his characters.

Exiting the theater, guests will get the unique opportunity to view a recreation of Jones’ office, complete with a portion of his actual library and the desk on which he drew key sequences for How The Grinch Stole Christmas on. The walls are adorned with original sketches and a few awards Jones earned during his career, excluding his four Academy Awards. A “window” to the outside world occasionally treats viewers to characters lounging on the sill or walking down the street. This may just be a re-creation of Jones’ office, but there is something of a tangible magic about it that you wouldn’t find in a regular museum.

Past the office, the tour enters into a character-centric room with sketches and a “How do you measure up” display, but Jones’ creations really come to life as you round the corner into a cartoon soundstage. Daffy Duck directs Wile E. Coyote and the Roadrunner as Bugs Bunny operates the camera in a life sized 3D re-creation of a Jones piece entitled “Lights, Camera, Action!”. Guests can take their mark on the X, just below Wile E.’s anvil, if they dare.

In the final rooms of the tour, visitors pass through a hall with a giant video wall on one side, featuring many classic moments from dozens of films, and on the other wall a timeline of the 300 plus titles Jones directed during his career. As guests step into the light, a cornucopia of interactive demonstrations await kids of all ages. Bring your own drawings to life using pencil, paper and a zoetrope – a slotted wheel that, when spun, make individual sketches come to life. Or take a turn at the foley station where guests lend their voices, claps, clicks, pops and whatever other sound they can conjure to a famous Looney Tunes moment.

The Chuck Jones Experience is a unique opportunity to learn more about a talented artist in a very entertaining way. Sketches, photos and paintings are found throughout the exhibit and many, including the last, unfinished commissioned piece Jones ever painted, have never been viewable by the public until now. But this isn’t JUST about Chuck.

Plenty of other artists are represented here too. Mickey Mouse, Tom & Jerry, even Spongebob Squarepants adorn the walls of the gallery because, after all, this is about the world of animation at the end of the day. guests who want to see if they have what it takes can bring their own drawings to life at The Chuck Jones Center for Creativity, where short classes in basic animation are taught by visiting animators in a classroom adjacent to the Experience’s gift shop.

It was Jones himself who said “The rules are simple. Take your work, but never yourself, seriously. Pour in the love and whatever skill you have, and it will come out.” The Chuck Jones Experience is filled with that love, and will undoubtedly be filled with those who love the characters Mr. Jones helped bring to life.

The Chuck Jones Experience opened January 19th, 2012 in a brand new 10,000 square foot expanse inside the Circus Circus Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas, NV. Admission is $19.95 for adults, $14.95 for children 5-17 years and free to children aged 4 and under.

Christopher Kirkman is an old school nerd: designer, code monkey, writer, gamer and Star Wars geek. As owner and Editor-In-Chief of Media Geeks, he takes playing games and watching movies very seriously. You know, in between naps and watching TV.

Visit the Media Geeks website for more from Christopher and to see additional photos from his tour of The Chuck Jones Experience.

Macau and the Chinese Gambler

2012-01-03T10:02:00.000-08:00

Ballooning casino gaming revenue has put Macau yet again in the gaming limelight. Today, Macau has overtaken Las Vegas as the biggest gaming city in the world, drawing thousands of eager Chinese players across the border from Mainland China each day. Macau seems likely to maintain the enthusiasm of savvy investors worldwide. IPM guest blogger Desmond Lam, PhD, author of The World of Chinese Gambling shares some insights into the culture and business of Chinese gaming.

More than 20 types of games are available in Macau’s 34 casinos. With roughly one casino every one square kilometer, Macau is officially a powerhouse of global gaming. In 2010, 25 million visitors entered its border and surveys revealed that slightly more than 50% of these visitors claimed to have gambled in its casinos. VIP gaming is prevalent, accounting for more than 70% of Macau’s multi-billion gaming revenue (US$23.5 billion in 2010 to be exact). It is not widely known just how many players there are in this segment, but some estimates put it near 100,000 VIP players arriving in Macau each year.

One way to build an understanding of the world of Chinese gambling – and why the Chinese are so eager to patronize casinos around the world - is to look back through time.

Records of gambling among the Chinese people are documented in Chinese history books. Among these, Sima Qian (109 - 91 BC)’s “Shiji” (史记) recorded horse racing and cock fight betting during the Warring States period (475 - 221 BC). Wagering activities have been recorded in every Chinese dynasty since then. In fact, many modern games such as lottery, pai gow, fan tan, and mahjong are thought to have originated in China. Simple but innovative ancient Chinese games such as liubo, shi pai and gu pai laid the foundations for later Chinese gambling games.

Culture plays a key role in Chinese gambling. But it is incorrect to suggest that Chinese culture encourages Chinese people to gamble more than any other cultures. On the contrary, traditional Chinese values as advocated by Confucius discourage gambling since it is perceived to be wasteful and can lead to social disorder. In fact, gambling has been subjected to control and sometimes ban over the history of China. The earliest documented control of gambling can be found in “The Book of Law” by legalist Li Kui of Wei kingdom during the Warring States period. In the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom (established by Hong Xiuquan during the mid-1800s), officials and soldiers caught gambling were subject to being executed.

A few studies have shown that Chinese gamblers have an exceptionally high illusion of control. They believe they can control the outcome of gambling events, be it baccarat, Black Jack, Sic Bo, or lottery. This characteristic may have to do with traditional Chinese beliefs and values. It seems that the ancient belief of heaven/earth and rituals to please the gods was a starting point for further development of Chinese people’s obsession with the supernatural (e.g. luck, feng shui, fate, and destiny). Three major religions, namely, Confucianism, Daoism, and Buddhism adopted many ancient beliefs and practices. These three religions and/or philosophy (Confucianism, in particular) have, over thousands of years, shaped the thoughts and behaviors of Chinese people (also Japanese, Koreans, and Vietnamese).

More than their Western counterparts, Chinese people believe that luck, destiny, chance, and powerful others control their lives more than their own actions. An external locus of control can potentially lead to a higher illusion of control on the gaming table. Superstition aggravates the illusion of control. Chinese people’s unique form of superstition on lucky/unlucky objects, feng shui, and numbers has added to their high illusion of control. This perception also somewhat enhances the value (i.e. entertainment, fantasy, and escape) that Chinese people obtain from gambling, and may lead to high risk taking and/or more gambling.

In addition to culture, external forces may also explain why Chinese people are so drawn to gambling. The transition from poverty to prosperity, the widening income gap between the poor and rich, and negative real interest rates can all explain to a certain extent why Chinese people tend to take such excessive monetary risks when they gamble. Some observers believe that Chinese people liken gambling in Macau’s casinos to investing. Nationally representative studies, however, found a large percentage of Chinese people tend to gamble for fun and entertainment; not just for money.

Many Chinese people see gambling as a form of social interaction. There is no fuss about it. Leisure gambling is often viewed as a positive activity. Mahjong playing, for example, helps elderly Chinese to think better by exercising their brains. It is a celebrative game for all Chinese people. Gambling is also considered perfectly acceptable for anyone during festive periods such as the Chinese New Year. Social gambling as a positive when practiced in moderation seems to reflect Chinese values and culture; practiced excessively, it is considered a taboo. A Chinese person who falls into gambling pathology is seen as unable to control his own actions and morally bad. There is no sickness; he is just a weak-minded person.

By examining Chinese gambling from historical, social/cultural, psychological, and environmental perspective, one can then begin to understand why Chinese gamblers behave the way they do. One thing is for sure: The world of Chinese gambling is huge and expanding, and likely to continue to grow for the foreseeable future.

Happy New Year from InPark Magazine! Top 10+10 for 2011

2011-12-31T10:07:00.000-08:00

Fireworks at Kings Dominion Eiffel Tower

Top 10 News Themes of 2011

Selected by Martin Palicki & Judith Rubin, IPM Editors

Extreme rides

Gardaland inaugurates RAPTOR

Six Flags Over Texas opens new Texas Giant coaster for 50^th anniversary

Six Flags Flips Out with Green Lantern at Magic Mountain

Development in Eastern Europe

Overhauled Moscow Planetarium reopens

Adventure World Warsaw to open in 2014

$2.5 B Magic World Russia project announced

China making moves

$1.53 B Monkey Kingdom theme park opens 2014 near Beijing

$230 M Hello Kitty park opens in 2014 in Shanghai region

Development in Asia

Indonesia: Premier Rides' Yamaha Racing Coaster opens at Trans Studio park

USA Pavilion for Expo 2012 Yeosu Korea is officially underway

Saudi pavilion reopens as permanent attraction on site of Shanghai Expo 2010

Resorts World Sentosa & USS

Madagascar: A Crate Adventure opens at Universal Studios Singapore

"World's Largest Animatronic" Crane Dance spectacular opens at RWS

RWS commences 2^nd phase of development

First TRANSFORMERS ride opens at Universal Studios Singapore

Branded experiences

Dr Who experience opens in UK

Disney opens Star Tours revamp

Harry Potter behind-the-scenes movie experience development at Leavesden

Merlin Entertainments' US expansion

SEA LIFE Aquarium & LEGOLAND Discovery Center to open in Kansas City in 2012

LEGOLAND Florida opens

Madame Tussauds opens in Washington DC

Animals & nature

Santa Barbara Zoo brings T-rex to life

Audubon Zoo opens "Cool Zoo" splash feature for children

SeaWorld debuts new "One Ocean" killer whale show

Interactive "NatureQuest" exhibit opens at Fernbank Museum, Atlanta

Business of the business

Quassy Amusement Park benefits from classic long-term approach

Cedar Fair's shareholder tussles

Attendance numbers: 2010 TEA/AECOM Theme Index

Universal Creative promotes Thierry Coup & Chip Largman

NBCUni becomes sole owner of Universal Studios Orlando

H2O

Multiple new attractions at Schlitterbahn New Braunfels water park

Titanic: The Exhibition comes to Denmark's Tivoli

New SplashTacular waterslide attracts attention at Spring Valley water park

Six Flags Great America builds Hurricane Harbor water park addition

Top 10 IPM feature stories of 2011

Selected by IPM editors Martin Palicki & Judith Rubin

Haunting China: Quan Gan

"In a country where media is monitored and censored, bringing in a haunted attraction full of frightening ghosts and ghouls may meet some government resistance."

Zoo & Aquarium Report: Dan Martin of Market & Feasibility Advisors

"Zoos and aquariums should look at their pricing structures and strategies. Some may be leaving money on the table while others leave audiences at the gate."

Guest experience on the high seas: Judith Rubin

"Through a unique and effective blend of hospitality and placemaking [and a little help from FUNA] Royal Caribbean's vast cruise ships deliver a fertile, state-of-the-art environment for storytelling."

The World is Flat: Donna Davidson interview

"Because of the knowledge I had from working with Bob Rogers and the BRC Imagination Arts team in Burbank, I knew what we could bring to the market overseas."

James Ogul: A career in world expos and the US State Department

"The 1964-65 New York World's Fair was the site of James Ogul's first involvement in world's fairs - as one of the managers of an Atomic Energy Exhibit in the Hall of Science."

Blurring the Lines; ultimate fans, season pass holders and members: Christine Kerr of BaAM Productions

"There was a point in time when businesses might have thought of these life-long 'fans' as irritants or groupies, but now it's time to embrace and harness their passion."

To IP or not to IP: Steve Guy, EDG

"Working with the right IP is like walking into a crowded room with a celebrity on your arm: You're sure to get noticed."

92 Seconds on Skull Island: Judith Rubin

"'King Kong 360 3D' is an immersive, multimedia experience that features a gigantic 3D projection system, with two screens 187 feet wide by 40 feet high, within a football-field sized soundstage on the tram tour at Universal Studios Hollywood." [Thanks to Sound & Communications magazine for letting IPM reprint the story.]

Halloween Horror Nights 21: Martin Palicki & Judith Rubin

"The immersive quality of Halloween Horror Nights can't be duplicated when you have a ride system to remind you that you've left the world of reality. Haunted houses allow you to step into the movies in a way the rides never do."

Unwrapping Mummies: Martin Palicki

"The darkened 'Mummies of the World' exhibit is punctuated by illuminated cases of real mummies, absent of glitter, glamour and often their wrapping bandages."

Happy New Year!

We pose some questions to Adventure World Warsaw, and they answer

2011-12-29T12:45:00.000-08:00

IPM co-editor Judith Rubin interviewed representatives of Adventure World Warsaw to find out details of this ambitious new resort and themed entertainment facility set to open in 2014.

Related:

New theme park/water park resort planned to open in Warsaw in 2014 (July 2011)

Adventure World Warsaw shares concept renderings (Oct 2011)

Plans for Abu Dhabi park announced by Adventure World Warsaw team (Dec 2011)

IPM: Whatare the funding sources for Adventure World Warsaw?

AWW: In line with the investor agreement,this information must stay confidential until we start construction work on AWW. Fullfinancing for the project has been guaranteed by the investor and is conditioned onlyby providing the building permit, which will be achieved most probably in June2012. Las Palm has spent over 11 mln euro on the project so far. We believe thisamount of financial resource shows our determination and serious intentions tobring the first amusement park in Poland at this scale.

IPM: Isthis correct: Groundbreaking in July 2012, opening in 2014?

AWW: Yes, these are the latest datesaccording to our revised schedule from December 2011. Start of construction hasbeen so far delayed by half a year due to formal issues not depending on LasPalm company, which is leading the project. But together with the Mayor ofGrodzisk Mazowiecki, we are successfully overcoming these obstacles, withinwhich the greatest challenges were the land re-zoning and funding of the existing and future roads. We anticipate the various positivedecisions to be made between February and July 2012 which will allow us tostart the ground works.

IPM: Whoowns the land on which AWW will be developed?

AWW: Las Palm has signed preliminaryagreements with the private land owners who are mostly farmers. The ownershipwill be finally moved to Las Palm by purchasing the land next year after thezoning plan is agreed by the local authorities which is anticipated to happenin April 2012.

IPM: Whatis the site like in terms of location, accessibility, topography, climate?

AWW: Grodzisk Mazowiecki is a perfectlocation for this park. The main advantagesare: all media being available at the construction site (electricity, wastecollecting etc.), perfect railwayconnection from Warsaw (two rail lines between Grodzisk and Warsaw), easymotorway and expressways access (A2 motorway which will be finished in 2012 andwell-developed local roads), easy access to the main international airport inWarsaw and much more.

Secondly, we gethuge support from the local authorities who are very actively involved in theprocess of creating the park. Last but not least, Grodzisk Mazowiecki lies inthe very heart of Poland, which will make the park easy to access from thesurrounding countries. AWW will be a destination park and we are targeting alsoat foreigners and Poles who want to come and stay for more than just one day.In terms of climate, Poland has a moderate climate with both maritime and continental elements.This allows us to use the open-air theme park with five islands from April toNovember. Combined with the Winter Area open 365 days a year, it gives us ayear-round, everyday possibility for the whole family to have fun and spendtime together.

IPM: Hasa feasibility study been conducted, and if so, by whom?

AWW: There has been afeasibility study conducted by one of the 4 most recognized consultingcompanies in the world, together with our cooperating specialists with manyyears of professional experience in the industry.

IPM: Please share some details about expected attendance, market and guest demographics. Where will AWW draw its visitors from?
AWW: The first group will be Poles that inhabit the 250km radius area around the park. This group includes almost 11 million people. The location of the park is easily accessible both from Poland and its neighboring countries. Grodzisk Mazowiecki commune, where the resort is being built, is only a 30 minutes drive from Warsaw, which has an international airport with well-developed flight network that will bring in foreign customers. Apart from that, the park is located by the international A2 highway (Berlin-Moscow) which will be finished by the time we open. That means that the park will be easily accessible by car from different regions of Poland or from Germany, Ukraine, Slovakia or Czech Republic.

IPM: Majorthemed entertainment developments of this kind are generally considered topoint to local middle-class population growth with attendant disposable incomeand demand for leisure activity. Has Poland enjoyed this kind of growth?

AWW: According to this year’s researchexecuted by Ernst & Young and Oxford Economics research institute, Poland isamong the 25 Rapidly Developing Markets, which will influence the globaleconomy in the coming decade. The economic growth despite tough global economytendencies is to be owed to middle-class population growth, which is drawn bythe foreign investment and foreign capital input.

According to an estimate carried out 4years ago by Millward Brown SMG/KRC, there are 500,000–600,000 people in Polandwith a household income of over PLN 7,000 (taking the "grey economy"into account), which represents 2–3 percent of adult Poles. Travel and tourismare important to them, according to the survey. We believe this demonstrates that we have chosen the perfect moment to develop Adventure WorldWarsaw in Poland.

IPM: Whatwill differentiate AWW from comparable visitor attractions in Europe? Will itbe distinctively Polish in nature, and if so, how?

AWW: There willbe a part of the Theme Park – an Island called Old Poland (previous workingname was “Polski Plaza”) which will be a wonderful combination of the mostbeautiful and engaging Polish legends and fairytales, together with the oldtraditional architecture which can be seen at the Old Town in Warsaw or otherPolish cities. There will be, for example, Twardowski’s Mansion of Magic.Guests will enter the house of Pan Twardowski. This character from a famous Polish myth received magical powers from dark forces and likes to fool theguests with these powers. His biggest trick is to actually spin the house. The rest ofthe park, especially the other four themed islands, will refer to other culturesand historical eras, like: the ancient Egypt, the medieval kingdom, the magicallagoon…

IPM: Howis this development being received by the community and the region?

AWW: The community is looking forward todeveloping the park. Firstly, the whole Grodzisk Commune is known as a greatdestination for any investors. The local authorities, especially the Mayor ofthe City of Grodzisk – Grzegorz Benedykciński, who has been in charge foralmost 20 years, are very helpful and actively involved in the process of creatingthe park. What is very important, there were no protests or complaints about this project, which is especiallyimportant for us as we wish to bring people happiness, not problems. Moreover,the land owners wish to sell their parcels while the price for one square meteris very attractive comparing to the market prices. Besides, due to rapiddevelopment of the A2 motorway, their land won’t be a good place forcultivating grain in the next years, that is why now is such a good moment tosell it.

IPM: Is your new Executive Managing Director, Steven Shaiken, relocating to Poland? Is this a permanent position for him?

AWW: As soon as we begin construction, Steven Shaiken will take up residence in Poland. He has committed to a minimum of three yearswith the project. His ultimate goal is totrain and mentor local management to assume full management of the park.

IPM: Steven Shaiken has experience with marine leisure & hospitality (cruise ships) as well asland-based projects. What does he bring from his Royal Caribbean experienceto this position?

AWW: According to Mr Shaiken, the basics of hospitality are summed upin a few key words: SERVICE and delivering the BRAND PROMISE. He states that during his entire career, not only with RoyalCaribbean, the guest experience has been the overarching mind set for himselfand his entire team.

IPM: Therecent announcement of a comparable development in Abu Dhabi by the same teamis intriguing. But AWW hasn’t yet completed its permitting process. What do youhave to tell the skeptics in regard to announcing a second ambitiousdevelopment when the first has not yet broken ground?

AWW: We are consequently moving forward withthe AWW project but it must be taken into consideration that the formal issuesin Poland must take some time to be finalized - which doesn’t mean they are toohard to manage, especially when you have the determination and strong partners,like the Grodzisk authorities, who support you. We are looking positively tothe next coming months which will be crucial for the project. What must beremembered is that the two projects do not depend on one another. They arebeing concurrently developed and, what is important, in different marketconditions. What is really amazing is that the concept of the park has so muchpotential that it will be adopted in the next country.

IPM: Isan “Adventure World” brand being created?

AWW: Without doubt, the entire team’s goal iscreate and expand the brand called Adventure World Warsaw.

IPM: Pleasetalk about the retail and hospitality areas of AWW: How will they beincorporated into the overall guest experience? How will they be made to beunique, and profitable?

AWW: All areas of AWW, including retail,hotels, entertainment, etc. will provide an immersive experience that supports eachcomponent of the park and the guests' day(s) within AWW.

IPM: Whatwill be the signature attractions within AWW? Can you give some details on oneor two of them in terms of the guest experience, design and technology?

AWW: Each attraction should be considered apart of our signature. The imaginativestory lines will capture the guests' intrigue and propel them toward the nextattraction, all with the goal of creating an indelible memory.

IPM: WillAdventure World Warsaw be licensing any IPs that will be applied toattractions?

AWW: At this time we are in discussions withseveral significant IPs on a confidential basis.

IPM: Thisis a sizable project. Individuals and companies with relevant products andservices will want to participate. How can they get in touch?

AWW: We have created a special mailbox tocontact us in cooperation matters: wspolpraca@adventureworldwarsaw.com.We have been gathering offers for the past few months and will make use of themon the next steps of the project.

Front Row Seats: With Rhythm & Hues, Charlotte Huggins Plunges Back into Special Venue Media Production

2011-12-19T17:36:00.000-08:00

Rhythm & Hues announced in September that Charlotte Huggins has joined R&H as executive producer of its Special Projects division, which will encompass Theme Park and Special Venue attractions.

With the addition of Huggins, Rhythm & Hues is poised to return to the attractions business in a big way. R&H has been a leader in the production of CG animation and visual effects for some two decades and was a leading attraction content producer during the 1990s (“It’s Tough to be a Bug!” for Disney; “Race for Atlantis” for Caesars Palace, among others).
Arguably the most experienced 3D producer on the planet, Charlotte Huggins developed and honed her skills in giant-screen, ridefilm and destination media – working with Boss Film Studio, Sony Pictures Imageworks and nWave Pictures. Virtually every one of her special venue productions is still playing somewhere in the world at a museum, theme park or world’s fair site.

"We are looking to do things that are new and interesting – bigger, better, cooler - and tell great stories."

Huggins is fond of saying that “we can all bake a bigger pie” as a metaphor for the untapped potential of special venue cinema. She will remain active in the feature film world – “Journey to Mysterious Island” (Warner Bros.) opens in February and a third “Journey” film is rumored. Her intention is to leverage cross-platform and transmedia opportunities, and foster dialog and collaboration between the feature film and special venue camps. She sits on the New Media Council of the Producers Guild of America and the Board of Governors for the International 3D Society.

Don MacBain

Working with Huggins on projects for Rhythm & Hues is another person familiar to the special venue community – Don MacBain, an independent producer who has collaborated with Huggins since 1990 and with R&H since 2007. MacBain’s recent credits include work on two R&H films for Ferrari World Abu Dhabi.

Rhythm & Hues’s feature work includes the “Alvin & The Chipmunks” and “Night at the Museum” franchises, along with 150+ additional film credits. R&H has won two Oscars® for Achievement in Visual Effects (“Babe” 1995 and “The Golden Compass,” 2008), along with four Scientific and Technical Awards from the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS).

InPark co-editor Judith Rubin interviewed Charlotte Huggins in November 2011 and found her, as usual, animated and infectiously exuberant...

IPM: How did this new career move come about?
Charlotte Huggins: I was talking to Lee Berger [President, Rhythm & Hues Feature Film division] and naming all the things I love about special venue: the people, the room for experimentation, the technology, the creative storytelling, and the fact that special venue productions stick around for a long time. One thing led to another, and here I am… I’m honored to re-ignite the special venue division that Sherry McKenna used to lead; she was my role model. We foresee three categories of projects: straightforward work for hire, partnerships and independent productions. We are looking to do things that are new and interesting – bigger, better, cooler - and tell great stories.

IPM: One of the major gratifications of special venue is the long shelf life of a production?
Huggins: Yes - there’s the joy of having it stay onscreen for 5-10 years rather than 6-12 weeks. There’s no doubt that in feature films I get to do new and interesting things, tell good stories, work with amazing people who are at the top of the industry - but a movie comes out, and - unless it’s one of only a few in history - it will never go back into theaters. “Honey, I Shrunk the Audience” which I worked on with Boss Film for DIsney in 1993 was running at the Imagination! pavilion at Epcot up until about a year ago (when it was replaced by Captain EO).

"If your innovation catches on beyond the initial platform, it can end up influencing bigger venues or even the broader entertainment industry. That’s exactly what happened with 3D."

Even “Journey to Technopia,” which I produced for the Lucky Goldstar [now LG] pavilion at Taejon Expo 93, was still playing in the original theater on the original site the last time I was there a few years ago. Creating a unique piece for a particular venue or type of venue and knowing people will enjoy watching it for years is inspiring to me.

Another thing I really value about the special venue industry is that no matter what sector you are in - whether producer, distributor, or operator - you have to be involved in everything from creation through display, from the beginning to the end. And so, you get to innovate. If your innovation catches on beyond the initial platform, it can end up influencing bigger venues or even the broader entertainment industry. That’s exactly what happened with 3D.

IPM: What are you doing to jump-start yours and the company’s renewed focus on special venue?
Huggins: We’re reaching out to the community in a number of ways. We’ll be at trade events, conferences and on all the PR and media channels. I’m going to the IAAPA Attractions Expo in Orlando this November and setting myself up there as a co-sponsor of the TEA (Themed Entertainment Association) booth to meet with designers, operators, distributors, producers, project managers and other potential creative partners. I’m excited to learn what projects are out there and to help create some great new guest experiences.

"I think the feature film world may have a lot more to learn from special venue than the other way around!"

We want to work with science centers, FECs, giant-screen theater owners, and theme parks large and small on computer generated, live action and hybrid projects, using a variety of business models. I want to collaborate with people rather than compete. There is a lot of room for growth and experimentation, creatively and in business.

“Dolphins: The Ride” IMAX RideFilm

The Giant Screen Cinema Association (GSCA) and Euromax are holding a joint film expo at Futuroscope in March 2012, and I hope to be there as well. Interestingly, the last time GSCA met at Futuroscope was when Sony and IMAX announced making the 3D feature “Wings of Courage” with director Jean-Jacques Annaud in 1995, which I had the pleasure of working on.

IPM: What did you bring to the world of features, and what are you bringing back to special venue?
Huggins: I think I can be somewhat controversial and provocative to both worlds as one of the few people who has done both.

Primarily, what I believe I took into features was the acceptance and expansion of 3D. I wasn’t the first to do 3D, nor the first to do what amounted to a ridefilm element. But to combine the two: a 3D film and a ride/attraction film essentially embedded in the feature – “Journey” was one of the first to ever do that. [The “Journey” ride/attraction films came out through Jon Corfino’s company, Attraction Media & Entertainment.] Now I see it happening more and more. I hear people in Hollywood all the time describing their feature film projects as “a thrill ride.” That makes me very happy. 3D has seriously taken off, and I think the idea of creating a ride-type experience in a movie has a real place now; it’s fun and kids like it. We are definitely doing it in “Journey to Mysterious Island.”

What I hope to take back into special venue… First I need to say that I think the feature film world may have a lot more to learn from special venue than the other way around! The feature business has been around for a long time, and is large and established. Therefore, it has a lot of layers to it, a lot of people involved and a lot of conventions. The special venue business has neither the hierarchy nor the deep pockets. It is lighter on its feet. You are forced to be experimental and that has led us to create things that are innovative and immersive. There is a lot that I want to try in special venue that I have been watching from afar the last couple of years – such as producing for the digital dome, and creating new 4D experiences.

Obviously the feature business is phenomenal in terms of talent: I would like to connect some of that from one world to the other. That would include onscreen talent, writers, directors, costumes, wardrobe, set design, and camera work.

"Primarily, what I believe I took into features was the acceptance and expansion of 3D."

Collaboration is another great strength of the feature business, and very important it is to creating a better movie. That’s one lesson I will definitely bring. In special venue, the budgets are low, the profit potential is relatively low, and so people work more in isolation, which can be counterproductive. How do you resolve that? Make a bigger pie! Create projects that have longer legs, are more diverse and have expanded distribution potential. That means multi-platform and bigger projects. Obviously, the production budget is a direct reflection of distribution potential. No matter what industry you are in, if you can create a bigger distribution potential, you can create a bigger project. A feature film can now be seen on everything from the biggest IMAX screen to traditional theatrical exhibition to TV, HD video and your smartphone. I believe we can do that with special venue – it’s a matter of knowing how to cook up these kinds of deals.

Wings of Courage, Sony Pictures Classics

IPM: Is there a place for going back to something like “Wings of Courage”? It was a very different kind of 3D picture from the titles you worked on later with nWave Pictures, such as “3D Mania!” and “Haunted Castle.”
Huggins: As visual effects producer for Sony on “Wings of Courage,” I had the pleasure of working directly with Peter Guber and the great Jean-Jacques Annaud. It was an extremely complicated and innovative movie at the time and is still groundbreaking today. I was not involved in the live action, which was captured in 1570 right- and left-eye photography with actors, in the mountains, on location and scripted. It was unheard of in its day and still extremely rare.

But I don’t think that people would shoot that way now; it was never easy enough or practical to work in that format. Now we have very high-resolution digital capture – 4K is coming on line as we speak – promising the ability to shoot what might be a good substitute for 1570. Meanwhile, we are creating many feature films in hi-res 2K and up every day, for giant-screen and theatrical release.

"Digital capture and projection were pushed forward by special venue people and system providers such as Iwerks, ETI, Electrosonic, Barco and Christie in the 1990s - all innovators."

It is the giant-screen industry that brought 3D to the table. We don’t get to take credit for much because the world moves so fast, but we can say - a few dozen of us – that we were there in the early 1990s, working in 3D and creating stories and movies in 3D. That includes Sony Pictures and IMAX with “WOC” and “Across the Sea of Time,” Ben Stassen and nWave Pictures with so many titles, then and now, for a wide range of venues, and directors like John Weiley and Stephen Lowe. I give a lot of credit to the people selling IMAX 3D theaters in that time with virtually no product. We knew the power and the fun of 3D. We were creating 3D films that led directly to the feature films in 3D we are doing now.

IPM: What are some other innovations in filmmaking that have roots in special venue?
Huggins: CGI – it’s ubiquitous now, and has made a huge difference in so many films. At Boss Film, which was a big feature film effects company in its day, one of the first fully CG films they ever did was “Journey to Technopia,” and in 1993 that was very rare. We were innovating in both format and resolution. James Cameron and others in the feature world are talking about adopting 60 frames per second now, but in special venue, we have been doing 48 and 60 fps for the last 20 years. Similarly, for the past 20 years special venue has been experimenting and innovating with really tricky immersive sound systems and those are now incredibly important to the feature film experience.

Digital capture and projection were pushed forward by special venue people and system providers such as Iwerks, ETI, Electrosonic, Barco and Christie in the 1990s - all innovators.

I remember sitting with Peter Guber around 1997, talking about 3D experiences. He said, “Charlotte, you’re sitting on a surfboard and the wave is gonna come in and you’re gonna ride that wave.” I sat on my surfboard and produced a lot of interesting things, and finally, the wave did come in. It’s been the ride of my life.

Charlotte Huggins is currently writing a book about 3D pop culture, with David Cohen of Variety.

TO IP OR NOT TO IP: The world of intellectual property

2011-12-06T17:20:00.001-08:00

Lady Rainicorn at the Cartoon Network Store. Photo courtesy of edg

By Steve Guy, president EDG

What makes an idea an intellectual property?

And, for that matter, what is an intellectual property? I’ve seen plenty of official definitions, and I’ve boiled it down to this: An intellectual property [IP] is what happens to a good idea when money and lawyers get involved. I don’t mean this in a negative way; in fact, I love IPs (and lawyers, sometimes) – particularly when they’re mine, or I at least get permission to use them.

My company, edg, got started a little more than 21 years ago when I, along with a few fellow upstarts at Six Flags Theme Parks, decided to go out on our own in the world of entertainment design and production. At that time, I don’t think any of us gave much thought to the potential impact that IPs might have on how we conducted business or how successful we would become. We were always inundated with IPs at Six Flags, and using them was an everyday occurrence (which is likely why we enjoyed continued success at the park). It was not until we were out on our own that we truly learned the value of IPs – once we had to work to incorporate them into projects and productions without the power of a major corporation behind us! Now, with 21 years and thousands of projects and events now under our belts, I have found it to be an interesting exercise to take time to reflect on the role that IPs have played in our company’s history.

In the world of entertainment, IPs are hard to avoid. Whether they take the form of a themed character, a movie, TV show, song, a piece of artwork, or even just a catch phrase or simple logo design, IPs are everywhere. Given this fact, folks in our industry have only two viable options:

Create programs, events and experiences in partnership with (and permission from) the owner of a particular IP
Create programs, events and experiences that avoid the use of an IP altogether

A third option – Using an IP without permission and hoping you don’t get caught – is not something I’d recommend trying. I’ll leave it at that. Of the two viable options, we have had our fair share of both examples over the years – each with their own sets of pros and cons. Through two recent examples, I’d like to briefly illustrate how companies can find success through either option.

To “IP”
Working with the right IP is like walking into a crowded room with a celebrity on your arm: You’re sure to get noticed. The level of success you create for yourself depends on what you do once you get the attention.

We’ve worked with some great IPs, including characters from movies and TV shows, including Shrek, Chronicles of Narnia, Batman/Batman Forever, Peanuts, Dr. Seuss’ “How the Grinch Stole Christmas,” South Park, Hole-in-the-Wall, etc. Each property lends its own personality – and its own intrinsic value – to our scenic projects, whether they are part of a stunt show, holiday décor display or interactive experience.

We typically create IP-leveraged programs for third-party companies, like theme park operators or entertainment networks (both of which often own the IPs), as well as museums, malls and other retail clients. Recently we were able to work on a project that was a combination of all of these.

CARTOON NETWORK CASE STUDY
I’ve always been of the opinion that – if given the choice – I would rather work with an IP (versus without one) 99 times out of 100. Working with Turner to create a larger-than-life Lady Rainicorn character for its Cartoon Network retail shop in Atlanta’s CNN Center embodies the two key reasons I love working with IPs.

For one thing, IPs (the right ones, anyway) offer instant recognition. The Lady Rainicorn character from CN’s “Adventure Time” series has become a big hit in a relatively short time. The character is quirky and engaging, and its unique shape and vibrant colors are unusual and easily recognizable. Working with such an appealing character helps ensure a level of success in whatever program we build with or around it.

Second, IPs – as closely guarded “brands” in and of themselves – typically come with a distinct set of guidelines (brand standards) for every aspect of design, including size, dimensions and color usage. Having the exact “blueprints” and style guides for designing themed environments or a themed element makes our job much easier, as it takes the guess-work out of the design.

The CN project allowed us to take a well-known character, complete with its own “assembly instructions,” and let our imagination take it from there. With the help of – and ultimate approval from Jacob Escobedo, VP, Design/Creative Group for Cartoon Network and Adult Swim, we came up with a visually stunning result that they were happy with and we are extremely proud of.

Not To “IP”
Sometimes, leveraging an IP is not an option for us in working for our clients. Often the subject matter for a client project is compelling enough on its own, without having to go through the added expense of leveraging an IP. Often a client may not have the budget to accommodate an IP. Sometimes, clients want to partner with us to create something that might become an IP in its own right.

Getting around using an IP is harder than it sounds. It’s like trying to write a column without using the letter “e.” Simply put, they’re hard to avoid…but not impossible. Creating compelling content without IPs is a matter of creativity and a bit of cunning.

CHRISTMAS ON PEACHTREE CASE STUDY
Earlier in 2011, edg was approached by the ownership team of 200 Peachtree – a Downtown Atlanta special-event/exhibition facility and retail/restaurant hub located in the footprint of a former department store building on Peachtree Street. The goal: to help them create an annual attraction that draws visitors and Atlanta natives alike to dine, shop and experience the recent resurgence of the Downtown area. Based on this request, and after several brainstorming sessions, “Christmas on Peachtree” was born.

The Christmas on Peachtree concept allows 200 Peachtree to leverage a highly recognizable theme (Christmas and Santa Claus and all that goes along with it), and avoid bumping up against an IP. Christmas and Santa are a few of the remaining popular-culture icons that can’t be co-opted as an IP. Complete with the tagline, “Everything Christmas should be,” Christmas on Peachtree would include holiday shopping (including classic holiday displays for window shopping), games and rides, a holiday music and light show, and – of course – visits with Santa.

Over the past six months, Christmas on Peachtree has evolved from concept to reality, with a launch date in Atlanta of November 25, 2011. And while it is likely that Christmas on Peachtree may leverage IPs as trade-in-kind from early sponsors of the event, the concept was created to stand alone if necessary.

Christmas on Peachtree has its own brand and logo (soon to be IPs???), both developed by 200 Peachtree’s marketing team at Creaxion, Inc. Based on the success of Christmas on Peachtree, the annual holiday event is likely to grow, and it’s even possible that other annual events “on Peachtree” will be developed as well.

With IPs or without, there are never any absolute guarantees for success. Picking the right IP at the right time to engage audiences and drive sales is a rare skill, as is creating a compelling concept without using an IP. Learning to generate success with or without IP’s is what ensures staying power in this business.

Click here to download or print a PDF version of this article.

Mark Snell talks about KidZania's next-generation rollout

2011-12-02T16:33:00.001-08:00

Mark Snell

by Judith Rubin, IPM co-editor

Opening early 2012 in Cuicuilco, a southern suburb of Mexico City, is a new twist on the KidZania concept: an outdoor park, more than triple the size of the existing, eponymous indoor facilities, on a 150,000 square foot site.

And that’s just the beginning. The privately held KidZania Inc. currently operates eight parks and is on schedule to double that over the next two years. Altogether about a dozen new KidZanias are in various stages of development around the world, including two in the US. The company recently created two new executive positions to help steer the growth and realize the next generation of KidZanias. Mark Snell is now Chief Experience Officer, and Philip Sandhaus is Vice President Global Business.

“We are taking our motto of ‘Get Ready for a Better World’ and putting it into practice through the medium of leisure entertainment.”

The first KidZania opened in Mexico City in 1999. The seven other locations – all indoors - are Monterrey, Mexico; Tokyo; Jakarta; Osaka; Lisbon; Dubai; and Seoul. The company reports that more than 18 million kids and family members have visited the parks globally.

All photos courtesy KidZania

Within each KidZania are multiple “establishments” that reflect an urban community, each with a range of role-playing activities based in the real world and tending toward the vocational. The facilities’ themed environments are detailed with a view toward authenticity. KidZania also makes the most of corporate branding and sponsorship, which further contribute to making the places and experiences look and feel authentic to the young visitors.

As Chief Experience Officer, Snell, based at the company headquarters in Mexico, leads KidZania’s “Ministry of Culture,” focused on creating superior guest experiences through entertaining and engaging content, themes, architecture, programming, and operations. He was first exposed to KidZania about 11 years ago when he was with Jack Rouse Associates, and CEO Xavier López Ancona invited a JRA team to visit the flagship facility.

The new property in Cuicuilco will reflect an expanded concept as well as a larger facility and the first outdoor KidZania. “It is the next evolution of the KidZania experience,” says Snell. Laid out as a scaled-down city complete with a downtown, suburbs, landscaping and architectural landmarks, and looped by a roadway for driving education, its activities revolve around the themes of driving safety, community, health, civics and the environment. “We are taking our motto of ‘Get Ready for a Better World’ and putting it into practice through the medium of leisure entertainment,” says Snell.

The backstory of the “Better World” motto is that KidZania was formed by kids who wanted to experiment with running the world and see how they could improve things. They even have their own currency: the “kidZo.”

The new property in Cuicuilco will reflect an expanded concept as well as a larger facility and the first outdoor KidZania.

The new park will open with around 85 establishments including over 200 activities. The primary demographic is ages 4-12. The facility will be 100% accessible and include specific activities to help able-bodied children empathize with the disabled, such as grocery shopping in darkness guided by blind attendants, or being fitted with a leg cast and wheelchair and sent out to perform tasks in the park.
By empowering children to try on a variety of activities and roles, KidZania seeks to build skills, nurture creativity and develop values in ways that will positively affect the real future of their young visitors and where they live. “If we can encourage this experimentation and flexibility in kids now, when they become adults imagine how they might do things better than we currently do,” explains Snell.

KidZania activities are designed to help instill a sense of the workings of a city: infrastructure, zoning and planning, civic awareness, and limited natural resources.

The outdoor setting of the Cuicuilco park accommodates an extensive driving course and fulfills an important KidZanian goal: to train better drivers for Mexico’s streets. “This will emphasize the importance of driver’s education to the kids,” explains Snell.

Snell points out that almost every major urban area faces certain kinds of issues that touch the children who live there, such as housing and population growth, accommodation for the disabled, nutrition and, with the rise of personal technology, a decline in the level of physical activity and face-to-face socialization. To address such issues and help build that better world, KidZania activities are designed to help instill a sense of the workings of a city: infrastructure, zoning and planning, civic awareness, limited natural resources - with the new, larger park offering more choices than ever.

The facility will be 100% accessible and include specific activities to help able-bodied children empathize with the disabled.

“To really understand how a city works you have to have all the roles: police officers, dentists, bus drivers, cooks, clerks, judges, trash collectors, teachers, radio announcers and so forth,” says Snell. “Additionally, national, state and international curriculum standards are being built into the activities; we have strong relationships with top universities in Mexico and are building similar relationships with other US and global institutions centered on early childhood education.”

Xavier López Ancona

That’s heavy stuff, but it’s still “Entertainment first,” says Snell, whose professional background includes an education in theatre, the creation of attractions for SeaWorld, LEGOLAND and other major theme parks and the design of online educational experiences for school curricula. “It has to deliver a fun and engaging mix of entertainment along with the educational/socialization component for kids and their parents to be motivated to visit and return. KidZania isn’t a school, although we host many school groups: It’s a place for kids to come and have fun, and the supervisors role-play right along with the kids.”
Snell works with a creative team of about 50 people in Mexico City covering the full range of disciplines for designing and producing themed environments. Once a site is established, it’s a rapid process: “We can turn out a park in about 18 months,” he says. Industry members interested in working on future KidZanias should send inquiries to kzinformation@kidzania.com.

Opening early 2012 in Cuicuilco, a southern suburb of Mexico City, is a new twist on the KidZania concept: an outdoor park, more than triple the size of the existing, eponymous indoor facilities, on a 150,000 square foot site. And that's just the beginning.

With The Red Sea Astrarium, RGH dives into themed entertainment

2011-11-30T20:31:00.001-08:00

All images are courtesy RGH Themed Entertainment and used here with permission.

Interview by Judith Rubin
The Red Sea Astrarium (TRSA) is a $1.5 billion+, 184-acre, mixed-use, 5-star themed resort opening in 2014 in Aqaba, Jordan. It is targeted to visitor markets in the Middle East, Europe and Asia. The project was announced in May 2011.

TRSA is being designed and produced by RGH Themed Entertainment, a division of Rubicon Group Holding (RGH), a diversified global entertainment company active in the development and production of 2D and 3D animated television, film, Web-based and mobile content for both entertainment and education. Led by CEO Randa S. Ayoubi, RGH has some 300 employees among its four locations in Amman, Jordan; Los Angeles, Manila and Dubai. RGH Director of Themed Entertainment Lenny Larsen has been instrumental in forming the creative team for the Astrarium project.

One well-publicized aspect of TRSA is its “Star Trek” connection. By arrangement with CBS Consumer Products and Paramount Recreation TRSA will prominently feature an attraction that is exclusively themed around the 2009 “Star Trek” motion picture and the 2012 sequel. But RGH representatives stress that while the “Star Trek” attraction will be an outstanding feature of the resort, it will not wholly define it, but rather be an aspect of an adventure “celebrating the heritage and culture of the region’s past civilizations, drawing from Nabatean, Babylonian, British and Roman influences.”

To learn more about TRSA, we spoke to Jason McManus, Creative Director of Attractions at RGH Themed Entertainment. McManus, a graduate of the CalArts Experimental Animation program, has previously worked as a concept designer and art director on numerous projects for Walt Disney Imagineering, The Smithsonian Institute, MGM Resorts, and his own themed entertainment consultancy group, StudioVitru.

IPM: Tell us about the new RGH themed entertainment division.
Jason McManus: RGH is working to establish itself more broadly. The company has a significant portfolio in television and video games; it has relationships with many IP owners, owns some of its own IPs, and has other resources such as an animation house. To this existing infrastructure the people in the new themed entertainment division bring experience from top companies such as WDI, Thinkwell, Lexington and Landmark. We are interested in where themed entertainment is going and in shaping its evolution, informed by the examples and experiences of past projects. While TRSA is our first themed entertainment project, we have others in the works.

IPM: How will “Star Trek” be incorporated into the TRSA project? Will there be other IPs as well?
JM: Right now we can’t announce any other IPs but that could very well change in the near future. The “Star Trek” attraction will include multiple attraction experiences, which we are now working to create in alliance with CBS Consumer Products and Paramount Recreation. The overarching storyline of TRSA will allow for elegant transition from the “Star Trek” world to other worlds – to the many worlds we’re creating here.

IPM: What is the overarching storyline?
JM: The main ideas are creativity, inspiration, integrity and the warping or bending of time. These are woven into compelling stories that make up the different areas of The Red Sea Astrarium’s overall adventure.

IPM: How will that be realized in the guest experience?
JM: Some examples: The Summit, one of the lands in the resort, will be a focal point for a lot of the story. There, we’ll tell a deep narrative that will serve as the seed to the stories of the other areas of the park. Save the Astrarium: An Interactive Adventure, will be a massive walk-through experience where the guest truly becomes part of the story. Cradle of Inspiration will feature an entirely new, groundbreaking ride system we are developing, but we’re using it not for a thrill ride but for a very immersive, story-based experience. We’re developing new technologies for every attraction so that a guest can repeat and repeat and have a different experience each time.
TRSA slightly resembles a lot of projects but doesn’t closely resemble anything. It’s not a theme park but rather a story-based destination resort. We looked at a lot of models and spent a lot of time trying to create something entirely new and fresh. The result is a park for everybody - for young couples to come in and go to spas, for shopping, shows mixed with dining, plus attraction elements that are more like a theme park. You don’t have to move out of the story to go from one zone into the other. We’ve found a unique way to operate that will be a signature of this place.

For the retail and hospitality areas, we are developing design guidelines to carry the thematic vision throughout the property. TRSA will have four hotels and we are working very closely with the providers to make sure that the guest experience fits the aesthetic and story guidelines.

IPM: Please describe the site and the location.
JM: The TRSA site is a lush, mountainous region in Aqaba, which is a quickly growing, beach and spa resort town. It is 35 minutes by plane from Amman and about an hour from Petra, and will help bring Jordan into the limelight as a tourist destination. Aqaba is what’s called a “tourist based free zone,” which means it is focused on tourism as its central means of income and receives full support from the Jordanian Government for any sort of tourist-based function. His Majesty King Abdullah II checks up every now and then to see what’s going on - he wants TRSA to succeed. The project emphasizes green technologies and we want to make sure the technology and infrastructure of TRSA – as well as the storyline – compliment and tie in with the surrounding landscape.

IPM: Who owns the land?
JM: We are working closely with the development group that currently owns the land. The property that The Red Sea Astrarium will eventually reside on is secured and the funding is all in place for this project. At the moment we can’t discuss contracts with our developers, but more information will eventually be released as we move further along into the process.

IPM: What is TRSA’s target visitor demographic?
JM: We’re creating a family park for a Mideast audience and a Western audience, with something for everyone all the way from tiny tots to seniors. The Jordanians are very progressive and we’re making this project progressive in attitude. The main language of the resort will be English. We have conducted a lot of studies to make sure that the architecture and the project will truly resonate with the audience. We are trying to push communications and evoke emotions that are universal, that people from all over the world will understand.

IPM: You’ve said that you will apply gaming technology in new ways to the attractions at TRSA. Can you give some specifics?
JM: First of all, it will be felt in how the stories vary every time you ride. The experiences will evolve and change with the guest. Compelling stories are at the core of our mission statement at RGH Themed Entertainment and the foundation of what our industry does, but the way theme parks are going to tell those stories has to change.
In Save the Astrarium: An Interactive Adventure, guests get a call to action to travel through time and confront an evil genie who threatens to destroy the park. This heavily themed, walk-through environment will have devices that pull each guest deeply into the narrative to actively participate in the story by becoming one of the characters. They will be able to make decisions and perform actions that affect how the story ends up. This attraction is being developed and themed just like a major dark-ride, but in this attraction, the visitor is pulled through with no need for a ride vehicle. While I can’t divulge the specifics of the proprietary technology at this time, it will use a highly intuitive gaming system, relying on a main central brain to control all the scenes, raise different challenges as the guests walk through, learn “who” they are and eventually adapt and change the story each time. It’s very theatrical in execution.

Cradle of Inspiration will feature a circular ride platform that rises through multiple show scenes, takes guests into a 360 projection dome, and achieves up to 2Gs of force, traveling 12 vertical meters in less than 3 seconds. It will be a very ambitious ride system, unlike anything seen before.

In another of the attractions, we’re working on a technology that observes and learns how the user is responding and will adapt in real time, while people are engaged with it. We’re looking past current technologies like RFID to find or create the next big idea. Here we’re working on what will be the future of themed environments.

While we’re reaching to the cutting edge in terms of developing the technologies, we’re relying on the best traditions of filmmaking in terms of telling the stories; developing them with storyboarding, color scripting and framing that reveals things in a paced, deliberate way. We’re blessed to have in-house media departments at RGH, and very talented people on animation projects to pull from in the various locations. It’s sort of the way theme parks used to be designed: people from the film studios would come in, take from the old and develop something really innovative for the future. That’s our process.

Technology will also be used for dynamic and intelligent crowd flow, to help dictate where visitors are going throughout the day. We’re looking into technology that improves our guests’ experiences in every way imaginable.

IPM: How big of a team is RGH putting together to design and build TRSA, and how can interested parties apply to join it?
JM: There’s no saying at present just how big the team will become. But we are growing the team rapidly now and looking for talent. As the project manager, RGH is doing the core design and feasibility, and the master planning is in partnership with Seattle-based Callison Architects. We are creating a lot of the attraction experiences in-house. For more information people should contact Mitch Russon [mitch.russon@rghentertainment.com].

Turtles and Cruise Ships are the new black: More notes from IAAPA

2011-11-30T12:28:00.001-08:00

SeaWorld's Brian Morrow (at Discovery Cove)

by Judith Rubin, IPM co-editor

SimEx-Iwerks keeps it in thefamily

Established provider of specialty cinema systems and contentSimEx-Iwerks has closed its Burbank offices in favor of a smaller location inSanta Clarita. Over the years since acquiring Iwerks Entertainment, the companyhas consolidated most of its operations in Toronto, where the parent entity isbased. At the same time the company has set up a new office in Baltimore to betterserve zoos and aquariums, outposts in China and Russia to address overseasmarkets, and formed a new content-focused company, Synthesiz3D, with RichardNeedham as creative director. And that’s not all – starting in spring,SimEx-Iwerks is poised to roll out a series of “5D” theaters on Carnival CruiseLines ships.

Notes from the Asia-Pacificbreakfast

Building on a business background and 15-year career in wirelesscommunications, Charles Oliva recently founded the mobile media company Lavahound. The company has developed avariety of apps for special events and tours, and recently provided a special iPhoneapp to enhance the experiences of guests visiting Sesame Place for Halloween.

We’ve heard a lot about The Red Sea Astrarium lately – a new, high-techmega-resort and theme park being developed in Aqaba, Jordan. Its mosttalked-about feature has been the Star Trek attraction and we were fortunateenough to run into Byung Lee, Technical Director of On-Track Themes in Fillmore, Calif. Leeinformed us that his company is helping to develop the Star Trek attraction,under contract to Paramount.

Grand Aquarium, Ocean Park Hong Kong. Image: PGAV Destinations

Some of the projects that people were talking about included Ocean ParkHong Kong’s new GrandAquarium, the HongKong Disneyland expansion featuring Toy Story Land, the 20th anniversary ofTokyo DisneySea, the Singapore Flyer Journey of Dreams and the ArtScienceMuseum at Marina Bay Sands Integrated Resort and the forthcoming HappyLandresort said to be opening in 2012 in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam. IAAPA reportsthat it is conducting a variety of studies on the Asia-Pacific region, and willhold the Asian Attractions Expo June 5-8 in Hong Kong and that the eventprogram will include opportunities to visit Ocean Park Hong Kong and Hong KongDisneyland.

Future Legends panel discussion

Kudos to Christian Lachel of BRCImagination Arts for what was clearly a concerted and successful effort to assemble apanel of intriguing and well-qualified speakers and a very well organized andlively presentation. (The "Future Legends" panel was part of the Themed Entertainment Association's 20th anniversary kickoff. IPM published a preview article about thepanel and speakers.) From the session itself, some takeaways...

Interesting phrases that reflect directions within the industry and maycatch on: “gaming convergence” (used in reference to the application of videogaming technology to visitor attractions), “kinetic architecture” (referring toa building with a changeable, programmable floor plan, and/or architecturalprojection and 3D mapping), “connected adaptive infrastructure” (used mostintriguingly as part of a discussion portraying cruise ships as ideal vehiclesfor seamless, immersive guest experiences), “multiverse experiences” (aka Transmedia),“deconstructed screen” (the new projection surfaces).

Our favorites:

From the lips of SeaWorld’s Brian Morrow: “Real experiences” and “planetequities.” Giving the example of swimming with dolphins, and SeaWorld’sforthcoming Antarcticaand TurtleTrek attractions, Brian explained (and the truth of it gives uschills) that “the real world is what is becoming rare and sought after,” Healso noted, aptly, humankind’s obsession with stories about the world coming toan end.

From Christian Lachel: “The Internet of things,” referring to a world inwhich all objects will be “smart” and linked to all other things. The nearness ofthat world is evident by the phrase “story matrix” which promises to replace “story.”

Dan Jamele (Media Mation); Janine Baker & Goedele Gillis (nWave).

nWave’s “trickle around”

Janine Baker and the crew at nWavePictures filled us in on some of the company’s recent special venue and 3D production/distributionsuccesses. The MoscowPlanetarium has booked “Deepo’s 3D Wondershow” (originally produced for theGeorgia Aquarium, by Gary Goddard) which was recently added to the nWavelibrary. Moscow also booked “The Little Prince”; Baker reports the latter titleis doing extremely well, has soft-opened in a custom 4D version at Futuroscopeand is now available in a digital dome version. “TurtleVision” and its popularwaterborne characters Sammy and Ray have been so well received as to generate asequel. Catchy educational shows from nWave include attraction versions of “Dinosaursof Patagonia” and of “Bugs!” a 3D production with serious legs, originallyproduced some years ago by Principal Large Format as a full-length giant screendocumentary, and testament to the long life and multiple platforms (what Bakerrefers to as “trickle around”) that a solid piece of special venue filmmakingcan enjoy. Classic nWave titles that are still popular include “Wild Safari”and “Haunted Mine Ride.” nWave’s outspoken founder Ben Stassen didn’t attendthe show, being busy on location shooting a new film in 3D HD digital.

Spinning Coaster at Kuwait's 360 Mall

360 conviviality

At an excellent party hosted by Steelman Partners LLP, we spent some time learningdetails of the FECcomplex at the 360 Mall in Kuwait from Tony Petruzziello of Electrosonic and John Becker of Leisure Consultants. The mallopened in March 2010 and Becker spent some 3 years on the project as generalmanager for Tamdeen Entertit of KMCC, who stewarded the design and build of themall’s 9400 square meter entertainment venue, which comprised three areas: theBowl Room, the Freeze Club and Infunity. Some of the features found among theseareas: a custom LED video wall; an indoor electric go-kart track, an overheadropes course and an indoor spinning roller coaster. Becker reported that thecoaster installation, on the 3^rd floor of the cylinder-shapedbuilding, was an elaborate manual process because a crane couldn’t be used. Teammembers included Robert Boyle Leisure Consultants, local architect SSH,Electrosonic (Tony Petruzziello and Jackson Benedict in the Dubai office) andChristian Delveaux (design consultant).

After some years in Dubai and overseas, Petruzziello is now back in hisnative Canada, based at Electrosonic’s Toronto office. He is spending a lot oftime traveling in Asia on business and is fond of Singapore. He mentioned theTyphoon Theater project on which Electrosonic worked with Super 78 and RalphAppelbaum Associates, and noted that Electrosonic now has full-scale offices in China. Tony’sown background is in architectural lighting, and he explained that Electrosonic’soriginal business was lighting: solid state dimmers, and that the company’sfirst big project was to light the Rock of Gibraltar. The company went on to dobusiness in lighting control consoles and architectural dimming racks with astrong European clientele and big dealer conventions in the UK.

Patsy Tillisch of EDG

And finally, the news spread pretty quickly that Disney's Joe Rohde was named for the Buzz Price Lifetime Achievement Award (part of the TEA's Thea Awards announcement on Nov 15 during the show). Joe himself was not on the floor at the time, but we snapped a picture of his longtime colleague, photogenic former Imagineer Patsy Tillisch, now Principal at EDG. Patsy worked closely with Rohde during the creation of Disney's Animal Kingdom, and was kind enough to pose holding the Thea Awards press release.

Tidbits from IAAPA Expo 2011

2011-11-22T14:34:00.000-08:00

Another IAAPA Expo has come and gone. While I spent a large chunk of time at the InPark Magazine booth, I did manage to get out a bit and find some interesting tidbits on the show floor. Of course, some news happened to come to the booth too.

Extreme Rusher at Beijing Happy Valley
Courtesy rcdb.com. Photographer: Hang Xun

S&S Worldwide and Birket Engineering have been partnering on building roller coasters and roller coaster controls (respectively) in China. Four coasters are built or in the works, while another one possibly looms on the horizon. Several of the rides utilize a pneumatic launch system designed by S&S with sophisticated safety and control systems engineered by Birket. Watch for more info on these projects in InPark.

ProSlide happily showed off models of their first Mammoth HydroMagnetic Rocket slide being built at Holiday World. Towering over the first HydroMagnetic Rocket slide (Wildebeast) the new, larger slide will feature circular 6 person rafts that can spin. ProSlide also plans on offering larger 8-person rafts that feature in-line side-by-side seating in the future. Those even larger rafts will engage two of the magnetic motors at a time to pull riders up the slide.

Their marketing manager, Brad Goodbody, also said they had developed less splashy versions of the ride for dry-park installation, which IPM editor Judith Rubin suggested might be more accurately called a "moist park."

Expo Expert Gordon Linden reminded me that while the Shanghai Expo is finished, it still lives on in digital form. Virtual tours for a number of the pavilions are available online, some with striking 3D imagery and interactive information. http://en.expo.cn/index.html

Guests walk through the water maze at Technifex

Special effects and theming company Technifex showcased their latest water technology, which combines water curtains, fountains, projection, audio and sophisticated controls to create fountain shows and even a walk-through water-wall maze.

Courtesy National Geographic

Louisville area based The Weber Group shared with us photos and videos of some of their latest projects, including their work on the National Geographic Treasures of the World exhibit. They created life-size models of the famous Chinese Terra Cotta Warriors. I asked how much advertising InPark would need to trade out to get a terra cotta warrior for my backyard.

Finally, several people stopped by the InPark booth and talked about health problems they had in the past year. Here's hoping the holidays bring much health and happiness to everyone and a new year full of the same!

-Martin Palicki

News stories from IAAPA - Museum, zoo & specialty cinema projects

2011-11-18T17:07:00.000-08:00

Airboat Theater photo by Maris Ensing

Airboat Theater
Maris Ensing and Tricia Rodriguez of Mad Systems told us about a recently opened ride theater project at the Fort Lauderdale Museum of Discovery & Science. The 5-minute, 4D experience, for which Mad Systems provided technical and AV design and integration, simulates an airboat ride with the help of a 6-axis Moog motion base, handpainted dioramas by local artist Rob Evans and wraparound projection using Panasonic digital projectors. Although the 20-seat theater space is somewhat open to the rest of the museum, sound is kept confined with a system of Bose line array speakers. Noted giant-screen cinematographer James Neihouse produced the media content; Cambridge Seven Associates designed the theater space and 1220 provided fabrication of scenic elements. Maris photographed the install and build and created time-lapse videos of the process:

behind the scenes – the making of part 1 (no edit done yet, so lots of “quiet time” )

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BFeDuDqUjjU

base first move

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8yGlbV1vHPo

testing of the base

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HtiLUse05Dc

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JpOZsOvSzgo

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bxlP_gsqmZc

4D cinema seats
Media Mation was exhibiting its X4D motion EFX seats and this year in addition to the attraction seats, is offering cinema seats for mainstream operators ready to provide a new level of enhancement to their 3D exhibitions. The seats have 2 degrees of freedom (forward/back and side tilt) plus a roster of effects such as transducers, pokers and ticklers. The adventurous theater owner can also delve into wind, rain, snow, bubbles, strobes and more.

Franklin Park Zoo renovation
Michael Mercadante of Main Street Design was shopping for products to incorporate play experiences with animal exhibits for the children's zoo within the Franklin Park Zoo in Boston. Main Street Design is providing concept design for the children's zoo renovation. This is the first phase of realizing the zoo's new master plan and is taking place in conjunction with the creation of a new entry plaza. Mercadante reports that 80% of his company's work at present is in zoos.

Members of the Capitol Theater team on the IAAPA floor near the Technifex and TEA booths. From left: Brian Yessian, Dave Goodman (Goodman Experiences), Chris Barbee (Bandit Lites), Doug Yellin (Matilda Entertainment), Rob Wyatt, Vijay Sehgal (FSY Architects). Photo: Judith Rubin.

Edmonton 4D
Rob Wyatt of Artisan Design provided details of the Capitol Theater restoration in Edmonton, Canada (opened August 1). It was rebuilt on the original site of the original 1920s structure torn down in the 1970s. The exterior was authentically recreated while the interior boasts a fully modern, versatile 250-seat theater that runs a 15-minute, 4D show on regional history, and also is completely equipped for cinematic presentations and live theater. Architect FSY Architects took on the role of theater consultant. Artisan produced the 4D experience under contract to Fort Edmonton Park. Artisan's team: Matilda Entertainment (media producer), Yessian Music Inc. (sound design and on-site mixing plus original music composed by Dan Zank), DJ Willrich Ltd. (AV system design and integration), Visual Terrain (lighting designer), Bandit Lites (lighting equipment supplier), Goodman Experiences (design consulting), Technifex (special effects) and LA ProPoint (custom rigging). Show effects include snow, smoke and seat transducers. The wraparound projection is on a large front scrim and rear screen with two side screens. HD projectors include 3 from Panasonic and 5 from Digital Projection. The sound system is from Bose. Lighting fixtures: ETC. The local architect of record was HIP Architects.

Interactive show control
Medialon's Eric Cantrell introduced us to two new products from the leading show control provider: Version 6 of its Manager software, and CueMaster. The most intriguing aspect of the Version 6 revision is that it allows the user to publish the GUI or control system information as Web pages that are viewable from any web-enabled device, such as a smartphone, tablet or laptop. This eliminates the need for a custom control console or touchpad to run it and by doing so opens up the field for remote support, so that even smaller companies and independent providers may get into the act. Additionally, as Cantrell pointed out, this Manager upgrade can also be a portal to guest interactivity, in that guests can be given controlled access to the web pages and thereby some power to affect the experience themselves. The CueMaster product is an iPad app designed for small-scale presentations for venues such as worship spaces or classrooms, and the rental market. It facilitates, real-time, manual operation of AV systems. The product will roll out in the spring.

IAAPA snaps from Wednesday Nov 16

2011-11-16T18:35:00.000-08:00

Robert Ward. Photo: IPM (Judith Rubin)


Scott Ault, Greg Lombardo & Jonathan Casson of BRC Imagination Arts. Photo: IPM (Judith Rubin)

Maris Ensing & Tricia Rodriguez of Mad Systems visit the InPark booth. Photo: IPM (Judith Rubin)

Meeting at the JRA booth. From left: Keith James, Matthew Wheeler and Randy
Smith of JRA, plus Larry Wyatt of MSI Entertainment Design. Photo: IPM (Judith Rubin)

Dan Jamele of Media Mation with Janine Baker and Goedele Gillis from nWave Pictures. Photo: IPM (Judith Rubin)

Jonathan Casson & Tisa Poe at the BRC booth. Photo: IPM (Judith Rubin)

Steve & Lisa Thorburn of Thorburn Associates with Christine Kerr of BaAM Productions, at the TEA members' meeting. Photo: IPM (Judith Rubin)

Some IAAPA snaps

2011-11-15T21:56:00.000-08:00

IPM's Judith Rubin & Jim Benedick of Management Resources at BRC's party in the Ice Bar

Jody Van Meter of Garner Holt Productions and John Hogg

George Wiktor (center) reacts to announcement that his project, Barnas Brannstasjon at Kongeparken in Stavanger, Norway, will receive a Thea Award. At left is Haakon Lund, owner of Kongeparken.

TEA president Rick Rothschild announces the 18th annual Thea Awards recipients

Dolphin at SeaWorld on Zoo & Aquarium Day

David Camp and John Robinett of AECOM brandish print version of 2010 Theme Index

Mindi Lipschultz, Dina Benadon (Super 78) & Charlotte Huggins (Rhythm & Hues): media producers all

TEA20 kicks off at IAAPA Nov 2011

2011-11-15T21:32:00.000-08:00

Pictures from TiLEforum 2011

2011-10-31T10:39:00.001-07:00

TiLE Forum 2011, a set by uberschnapp on Flickr.

Alan Wilkinson of Electrosonic took these photos of speakers and delegates at TiLEforum 2011, which took place Oct 26-27 in Italy. Among those photographed are Robert Simpson of Electrosonic, George Wiktor of the GW Group, Malcolm Lewis of Media Projects International, Donna Davidson of BRC Imagination Arts, Chris Conte of Electrosonic and Richard Curtis, founder of TiLE. More info about TiLE and TiLEforum at www.tileweb.org.

USA Pavilion for Yeosu Expo 2012 begins to take shape

2011-10-25T19:19:00.000-07:00

Renderings of Yeosu Expo 2012

Philippe Cousteau Jr

Yeosu’s being a 3-month regional expo, all 100+ participants including the USA occupy tenant spaces within one International Pavilion rather than raise their own structures.
The USA Pavilion is being developed within a 12,000 square foot space that will be mostly devoted to public areas but also include a VIP hospitality room.
Exhibits will focus on US coastal areas, with an emphasis on environmental sustainability and stewardship.

On 13 October, Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton officially announced that the United States will participate in the next World Expo, in South Korea: Yeosu Expo 2012. The announcement, made during a state luncheon at the US Department of State in honor of Republic of Korea President Lee Myung-bak, formalized the USA pavilion planning and development process that has been underway for several months. (See original news story here.)

The USA Pavilion producer is USA Pavilion 2012, LLC, a nonprofit organization headquartered in Virginia led by Philippe Cousteau Jr, son of Philippe Cousteau Sr, and grandson of legendary explorer Jacques Yves Cousteau.

Featuring the themes of “Diversity, Wonder and Solutions,” the USA Pavilion will bring to life the colorful mosaic of American life, sharing the voices and hopes of the American people with friends and partners in Korea and throughout the global community.

Robert L Ward

USA Pavilion Chief Spokesperson is Philippe Cousteau Jr who is also President of EarthEcho International; pavilion CEO Andrew Snowhite is advisor to EarthEcho International and Cousteau’s business partner at Azure Worldwide LLC, a strategic environmental design and development firm. COO of the pavilion is Mark Germyn; Executive Producer is Robert L Ward and The Hettema Group is exhibit designer. Fundraising is administered by the US Department of State with support by Norm Elder on the pavilion team side.

In awarding the project to this team, the US government selected a group and entity with a lot of legs, and whose members have worked together before. Philippe Cousteau Jr’s organizations and his work have an existing international reputation, an instant connection to the theme and passion for the issues involved, an extensive media presence through relationships with CNN and Discovery Communications and relevant academic ties with the University of Virginia. Robert Ward, a creative executive who has been honored with the Buzz Price Award for Lifetime Achievement by the Themed Entertainment Association, brings to the table a showmanship background that includes 2 decades with Universal Parks & Resorts, including the co-founding of Universal Creative. Ward has collaborated with Philippe Cousteau Jr on various projects since 2006.

The International Pavilion at Yeosu 2012

Phil Hettema

Having been COO of the USA Pavilion at Shanghai Expo 2010, Mark Germyn has on-the-ground experience both relevant and recent. His international background includes top management roles at Legoland California and Warner Bros parks in Germany and Australia, as well as operations roles with pavilions at AmeriFlora 92 and Vancouver Expo 86. Norm Elder is a leader in strategic marketing and brand development whose credits include raising corporate sponsors for major Disney parks and for the USA Pavilion at Shanghai Expo 2010. The Hettema Group is a top design and master planning firm in themed entertainment and has received both awards and accolades recently as creator of “Beyond All Boundaries,” a 4D multimedia educational experience for the National World War II Museum in New Orleans. Prior to founding his own company, Phil Hettema was SVP of attraction development for Universal Recreation.

Funding & design challenges

At the time of this writing (late October 2011) Robert Ward’s mood was optimistic but sober. Most international pavilions at the World Expo are funded by their governments but in the case of the USA, all the funds must be obtained from private sources. The $61 million budget for last year’s USA Pavilion at Shanghai Expo 2010 covered design, building, staffing, operations and, after closing day, tear down and removal. Travel costs were eased by having an official airline sponsor. Fundraising was challenging but outside support and encouragement from Hillary Rodham Clinton and the U.S. State Department helped achieve the goal.

http://www.pavilion2012.org/

The situation for the Yeosu expo is somewhat different. Korea is a major trade and political partner to the USA; however Yeosu itself, on the southernmost tip of the country several hours’ drive from Seoul, is remote and the interests for corporations to back the pavilion are less obvious than they were with China and Shanghai. Yeosu’s being a 3-month regional expo, all 100+ participants including the USA occupy tenant spaces within one International Pavilion rather than raise their own structures. But even the modest USA Pavilion target budget of $10 million to $13 million is elusive. “We have minimum threshold funding at this point,” said Ward. “The clock is running and we are working diligently to finalize a concept that can roll within the funding we do have and deliver a memorable and inspiring story.”

The USA Pavilion is being developed within a 12,000 square foot space that will be mostly devoted to public areas but also include a VIP hospitality room. Exhibits will focus on US coastal areas, with an emphasis on environmental sustainability and stewardship. “The USA probably has one of the most diverse coastlines in the world, from the fishing communities of New England, to the surf of the West Coast, the unique Gulf Coast, Hawaiian islands and Alaska,” notes Ward.

InPark visits Shanghai Expo 2010
James Ogul: A career in world expos and expo pavilions

The Expo Book

Accolades for the USAP at Shanghai

More stories on World Expos

The pavilion will be staffed by student ambassadors through a program with the University of Virginia. Corporate sponsors include Chevron; Citi; Boeing; Corning Incorporated; Hyundai Motors America; Kia Motors America; Lockheed Martin; and Samsung Electronics America, Inc.

This will be Ward’s first expo pavilion but the seasoned producer doesn’t see it as a notch in his belt – he exudes genuine passion about the topic and dialog. “The US is a world leader in marine science and Yeosu is a unique opportunity,” he points out. “We want our presence to be a platform to inspire visitors with visions of a shared future where protecting and restoring our oceans’ resources are realized through international collaboration and innovation. It’s not just about us – it’s about all of us. The takeaway for the visitor is not just to be amazed and touched by the exhibits themselves (as we trust they will be) but to feel empowered, and want to participate. We’ll build in ways for that to happen and for the conversation to continue beyond the Expo itself.”

InPark Magazine co-editor Judith Rubin has been reporting on world expos since 1987.

Yeosu Expo 2012

Theme: The Living Oceans and Coast
Expected attendance: 8 million to 10 million, mostly from within Korea
Venue: New Port area in Yeosu, Korea
Dates: May 12 – August 12, 2012
Site: Area: 1.74 million ㎡ (Includes exhibition area of 250,000 ㎡ and auxiliary facilities) The site overlooks Hallyeosudo Marine National Park and Odong Island, and is surrounded by 317 islets.
Website: http://eng.expo2012.kr/main.html
USA Pavilion website: http://www.pavilion2012.org/

Teetering on the Edge

2011-10-18T20:02:00.000-07:00

InPark Correspondent Edward Wills received the lucky opportunity to experience the new Edge Walk attraction at Toronto's CN Tower (while Editor Martin Palicki watched from the relative comfort of the observation deck's Edge Walk live TV). The hour-long experience starts with a briefing and safety checks before ascending the tower for a 30-minute circular tour around the ledge. During the tour, Edward inched towards the edge, performed a back lean and a courageous forward-facing lean... All of which you can see for yourself in this short video.

The video and photos (while edited by InPark) weren't made special for us. Every participant receives a DVD of their experience and photos in digital and print format to share, as well as admission to the rest of the tower's attractions, which include a (comparatively mundane) observation deck, glass floor area, 3d film and motion simulator. Spaces for the Edge Walk are limited and extremely popular. Plan in advance, especially if you are visiting Toronto for only a limited time. www.cntower.ca.

InPark Video from Nuit Blanche Toronto

2011-10-18T06:11:00.000-07:00

Luc Courchesne, McLuhan’s Massage Parlour, 2011

A couple of Saturdays ago, InPark had the luck of being in Toronto during the annual Nuit Blanche art festival. Held annually in Toronto as well as other cities around the world, Nuit Blanche turns the city into an artist's canvas for one night, roughly from sundown to sunrise. There are hundreds of art installations and they run the gamut from simple to extremely complex. Many, however, take advantage of technology and audio visual equipment, making the evening interesting not only from an art perspective but from an entertainment and special effects perspective.

The short video clip below showcases some of our favorites from the event.

Legoland Florida: Brick by Brick

2011-10-16T21:56:00.000-07:00

Legoland Florida has a lot going for it. The former Cypress Gardens property provided a good base for the folks at Merlin to build their second major US Legoland park. And while converting the former grounds into a Lego property was done in quick fashion, the conversion seems mostly complete. Here are some observations from their media preview and grand opening.

Aside from the Lego branding, the park’s biggest asset seems to be the employees. Outgoing and sincerely friendly, they are great ambassadors for the Lego brand. They are still getting used to their roles and focusing on things like throughput and not screaming into microphones, but overall, a very impressive bunch.
The centerpiece of the park is Miniland, the collection of Lego cities writ small. There are plenty of “hidden” items to look for, including a “thinker” in the bathroom, Pee Wee Herman, and the Obama family.
There are a good variety of food options in the park. Healthy options, locally sourced food, and the standard burger-fare is all available and at reasonable prices. $12 for a pizza buffet? Not bad! $9 for a 1/2 roasted chicken with fresh vegetables and roasted potatoes, sign me up!
Legoland made the right decision in deciding to keep the historic gardens of Cypress Gardens intact and even maintaining the name. If the wind is blowing the right way, you can’t even tell there’s a theme park 500 feet away. And the Lego Southern belles are the perfect homage.
Lego men on skis are a sight to see. A little slow-moving at time, the Lego version of the classic Cypress Gardens waterski show is still delightful and engaging for kids in the stands.
There’s water everywhere in Legoland Florida. In the shows, on the rides and even randomly in some Lego sculptures. Plus, a Legoland waterpark is on the way. Be prepared.
The park is decidedly geared for children. While there’s plenty to do as a family, there isn’t much to stimulate older kids (or adults for that matter) that aren’t “into” Legos.
There’s room for growth. I think most families would be able to see the whole park in about a half a day with average crowds. But there is plenty of space for more attractions in the future, and in the highly competitive Orlando market, continued development is required.

While Legoland Florida has the components to be a very successful addition to the central Florida landscape, there still is the lingering concern of “location.” At 45-60 minutes from Orlando, and well off the beaten path, will families make the trek down to spend a day at the park? Shuttles will help, but it will be a challenge. How much fun would it be to have a Lego-themed train run from Orlando down to Winter Haven? Perhaps some of the money the Florida governor foolishly turned away for high speed rail in the state could be re-allocated to the Legoland Express!

Train or no train, Legoland will still have to work hard to attract visitors to leave Orlando. Merlin has developed a great park to create the draw, now they have to market themselves like crazy to bring in the people. It might take longer to build that base of customers than it did to build Miniland, but once established Legoland Florida will be well positioned for success.

InPark interviews Lego-maniac Bill St. Yves

View InPark's Photos from Legoland

InPark reviews Midnight Syndicate's "Carnival Arcane"

2011-10-16T12:23:00.000-07:00

The latest offering from fright-music composers Midnight Syndicate takes a spooky look at the world of the circus. "Carnival Arcane" houses 26 tracks that range from the creepy to the whimsically creepy.

The music reflects a historical perspective, highlighting parts of the circus that many find unsettling even without a Halloween treatment: laughing clowns, an imposing barker, freak show acts, and carnival fun houses, to name a few.

Mixed in is a fair amount of Midnight Syndicate's trademark "chase music", what I consider the audio equivalent to a scene where someone is being chased by a monster, in this case out of the big top and into the dark and foreboding night.

As with most of Midnight Syndicate's work, the music doesn't provide specific scares, per se, but excels at creating a mood - a specific aura of eeriness that is strong enough to stand on its own but also functions equally as well as background music for a halloween event, haunted house, or scare zone.

InPark Visits The Little Mermaid at Disney California Adventure

2011-10-12T09:15:00.000-07:00

The new Little Mermaid attraction at Disney California Adventure is a delightful addition to the park, and harkens back to the "good old days" of Disney dark rides that bring their classic movies to life.

The clam shell vehicle loading area looks out directly onto the midway and is an appealing "sell" for the ride.

In the "Under the Sea" scene, Ariel dances while her hair, impressively animated, floats above her head as though submerged.

It's hard not to tap your toe to the music, or even sing along a bit. The technology may be fairly "standard" but the emotional connection most people have to the music (and the story) is pretty intense.

Ursula is pretty intense herself.

Some people have complained that Ursula's scene is too scary for some children, but I didn't find it anymore threatening than any other Disney dark ride villain. It also is short and sandwiched between more upbeat scenes.

The ride is short and moves quickly through the story of The Little Mermaid, but the narrative is easy to follow and has some memorable moments.

Proving once again that hi definition digital projection is here to stay, fireworks that might at one time have been created with fiber optics are now realistically projected into the scene.

Naturally, there is a happy ending for The Little Mermaid, and the delightful journey comes to an end.

WWA takes over New Orleans

2011-10-05T16:18:00.001-07:00

The annual World Waterpark Association trade show has arrived
In New Orleans! The Wednesday evening social kicked off with a trade show parade and bead toss!

The Participation Culture: What I learned from the Man (Burning Man)

2011-10-04T19:56:00.000-07:00

"Burning Man has lit a fire in the themed entertainment industry. The subject keeps coming up in professional design meetings and brainstorming charrettes. What does it have to tell us?"

IPM guest blogger George Wiktor is a creative executive with over 25 years of experience producing and project management of custom designed theme parks, world’s fair pavilions, and cultural and educational complexes. He is president of The GW Group, and a past president of the Themed Entertainment Association. George’s first visit to Burning Man, motivated by curiosity and research, turned him into a dedicated “Burner” and annual citizen of Black Rock City.

The bright glowing circle of fire spins in the darkness drawing me through the desert. Nearing, I see a gathering of people watching, embers washing over them. They stare into the circle of fire and sway to the rhythms of the nearby Art Car. In the inferno, logs tumble through the Firewheel. People dressed in orange coveralls tend the fire and spin the wheel. It’s here that I finally make my connection with The Man.

It’s been three days. I am in total overload. But I have not yet connected. I have, however, been thinking about this moment – my first visit to Burning Man - for five years. I prepared for six weeks. Read the survival guide. Surfed the bulletin boards. Bought the essentials. I even have vinegar water in a spray bottle to neutralize the caustic effect of the alkaline plain we are calling home for these few days.

"As we create and develop places that look to attract today’s and tomorrow’s audiences, we need to focus on our audience’s fundamental need to participate."

Now I stand in awe of this natural spectacle. A homemade fireworks display created by the most awesome yet primitive fire. Ah! The spirit of The Man.

Man? What man? Of course I’m talking about Burning Man. You may wonder what I – I, George Wiktor, a gentleman of a certain age - am doing here in the middle of a caustic Borax desert in 120-degree heat.

It’s simple. Burning Man has lit a fire in the themed entertainment industry. The subject keeps coming up in professional design meetings and brainstorming charrettes. What does it have to tell us?

For those of you who may have been living under a rock for the last quarter century, Burning Man is not any old arts festival, nor is it a Renaissance Faire for the counterculture. It is, in fact, THE art festival and a community that rises out of the Nevada desert for a week. Fifty-thousand people gather, camp in extreme conditions, and create a participatory, cross-cultural, gifting, open society. What’s going on here? Is this, perhaps a lens into the future of group entertainment? Is this the themed experience model of the future?

For designers and producers in the Experience industry, it’s part of the brief to explore the intersection of the culture of today and tomorrow, and the future of entertainment. How does today’s audience want to experience shows, events and theme parks? More importantly, how does being a citizen of the digital age impact audience expectations? Does living in the digital age demand a totally new style of entertainment? Is technology a key ingredient? Has there been a paradigm shift, and if so, can we define it?

In order to answer those questions, we have to take a short detour to explore a world empowered by the digital. It is understood that we have moved beyond technology for technology’s sake into a society facilitated by technology. Technology has become a utility and a tool to achieve our continuously evolving society. The digital- and Internet-fueled games, media and communications on our devices are aids to creating personal social connections more complex and varied than ever before. Concurrently, there seems to be a growing comfort with - and possibly a necessity for- creating individual personae that interact within these digital worlds.

"For designers and producers in the Experience industry, it’s part of the brief to explore the intersection of the culture of today and tomorrow, and the future of entertainment."

Within the game, it is just as important to create your character as it is to play the game. Some games are actually nothing more than creating a character with ever increasing powers and capabilities to inhabit specific worlds. Social networking sites are not just about extending and maintaining your circle of friends: They are also about creating your own persona in your own space to attract visits from friends and others. The result? Everyone is participating in creating entertainment for everybody else.

"How does today’s audience want to experience shows, events and theme parks?"

This “Participation Culture” is one of the key differentiators. Beyond technology. Beyond interactivity. Beyond clever media delivery. Beyond 4D immersive shows and environments. We now have participants in entertainment creating that entertainment for themselves. More participants means more entertainment as well as more varied entertainment.

Burning Man is the Participation Culture brought out into the physical world, a physicalization of the online world. This joy of participation is spilling into the real world. My daughter reminds me computers and mobile phones are “not the only thing we do, Dad. We like to get out there in the world. It’s just that we like to bring the things we do online with us.”

Her comment is intriguing especially in light of what I’ve observed at Burning Man as a participant for the past four years. Although its formation has been increasingly fueled by a huge online buzz, Black Rock City - the temporary, 11th-largest city in Nevada, right after Carson City - has historically been an offline community. You go out into the desert and get off the grid. But in my role as a volunteer at the information/lost-and-found booth, I’ve fielded an increasing number of inquiries about getting online. It isn’t so much a demand as an organic need, a natural thing to do.

"Burning Man today stands as one of the prime examples of the online Participation Culture that feeds into the real world. Those of us creating entertainment as well as reality-based information attractions need to understand this."

Participation culture is partly influenced by the culture of online interaction and I can easily imagine the offline city soon becoming online, perhaps with parameters in place that induce real-world interaction and help Black Rock citizens find their tribes. As foreshadowing we are now seeing Experience designers, young and not-so-young, consciously and actively work with media tools to promote, even force face-to-face shared experiences within attractions rather than have guests individually absorbed by their individual devices.

Burning Man has a reputation of being a free-for-all; with drugs, nudity, anarchy, and an anything-goes attitude. But seen first-hand, it turns out to be a highly structured, well-organized, law abiding, civil society: A society that encourages self expression and self reliance in an incredibly inhospitable physical environment. Commercial activity is prohibited and, refreshingly, there are no corporate sponsors. The place operates on gifting with no expectation of return.

And most importantly, participation is the key to the success of this event because participation is a form of gifting. Everyone is focused on adding to the success of everyone else’s experience. Whether it be creating an art installation, volunteering in the café, building a lounge in your camp, or providing entertainment for everyone, all the participants add to the overall experience.

"Who knows where the participation will lead?"

The Firewheel is a perfect example. A group of individuals came together to conceptualize and execute a complex art and entertainment installation. Each night they gathered and for many hours operated this primitive and literal fireworks display. Why? Well… for no other reason than to provide visual delight to their fellow Burners, to participate on a grand scale, and to add to the overall success of this extravagant event.

Over the last 25 years, Burning Man has evolved and today it stands as one of the prime examples of the online Participation Culture that feeds into the real world. Those of us creating entertainment as well as reality-based information attractions need to understand this. As we create and develop places that look to attract today’s and tomorrow’s audiences, we need to focus on our audience’s fundamental need to participate.

We need to create infrastructure-based attractions that encourage creative participation. Such attractions change over time, as a result of the direct participation of our audience. Who knows where the participation will lead? In our world, perhaps we should be designing attractions that evolve through the course of a day. Each night they re-set to zero and the cycle of participation begins again.

It is a big risk. But with the glowing example of Burning Man to empower us, designing for the Participation Culture will prove to be fun, unpredictable and very satisfying.

This is a revised version of an article that first appeared in the TEA Annual & Directory, published by the Themed Entertainment Association. Reprinted with permission.

For the official Burning Man survival guide, visit this link.

Establishing a Halloween Haunt in mainland China is a maze of business risks and rewards, competition and thrilled customers

2011-10-03T23:16:00.000-07:00

Photos: Darklight

IPM guest blogger and haunted attraction specialist Quan Gan is President of Darklight, a manufacturer of precision lighting systems. He actively conducts business in China and the US.

In the fall of 2009, my wife and business partner Charlie Xu and I decided to create “Shanghai Nightmare”: what we believe was mainland China's very first Halloween haunted attraction. We were confident on the commercial viability, granted we would be allowed to open such an event; in a country where media is monitored and censored, bringing in a haunted attraction full of frightening ghosts and ghouls may meet some government resistance. We had to find a fine balance between what customers would like versus what can be allowed; therefore we favored technology and surreal experiences (with a few good scares in between) more than blood, gore, and violence.

We built Shanghai Nightmare in a 107-year-old cotton warehouse that had not been occupied for years. The building was established as a cultural relic so no permanent renovation could occur. Perfect for a haunted attraction - as the building already looked haunted, and our installation was only temporary. We built animatronics, Pepper's Ghosts, fake elevators, spinning tunnels, fog curtains, projections, and mirror mazes just to name a few and dazzled (and frightened) our guests with never seen before (in mainland China) special effects. The end result was a profitable business from year one with over 20,000 guests in October 2009.

Many Western people have asked us, "What's scary to Chinese people? Are chainsaws scary? Are zombies and vampires scary?" The answer is ABSOLUTELY YES! It doesn't matter where you're from: the sights and sounds of approaching blades, gnarled teeth and blistering skin are scary to anyone! The cultural differences are in the way people react.

A few differences we observed between our Chinese guests and their Western counterparts :

1. Chinese guests, overall, had smaller reactions to scares. It may be an inappropriate gauge of "success," but a typical American haunt will have a handful of guests claiming to have soiled themselves in the haunt each season; we had none. Perhaps they had a higher tolerance, or the culture teaches them to be more reserved in their expressions (or they just don't publicly share such mishaps).

2. Contrary to our expectations, a larger percentage of Chinese guests couldn't complete the haunted house and bailed out in the first few scenes than Western guests.

3. The overall response from Western guests was more positive than our Chinese guests. Many Westerners thought it was one of the most thrilling haunts to which they'd ever been while many Chinese guests wanted it to be scarier and bloodier - and even wanted us to touch them! (Perhaps the Westerners were also really happy to see a familiar event in an otherwise unfamiliar environment.)

Seeing those interesting results allowed us to hone our tactics for year two. We made more interactive guest-triggered experiences such as path choices and big unknown buttons that looked very tempting. The logic was, if we can't scare you, at least let us entertain you.

Beyond the content and the guest reactions, what was more important than the show itself was the process of getting the show opened. Because there was no haunted house industry per se in China, there exist no applicable laws or safety regulations for such an event. This makes for an "interesting" process to get the proper licenses to legally open the show. No one department (fire dept, police dept, business bureau, cultural bureau) wants to deal with you because a "haunted house" isn't listed under their jurisdiction - so it sounds like you don't need a license, right? Wrong! If you just opened up shop, every one of those departments would come after you asking why you didn't get their approval. At times it felt like getting a round peg to fit into a square hole. Our haunted house was finally approved to be a "theatrical performance"... close enough, right?

Charlie Xu and Quan Gan

For our second season, following the success of 2009, we decided to expand and make the event larger and more thrilling by partnering up with Erebus, the former world record holder for the largest haunt (in Pontiac, Michigan USA). On paper, the event would have been very successful, however, the nature of the beast changed during 2010. A copycat haunted attraction sprang up during the summer, a few months before we were set to open. Concerns about safety and crowding led to the venue being shut down on opening night. This put a nasty stain on the reputation of a newly sprouted business genre in the eyes of the local government. When we went to apply for our licenses, the government resistance (or lack of support) was even stronger due to the World Expo taking place in the same city. No department wanted to take responsibility for a haunted house during the operation of an international event, especially after what happened with the one that was shut down.

We eventually trudged through the bureaucracy and were allowed to open, but our media outlets for publicity were muted by the overwhelming coverage of the Expo. We survived year two, but it was a tough season.

Shanghai Nightmare is dormant for 2011 while we refocus our energy on a spinoff venture and think about possibilities of re-opening the venue in the future. The Chinese market is one of high fluctuations; to survive, you have to think quickly on your feet. Haunted houses in China are liable to come and go as an independently operated seasonal business, but the theme parks are sure to have Halloween related events as their attendance is more stable, they have more government support, and their Halloween marketing can piggyback onto their existing campaigns for the rest of the year - things we wish we had had, but survived without. -- Q.G.

Related: Halloween 2011 at Ocean Park Hong Kong

InPark Review: Universal Studios Florida's Halloween Horror Nights 21

2011-09-25T21:15:00.000-07:00

Also be sure to check out IPM's photo-essay of Halloween Horror Nights at Universal Studios Hollywood - click here to view.

Orlando, Florida USA -- The evening got off to a stormy start at Universal Studios Florida's Halloween Horror Nights on opening night (Friday, 23 Sept). While our tour guides were anxiously watching the rainy minutes tick by, I thought the scene was cinematic, as if ordered directly by Alfred Hitchcock himself.

Once things cleared up a bit, we hurried along to each of the 8 haunted houses, 6 scare zones and 2 shows – as usual nearly all impressive and delightful with their great attention to detail and story.

This year’s icon is Lady Luck, a sultry seductress who has apparently been dead for quite a few years. She doesn’t have a specific home here – none of the houses reference her directly – but her influence is found in the back story to each of the haunts. Although perhaps not always clear to the average guest, each house came into being due to some person being forced into a choice (by Lady Luck) and their decision - fueled by greed, desire or just plain stupidity - led them into the frightening situation that we get to now experience with them.

Winter’s Night: The Haunting of Hawthorn Cemetery Amazingly, in all 21 years of Halloween Horror Nights, this is the first cemetery themed haunted house. Entering the cemetery is a treat. The soundstage is cold compared to the steamy Florida night, and “snow” falls onto the large gates you pass through. This house plays like Haunted House 101. The dead crawl out of graves to attack and drag you with them. Be sure to peek through the holes in the mausoleum walls (if you dare!) to enjoy the miniature cemetery model created to enhance the experience.

The Thing Based on the movie to be released soon, we play the role of Juliet, a female explorer arriving at the Arctic base to find some “thing” has infected everyone – and we’re next! This house relies heavily on strobe lights and loud sirens – with a few ravenous aliens thrown in for good effect.

My partner Judith Rubin commented after visiting “The Thing” that the haunted houses allow you to step into the movies in a way the rides never do. She’s right. The immersive quality of Halloween Horror Nights can’t be duplicated when you have a ride system to remind you that you’ve left the world of reality.

Nightingales: Blood Prey
History buffs will appreciate this house’s take on World War I, with its recreation of bunkers and barracks. The Nightingales are birdlike creatures that appear during war and conflict – though why is still unclear to me. I find guns pretty scary in real life, so this house full of them certainly kept me on edge. Perhaps the nightingales are a manifestation of the psychic horror of war.

H.R. Bloodngutz Presents: Holidays of Horror
I’ve come to the realization that some of Universal’s best houses are what I would call “vignette” houses. In this version, infamous Hollywood director H.R. Bloodngutz has been fired from the studio, and his revenge is a holiday-themed flick where he actually murders the cast and crew. It’s more fun than it sounds.

The house starts off via a meeting with the famed director. Each holiday scene is prefaced with a “screening room” where a television screen and grainy black and white video introduces you to the holiday you are about to experience. Unfortunately, the rush to push people through the attraction combined with an overabundance of audio stimulation results in missed videos. Usually, the holidays are so obvious it doesn’t matter (the only one I missed was “President’s Day” which recreates an atomic blast outside of the Oval Office and a very dead Lincoln and Washington reappear), but the “set-up” is an important part of the story, and I think it adds to the overall experience. This is also one of the houses where you can tell the designers had a lot of fun and let loose. Look for the Easter eggs that turn into skulls if you’re in need of a smile early on in the house.

The Forsaken
According to the legend, there were actually four ships that sailed with Columbus, but one ended up on the ocean floor, condemned there by the other three ship’s captains. That is, until a hurricane (Irene?) raised the ship up and plopped it in Orlando.

While all of the houses Universal produces are impeccably finished, this one really caught my attention. Starting out in a Spanish fort, the arched stucco walls seem like they’ve been there for centuries, adorned with period lanterns and period green-eyed ghosts! The real treat begins when you enter the ship’s main deck, with tattered sails flapping above, lightning flashing, and ocean mist swirling around. It’s a treat for the senses. I found myself wishing I could be an attendant in that room, able to take it all in over time.

Soon, though, the pathway leads below deck and a slanted planked walkway provides just enough disorientation and unusual spaces for cursed shipmates to hide.

The In-Between
The park’s typical 3-D house relies on ChromaDepth glasses that separate different colors into different spatial depth, turning what is already 3D into even more 3D. While Judy found this a delightfully fun house, I find it mundane and predictable. The best scene is the first one, a dorm room where this strange dimension originated from, complete with Monty Python posters and Fruit of the Looms peeking out from the dresser drawers.

Nevermore: The Madness of Poe This house falls into that “vignette” category I think Universal does so well. A demented Poe greets visitors who literally walk through his pages to relive scenes from his works. The scares are effective, but it’s also fun trying to figure out what story each scene represents. Some, like The Telltale Heart, are easier to place than others (The Mask of the Red Death produced one of the few scares that actually got me, but at the time I had no idea what story it was).

Like many of the houses, this one almost needs two visits to appreciate fully. And a good understanding of Poe’s canon wouldn’t hurt either.

Saws N’ Steam: Into the Machine
A continuation of a previous scare zone, this house collects humans to be liquidated (literally) for the water in their bodies, which is turned into steam to help power this corrupt city. Most fun were the aquariums filled with floating body parts and the collection of live actors being crushed and cut by various machinery. A word to the wise: if you find yourself walking on slip-resistant mats, you might want to hurry up as you are in a “splash” zone.

The six scare zones for this year’s event are fairly standard for Universal. For the first time, however, there’s a scare zone that is best appreciated from a distance, rather than within it. The Acid Assault area, centered around the entrance to the Twister attraction, showcases the effects of truly acid rain. Mutilated humans roam the streets, but the real stars are three of the surrounding buildings, each enhanced with digital projections of their actual facades. Slowly, the buildings start to crumble and collapse, leaving only the steal superstructure behind in a cloud of smoke. This type of building projection, currently being used by other theme parks for shows, looks realistic from a distance, but up close seems pixilated and blurry. The potential is there, however, for continued exploration with this relatively new technology to really revolutionize how Universal produces environments for Halloween Horror Nights.

Finally, this year features two shows, Bill & Ted’s Excellent Halloween Adventure, and the new Death Drums street show.

At the risk of getting hate mail, I have to say I think it’s time to retire the Bill & Ted franchise for Halloween Horror Nights. I’ve never thought the show really fit the event in the first place, and seems to just be an excuse for allowing swearing and sexual innuendo into a theme park show. But this year’s show wasn’t even really that funny. They’ve even started to make fun of the show itself, which I consider a clear warning that it’s time to move on.

As I write this the following morning, the most memorable moments to survive in my mind are those involving a continually cursing bin Laden being chased by Navy Seals until he meets his ultimate demise. It wasn’t particularly funny nor did it elicit a large proud-to-be-an-American response from the crowd, as one might expect. Lately, it seems Republican presidential debates have more riled up audiences than Bill and Ted.

While the show does fill up quickly, if nothing else I have to turn to demographics. Halloween Horror Nights appeals to the younger set, typically those in their teens and twenties. The Bill & Ted movies are becoming more and more distant to attendees every year. And with the vast amount of creative capital Universal has to devote to this event, I am positive something new could replace Bill & Ted handily.

This year that creative pool came up with Death Drums, a short street show consisting of two rolling scaffolding pieces that are home to countless drums and drummers, and an ensemble of zombie dancers reminiscent of a STOMP troupe that died years ago. The show is well timed at about ten minutes, doesn’t require queuing up much in advance, and comes complete with a little bit of the requisite Thriller choreography.

In its entirety, Halloween Horror Nights 21 delivers on its annual promise to create highly themed spooky environments that are entertaining and just plain fun to experience with friends. That being said, now that the event has reached “maturity”, I hope the designers start to explore a little bit. The past several years seem to indicate that Universal has found a successful formula and is running with it. But I am ready to mix it up a bit. Maybe it’s time to take the event back to Islands of Adventure, or look at having a meta-story again that influences the whole event. Universal excels at storytelling and creating environments that reflect that story. They do it exceedingly well on a micro level in each attraction, and it would serve them well to bring that story out to the entire event, as they did several years ago with the Terra Queen and “Tales of Terror.”

Admittedly, even if they continue along the same path, I and thousands of other people will still go and enjoy ourselves, and they will still have an exemplary Halloween event to be proud of and a model for others in the industry to follow.

Click here to see Halloween Horror Nights press releases and more Halloween articles

Click here to read LA Times reporter Brady MacDonald's review of the Hollywood version of Halloween Horror Nights

Halloween Horror Nights at Universal Studios Hollywood - photos galore

2011-09-24T15:07:00.000-07:00

In addition to Marty Palicki's eyewitness report on Halloween Horror Nights at Universal Studios Florida, IPM wishes to do justice to the bloody theater that is Halloween Horror Nights at the sister park in Southern California. Each park's HHN manifestation has its own distinguishing touches. Universal Studios Hollywood's is very showbiz/transmedia with its film competition and the Eyegore Awards, its theatrical evocations of horror movie IPs plus the over-the-top, wildly popular Alice Cooper "Nightmare" tie-in.

Photos: Universal Studios

The visuals are so rich it's hard to choose, but here are some of our favorites:

“Halloween Horror Nights” kicked off on Friday, September 23 and continues on select nights through Halloween, Monday, October 31. Event dates are: September 23, 24, 30; October 1, 7, 8, 9, 14, 15, 16, 20, 21, 22, 23, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31.

Six Terrifying Mazes: “The Thing: Assimilation”(Based On Universal Pictures’ Upcoming Thriller); “Eli Roth’sHostel: Hunting Season”; “AliceCooper: Welcome to My Nightmare”; “Rob Zombie’sHouse of 1,000 Corpses: In 3D ZombieVision”; “La Llorona: Villa De Almas Perdidas,” Imagined by Diego Luna (“The Weeping Woman: Village of Lost Soul,” Imagined by Diego Luna); “The Wolfman: The Curse of Talbot Hall.”

“Terror Tram: Scream 4 Your Life,” based on the latest installment of Wes Craven’s “Scream” film series, will unleash the iconic “Ghostface Killer” on the world-famous backlot during Halloween Horror Nights, casting guests as victims in a living horror film.

Five Terror-Filled “Scare Zones”: The infamous Ghostface Killer from Scream 4 is on the loose in the 'Scream' “Scare Zone”; in true carnival style, “Freakz” makes their home on the smoke-choked streets of Paris where the stage is set for a plethora of deranged human oddities;

...the “Klownz” are running the show in a gang-filled “Scare Zone” of violent killer clowns; the Grim Reaper and his evil minions of death are equipped with mutilating chainsaws in “The Reapers” “Scare Zone"; the decaying corpses of butchers and barbers reawaken hungry for human flesh in the foul stenched “Zombieville” “Scare Zone.”

Popular rides join “Halloween Horror Nights”: “Jurassic Park®—In the Dark” - Havoc erupts when Universal’s oldest monsters turn their ravenous appetites on unsuspecting guests thrust unwittingly into the cold, still night of the Jurassic era. “Revenge of the Mummy®— The Ride” Fear of the dark, fear of insects, fear of speed, fear of heights and fear of death are served up to deliver the world’s first psychological thrill ride roller coaster.

“The Simpsons Ride®” What could be scarier (and funnier) than a wild virtual roller coaster ride through “Krustyland” with The Simpsons wreaking havoc and mayhem on “Krustyland, “the theme park within a theme park. Guests will be clinging to each other for dear life and laugh till their sides split.

Click here to see Halloween Horror Nights press releases and more Halloween articles

I was a HHN virgin

2011-09-23T18:49:00.001-07:00

Front row seats for Bill & Ted at HHN: IPM's Martin Palicki & Judith Rubin. Photo: Martin Palicki

Greetings from rainy Florida and the opening of Halloween Horror Nights at Universal Studios Florida.

I have to admit, this event is one of my favorite nights every year. The folks at the Universal Orlando resort work so hard every year to put together an amazing event designed to make thousands of guests laugh, scream, and occasionally run away in fright! Tonight is the official opening night for Halloween Horror Nights, but it's also their media preview night. I'm pleased to be taking co-editor Judith Rubin (in town for the SATE '11 Orlando conference) along with me for her first ever Halloween Horror Nights. I think it will make for some interesting dialog between her fresh perspective on the event, and my more...shall we say, seasoned... viewpoint.

Earlier in the evening, waiting for the fun to begin. Photo: Martin Palicki

There's a first time for everything. Judy says, "I found myself 'unwinding' amid the gruesome spectacles and spectacular gruesomeness that are Universal Studios Florida Halloween Horror Nights. I enjoyed the maze based on The Thing as well as the H.R. Bloodenguts corpse-filled environment and I loved the pulpy 3D maze of the In Between world."

Watch for my comprehensive report, with more pictures, to follow. -- M.P.

Super 78's Brent Young on AVATAR announcement by Disney

2011-09-20T14:34:00.000-07:00

"This development is proof positive that the theme park arms race is on and Disney’s going head-to-head with Universal’s Wizarding World of Harry Potter. There’s no other reason for Disney to shoehorn an Avatar attraction into a park they’ve spent 14 years positioning as an animal park, because the minute the new experience opens, it becomes the Avatar theme park, upstaging the Animal Kingdom brand. The better play would be to leverage the new Marvel relationship and blend it with Avatar to create a new park that’s more appropriate for the more adult themes those brands represent – Disney’s Sci-Fi Kingdom."
-Brent Young
www.super78.com

Click to read Disney's official Avatar news announcement

James Cameron, award-winning director of AVATAR, shares his vision for creating AVATAR themed lands at Disney parks, beginning with Animal Kingdom at Walt Disney World in Florida. (PRNewsFoto/Walt Disney Parks and Resorts Worldwide, Scott Brinegar)

A visit to Holiday World & Splashin' Safari with Jumana Brodersen

2011-09-18T15:25:00.000-07:00

Theme park master planner and IPM guest blogger Jumana Brodersen of The Jco recently visited Holiday World & Splashin' Safari in Santa Claus, Indiana, accompanied by a group of teens. She shared her photos and observations.

All photos by Jumana Brodersen unless otherwise indicated.

It was the last weekend of the season and crowded even though the day was rainy. Supplying the "holiday" factor are themed areas based on holidays: 4th of July, Halloween, etc. We indulged in a Thanksgiving turkey dinner for lunch.

I was impressed by how well they take care of the guests' comfort and thereby reinforce the value of the admission price. First, the free beverages: Scattered throughout the park are self-serve Pepsi Oasis stations that allow guests to refill whenever they like at no charge.

Photo: Holiday World

There's also ample seating in the food service and the family areas. Lockers and showers were plentiful. Handicapped access features were convenient and easy to locate. There's something for everyone: The patrons are mostly families and all were engaged. I'm sure that many of them are locally based and make frequent repeat visits.

The property is about 30% waterpark. Splashin' Safari has a nice balance of state-of-the-art water rides and attractions and will be adding another in 2012, the Mammoth water coaster. Holiday World's rides are mostly geared to youngsters, but there's a good roller coaster selection, dominated by the huge and hugely popular wooden coaster "The Voyage."

The architecture of the park is simple, and the natural terrain is beautiful.

Regional parks such as Holiday World have close relationships with their audiences. It's important for park designers and master planners to engage with the employees and managers who know the day-to-day reality of the property as well as with the top brass. The designer/planner brings strategic thinking and big-picture perspective, the operators and operations people bring intimate knowledge from their daily experience and interactions with guests, and the result is creative synergy. Visiting this park, I was reminded of Tim Cuddihy, a now-retired former colleague from my days at SeaWorld Parks & Entertainment. He was general manager of Water Country USA (Williamsburg) and then became general manager of Aquatica (Orlando) for its opening and first years. Tim pointed out that you should always build your flatwater attractions first and then your slides.

The high-dive show in the Halloween section of Holiday World is excellent.

This park is doing most things right. But every property can use some improvement, and all must look for ways to refresh in order to stay competitive. Holiday World & Splashin' Safari would, in my opinion, benefit from some retrofitting to make the older section of the park flow as well as the newer areas, and tie the two more closely together. I think they'd also do well to add some more attractions to the theme park that would appeal to teenagers and adults. But it's clear that this unique park is beloved by its customers and that those customers are very loyal. --J.B.

Email Jumana Brodersen at jumana [AT] thejco. com.

Related articles and news:
Interview with international theme park master planner Jumana Brodersen
Jumana Brodersen master plans new children's area, Klump Island, for Tivoli Gardens
TripAdvisor names Splashin' Safari top water park
More stories about Holiday World
Park profile: Aquatica
More stories about water parks
The greenbuilding of Jungala for Busch Gardens Tampa
Holiday World hosts Golden Ticket Awards and receives multiple honors

Mindi Lipschultz on Eco Challenge's Media Production (includes video)

2011-09-13T07:44:00.000-07:00

Mindi at the Thea Awards in March 2011

Last week InPark had the pleasure of visiting the newly opened Eco Challenge exhibit that was produced by Cinnabar, Inc. for the Discovery Science Center in Santa Ana, California. The exhibit focuses on three areas of conservation: consumer goods and packaging, recycling streams, and household hazardous waste. The largest amount of space is devoted to a recreated grocery store where visitors can play the Super Eco Challenge Shopping game.

Guests grab a technology-enhanced shopping cart and interact with five animated clerks throughout the store to select the right items for their game-generated shopping list. Mindi Lipschultz produced the media for the project and worked with Cinnabar and the museum to develop the characters and the environments they "live" in.

InPark was able to speak with Mindi about her work on the project and created two short video blogs detailing some of the features of the exhibit's media.

Check back for more information on the museum and InPark's experience in other parts of the exhibit.

Related:

New Zoo & Aquarium Report from Market & Feasibility Advisors

2011-09-11T20:50:00.000-07:00

Dan Martin, Managing Principal, MFA

Chicago-based Market & Feasibility Advisors (MFA) surveyed more than 220 AZA (Association of Zoos & Aquariums) accredited institutions in what will be a twice-yearly study to chronicle strategies for revenue generation and what operators are charging for everything from admissions and membership to rides, animal encounters, and rental space for meetings and events.

The full study is available at this link.

Some of MFA's observations from the study:

Zoos and aquariums should look at their pricing structures and strategies. Some may be leaving money on the table while others leave audiences at the gate.
Zoos and aquariums should periodically reconsider and benchmark their membership and admissions pricing strategies using peer and local competitive data.
Individual memberships are a comparatively bad buy, requiring on average 4.6 visits to equal the purchase price. Yet single-person households now comprise 27% of all households in the US, are the fastest growing US household type, and are the drivers behind the humane societies in the US.
53 percent of all accredited zoos and aquariums have rides, and in general zoos seem to enjoy financial benefits from having rides.
Most zoos now have interactive areas where visitors can touch or feed animals; many have greatly expanded these programs in recent years.
A growing number of zoos are offering water play or spray pad features.
The number of animatronic dinosaur exhibits appears to be increasing.

http://www.inparkmagazine.com/issues/37/ZooReport.pdf

InPark photo update from Disneyland Anaheim

2011-09-09T18:14:00.001-07:00

IPM editor-in-chief Martin Palicki checks out the Little Mermaid attraction. Watch this space for a full report.

Discovery Cove's Grand Reef

2011-08-23T13:20:00.000-07:00

Discovery Cove, Orlando opened its new Grand Reef on June 10, 2011.

As the press release says, "Visitors just need to get their feet wet to enjoy The Grand Reef, or they can choose to go deep."

"They can step into tranquil, shallow waters to discover a below-the-surface world teeming with sea life, or they can snorkel in deeper waters as thousands of exotic fish and graceful rays swim around them."

This fills a need. I visited Discovery Cove in its first year and felt a little bit over-protected. The wetsuits issued were essentially flotation devices and I recall that when I tried, nonetheless, to duck my head underwater, I was prevented by a staff member. Nice to see that it's now possible to have a more immersive experience - pun intended.

I'm looking forward to seeing Discovery Cove again soon - a VIP visit to this unique SeaWorld property is part of the program for the SATE '11 Orlando Conference, an industry gathering organized by the Themed Entertainment Association, taking place 9/22-23.

FACTS

The Grand Reef footprint: 2.5 acre area, with close to a million gallons of water
Water temperature: A comfortable 77 degrees
Animals: Approximately 10,000 animals, representing 125 different species of fish, rays and sharks

All images courtesy Discovery Cove, SeaWorld Parks and Entertainment.

The World is Flat: Donna Davidson of BRC Imagination Arts talks to IPM's Judith Rubin

2011-08-15T18:13:00.000-07:00

Donna Davidson

"Liverpool has a 700-year history. In addition to the Beatles and football, for 400 years it was one of the biggest global ports in the world. It was our job to think about how to address all these stories, and be able to change them out, and have a quality presentation - and to fit out the museum for technology down the road."

Donna Davidson has overseen project development efforts for dozens of BRC Imagination Arts projects including the award winning Abraham Lincoln Presidential Museum, Information Communication Pavilion at Shanghai Expo 2010, Abbey Road Studios and the newly open Museum of Liverpool. Donna joined BRC’s Burbank office in 1998 and relocated to the UK in 2001. Her current title is director, project development, UK.

Before landing at BRC, you worked with other prominent companies, including Jack Morton Productions and Iwerks Entertainment in the Don Iwerks days. How did the transition unfold?

I met Bob Rogers, founder of BRC Imagination Arts, in 1993. With Iwerks, I was involved in 5 corporate pavilions for Taejon Expo 93 and we hired BRC to do the film “Postcards” for the Korean Airlines Pavilion. Family stuff took me to the UK. My husband is an academic and we were both traveling quite a lot. I got pregnant, and he got a position, and it was time to settle down. It was a hard decision but it was one of those things where you have to put family first.

When I left BRC I thought that was going to be it, but after about a year Scott Ault, then managing director of BRC’s Amsterdam office and now BRC’s Chief Operating Officer, recruited me to work for BRC in the UK. It worked really well. Because of the knowledge I had from working with Bob and the team in Burbank, I knew what we could bring to the market. Bart Dohmen is now MD for BRC Europe, and I have a great working relationship with him. Oftentimes people we need for projects in Europe are based at company hubs in the UK.

How do you juggle the multiple time zones on international projects?

Who’s going to be the unlucky one to get the 2:00 am slot on the conference call?

But there’s also a good side: when the client and the design team are in different time zones you can have a double or even triple shift keeping the process going. One group is working while the other sleeps. This came into play on a project we were working on for SAIC and GM with Dentsu, where the work was passing between Shanghai, Los Angeles and Tokyo. We turned around in 3 days something that had been expected to take 2 weeks. “The world is flat!” said the client.

"Concept design and tech design

were happening side by side."

When we were working on projects for Expo 2010 – including some concept work for SAIC and GM, and design/production of the Information and Communications Pavilion sponsored by China Mobile and China Telecom - Christian Lachel flew from LA to Shanghai, and I flew from London to Shanghai, and it was the same distance for both of us. I spoke at a conference not long ago, where there was real-time participation from people in 6 different time zones – some attending in person and some as avatars.

It must have been nice to work on the Museum of Liverpool, in your own backyard.

A great project like the Museum of Liverpool can happen anywhere, but yes, it was wonderful to be so close to the client. I went to the opening July 19. Yoko Ono was a guest star; she’s supporting the project, which is fantastic. They got the licensing to play Beatles music, and Paul McCartney’s brother Mike had a photo exhibition and was there. Over 12,000 visitors went through the door on the first day, and more than 150,000 guests came in the first two weeks. The Museum of Liverpool is England’s first National museum in 100 years, her first purpose built museum in 100 years as well, and her first National museum about a city. The collection is from the Museum of Liverpool Life that was shoehorned into a very small old Pilotage and Salvage Association building on Liverpool's waterfront. It was one of a half dozen museums operated by National Museums Liverpool. And because it is a National museum it is free to everyone.

How did the Liverpool project come together?

Like many, the Museum of Liverpool started off as a very complex project. Every client faces so many initial challenges: vision, fundraising, determining a site, political and government support, and more. BRC has experience at every stage of bringing a world-class museum to life, so we were thrilled to be part of the process from the get-go. At one point the Museum of Liverpool was going to be incorporated into a new waterfront development called “The Cloud,” but the local government decided against it because of skyrocketing costs.

They had the site – a world heritage site next to the Three Graces, three prominent and iconic buildings on Liverpool’s waterfront - and David Fleming, who took over as director of National Museums Liverpool in the early 2000s, wanted to build something for Liverpool’s having been designated Cultural Capital of Europe in 2008.

David is a social historian himself, and he wanted to create the ultimate city history museum. They had some money from the Northwest Development Agency and from the European Development Fund, and BRC helped write the brief for the Heritage Lottery Fund. There were several big files to submit – it took a lot of detail to convey how rich that collection is. The funding kick-started it and the architect, Danish firm 3XN, was chosen by international competition. Then the client launched the tender process, and BRC tendered for the exhibition master plan.

How did BRC coordinate with the architect and the curators to get the design underway?

This is where hiring an experienced master planner shows its value. The client wanted the most flexible museum ever, to be able to stay relevant, change stuff out, and accommodate traveling exhibitions. The architect needed to get going. But nobody yet knew what would be inside the building. BRC had to come in and really quickly figure things out: what would people do the minute they come in, reception, disabled access, freight elevator size, all that kind of practical thinking, and we gave that information to the architects to work on while we figured out what the story was.

"If something doesn’t fit, it doesn’t go in."

We interacted with a great team of curators. Liverpool has a 700-year history. In addition to the Beatles and football legacy, for 400 years it was one of the biggest global ports in the world. It was our job to think about how to address all these stories, and be able to change them out, and have a quality presentation - and to fit out the museum for technology down the road. Concept design and tech design were happening side by side; we worked very closely with then-show systems manager Tom Tait and project manager Josh Cottrell from BRC’s Burbank office - and many others.

This was going to be a museum like none other ever built in the UK, but the quantity surveyors were basing their cost estimates on a basic museum, and we had to address that, too. For instance, the engineers were thinking of standard HVAC, and to demonstrate what was really needed, we had to do mockups to show the heat load of immersive theater systems. They were used to more standardized projects, but people hire BRC to be out-of-the-box, and David Fleming is a visionary.

Liverpool is a very emotional city: the people are welcoming and take everything to heart. Absolute integrity of presentation was a must. Part of the mandate was for the museum to feel truly inclusive – there could be no elitism. Addressing this included working with a disability expert.

How did BRC as master planner ensure a meaningful handover of the design brief, especially considering that this was no standardized project?

BRC Imagination Arts completed its master plan in 2007. We worked with National Museums Liverpool to write those briefs, and they had key storylines that needed to be achieved. Exhibition designers Redman Design and Haley Sharpe Design have created the galleries as visitors see them today, in close collaboration with the National Museums Liverpool team, working from the master plan. The gallery directors followed the briefs that we wrote. They might have used some different techniques than if we had been involved in production, but the intent was there.

The key is always to make sure that the strength of story comes through and that whatever technique we use fits within the budget guidelines. Pricing on technology is always moving so it is difficult to do that and you’re always juggling. For Liverpool, we couldn’t do immersion everywhere – we had to pick key stories (Beatles and football). We gave them technology that we knew worked and would work down the road.

Our master plan encompassed the whole of the visitor experience - how do they flow and how the structure supports that – how you pulse people and avoid congestion. We even worked with the architect about where the toilets were going to go, and addressed wayfinding both inside and outside the museum. We sketched out a 5-year program of what to change out when, and where.

"This was going to be a museum
like none other ever built in the UK."

Because of what we have all learned from Bob Rogers – which comes out of what Bob learned from Disney and Buzz Price - our charrette process is the best there is. We do a full 2-day workshop with the client/stakeholder to uncover the heart of this project. Clients have strong stories and those are the differentiating factor. After we get everybody’s input and understand what is driving the project forward, there’s a bubble diagram that gets done. From that flow the concept and master plan. We go back to that original diagram and it remains true to the end.

That thinking and understanding of what story you are telling, and how it works for that particular place and vision are the roadmap to the project. We make sure at end of the workshop that there are a mission statement, objective statement and theme statement. The theme statement is focused on design intent. If something doesn’t fit, it doesn’t go in. You take that and make a great master plan.

Six Flags Magic Mountain's New Green Lantern Flips Out

2011-07-11T09:24:00.000-07:00

Green Lantern opens with fanfare and fireworks

Parks and attractions like to tout rides that "offer a new experience every time." Often, those differences are subtle. The new Green Lantern: First Flight coaster at Six Flags Magic Mountain really lives up to the claim, according to this report by InPark chief editor Martin Palicki.

The Intamin coaster features cars that ride on the side of the track, and spin based on the weight distribution in the car. The ride layout is compact. Think of a plink playing board, where the disc bounces up and down quickly, moving left and right before settling at the bottom. Now turn the volume up.

There are essentially three parts to the ride: The lift, Block A, and Block B (separated by block brakes). The lift up is quick and smooth, with little fanfare, but with a great unobstructed view of the park.

Block A starts out with a quick dip and flat section before the first of several drops. This is relatively tame section of the ride, allowing guests to get used to the unique sensation of not really knowing where the ride is going.

Block B is certainly more intense, with bigger drops and faster turns that have a tendency to make the cars flip around - sometimes more than others.

There is no lateral movement in the ride. It's simply up and down, while rocking forward and backward. But it's fun, and a new experience.

I rode three times. The first two times I faced backwards (forwards and backwards are somewhat relative…as the car flips, the front becomes the back, and vice versa…but I felt the seats that face out of the station feel like the "back"). The third time I faced forwards, and it was a completely different experience.

My on-ride trip (forwards) with Ryan from Planet Six.

And of the three rides, the second one provided the most intense action. The B block threw us face down towards the ground with intense force twice, and we had so much rotating momentum our car completed two additional flips once we were stopped back in the station. I think we were screaming the whole time.

The only downsides to the attraction are its low throughput and a queue that travels underneath the station in a hot and breeze-free tunnel.

The uncomfortable queue was worth it, though, and Green Lantern: First Flight will prove to be a popular addition to the coaster-dominant park.

Videos courtesy of IPM correspondent Jeffrey Killian. On-ride footage courtesy of Six Flags Magic Mountain and PlanetSIX.

Related:

Official Six Flags press release from July 2011

Martin Palicki rides and reviews the revamped Star Tours
The other Green Lantern ride, at Six Flags Great Adventure (official press release from May 2011)

Childhood Dome Goes Digital at Adler Planetarium

2011-07-11T07:59:00.000-07:00

Growing up in Chicago, the Adler Planetarium had naturally been my first choice to get a star-gazing fix. The highlight of any visit, of course, was a trip to the sky theater, whose giant dome stretched far above me. Arranged in concentric circles, reclining seats surrounded the projector, raised up in the center of the room...

Adler Planetarium's Zeiss Projector. Photo courtesy of Fritz Geller-Grimm, via wikimedia commons.

Seemingly from another planet, the Zeiss projector spun and twisted to create a recreation of the night sky on the domed screen above. Zeiss projectors have been (and still are) popular with planetariums for decades, and their unusual appearance is both a curiosity and oddly reminiscent of a time when the technology was just as much a part of the show as the storyline.

So I was slightly saddened to walk into the Grainger Sky Theater and find that comforting hunk of metal and glass absent (Zeiss fans will be pleased to know that the Adler disassembled and is storing the projector for display in an upcoming exhibit). In fact, the whole theater looked different, and it really is!

The domed screen has been removed and replaced with a new invisible seam dome screen from Spitz (the Nanoseam), extending through 190 degrees of vision. The floor is now raised a foot, with dancing LED lights zipping around underneath. New, modern seats are arranged theater-style, creating a front and a back. And the trusty old projector has been replaced by 20 digital Zorro projectors from Global Immersion Ltd., partially hidden behind the screen.

Two of the new Zorro projectors.

The technology is now whisked away, out of view, but it packs a powerful punch. No longer limited to images of the night sky as viewed from Earth, the new system allows the theater to whiz through outer space with crystal clear animations and an incredible sense of depth. To cover the whole screen, the main show control sends individual frames to each projector, whose onboard computer warps and blends the frame to create one giant seamless image on the dome.

The theater's first show, called The Searcher, begins in the Clark Family Welcome Gallery, a pre-show area with gauzy white material stretched into odd shapes. It's almost alien-like, which makes sense given that we are about to meet an extra-terrestrial. The Searcher is actually an alien life form who is seeking out the inhabitants of his home planet, who have vacated to escape impending celestial demise. Once in the theater, The Searcher shows us the corners of the universe he has searched and the phenomena he has encountered.

The show is interesting, and the visuals stunning, but almost seemed more appropriate for an episode of The X-Files than for a scientific institution of learning. And while my personal opinion is that we're probably not alone here in the universe, I have to wonder if that is a culturally accepted basis for developing a storyline.

The Searcher is only the museum's first show in the new theater, which also has the capability to do the traditional old-school night sky projections, and also be used for special events. As museum officials explained, why not have a dinner party in the dome, with the city of Paris projected around you in high-definition clarity?

I suppose the Zeiss projector could never take me to Paris. So I'm willing to trade in a bit of nostalgia for this most impressive of upgrades, and look forward to continued deep space exploration from the Adler Planetarium.

Adler press announcement April 25, 2011

Interview with Martin Howe of Global Immersion

Pictures and video: InPark editors Palicki and Rubin at the Adler press preview in Chicago

Official press release from Global Immersion

Choosing Crime in Vegas: InPark Visits Las Vegas Mob Experience

2011-07-04T18:48:00.000-07:00

IPM chief editor Martin Palicki gets up close and personal with the new Mob Experience and returns to tell the tale --

I’ve been to Las Vegas dozens of times, both for work and for pleasure, and while I like to partake of many of Sin City’s delights, I can’t say that I often think of the town’s connection to the world of organized crime. I always sort of knew there was a correlation, but never really understood how Vegas was ultimately shaped by the mob. At least not until I took a tour through the new Las Vegas Mob Experience at the Tropicana Resort.

Housed in a former convention area that previously played home to the traveling Titanic Exhibit, the Las Vegas Mob Experience is a blend of live action, technology-enhanced choose-your-own-adventure and museum-quality archive.

Groups start by choosing a mentor and receiving RFID-tagged lanyards inscribed with their mafia name. The attraction queue is a shipyard, detailed and dimly lit. Here, where organized crime arrived in America for the first time, groups learn about the real-life characters they are about to meet inside. Large monitors display information and photos on key mafia families. The technology is being set up to respond to the RFID tags and translate the text based on who is standing in front of the screen.

Once inside, we are transformed into a cityscape, where our mentor greets us via video and hands us off to our first live actor. As we move through the streets, the lighting changes to follow us, and when we arrive with the first actor, he calls us by name – pretty cool.

Without revealing too much, this first act of the experience allows us the opportunity to get involved with the Mafia, completing small but meaningful tasks that will affect the end of the experience for us. Unbeknownst to us, each actor has access to a hidden iPad that displays our names and allows them to rate us on our actions and words.

We start to learn more about the mob here, and learn about key players that helped to create what Vegas is today. This transitions into the second act, which is the more traditional museum section. Here, artifacts purchased and leased from family estates are displayed. Everything from personal letters to home movies is available for inspection, and the display monitors do a good job of correlating specific items to larger themes in the Las Vegas story.

In this section, you are free to move around at your leisure, spending as much or as little time as you wish.

The third act takes you through the demise of organized crime in Vegas, through realistic sets, projection and informative displays. But before the experience ends, it’s time to find out how your group did at “playing mafia.” This is where all the scores you received from the actors really matter. Your group is ushered into a back-alley room where you come face to face with the mob boss. The decisions you made in act one dictate your experience here. Naturally, since my group was made up of people who do what they are told (and who also lie really well!), we were welcomed into the Mafia family. Others might not be so lucky. Your group can also be arrested, put into witness protection, or, well….eliminated.

The entire experience was put together with the help of Visioneering, a themed design and entertainment company with offices around the country. The attention to detail and the level of theatrical precision makes the experience realistic and enthralling. My mob knowledge was pretty much non-existent before taking the tour, yet it kept my interest and gave me enough information to help me understand what was going on, and to also want to learn more. My guest, on the other hand, claims to have some mafia connections in her distant family and professes a love of mafia culture. She was “fascinated” by the artifacts and depth of information available.

Although there aren’t many entertainment venues in Vegas that attempt to educate guests, the Las Vegas Mob Experience does exactly that in a subtle and entertaining way, with enough intrigue and suspense to make even the most relaxed Vegas vacationer squirm, even if it’s only while “Big Leo” is watching.

http://www.lvme.com

Look for more on the technology and design behind the Las Vegas Mob Experience in InPark Magazine soon!

InPark visits Six Flags Magic Mountain to ride new Green Lantern coaster

2011-06-30T11:07:00.001-07:00

InPark chief editor Martin Palicki went to the grand opening press preview of the new Green Lantern roller coaster at Six Flags Magic Mountain. His review of the ride has been published here.