How to Give Guests a Role in IP-Based Experiences

Previously on the Vizir blog, we took a look at 5 Ways to Maximize IP in themed lands and attractions using tactics that honor the brand, encourage deeper engagement, and expand the story universe. Here we take a deep dive into the first of these: the call to give guests a role.

Presented with a great piece of intellectual property—one with fantastic environments populated by compelling characters engaged in gripping action—audiences can’t help but want to deepen their relationship with its world. The apex of this draw is the fantasy of living in the world—if only temporarily.

Story is the foundation of any good attraction. And what makes a story a story is not beautiful sets, detailed world building, or even dialogue; it’s what characters do that drives their individual and collective experiences forward. To be part of the story, your guests need something to do, so giving them an active role in an attraction or environment directly enhances their experience. Here’s how to start:

1.   INVITE THEM IN
Breaking news: tourist plays role of…tourist. The theme park guest has been typecast. Too often, guests are told they do not belong in a given storytelling environment simply by how the residents of the world address them. “Visitors,” “humans,” and “tourists” are descriptors that can estrange those who want to live in the world. Guests’ in-world roles should be as unique as those out-of-world. Given the freedom to adopt or change roles whenever they like, guests can find their perfect part.

2.     CAST THEM WITH PURPOSE
Not everyone has to be a Katniss Everdeen or Harry Potter to feel like they are an essential part of the world. Whether guests take on roles inspired by the stories of secondary or tertiary characters or new roles entirely, the actions and choices of guests should carry weight. In storytelling, if the removal of a character doesn’t cause the narrative to collapse, it may end up on the chopping block. Instead of chopping your guests, find a reason for them to be there.

3.    SEND THEM ON A JOURNEY
Take a look at what motivates the characters in the source IP and what actions they take to achieve their goals. Extrapolate their respective character journeys across the landscape of the themed environment and generate parallel and complimentary paths for your guests. This does not always have to take the form of something so explicit as a mission or quest, but it should compel guests to progress deeper into the world. 

4.     TAKE THEM TO THE PROP SHOP
Few things give guests a feeling of agency and sense of belonging than carrying a symbol of the story world in hand. Not just any piece of merchandise will do, however. The prop that bears the greatest significance to guests in the context of a storytelling environment—be it a wand, data pad, medallion, or other in-world item—is one that suggests a function. It’s not just a souvenir; it is a key to unlock the world around them.

5.     LET THEM IMPROVISE
No matter the IP, guests enter an experience with unique personalities and active imagination. These are essential to a guest’s relationship with the story world, but the process of reconciling them with the tightly knit, even sacred nature of IP is an example of more is more. Building a rich story world wherein guests feel the freedom to explore, go off script, and push boundaries will make the experience in fact seem boundless.

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It is only by giving guests the power and permission to affect the world around them that theme parks and attractions can deliver on the promise of true immersion—to be a part of the story rather than a passive observer. It’s the difference between being in the world and living in it.

It’s the middle school student who can dress up in the robes of her Hogwarts house and do her homework in the middle of the Three Broomsticks. It’s the experience wherein a participant can disguise himself as a Stormtrooper and infiltrate a secret Imperial facility. It’s the ride through space or down a roaring river that they control with “real” consequences.

An audience who was once satisfied only by imagining their participation in story worlds now views IP with the expectation that it could be a place one might one day be able to visit, not as a mere “tourist,” but as someone who belongs in that world. “Ride the movies” is so 90s. Today, guests want more than to simply go along for the ride. They want to live the franchise.

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VIZIR PRODUCTIONS combines the theatrical art of dramaturgy with creative writing, branding, and design to bridge the gap between IP-holders and experience creators and develop experiences that:

• Authentically express the brand

• Encourage meaningful guest participation

• Tell new stories in the brand universe

You have the IP. Now, let us help you make sure it reaches its full potential.

5 Ways to Maximize IP in the Park

The global attractions industry is relying on intellectual property to help drive attendance more than ever, but having rights to IP is not enough. Maximizing the potential of IP in a park or attraction necessitates a profound understanding of the storyworld and the diligence to advocate for the IP and its relationship to the guest amidst complex business interests.

At their best, IP-driven attractions are richly integrated with both guest experience and franchise ecosystems. Here, we explore how to implement IP into themed lands and attractions in ways that honor the brand, encourage deeper engagement, and expand the story universe.

1.    GIVE GUESTS A ROLE
A themed environment may be nice to look at, but guests want more than to observe; they want to participate. Casting guests in roles beyond that of “tourist” gives them the power to experience stories in ways that are uniquely meaningful to them. The ideal IP for a theme park is one that makes audiences want to live in the world it portrays: a world of wizards and witches, a world where dinosaurs live again, a world filled with hope and possibility. To truly inhabit these worlds—if only temporarily—requires the guest to have an active, IP-relevant role.

2.    STIMULATE ALL SENSES
Truly immersive attractions or themed environments are full-sensory experiences that weave IP into every moment. In one fraction of a second, a guest should be able to experience the world fully, whether one is conscious of it or not. Big or small, bold or subtle, everything should be extrapolated from the source material. An IP-based land or attraction may be the first instance in which sights, smells, tastes, sounds, and textures are represented in the real world, requiring a rich imagination and an adaptation process grounded in the brand to make them come to life.

3.    EXTEND THE NARRATIVE
No matter how slavish an attraction or themed land is to an IP, both represent opportunities to grow the IP by telling new stories within the brand universe. People are drawn to an IP-based experience because they have an established relationship with the property. They don’t come to see the movie; they come on the promise of new adventures set in a familiar world. Guests are most likely to encounter stories parallel to established narratives, but entirely new stories and environments that capture the spirit of the source material can be equally effective.

4.   PROVIDE YEAR-ROUND ENGAGEMENT
Two to three-year gaps between films is common for even the biggest studio film franchises, but most attractions have audiences 365 days a year and thus are an integral part of a flourishing content ecosystem. During a bridge year or franchise year wherein there is no tentpole release, an attraction or land can become a nexus for energizing the IP. Festivals, fan gatherings, anniversary events, overlays, new content, and other programming contribute to keeping the world of the IP alive even when the lights go down in the cinema.

5.    PROMOTE NEW CONTENT
The most successful entertainment IP is constantly growing—moving forward and backward across timelines, adding new perspectives, creating new lines of storytelling, and endlessly repackaging itself. It never stays in the same place for very long. With more screen-based attractions and projection-mapped features, it’s easier than ever to integrate new media, but even changes at the scale of signage, props, and audio that reference a current film or other narrative extension like a book, comic, television series, or digital content can make the world seem bigger and all the more real.

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An entertainment franchise is a monster that cannot be contained, a beast that needs constant feeding. If it doesn’t grow, it dies. Location-based entertainment occupies a unique position in a content ecosystem to expand and channel brand engagement 365 days a year. More than just another content platform, the IP-dependent theme park or attraction is—or should be—a living touchstone for the ever-expanding world beyond the page, screen, or berm.

More than anything else, an attraction or land can make that world real for guests, which all starts with its creators believing—even for eight hours out of each day—that it actually is.

For more on maximizing the potential of IP in theme parks and related subjects, listen to our interview on Episode 63 of the AttractionPros podcast and stay tuned to our blog for a few deep dives on some of these topics.

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VIZIR PRODUCTIONS combines the theatrical art of dramaturgy with creative writing, branding, and design to bridge the gap between IP-holders and experience creators and develop experiences that:

• Authentically express the brand

• Encourage meaningful guest participation

• Tell new stories in the brand universe

You have the IP. Now, let us help you make sure it reaches its full potential.

Haunt & Holt: A Rare Look Inside Garner Holt Productions

It’s not often one gets to stand amidst towering shelves full of artifacts representing over 60 years of theme park craft, but that’s exactly the opportunity that was presented to members of the Themed Entertainment Association on October 19th when the world’s largest manufacturer of animatronic figures, Garner Holt Productions, opened the doors of its Redlands, CA production facility for a Halloween-themed behind-the-scenes event.

Garner Holt Photo: Redlands Daily Facts

From ghost dogs to 45-foot tall dragons, Garner Holt Productions (GHP) has lent its unique talents to bringing countless characters to life around the world. If eyes are the windows to the soul, the thousands if not tens of thousands of eyeballs that GHP has placed in its figures over its 40+ year history means it has also been at least partially responsible for imbuing soul to so many of our most beloved theme park attractions.

Corey Albert of WET and Ian Klein of Vizir Productions with GHP lead figure finished Ben Shwenck in his demon costume. Photo: Themed Entertainment Association

On this rare occasion, GHP welcomed over 170 TEA members into dimly lit halls filled with figures from projects past offering a plethora of fantastic photo opportunities. Live characters played by GHP staff also roamed the floors. The head of the CG department was a screaming banshee. Hannibal Lecter was from Plastics. Ben Schwenk from figure finishing dressed in a seamless, terrifying demon costume he made and posed as an animatronic before lunging at unassuming passersby—an act that invoked much cursing.

After dining on typical Halloween fare of “witches’ fingers” and “raw flesh” on toast, attendees took their seats to hear from the man himself, Garner Holt. While he joked that he was dressed up “as a cranky old guy who chases kids off the lawn” there is a strong sense that Holt is still very much a kid at heart. Indeed, as he’s shared previously, GHP is his playground.

Holt’s opening slide, “Wrecking the Halls: Inside Stories of Disneyland’s Haunted Mansion Holiday,” promised a peek behind the curtains of a now-classic holiday overlay, but gave the audience so much more with stories from a lifetime of magic-making. Holt’s fascination with theme parks began with his mother’s gift of the Haunted Mansion souvenir record, which he played again and again even before he ever had the opportunity to actually visit the attraction. A trip down those haunted halls was all it took to convince him that one day he’d create fantastic experiences of his own.

Newspaper clipping introducing readers to Garner Holt’s backyard haunted house from the Monday, October 28, 1974 edition of The San Bernardino County Sun from San Bernardino, CA.

That day was not far off. In October of 1974, Holt built a haunted house—little more than a shack in the backyard—that on Halloween night attracted 400 people.

The next year, when he was just 15, Holt was hired to build a haunted attraction for Central City Mall in San Bernardino. The experience was housed in an old trailer. Holt noted that a skeleton he created that spun around and lunged at guests “had kids piling on the floor” in fear.

The success of “Garner Holt’s Haunted House of Mystery” paved the way toward several other opportunities to create haunts at other malls across Southern California. In between the paid gigs, Holt made and sold fake severed hands to fund his passion projects. They were an immense success. The public’s appetite for gory Halloween accessories had yet to be sated. “No one had chopped hands back then,” Holt said.

It wasn’t long before his work attracted the attention of WED Enterprises, now Walt Disney Imagineering. Imagineers Wathel Rogers and Wayne Jackson paid the Holt family residence a visit to see the Uncle Sam animatronic Holt had crafted for the 1976 Bicentennial. It was an impressive technological achievement that was made in part from sawed off metal from his father’s fence posts.

Holt’s career and now incorporated company grew exponentially over the next couple of decades with projects for the likes of Knott’s Berry Farm and MGM Resorts. In 1998, GHP started building the titular animatronic figures for Chuck E. Cheese. They’ve since built 500. Walt Disney said, “it was all started with a mouse.” With Holt, a mouse may not have started it all, but it surely helped keep the doors open.

Haunted Mansion Holiday at Disneyland Resort. Photo: Ben Lei on Unsplash

It was also a mouse—Mickey this time—that opened the doors to GHP’s future even wider. In 2001 for the first time ever, Disney entrusted an entity outside of Imagineering to put an animatronic in one of their attractions. Prior to the debut of Haunted Mansion Holiday, Disney had created only two holiday overlays: one for It’s a Small World and another for Country Bear Jamboree. For Haunted Mansion Holiday, Holt and his team pulled out all the stops. He shared he would have gladly done the job at a loss saying “I wanted to do a really good job because I figured that was my future.”

Haunted Mansion Holiday was more than a marker of future success for GHP; it set the stage for a legacy now fully intertwined with that of Disney. Since the first install of Haunted Mansion Holiday, which has versions in Anaheim, Orlando, and Tokyo, GHP has created over 450 figures for Disney from under the sea to infinity and beyond.

Garner Holt Productions moved from San Bernardino, CA to a new production facility in Redlands, CA in 2018.

Thanks to their expertise and reliability of their products, GHP has touched every era of Disney history including updating and replacing figures on Walt Disney’s Enchanted Tiki Room, the world-famous Jungle Cruise, and It’s a Small World. More recent attractions populated by GHP creations include no less than four Buzz Lightyear dark ride shooters, Monsters, Inc.: Mike and Sulley to the Rescue!, The Little Mermaid ~ Ariel's Undersea Adventure, and Finding Nemo Submarine Voyage for which GHP developed more than 80 figures.

Despite the high volume of work GHP does for the corporation, Disney is just one of over a hundred clients of varying sizes although a few of the 120 animatronic figures GHP currently has in production are for other significant players in the global theme park space. During the tours conducted during the Halloween event, these figures of all shapes and sizes were quite literally shrouded in mystery, covered in black sheets. Holt teased, “You’ll see them soon…somewhere.”

Production time for GHP’s animatronic figures depends on the complexity, size, and level of customization, though Holt offered these rough benchmarks. According to director of creative design, Bill Butler, all figures are designed for a 20-year service life.

Still, there was more than plenty to see on the tour of the 120,000-square-foot building which GHP relocated to in 2018, a move that nearly tripled the company’s previous space in neighboring San Bernardino. In addition to the space required for manufacturing, the building also has room to store much of the company’s archives and a sizable collection of many non-animatronic treasures from across theme park history including many theme park ride vehicles such as “Bertha Mae,” one of the Mike Fink Keel Boats that once looped around Disneyland’s Tom Sawyer Island.

TEA members gathered in one of the flex spaces at Garner Holt Productions during the Halloween-themed behind-the-scenes event. Photo: Themed Entertainment Association

Flex spaces can accommodate large-scale events like the one organized with TEA and programs like “Garner Holt Education through Imagination” which offers field trips and activity-based initiatives to encourage kids toward S.T.E.A.M disciplines. During these workshops, as many as 150 kids visit for as long as five hours in one day during general operations.

At the heart of the new production facility, hidden behind royal blue curtain walls is also a full-fledged animatronic show, Reflections of the Face of Lincoln, which features one of GHP’s most advanced creations to date: a hyperrealistic bust of President Abraham Lincoln which uses its “expressive head technology” and proprietary motor control system.

Garner Holt makes a cameo appearance in Westworld. Photo: HBO

Walking the sprawling floors of Garner Holt Productions surrounded by decaying relics from attractions past and intricate, metallic visions of the future is an awe-inspiring and, at times, unsettling glimpse into the possibilities of lifelike invention. Fittingly, Garner Holt and GHP director of creative design Bill Butler appeared as background technicians in Jonathan Nolan and Lisa Joy’s exploration of this very subject on the HBO series, Westworld.

Early in the show’s first season, the co-creator of the Westworld park, Dr. Robert Ford played by Anthony Hopkins, tells a young host, “Everything in this world is magic, except to the magician.” In his own playground, Garner Holt has combined ingenuity and imagination to create illusions that help attraction-goers suspend disbelief and embrace the reality of the world before them.

“Everything we build is usually a unique piece of machinery,” Holt says, “Even if you think you’ve done something similar, it’s never the same.” It is this drive to innovate that keeps GHP at the top of the industry and us, the wide-eyed guests, awash in the magic.

TEA SATE 2019 One for the Books

Ian Klein, Vizir Productions; Shannon Martin, Color Reflections; Nathan Jones, WhiteWater at the close of TEA SATE Seattle 2019.

TEA SATE Seattle 2019 is now behind us but we’ve only begin to reflect on the dialogue and narratives that have come out of it. While I as one of its three co-chairs along with WhiteWater’s Nathan Jones and Shannon Martin of Color Reflections may be biased, I feel it was an extraordinary one. With more women on stage and more voices represented period than any previous SATE, it was an enormous success insofar as being both a summit of ideas and an opportunity for diverse storytellers to share what’s important to them.

SATE is an equation made up of equal parts, Storytelling, Architecture, and Technology, which together inform Experience. During TEA SATE Seattle 2019, I had the privilege of talking a little about the all important element of storytelling through our thematic lens, “Embracing Diversity: Experiences that Bring People Together.” Here is that spotlight as shared on Day 2 of the conference:

Storytelling. We like it. We all know it’s important. And for the most part, it comes pretty natural to us.

In this room, we’re all storytellers. Even if not by title, we all play a part in telling stories. So, there’s no shortage of us talking about storytelling. New ride? Cool story. New building? Let me tell you about the story behind it. New technology? Here’s the story about how we got here.

But what could I tell you that hasn’t been said about storytelling that we all haven’t heard a hundred times or more? I could tell you that we’ve been doing it around the campfire since the dawn of humanity. That storytelling is what makes us human. That without it, society as we know it might simply cease to be. But I’m not going to because, well, I’m not actually one of the people giving a presentation today.

Nathan, Shannon, and I put a lot of thought into what story we wanted to tell with this conference and who were the storytellers that were going to share in that narrative tapestry. We felt like what it all came down to was the human connections that we were going to help create between all of us that made up that complete story.

We are storytellers yes, but storytelling is us. Just by being in this room, on stage or in those seats, you are a unique part of the story and the story is you. And that story is one that wouldn’t be the same without you. Each of you is a beautiful thread in that tapestry.

And if you think about that tapestry, you see each one of those threads is a different hue, each one catches the light a little differently, each one plays a part in holding everything together. Now think about what happens when one of those threads is removed. And another. And another. Pretty quickly, this grand story is a little less vibrant, a little less robust until it looks like nothing at all.

When we stop including members of us who are different than us in our stories, our stories become at best sad, and at worse tragedies. When we take proactive steps to include diverse perspectives, our stories become stronger, more vibrant, and more powerful than we could possibly imagine.

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Thank you to all those who shared their stories from the stage during TEA SATE Seattle 2019 as well as a heartfelt thanks to those who attended and shared in these important conversations.

Helping ensure those conversations are not left behind in the Pacific Northwest is Cynthia Sharpe who not only gave the SATE audience actionable suggestions to integrate diversity, equity, and inclusion into business practices, but curated a list of resources now available to all here.

We look forward to seeing everyone at next year’s SATE North America, taking place October 1-3 at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas!

TEA SATE 2019 Begins

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It’s been just a few weeks since my fellow co-chairs and I shared a complete look at the sessions and speakers for the Themed Entertainment Association’s SATE Seattle 2019. Our most recent announcements included Keynote Speaker, Starbucks Senior Recruiter Neiha Arora as well as entertainment for the program, singer Alexandria Henderson, said to be the first African American woman to play Legally Blonde’s Elle Woods—on a Seattle stage in fact. This week, the stories we’ve been crafting and nurturing for this conference meet their audience.

Months ago, President of WhiteWater’s Park Attractions Division, Nathan Jones and Director of Business Development at Color Reflections Las Vegas, Shannon Martin, and I had our first conversation about what this SATE could be. By its very nature, SATE (Storytelling + Architecture + Technology = Experience) comprises so many creative ideas and fields that the possibilities are truly endless. But we had to choose a path and that path was one that each of us had tread in our personal and professional lives: recognizing differences in one another and making those differences work in symphony for the greater good. As co-chairs, we’ve walked that path together and now invite others to join us.

The need to embrace diversity—as our theme “Embracing Diversity: Experiences that Bring People Together” urges—could not be more pressing. The World Economic Forum estimates that gender equality in the U.S. will not be achieved for another 208 years.* 26 U.S. states do not expressly protect against discrimination based on sexual orientation or gender identity.** 70 United Nations member states still criminalize same-sex relations between consenting adults.† There are 2 million immigrants and refugees in the U.S. with college degrees from their home countries but remain unemployed or working far below their skill level.‡

These are sobering statistics, to be sure, but to dwell on them without action is unacceptable. It’s clear we need to do better. And we can. SATE brings together creators from all over the world, from all different walks of life, and from trades of every kind. Together, we create entire worlds; it follows that we can create a better one.

To embrace diversity is to embrace possibility. We hope TEA SATE Seattle 2019 clearly demonstrates this. We have new voices. We’ve changed up the program. We have the most women on stage of any previous SATE conference. And we’re ready to learn from all our speakers and everyone in the audience.

We look forward to our paths coming together in Seattle and beyond.

TEA SATE Seattle 2019 takes place Seattle, September 26-27, 2019 at Cornish Playhouse at Seattle Center. Follow the conversation on Twitter at @TEA_Connect and #TEAsate.

Sources:
* World Economic Forum
** Movement Advancement Project
† International Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Trans, and Intersex Association
‡ Upwardly Global

Moisture Festival Reminds Us There's Always More to See

My favorite parts of Seattle’s annual comedy/varieté showcase, Moisture Festival, are those that are the most unpredictable and verge on the indescribable. Few, if any, of the guests who attended the show as part of the TEA Western North America Division’s event knew what to expect and later left the theater feeling all the more enthralled because of it.

From a rousing rendition of “Bohemian Rhapsody” played on the one-of-a-kind “Rimbatubes” to pickles flung from a cheeseburger spinning atop a parasol, Moisture Festival’s April 4th performances were nothing short of marvelous. We are so grateful to have been able to bring Seattle locals and visitors alike to the Moisture Festival for the first time and as Pacific Northwest Chair of the TEA Western North America Division Board, I’ll make sure it will not be our last.

Many thanks to our gracious hosts at Hale’s Ales Brewery & Pub and Moisture Festival as well as to our sponsors, MODE Studios and NewReach.

More details on the event and some of the many entertaining acts can be found in my report for the TEA blog here.

TEA Summit: Thea Award Recipients Represent a Range of Approaches to IP

Whether an experience creator is looking to build a new attraction, reimagine an aging one, or construct an entirely new park, the question of “what story will this experience tell?” is always present. The question of what piece of intellectual property drives that story—established or wholly original—usually follows suit.

That decision, however, is rarely straightforward, even amongst the biggest and most successful brands. Disney’s infamous inability to use much of the Marvel universe at its Florida properties due to a perpetuity clause in the licensing deal with Universal Parks & Resorts comes to mind, although one can imagine Disney feeling pretty happy with its library of IP these days thanks to the acquisition of 21stCentury Fox’s entertainment assets. Now can we get that Buffy theme park?

Considering the use of IP for an experience can feel like feast or famine for experience creators; the biggest studios appear to have the luxury of boundless IP, while smaller or more cost-conscious organizations may have to work harder to find relevant characters and stories, whether through complex licensing deals or their own creativity. At Day Two of this year’s TEA Summit, Thea Case Studies Day, Thea Award recipients not only represented projects from across the budgetary spectrum, they also represented a diverse range of approaches to identifying and implementing IP in their projects now recognized for Outstanding Achievements.

FIELDING FRANCHISES
Universal Spectacle Night Parade, Universal Studios Japan, Osaka
Live Show Spectacular

Early on in the four years it took to develop the Universal Spectacle Night Parade at Universal Studios Japan from concept to completion, the creative team at Universal Parks & Resorts considered over 18 different IPs before ultimately deciding on the four franchises represented in the final parade: Jurassic World, Harry Potter, Despicable Me/Minions, and Transformers. 

© Universal Studios

For a parade intended to celebrate “The Best of Hollywood” it was a review process, Mike Davis, Senior Vice President-International Entertainment and Project Director at USJ, Matthew Preston Jones could not take lightly. That process included creating varying levels of design concepts for all 18 IPs, considering how franchises would physically translate into the park environment, weighing them against other areas of the Comcast NBCUniversal business—its “Symphony” strategy in action—and perhaps most importantly, how each IP would translate for the Japanese audience, something that Davis emphasized several times during his presentation.

The result of his efforts along with those of roughly 1,000 staff and vendors is a fluidly choreographed, total immersion into these fictional realities.

MINING THE COLLECTIVE CONSCIOUSNESS
Bazyliszek, Park Legendia, Chorzow, Poland
Attraction, Limited Budget

“Every Polish man knows the story of the Basilisk” said Legendia Director, Paweł Cebula. So, when the theme park contemplated a new attraction to mark its 60-year history, the legendary Basilisk—a snake with a rooster’s head—made it “the best IP you can imagine” on which to base Bazyliszek, Poland’s first interactive dark ride created with the help of Alterface, Jora Vision, and ETF Imaginative Engineering.

Concept art for the Bazyliszek attraction created by Alterface, Jora Vision, and ETF

In an interview with InPark Magazine, Cebula notes that Legendia was already conceived around bringing Polish legends and fairy tales to life. While “some of them have been forgotten or seem old-fashioned,” Cebula says, “they hold great symbolic value and storytelling potential.” Specifically, Bazyliszek is “based on such an authentic Polish folklore, but shared in a way that speaks to modern audiences.” 

Indeed, as the Thea Awards Committee noted in its remarks, “Delivering an attraction that is well integrated in its cultural context, but that manages to deliver a compelling modern and fun experience is not only remarkable, it is also a great alternative to major IP offerings. Bazyliszek is an outstanding model of an attraction that speaks to its regional audience.” The attraction’s narrative furthers that connection to the parks guests by integrating original characters found elsewhere in the park, making it a contender for the “meta attraction” designation we previously wrote about on our blog here.

DRAWING FROM MYTH
Fantawild Oriental Heritage, Xiamen, China
Theme Park

For its 22nd theme park, Oriental Heritage in Xiamen, China, Fantawild Holdings melded traditional Chinese culture and modern technology through 12 attractions across nine themed areas. “China has a long history,” Fantawild Holdings Executive President, Daisy Shang told Park World, “There are a lot of stories to tell.” Indeed the sheer volume of stories from over 3,000 years of history meant Shang and her team conducted a great deal of research in order to come up with the right narrative foundations for the park’s media-heavy attractions.

“Some cultural stories are very famous but some elements are not suitable for modern audiences,” Shang told the TEA Summit audience. Others, like the legend of the Butterfly Lovers, featuring the characters Liang Shanbo and Zhu Yingtai known as the Chinese Romeo and Juliet, were such a part of the Chinese mythic tapestry that including them in the park was an easy choice.

“The Butterfly Lovers” Zhu Yingtai and Liang Shanbo in the Panoramic Augmented Reality Theatre at Oriental Heritage © Fantawild Holdings, Inc.

Shang also pointed out the fundamental differences between Fantawild’s business model and other brands: “Many theme parks use IP to have global appeal, but licensing fees for well-known IP are high and may not fit very well with local culture.” By creating original content based on folklore, folktales, and mythology, Fantawild both combats the high cost of IP and achieves its goal of building “localized parks based on localized culture.” 

LEADING WITH HISTORY
Be Washington: It’s Your Turn to Lead, Mount Vernon, VA
Museum Experience, Limited Budget

© 2019 Mount Vernon Ladies’ Association, Cortina Productions

“What if we wake up one morning and find the busses no longer there?” That was the existential question posed by Rob Shenk, Senior Vice President for Visitor Engagement at George Washington’s Mount Vernon, that became the genesis of the Be Washington: It’s Your Turn to Lead interactive theater experience created in part by Cortina Productions.

In the on-site experience—also available on the web for in-home or in-classroom participants—guests face some of the same crises that Washington confronted during his presidency with the aid of on-screen advisors and gamified interactivity. To relay the same urgency Washington must have experienced to guests, participatory moments are timed and everything is rooted in history.

“We didn’t need to invent any heroic stories,” Shenk said, “we just needed new ways to tell them.” In each of the four possible scenarios, the heroism of Washington and others is realized in rich, cinematic scenes played out on a 6K screen while 36 guests stay engaged with 18 touchscreen kiosks. Through its self-imposed directive to stick to the facts, use primary sources, and eschew any alternate universe narratives, Be Washington demonstrates that the key to learning history is to live it. 

BLENDING CULTURE AND CREATION
Universal’s Volcano Bay, Universal Orlando Resort, Orlando, FL
Water Theme Park

In a video introducing the story behind Universal’s Volcano Bay Water Theme Park, Dale Mason, Vice President & Executive Art Director at Universal Parks & Resorts, tells the tale of the fictional Waturi people who traveled the world’s oceans in search of a new home. During their voyage across the South Pacific, they “made friends and collected the culture” from real-world places such as Tahiti, Bali, and the Chilean island of Rapa Nui (aka Easter Island).

One of the ten creative principles that drove the Universal Creative team in the development of Volcano Bay was the aim to achieve “plausible fantasy,” something this blending of authentic cultures and fictional creation certainly suggests. Of course, using art, architecture, language, and other iconography from real cultures can make for a tricky tightrope to walk. 

During the TEA Summit, Mason briefly addressed this citing the team’s extensive travel and the use of cultural experts to help mitigate any issues of insensitivity, but goes further in an interview on Theme Park Insider’s podcast, Building The World’s Best Theme Parks from November of 2018. In it, Mason references a trip to Bali and an exhibit at New York’s Museum of Natural History about the Pacific Rim and the cultural convergences that naturally take place across the region. “You want to make sure you honor the cultures, but we also don’t want to go too deep,” Mason says. In fact, one of the reasons he cites for pulling cultural elements together is to achieve “a much broader view of it all.” 

Overall, Mason says, “there’s an incredible amount of work that goes into making sure we’re making the right decisions.” While Volcano Bay may not feature characters and locations guests already know and love, having IP that celebrates exploration, friendship, and cultural diversity ensures guests from all over the world feel a sense of belonging throughout their stay and beyond.

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IP or its implementation can make or break an attraction (or in some cases an entire park), which is why the research phase was paramount to each one of these projects. What worked yesterday may not work today, and given the investments these experiences represent, the choice of IP has to resonate with the tomorrow’s audience just as much as it does with today’s—2, 5, or even 10-20 years down the line.

The experience creators that took the stage at the TEA Summit Thea Case Studies Day may have come from an incredibly diverse backgrounds, but together, their stories demonstrate that despite quite different approaches to IP, history, myth, culture, and the best of Hollywood are timeless keys to success.

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VIZIR PRODUCTIONS was founded on a love for research and delivering creative that maximizes the potential of story worlds represented by IPs and brands. Contact us to discuss how Vizir can help guide your vision from concept to completion.

Seattle's Pier 57 Delights TEA Members and Guests

Cindy Emerick, SVP of Business Development at Dynamic Attractions, Kyle Griffith, owner/operator at Pier 57, and Brent Young, President and Creative Director at Super 78

One year nearly to the day after kickstarting a new chapter of growth for the Themed Entertainment Association in the Pacific Northwest with a small mixer in a private residence in Seattle, we held our biggest event yet—a full evening of activity and experiences at Seattle’s historic Pier 57.

The idea of an event at Pier 57 was planted even before TEA began regular programming of activities in the region. Following a period of massive investment and big dreams put into action that resulted in the addition of The Seattle Great Wheel and the Wings Over Washington flying theater attraction, Pier 57 had been transformed, though not at the expense of its history and nostalgic characteristics.

Thanks to Pier 57 and owner/operator Kyle Griffith, along with sponsors Super 78 and Dynamic Attractions, guests enjoyed delicious food and wine, good company made up of many of Seattle’s big-hitters, rides on the two attractions, and a behind-the-scenes presentation of the pier’s impressive evolution.

Our report on the night’s festivities is live on the TEA blog.

2018: Year in Review

As 2019 gets underway and while we can still see the surface of our desks, we wanted to pause and reflect on what an incredible year 2018 was. One of our busiest years to date, 2018 was also one of the most creatively satisfying.

This has everything to do with the partners from film studios to brands and other creative firms who gave us the opportunity to create, build, and live in storyworlds that captured our imagination, returned us to our childhoods, and sparked possibilities for others to experience those worlds through fantastic experiences. We are so thankful for the trust each of them has placed in us and the positive relationships we’ve forged along the way.

And we wish you, reader—whether you’re a friend, partner, collaborator, or someone we’ve yet had the pleasure of meeting or working with—a happy and fruitful new year.

Work with us in 2019!

TEA + AZA COME TOGETHER AT UNIQUE SEATTLE VENUE

Shannon Martin, Director of Business Development, Color Reflections and Ian Klein, President, Vizir Productions

The Themed Entertainment Association (TEA) boasts members from across the spectrum of experience creators, so it’s no surprise the organization has a presence at some of the world’s biggest entertainment and attraction gatherings.

Back in September, we had the pleasure of helping put on a TEA Western North America Division mixer during the Association of Zoos & Aquariums (AZA) conference at a unique Seattle landmark, former mortuary turned restaurant/bar, The Pine Box.

This was the third official TEA event in Seattle this year and would not have been possible without our fellow sponsors, Color Reflections, Nassal, Main Street Design, and Forté Specialty Contractors.

Find out more about the event in our write-up for the TEA blog here.

IP, Storytelling, and Expanding the Narrative

On the eve of this year’s IAAPA Attractions Expo, I—Ian—had the pleasure of joining Amusement Advantage’s Josh Liebman and Matt Heller of Performance Optimist Consulting as a guest on their podcast, Attraction Pros, to talk about Vizir’s work in bridging the gap between IP holders and experience creators.

Over the course of the hour-long episode, we talk about: attractions as narrative extensions, reconciling source material, fandom, and good storytelling when developing experiences, and effective ways to not only immerse guests in storyworlds but allow them to live in these created universes. Bonus: find out how Vizir got its name!

Thanks to Josh and Matt for inviting me to talk about what Vizir does and the ideas and concepts that fuel our passion for the attractions industry.

Listen on iTunes

HOTOPP OPENS SEATTLE OFFICE FOR TEA COMMUNITY

For the second TEA/Pacific Northwest event of 2018, Themed Entertainment Association members and other industry professionals gathered at the Seattle branch of full-service design firm, Hotopp.

Around 70 creators from up and down the west coast and as far away as Orlando took part in the open house and in so doing helped further the shared goal of both TEA and Hotopp of growth both in the region and beyond.

Hotopp Principal Director, Hector Caiazza provided the report for the TEA blog.

META ATTRACTIONS: The Rides, Shows, and Experiences Where the Park is Part of the Story

From landscaping to lampposts, every detail of the theme park’s environment contributes to a story. When guests pass under the archway to Adventureland at Disneyland, visual and aural cues signal their entry into daring tales of the untamed unknown. Further into the land, Indiana Jones Adventure: Temple of the Forbidden Eye invites guests to experience one such tale first-hand.

As in this example, in most theme parks, guests progress from a sweeping, atmospheric narrative suggested by the park itself to a contained land that offers its own narrative framework to an attraction with a linear story. Each of these transitions furthers the promise of escape offered by theme parks as they immerse guests deeper into other realities. In the best attractions, the illusion that begins the moment guests step into the park is made complete. 

Still, an attraction’s script often acknowledges guests as such in order to orient them toward their role in the story. “Tourists,” Indiana Jones mutters in the Adventureland attraction that bears his name, “Why’d it have to be tourists?” On some level, many attractions are conscious of their status as tourist destinations, but far fewer acknowledge the experience as part of a theme park. By referencing the parks in which they take place, the stories told in these “Meta Attractions” uniquely contribute to the narrative fabric of the theme parks themselves.

STUDIO TOUR
Universal Studios Hollywood | Universal City, CA | Opened 1964

Since 1915, Universal Studios has been a fully functional film and television studio and from the beginning, studio tours were part of its DNA. In 1964 the studio tour was reborn in the form of “GlamorTrams” that offered guests the unique opportunity to get a glimpse into Hollywood production. As years passed, the studio tour evolved to incorporate staged spectacles that demonstrated special effects and of course, new forms of Hollywood magic in the form of mixed media attractions. To this day, the Studio Tour remains the heart Universal Studios Hollywood, blending fantasy and reality from park open to close. So intertwined with the park’s history and identity, the Studio Tour may be the original meta attraction. 
 

SOARIN’ AROUND THE WORLD / OVER THE HORIZON
Disney California Adventure / Epcot / Shanghai Disneyland | Anaheim, CA / Orlando, FL /Shanghai, People's Republic of China | Opened 2001 / 2016 / 2016

When it first debuted as Soarin’ Over California at Disney California Adventure, guests took a simulated hang glider journey across the state ending with a flyover of Disneyland’s Main Street USA toward Sleeping Beauty’s Castle during a fireworks spectacular. On one hand, this supported the park’s original intent to showcase what California had to offer visitors, but the attraction’s final scene underscored the emotional connection guests have with the Disneyland Resort itself: it feels like coming home. This notion was so integral to the storyline that it remains the finale for the attraction’s current iteration, Soarin’ Around the World while Epcot’s version ends with a pair of fireworks exploding over Spaceship Earth and Shanghai Disneyland’s Soarin’ Over the Horizon swoops into downtown Shanghai at its close. Each attraction captures the joy of travel and the fantasy of flight and by referencing the park or city in which each one is located, suggests that returning home can be the greatest thrill of all.
 

VOYAGE TO THE IRON REEF
Knott’s Berry Farm | Buena Park, CA | Opened 2015

Voyage to the Iron Reef is a 4D, interactive dark ride whose action takes place beneath the Boardwalk themed area of the park, but whose story pertains to the park as a whole. As guests embark, they learn that recent construction on the Boardwalk area has awakened the villainous Kraken Queen and her aquatic army whose “unquenchable appetite for coaster metal” has put the rest of the park at risk (Knott's Berry Farm). During the skirmishes in which players take aim at the Queen’s mechanical minions, background scenes display sunken roller coaster tracks and decaying ride vehicles. By integrating the park’s history, real-world expansion, and attractions without stories of their own, Voyage to the Iron Reef adds narrative value to the loosely themed Boardwalk area and allows guests to become active participants in the story of the ride and the park as a whole.
 

5D CASTLE THEATER
Chimelong Ocean Kingdom | Zhuhai, People’s Republic of China | Opened 2015

A year after Chimelong Ocean Kingdom opened, the technically impressive 5D Castle Theater followed suit debuting the 13-minute animated film, KaKa’s Great Adventure, which weaves a narrative thread through the park’s more than half a dozen themed areas and, at the time, the world’s largest oceanarium. In an interview with InPark Magazine, project creative director, Rick Rothschild, describes the experience as “the central storytelling piece for Ocean Kingdom” designed to “inform the overall guest experience” by providing backstory on the park’s themed lands and the characters that inhabit them. With park mascots, Ocean Genie, KaKa, and KiKi as their guides, guests journey to a fantastic planet filled with Ocean Kingdom landmarks and populated by many of the animals found in the park. KaKa’s Great Adventure is a meta attraction whose story, locations, and characters make the park a better experience for all.  
 

HEX – THE LEGEND OF THE TOWERS
Alton Towers | Opened 2000 | Alton, Staffordshire, United Kingdom

Alton Towers originated as a tour of the Earl of Shrewsbury’s estate; over a century later Alton Towers found even greater success with the inclusion of rides and other attractions beyond tours of the historic manor, grounds, and gardens. Within the park, Hex – The Legend of the Towers offers a unique, localized experience through a storyline directly connected to the area’s history. Set within the Towers themselves, the dark ride reframes the local legend of the Chained Oak Tree for maximum thrills. The story tells of the Earl’s encounter with an old beggar woman, who, upon being cruelly dismissed, places a curse on the Earl’s family: each time a branch falls from the oak tree, a member of his family would perish. In this version, the Earl experiments on one of the branches deep in a vault in an attempt to break the curse. The attraction’s self-awareness in regards to cultural myths, history, and its own geography mark Hex as a distinct entry in the meta attraction category. 
 

GHOST TOWN ALIVE!
Knott’s Berry Farm | Buena Park, CA | Opened 2016

Ghost Town’s contribution to the identity of Knott’s Berry Farm cannot be understated. The area, which contains many structures that date back to the early days of the park, was already rich with atmosphere before its 2016 refurbishment, but along with it came more than just a fresh coat of paint. Though various forms of live entertainment had previously existed in the park and specifically within Ghost Town, the ambitious Ghost Town Alive!, a daylong theatrical experience, breathed new life into the heavily themed streets. Beginning at park opening, guests are able to participate in a branching narrative with the area’s townsfolk. The story invigorates all aspects of Ghost Town from retail and dining establishments to artisan demonstrations and attractions. While the performers themselves do not express awareness of the theme park as the site of the activity, the experience contributes to the park’s narrative integrity in the way it elevates the role of guests, encourages exploration, and applies new meaning to attractions across the park.
 

GUARDIANS OF THE GALAXY
Epcot | Orlando, FL | Opening 2021

First announced at the 2017 D23 Expo, the as-yet-untitled Guardians of the Galaxy attraction at Epcot will mark the debut of the Marvel universe at Walt Disney World. When completed, the attraction, which replaces Ellen’s Energy Adventure, will be one of the “world’s longest enclosed coasters.” Of course, Walt Disney Imagineering promises a coaster experience like no other, designing a “new innovative ride system” and a new story for the characters (Disney Parks Blog). While story details are still under wraps, Walt Disney Parks & Resorts Chairman Bob Chapek told the D23 audience that Peter Quill (a.k.a. Star-Lord) actually visited Epcot as a kid, a revelation he paired with a vintage Polaroid picture of a boy in front of Spaceship Earth. As to how much the theme park is referenced within the ride itself remains to be seen, but the information that has been released certainly suggests that the attraction’s narrative will lean into Epcot’s legacy, which would be a welcome development for many fans nostalgic for the Epcot of yesterday.

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Walt Disney once said, “I don’t want the public to see the world they live in while they’re in the park. I want them to feel they’re in another world” (D23). While theme parks offer escape from the real world, many attractions take that escapism to the next level, making guests forget—even for a moment—they are in a theme park. The attractions described here do not do this. On the contrary, meta attractions remind us of the otherworldliness of the park itself.

By taking guests on journeys that use the parks as a narrative backdrop, these attractions help tell the story of the parks and amplify their mythic nature. Though they differ in their approach, each one makes the park in which it is located feel simultaneously more intimate and more vast—bound in physical scope but made boundless through the multitude of experiences contained therein. They suggest that no matter how far our adventures may take us—another planet, the wild west, or somewhere over the horizon—we can always return to our home away from home: the theme park.

Are there other meta attractions you would include on the list? Leave us a comment or tweet us @vizirprod and make sure to check out the Meta Attractions infographic here.

TEA Mixer in Seattle Draws Pacific Northwest Experience Creators

Ian Klein, President, Vizir Productions and Tricia Rodriguez, CEO/Director of Marketing, Mad Systems

March 6, 2018 marked the first official event of the Themed Entertainment Association’s Western North America Division in the Pacific Northwest. We were proud to organize and sponsor the event on behalf of the Western North America Division Board and are immensely grateful for the help and support of friends including TEA Western Division president, Tricia Rodriguez of Mad Systems and our host for the evening, Chasten Fulbright of Blanton Turner.

Our full report on the event can be found on the TEA Blog here.

We look forward to continuing to help TEA grow its presence in the region and create opportunities for more professionals to meet, share ideas, and forge new partnerships in the world of experience design.

Great Logos in Experiential Entertainment

When it comes to theme parks, fans and industry professionals alike can be meticulous in their critiques of how attractions look. Less attention, however, tends to be paid to the look of the brands behind those creations, but a good visual identity can go far in attracting the right attention online, in print, or at trade shows. In the world of immersive experiences, these brands rise to the top.