by Urso Chappell

Sadly, there hasn’t been a world’s fair in the United States since the 1984 Louisiana World Exposition in New Orleans and there hasn’t been one on this continent since Vancouver’s Expo ’86. It’s my hope that this North American “expo drought” will end in 2022 or 2025.

Many in our industry will know about Expo 2010, Shanghai’s record-breaking world’s fair, but fewer know that a world’s fair is being held this year in the small city of Yeosu, South Korea. The smaller version of the international event, I sometimes draw parallels between these “recognized” (as opposed to “sanctioned”) expos with the Winter Olympics.

Related: World's Fairs: Expo Beginnings (part 1) /  World's Fairs: Expo Beginnings (part 2) /  Aspects of EXPO 2010 -an Audiovisual Review

Even those who might know about world’s fairs might still not know exactly what they are – how they’re organized and enjoyed.

In some ways, expos are like the Olympics in that they’re international events that bring people from around world. Unlike the Olympics, though, anyone can participate. An Olympics might bring one million or so folks to a city for less than three weeks, but a world’s fair can bring anywhere from 8 million (Expo 2012’s projection) to 73 million (Expo 2010’s number) to a city for three or six months.

In other ways, expos are very much like a theme park. After all, the modern amusement park can be said to trace its roots to the Midway Plaisance at Chicago’s 1893 Columbian World Exposition. World’s fairs sometimes offer the same types of entertainment, with ferris wheels and other amusements, but in recent decades, this has been less so. More contemporary world’s fairs rely more on exhibits, multimedia shows, and live entertainment.

So, are world’s fairs purely entertainment venues then? Well, mostly, but not completely. The pavilions at world’s fairs can sometimes function as museums (or aquariums), but they sometimes double as diplomatic and trade venues.

A world’s fair, then, is a world’s fair… or an expo… or a world expo… or an international exposition… or a universal exposition. But, that’s another story.

Image: Nylon publicity photo, New York World's Fair, 1939. © Bridgeman Art Library / Hagley Museum & Library, Wilmington, Delaware, USA

by Judy Mann

 In a bold new step, driven by our desire to really make a difference, uShaka Sea World has ventured beyond animal exhibits into the challenging realm of climate change – more specifically what people can do about the problem of climate change.

As visitors wander through the ‘EcoHouse’, an innovative new exhibit situated at the entrance to the aquarium, a friendly penguin invites visitors to explore easy ways to reduce their energy use and save money at home. From a full sized geyser and solar panel, to a quirky woman in the fridge, interactive electricity panels, flushing toilets and flowing showers and much more – the exhibit attracts attention and challenges us to action. The exhibit was designed by a group of passionate conservationists and enthusiastic technicians, with a great deal of innovation and a very small budget!

Related:  8th International Aquarium Congress: Internationally Renowned Scientists to Speak /  Packing for the International Aquarium Congress /  Interview with Dr Dave Gibson, MD, National Marine Aquarium

Most people think that climate change is boring – ocean acidification, sea level rise, warmer temperatures and big storms – the topic abounds with doom and gloom. Unfortunately rather than galvanising action, bad news stories tend to turn people off, feeling that the problem is so big that none of us can really make a difference. The EcoHouse addresses this serious problem in a more constructive light hearted way. The penguin icon links human actions to penguins and gives visitors practical suggestions – using simple financial and ecological sense – which they can easily do at home. At the end of the exhibit visitors have an opportunity to make a ‘Promise to the Penguins’ and commit to making one change in their daily lives to help reduce their carbon footprint.

Our oceans are under threat from a wide range of impacts – if we want to save our oceans and the amazing life that they contain, we all need to make some changes in our daily lives. The uShaka Sea World EcoHouse helps to empower people to take action, so that they return home inspired and motivated to help our planet. To make sure that we are achieving our goals, we have initiated a research programme which will use the Penguin Promises postcards to assess the impact which the EcoHouse has on guests.

By Keith Thomas

These difficult trading conditions are a periodic phenomenon to endure and survive, however they also represent a time for a shake out of poor attraction concepts and management practices, a time to re-evaluate long-held assumptions and a great opportunity for new ideas, fresh thinking and exciting new visitor experiences to be developed.

Related: Treasuring the Unsung Heroes of the Attractions Industry/ Themed Entertainment: Death and Recession at the TiLEzone Conference 2012 / Merlin Entertainments 2011 Financial Results: Double Digit Growth and International Expansion 

Now then is the time to put together an action plan for survival, here’s a few thoughts from us at Petersham Group: 

1.  Make sure you have the right leadership in place. Identify the most skilled personnel in the organisation and give the authority and responsibility. Agree a survival and growth strategy and trust the team to deliver it.

2.  Bring in additional experience and resources if these are lacking. The right consultants can bring a new perspective and become a vital part of the team. They can work on fixed price contracts without the long-term commitment of employing staff.

3.  With their help, review and re-evaluate what you offer to the visitor. Is it still fresh, compelling and vital? Do people still want to experience your attraction and will they continue to want to do so? Are your long-held assumptions still correct? Be brave and prepared to try new methods.

4.  Smart marketing is the key to success.  Manage branded channels to the full, challenge sales and marketing to look for new markets and segments.  Adopt cost-effective new media and respond to consumer trends.

5.  Focus management unremittingly on revenue generation. Incentivise them with targets.

6.  Don’t cut corners on quality.  However, great customer service can overcome the occasional physical shortcoming so keep asking your visitors what they think and take action if they are critical.

7.  Watch and learn from your competition.

8.  Manage your cost base rigorously. Salary freezes, reduced hours and benefits are preferable to headcount reductions. Trained staff are a valuable asset, treasure them.

9.  Review and re-negotiate terms with suppliers.

10. Tightly manage cashflow.

11. Close down poorly performing units and respond promptly to seasonal variations in demand.

12. Cancel or postpone all but the most essential capex.

In summary, organisations that focus simultaneously on increasing operational efficiency, developing new markets, and enlarging their asset bases show the strongest performance on average in EBITDA growth after a recession.

“It all started on a park bench”

by Mel McGowan

Related: Parkology: Coney Island the First Theme Park?

So much has been written and publicized regarding the genesis of Disneyland that it hardly bears repeating it here. However, over the next few posts, I’d like to debunk a few “creation myths”, or at least some gross over-simplifications that have become accepted history in theme park lore.

If you’re reading this blog, you’ve probably heard the “warm and fuzzy” story (recited by the man himself) of a bored Walt sitting on a park bench on “daddy days” watching his daughters at the Griffith Park carousel, wishing there was a place he could enjoy with his kids. However, behind and following this flashpoint, was a process of evolution and synthesis that goes much further back and simmered for decades in Walt’s creative stew.  

Electric Park – Kansas City

As a child in Kansas City, Walt would peer through the gates of Electric Park, one of the hundreds of Luna Park “inspired” trolley parks around the world. To a Midwestern farm child just arrived from Marceline, Missouri, it must have appeared as a true vision of Heaven on Earth -- or at least Oz -- realized. This image would linger with him the rest of his life. As a young, disillusioned animator who moved to Los Angeles in 1923 to pursue his new dream of being a Hollywood director, he snuck onto the Universal Studio lot with semi-bogus business cards. The world’s largest movie back lot must have been as magical to him as it was to Steven Spielberg (who pulled a similar move decades later). After he had built the Walt Disney Studios, he was inundated with requests to visit Mickey and the gang. 

Greenfield Village – Inspiration for Main Street, USA

In the same year of the opening of his Burbank Studios (1940), Walt visited Henry Ford’s Greenfield Village for the first time and Knott’s Berry Farm opened (which certainly inspired Main Street and Frontierland, respectively).  Coincidentally, in the same year the “World of Tomorrow” (NY World’s Fair) finished its two-year run, serving as an inspiration for Tomorrowland (originally labeled the “World of Tomorrow” on early master plans). Within a few weeks of returning from the 1948 Chicago Railroad Fair (featuring historical settings around trains) and a return visit to Greenfield Village, he issued his first memo on “Mickey Mouse Park.” 

 Knott’s Berry Farm – Inspiration for Frontierland

1939 “World of Tomorrow” – Inspiration for Tomorrowland

His first 1950 visit to Tivoli Gardens inspired renewed confidence in his vision. For anyone that has strolled past the outdoor cafes, waterfront gardens, twinkle lights, exotic thems and festive atmosphere of Tivoli on a summer’s evening, the inspiration is obvious.

Tivoli Gardens

Walt’s genius was to be curious enough to explore his world and to “file away” relevant benchmarks, and then to synthesize these disparate experiences into a new creation. Our design team was “re-inspired” by Tivoli Gardens when we “channeled” Walt during the “Big Idea” discovery for Downtown Disney’s “Vine Street” in Anaheim. The European-inspired urban festival garden was a perfect “decompression” zone linking the two Disney theme parks with Disney’s first “in-berm hotel” and the Resort District.  The “garden” theme is “fertilized” with increasing amounts of pixie dust as one wanders closer to the “source” (Disneyland) where the garden leaves begins to take on a resemblance to ones you might find in Alice’s Wonderland.

Downtown Disney – Tivoli Gardens inspired “Vine Street”

by Sam Genneway

Among other factors, architect Robert Venturi came to the conclusion that successful and dynamic urban environments contain a “messy vitality over obvious unity.” Both Disney and venture agree that it is this quality that is necessary if a place is to feel authentic and resonate with meaning to the users. Such places are embedded with quality, variety and surprise. As a result, the environment puts you slightly on edge and you feel more alert and alive in a delightful way. However, too much of this messy vitality and you will only encourage fear. There is a delicate balance.

By Walter Jonker

Related: Themed Entertainment: We make the magic at SATE 2011 in Amsterdam / World's Fairs: Expo Beginnings (part 1): Bob Simpson on the EXPOs of the 19th century

There is still a lot of work to be done before the official opening by the queen on April 4. General manager Paul Beck is confident that everything will be ready before this date.
 
With the 2 million visitors the operation will work cost neutral. The total budget for realizing the park was 25 million Euro. The Floriade 2012 Expo is a mixture of a leisure park and Horticultural exhibition.

The building ‘Innovatoren’ will be the meeting place for the international horticultural business.

The National Trade Organisation for Horticulture wants to get the guests of the park acquainted with the origin of their food and other products that are provided by horticulture.
 
There are several leisure activities in the park aimed at introducing young and old into the World of Horticulture. For children there is a lot to do in several workshops and games at the park.

The park offers a real learning experience about healthy living, sustainability and green innovation. The shows and exhibitions are almost too much to visit all in one day.
 
Since Venlo is very close to Germany, the organization expect that 40% of the visitors will come from the region Nordrhein Westfalen; another 40% will be Dutch. And since there is a lot of international media attention, so the rest of the visitors will come from all over the world.

More info: http://www.floriade.com
 
(Credits: www.pretwerk.nl / www.levendland.nl/english )

by David Manwarren

I was, and still am known for my use of the run on sentence. I try to pack as many words as I can before I am forced to use a period. The good news is nowadays we have spell check, so the words might not make a lot of sense, but they will be spelled correctly!

Anyway how did I get stuck - I mean honored - to do a blog on Zoos and Aquariums? When Charles Read called me, he told me that Blooloop was going to work with the International Aquarium Congress (IAC) this year in Cape Town, South Africa. Now I am sure they have some very good reasons to, but the first thing that came to mind was "Road Trip!". Who would not want to go to South Africa? Charles asked me to give my insight to the Zoo and Aquarium World as we lead up to Conference in September. Being that my bags are packed, I said of course. Seriously, we are looking forward to attending our 5th IAC. Every four years we have one and they have been excellent for exchanging ideas and getting new contacts.

So what is my take on 8th IAC being held in Cape Town? Who in the heck picked the dates? The dates coincide with the Association of Zoos and Aquarium's Conference. We have been going to the AZA conferences for over 30 years now. This is usually our big conference of the year, so it is a shame that it is at the same time as the IAC. It really is a shame for people in our company, who now have to go to Phoenix, because I will be in South Africa. I hate doing it, but I have to make an executive decision.
So what is my take on the Zoo and Aquarium world? What are its trends, who is building what? Who cares! I am going to Cape Town. I can write about that stuff on the next blog...

With “resort positioning” a key strategy for Merlin Entertainment’s continued expansion, the hotel turns the hugely successful theme park into a destination resort.

Related: John Jakobsen sets out Merlin Entertainment’s strategy for LEGOLAND parks  / Nick Varney, CEO of Merlin Entertainments Group sets out his six point growth driver plan

From the moment we walked through the entrance to the hotel, guarded by a giant “fire breathing” dragon, my little boy was in LEGO heaven and any disappointment that the hotel was not actually made of LEGO bricks was quickly forgotten.

The whole hotel is themed with LEGO, from the reception desk with 6,000 minifigures (and a large moving magnifying glass to view them), to the walls, carpets and rooms. 

There is LEGO everywhere: over 15 million LEGO bricks were used to create the hotel’s 1,600 models.  The three floors of the hotel each have an iconic LEGO theme, Pirates, Kingdom or Adventure and each of the 150 themed bedrooms has hand-made LEGO models of parrots, monkeys, spiders and ladybirds. 

The rooms are fantastic – cool theming but also really well thought out.  Ours had a Pirate theme – skulls, buried treasure and cutlasses.  The adult’s area is separated from the kids’ bunk beds so that bedtime can (theoretically) be enforced, and each area has its own TV.  A nice touch is a room-based game where the solution is the combination for a safe containing LEGO goodies.  There is even a big box of LEGO - it was hard to persuade our son to leave the bedroom.

In the restaurant a lot of planning has gone into creating an area where kids can play safely while their parents relax.  The centrepiece is a huge castle play structure with other areas to play and build LEGO with new friends.  All the kids seemed to be having a blast and getting on together. 

The adjacent Skyline bar area had LEGO skyscrapers – complete with the odd bathing stormtrooper- set against a setting sun.  The designers have done an excellent job incorporating the quirky humour of recent LEGO brands into the designs.  The children’s entertainment, helpful staff and design of the space together with lifts that only work with room keys, means that parents can enjoy a pre-dinner drink and grown up snacks whilst the kids are having a great time in a safe environment.

The restaurant is bright and cheery with loads more funny LEGO figures to look at, and holes in the partitions to be climbed through.  Dinner is buffet style, another huge relief for parents of fussy eaters.  The kids’ food is at a low level with child-proof bowls and plates so little ones can help themselves.  The food is good too – a nice selection, fresh and good quality, healthy options and an ice cream maker and LEGO shaped chips.  Breakfast was also wonderful with gorgeous waffles. 

Tables have paper tablecloths with crayons provided.  The whole thing is just fun and relaxed and about having a good time as a family.  No-one was bored and fidgety, and even if they did get fed up there was no problem with leaving the table, climbing through a wall or helping themselves to another bowl of cheesy pasta. There also were plenty of meet and greet LEGO characters for photo opportunities.

The only regret I have is that we were having such a good time we didn’t get to have a movie and popcorn back in the room. 

I do have two older daughters (12 and 14) who although they have enjoyed playing with LEGO did wonder whether they’d like the weekend.  In fact, they had a ball largely thanks to the lovely Karen (Customer Service) who was just brilliant at talking to them and making the whole experience fun. 

The next day we hit the park.  My son got his driving licence which he took for show-and-tell on Monday and we went on Atlantis (the park’s underwater aquarium experience/ride) twice –wide eyed amazement that we were under water.  Staying in the hotel meant that we got in an hour early and being able to beat the queues for our favourite rides was much appreciated.

We had an illustration of why LEGOLAND is just so great at providing a perfect environment for younger children.  We were standing in a (small) queue for a ride and my son was playing at being Ben 10 watched by another boy of a similar age.  Suddenly my son slapped his wrist, saying “It’s time to go Ultimate!” with an appropriately grave countenance.  The other little boy looked really impressed. “Uh, oh,” he said, realising the seriousness of the situation. This is a place where boys can be boys and LEGOLAND understand.  A refreshing change from hanging around with a bored small boy while my “cool” daughters queue for some mega coaster whilst listening to hip hop on their ipods.  It was wonderful to be in a place just for pre-teens.

For the older kids, however, the dragon coaster was thrilling enough to be fun and we all absolutely loved the Star Wars film.  Even in 2D LEGO have taken a brick from Pixar’s model and made family films with enough humour in to appeal to adults.   We enjoy the LEGO Wii games at home for their humour as much as the hours of gaming fun. It’s a great move for LEGO to branch out into movies and ultimately create their own IP, for instance with Clutch Powers, star of LEGO’s first feature length character film.   There is more of a link to the video games in LEGOLAND Billund, with a Wii area and I will be interested to see if this will be extended to the other parks as it’s definitely an element of the brand that our kids enjoy.

In an interview with Blooloop last year, LEGOLAND MD John Jakobsen explained that the appeal of LEGOLAND is to provide a “completely differentiated experience based on interactivity and engagement by all family members”.  With this in mind, we battled as a family on the firetrucks, a race to put out a fire and get your fire engine back first.  Like many families, the inter-family competition is fierce and we struggle to play games harmoniously: there was much taunting and jeering as the girls romped home to an easy victory.

In the shops the Star Wars range was a hit.  Again the customer service is top notch.  A very helpful girl at the Castle shop rang around to try to help me in my ultimately hopeless quest to get a Bellatrix minifigure.

With prices starting from £247 in low season to £337 in high season for a themed family room (2 adults / 2 children), including breakfast and park tickets for two days, this isn’t a cheap night away.

However, I would say that our trip was one of the best 24 hours we’ve had as a family with something for everyone.  My little boy now wants to live at the LEGOLAND hotel and even the girls want to work at LEGOLAND when they grow up.

What’s a happy memory worth after all?

Thankfully the real magic of  Warner Bros. Studio Tour London - The Making of Harry Potter lay inside its underwhelming  exterior.

Related: Harry Potter at the Warner Bros. Studio Tour London: Could it be Magic?

I was fortunate enough to visit last week with the Themed Entertainment Association (TEA)’s European branch.  With the prestigious Thea Awards taking place just 2 days later and the TEA summit starting on the same day, it was only the most glamorous globetrotting members of the TEA community who could do both (David and Lynn Willrich), with the rest of us Muggles missing out on the magic over in LA.

The draw of the Harry Potter attraction was huge and a record number of TEA members – over 80 -attended the event.  Skilled professionals in the themed entertainment industry from across the country convened at the Hertfordshire location, eager to see the world of Potter up close and personal. Whilst Nick Farmer was sadly missed (falling off his broomstick on the way down from Leicester), Phil Hartley, Annika Oetken , Bob Simpson, Alan Wilkinson, Simon Egan, Martin Barratt, Leslie Morisetti, Josh Miller, Donna Davidson, Greg Eccles, Ray Hole, Anthony Stubbs  and many more were in attendance, all eager to get a look at one of the country’s most hotly anticipated  new themed attractions. Two of the creatives behind Universal Orlando’s immensely successful Wizarding World of Harry Potter, Mark Woodbury and Thierry Coup also joined the group. 

It was a particularly busy day for Craig Hanna, CEO of the Thinkwell Group which had designed and produced the £100 million attraction. Not only was he hosting the TEA group but he was also welcoming the friends and family of the Thinkwell crew to the attraction.  Craig welcomed us all to the attraction and spoke immediately after the pre-show videos.  He stressed that Thinkwell had not reinterpreted  anything and that they were in fact “custodians” of the Potter world. It was, he said “a truly authentic experience”.  A real treat for us was that he had arranged for three heads of department on the films to be on hand to answer questions: John Richardson (special effects), Paul Hayes (Construction) and Nick Dudman (creature effects). Thinkwell’s creatives  were also with us, including Michael Finney (lighting and facilities) and Cynthia Blackstone, Project Manager.

The attraction, suffice to say is stunning.  With such rich source material and the skilled attention of the Thinkwellians, a truly ground -breaking attraction has been created. A full report will be published in these pages shortly. 

Although Electrosonic’s Gemma Fabian subsequently donned an invisibility cloak and disappeared immediately after the tour, many others gathered at the Watford Hilton for a traditional TEA networking/mixer event: disorganised, unstructured and immensely enjoyable.

Images: all except bottom, kind courtesy Alan Wilkinson.

By Greg Van Gompel

Hopefully that is why you can feel my frustration and disappointment when I read about a 3 year old child falling from a Techno Jump amusement ride at the Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo in Houston, Texas last week.  I assure you that it is not for the same reasons that a majority of the public might feel these things.

You see, now the representatives in government are going to say we need stricter ride regulations, the media will now say the government needs to have stricter ride regulations and of course, my brethren who are personal injury attorneys will tell you that amusement rides are inherently unsafe. 

Related: SeaWorld Parks & Entertainment LLC vs. Marineland of Canada Inc. 2011 ONCA 616 /  A theme park may be liable in negligence for allowing head-on collisions on a bumper car

According to the facts, witnesses reported that "the mother decided she was too large to ride the ride and left the 3-year-old with her 8-year-old brother," according to a statement made by Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo Chief Operating Officer Leroy Shafer (below left).  Let’s stop right there for a moment.  What’s wrong with this picture?  A 3 year old riding with an 8 year old and mom walks away.  Knowing what I know about the 3 year old in my life, if I did that, my 3 year old is bound to follow me, even if I’m at home.  That’s just the nature and curiosity of a 3 year old.  Now mix in being at an unfamiliar place with strangers on an amusement ride that purposely throws you up in the air and you have a recipe for a problem.    Why didn’t the mom take the 3 year old girl with her?  Have you ever tried to deny a 3 year old something?  She would scream and holler and make a scene.  No parent or grandparent looks forward to that scenario.  But parents, guardians and others responsible for a child need to make hard choices, smart choices, and right choices.

Once you start up a Techno Jump it begins in a circle and starts thrusting seats up into the air.  What do you think will happen to a three year old struggling to overcome whatever restraint you put in their way?  They will keep struggling until they are free for a three year old cannot comprehend what harm or consequences result from their actions.  What will happen?  I fully anticipate that the unthinking mother will file a lawsuit against the carnival, the Rodeo and the ride manufacturer for negligence and product liability, without even considering her own fault in the accident.  What happened during the Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo is tragic.  I hope the three year old continues to live a normal life and is not affected by accident for the rest of her life.  But as a society, as a community charged with helping to raise our children, we must become conscientious and help to speak for those too young to know better if their caretakers don’t or won’t.  Let us keep an eye on our children this operating season. 
 

Noob is a perfect term for this conference that really embraces “firsts.”

By Dina Benadon (@dinaS78).

SXSW started in 1987 as a music event that attracted 700 registrants.  In 1994, SXSW added a film and interactive component to accommodate these growth industries. If you’re interested in the history of SXSW, there’s a good video above.

If you’re a numbers person, here are a few stats that will impress you.  Between the event’s three festivals – Music, Film and Interactive (the one I’m participating in) -- there are 49,216 registrants, and 71% of them are under the age of 41.

I’ll be one of 19,364 attendees participating in the Interactive Festival.  This SXSW particular event teems with marketers, web developers, social media experts, venture capitalists, educators and software developers.  Notice that list does not include representation from the theme park industry…until now.

Not only am I attending my first SXSW, I’m also participating in a panel Sunday morning entitled – “Multiplatform Storytelling: Frontline War Stories” (you can follow it on Twitter -- #sxsw #frontline).  

I’ll be joining some amazing creative/interactive leaders for this panel and together we’ll be highlighting the promise and mechanics of participatory storytelling.

Joining me on the panel is Tracy Fullerton, professor and director of the Game Innovation Lab at the USC School of Cinematic Arts; Lance Weiler (@LanceWeiler), a storyteller, entrepreneur and thought leader who WIRED magazine named “One of twenty-five people helping to re-invent entertainment and change the face of Hollywood;” Jon M. Chu (@jonmchu), a feature film director of Touchstone Pictures’ Step Up 2 The Streets (2008), Step Up 3D (2010) and Paramount Picture’s Justin Bieber: Never Say Never (2011); and Brian Seth Hurst (@BrianSethHurst), the CEO of The Opportunity Management Company, a strategic consultancy driving the next generation of entertainment, who will moderate.

In addition to our panel, there will be another 934 conference sessions that will cover a host of very exciting interactive topics.  Navigating these sessions is certainly one of the most challenging aspects of SXSW – optimizing your time to take part in as many great presentations and panels as possible.

What I'm really excited about seeing and participating in is anything that has to do with interactivity and today's world of communicating. Also panels that involve psychology behind social interaction and visual storytelling.

Throughout this three-day interactive binge, I'll be on the lookout for new technologies that speak to immersive and themed entertainment and how we can weave in new ways of communication when we're creating entertainment for physical environments. I also want to become more familiar with the advancements made being made in the interactive gaming world for developments that can be directly applied to our industry.

SXSW's original goal was to create an event that would act as a tool for creative people and the companies they work with to develop their careers, to bring together people from a wide area to meet and share ideas.  From what I hear, SXSW delivers that and more.

I think the energy of the conference is what is going to be the most infectious. And who knows?...Maybe I’ll even take in a few concerts! HA! Who has time for that??

Here’s a quick look at the presentations I plan to attend, along with Twitter hashtags you might want to follow if you too are interested in these topics:


Integrating Brands into Social Television (Sat. 9:30-10:30a Central Time) #sxsw #SocialTV

Featuring Jennifer Kavanagh (right), SVP  Digital, Oxygen Media; Jonathan Carson (below left), CEO, Nielson Digital; Kristin Frank, SVP GM MTV.com & VH1.com, MTV Networks; Michael Cupo, Dir, Social Media, ESPN; Mike Shields, Digital Editor, Adweek, these panelists from different networks will discuss not only how social buzz is translating into ratings success, but how brands are also reaping the benefits from engaged audiences across the different social platforms through integrated advertising campaigns. The panel will also look at how social media buzz has replaced the old system of courting television and film critics and the ways networks are now courting millenials who are critics in their own right with active digital thumbprint.

Intellectual Property Issues in Social Media (Sat., 11a-12p) #sxsw #ip&sm

Featuring Daxton Stewart, Asst Professor, Media Law and Ethics, Texas Christian University; Kathleen Olson, Assoc Professor, Journalism, Lehigh University; Riyad Omar, VP, Principal Legal Officer, NewsRight; Victoria Ekstrand, Assoc Professor, Journalism & PR, Bowling Green State University, this panel of attorneys, scholars and media professionals discuss how courts and the industry have been handling a range of issues – information sharing and federal copyright law; tweeting breaking news; can images shared via Flickr or Facebook be used for news or marketing purposes, and the legal ramifications of mock Twitter accounts, among others.

How Women Present Themselves in the Digital Age (Sat. 3:30-4:30p) #sxsw #huffpost

Featuring Bianca Bosker (left), Sr Tech Editor, The Huffington Post; Lisa Ling, EP and Host, OWN; Margaret Johnson, Women's Editor, Huffington Post Media Group; Tiffany Shlain (right), Founder, Connected the Film – this panel will delve into the sometimes paralyzing performance anxiety technology produces, how we can mitigate it, and discuss thorny questions about what should and should not be revealed online.

Crowd Sourced & Collaborative Story-Writing (Sat., 5:45-6 p) #sxsw #AuthorBee

This presentation by Stephen Bradley, Managing Director of Farmingville Capital, will discuss how user-generated content (UGC) has changed the face of the entertainment world forever and how, with the explosive growth of e-readers and e-books, non-professional enthusiasts have the opportunity to participate with others in the creation of new types of stories that build on the contributions and inspiration of many... stories that develop and unfold before their eyes, where they are both creator and consumer at once.

Rise of the Interactive Director As Creative Lead (Sun., 11a-12p) #sxsw #Rise

Dustin Callif (right), Exec Producer Digital, Tool; and Grant Skinner, Interactive Dir, GSkinner.com will discuss the how the interactive director has evolved into a role in which the technologist is directing the experience and creative. From interactive music videos and social entertainment to leveraging HTML5 to interactive installations, we're seeing an explosion in innovative ways that interactive directors are allowing viewers to experience stories.

Brain As Interface: Future of Bio-Computing (Sun., 11:45a-12p) #sxsw #BrainInt

Lee Shupp, EVP, Cheskin Added Value will discuss the ultimate interface -- your brain - biology connected to technology, wetware connected to hardware. Shupp will take a brief look at the evolution of interfaces for a historical perspective, then discuss the potential and perils of biological computing.

Tech + the Evolution of the In-Store Experience (Sun., 3:30-4:30p) #sxsw #RetailNow

Featuring Carrie Chitsey (left), Founder & CEO, 3Seventy; Chris Harrison, COO, DMX Inc.; Ryan Kellogg, Assoc Dir of Emerging Technologies, Razorfish; and Tim Austin, CCO, TPN, this panel will focus on the future of the physical store and the consumer experience inside it, and explore the trends, possibilities, challenges and realities impacting today’s $3.4 trillion retail sector.

NASA’s Mission Possible: Tweeting thru Space (Sun., 5-6p) #sxsw #nasa

Erik Sowa, Dir, Engineering, ExactTarget Social Media Lab, and Stephanie Schierholz, Social Media Mgr for NASA will share how with 110 twitter accounts, 20 tweeting astronauts, an Image of the day posted to Facebook and more, NASA's social media strategy is all about extending the space "experience". For the last shuttle launch of Atlantis, 150 lucky individuals were invited to attend the official NASA Tweetup to experience the lift-off first-hand, with exclusive behind the scenes access to astronauts, facilities, lectures and more. Sowa and Schierholz will discuss the process behind this groundbreaking event.

This doesn’t always work; it can be raining, mercilessly cold and of course if it’s too empty then you’re walking around what feels like a ghost town. But occasionally everything comes together: an ideal theme park day in which there are just enough people to make the rides full, the queues are short to non-existent and the weather is welcoming.

So it was at Alton Towers this weekend.  Cold but sunny.  Not too many people. And no queues.  A theme park close to my heart, Alton Towers was the school trip of choice throughout my childhood. The Corkscrew and Black Hole roller coasters were then the big draw.  This time my kids raved about Hex and Nemesis as we drove home.

Alton Towers and those early rides play an important part in theme park history as it was here that the men who would subsequently create Merlin Entertainments, the world’s biggest leisure operator after Disney, cut their teeth in the industry.  In 1990 Nick Varney, Merlin’s CEO, fresh from a stint marketing cleaning products, arrived as Marketing Director to work with Operations Director Martin Barratt.  Mark Fisher, now Merlin's Chief Development Officer had just left college, was working in maintenance and became Events Coordinator and in 1995 Glenn Earlam, now Merlin’s Managing Director of the Midway Operating Group, would arrive as Alton Tower’s new Marketing Director.  Throughout, renowned roller coaster designer John Wardley worked his magic behind the scenes, helping create some of the park’s great attractions.

Looking at what the park has become, a huge operation, one of the world’s great theme parks with numerous themed rides and attractions with a slick merchandising operation, great staff and a hugely impressive social media campaign, it is poignant to reflect on where it all began.  And a special joy this weekend to read the ride times on the information board : Air 0 mins, Oblivion 0 mins, Nemesis 0 mins.

(Above: Coney Island-Where it all started)

by Mel McGowan

Welcome to Parkology. As both a fan and a designer of themed attractions, I’d love to create a space to explore the history & future of the form, as well as to reflect on what they mean.

Such musings have largely been limited to the Disney Theme Parks in the blogosphere. However, I believe that each theme park has its own story to tell, and that the impact of “Walt’s Revolution” reaches far beyond the landscaped “berm” designed to keep the “real world” out. We’ll also explore how the design of themed attractions have influenced the world that we live, work, worship, and play in.

From Luna Park to Virgin Galactic’s Spaceport, the themed attraction is a unique cultural art form, with its own heritage, trajectory and extremely large canvases!

Houston, we have liftoff!

(Above: A Spaceship Named "Luna")

Luna Park

Contrary to popular opinion, it didn’t start with a mouse. It also didn’t start with Walt sitting on a bench at Griffith Park eating peanuts while his daughters rode a carousel. Although Knott’s Berry Farm has hung its cowboy hat on being “America’s First Theme Park,” I’d give the plaque to Luna Park.

(Above: Stereoscopic - prehistoric ViewMaster - view of Luna Park)

Luna Park was actually built on the site of the first gated amusement park, Sea Lion Park. One of its founding partners Fred Thompson, knew enough about architecture to be dangerous.  The Chicago World’s Fair’s “White City” was a neoclassical vision of Heaven by day and an electric “city on a hill” by night that burned itself into the collective memory of 27 million of Americans that witnessed it during its 6 month run. Its “Midway Plaisance” international amusement zone established the linear mall layout that has been emulated hundreds of times around the world.  It served as the model of the 1901 Pan-American Exposition which featured one of the first “E-Ticket” attractions: “A Trip to the Moon.” The runaway hit was inspired by the silent film of the same name by George Melies (whose amazing talent and story is featured in my favorite film of the year, “Hugo”).

(Above: 1901 Pan-American Exposition Midway)

(Above: Melies' Le Voyage Dans La Lune)

Rather than simply fusing the “Midway” layout with the neoclassical architecture of the White City (like dozens of uninspired copycats from neighboring Dreamland to the dozens of Electric Parks and White Cities across the US), Thompson intentionally designed the first gated theme park around his “E-Ticket” attraction…and what a theme it was: a city on the moon!  “A Trip to the Moon,” was an extravaganza that was not surpassed until Walt Disney’s “Pirates of the Caribbean” six decades later.  In a precursor to the motion simulators and 4D theaters of today, your Victorian spaceship seats pitched as painted scenic canvases rolled past portholes simulating a fantastical space voyage. Upon landing you exited the spacecraft and were greeted with sensual “Moon Maidens” offering a taste of cheese pulled off the cavern walls. Talk about a multi-sensory experience!

(left: A Trip to the Moon "post show")

Like today’s Wizarding World of Harry Potter, the anchor attraction was embedded in an immersive environment which extends the story beyond the ride time. Outside “A Trip to the Moon” the fantasy continued with a lunar cityscape consisting of hundreds of towers and minarets described by visitors as an “electric Baghdad by the sea.” Rather than choosing a known historic geography or even directly interpreting a known media property (Melies’ “A Trip to the Moon” silent movie, the first “sci-fi” blockbuster), Thompson and his business partner “Skip” Dundy, loosely appropriated exotic architectural details from throughout Asia and the Middle East in a wholly original composition, using sophisticated scaling techniques such as forced perspective. Entered from an iconic gateway on Surf Avenue, the vista was closed by deflecting the linear “Midway” axis, creating a sense of discovery. Multiple levels included elevated terraces and promenades culminating in the iconic “Shoot the Chutes” ride (the first flume ride, one of the few holdovers from Sea Lion Park).

(Above: "Electric Baghad by the Sea")

At the scale of just one of Disney’s “lands” (22 acres), Thompson & Dundy had elevated the pleasure garden and amusement park into an wholly immersive, multisensory environmental experience which transported visitors away from the grim urban reality of turn of the century New York. A new art form had been invented: the theme park.

(Above: Luna Park's Midway)

By Jeroen Nijpels

Related:  Europa-Park and 35 years of success: how do they do it??? /  10 years to Orlando or not to Orlando - is that a question? / IP & Theme Parks: here to stay?

And now that we see more and more of those amusement parks that were originally sold to one corporation being moved on to other owners, some people were wondering if there is space (again) for family owned businesses.

The recent sale of Fort Fun Abenteuerland in Germany to the One World Group, in other words from Compagnie des Alpes to the Ziegler family, might therefore very well be the start of a new trend in the takeover business in our industry. No other recent examples immediately jump to my mind (please feel free to refresh my memory in case you know of any), but I would not be surprised if it was not the last transaction of this kind.

Of course a lot of people in our industry will now be very curious how the new owners will handle their new 'baby', and if they are able to reverse the trend that has in fact been going on for the whole time Compagnie des Alpes has owned Fort Fun. Some would say that as long as they do anything, it can only be for the best, but I believe that this is too much of a pessimistic view. Even though the parent company has perhaps not done all that would be necessary to keep the visitor levels similar as when they took over the property, the local management team have made great efforts in doing the best they could within the given budget constraints. This has, among others, led to the park winning a Brass Ring Award (awards given by IAAPA - The International Association of Amusement Parks and Attractions) for the show that was introduced in 2011, "Tala Takenya & die Legende des Heiligen Waldes". However, despite these efforts, it cannot be denied that the park definitely needs to reverse the downward trend in visitor numbers in order to survive.

I'd like to think that it is probably only in cases like this that the conditions for a potential success in these kind of transactions are there to give the new owners a chance for success. In other words, the situation of a certain amusement park needs to be quite bad so that a) the corporate owners (their shareholders) are better off selling the property than to hang on to it and b) the price for the property is such that it enables the new owners to create a successful enterprise, i.e. by having some financial breath left to invest in improving the park, after the purchase has been completed.

I wish the Ziegler family all the success with Fort Fun and I hope to see the park in a better shape real soon.

By Keith Thomas.  For us at Petersham Group, it was a year when we found ourselves working further from home than ever, tackling projects as varied as an Archaeological Science Centre in Sweden, developing a programme of exclusive experiential vacations in the African bush, operational planning for a sound and light show in the UNESCO World Heritage site of Melaka, Malaysia and project managing a ground-breaking mirror maze adventure in Pigeon Forge, Tennessee.

The lesson to be drawn, for me, is that even in uncertain times, if you are prepared to get out and look for them, there are some great projects going on out there. Recessions can be the most fertile time for new ideas that in retrospect, instigated a paradigm shift in their industry. As Earnest Rutherford said in the midst of the recession of the 30’s, ‘We haven’t got the money so we’ve got to think’. As the man who proved the atomic model in 1911 working on a shoestring in Manchester, you have to feel he was onto something!

2012 promises more of the same, with uncertainty over the future of the Eurozone, election-year recession  in the USA,  ongoing upheaval in parts of the Middle East and ominous rumblings in Russia all a given without taking into account  anything Mother Nature may decide to throw at us.

One thing’s for sure then; looking forward to the year ahead, there’s going to be no quick fix. Budgets may be cut back but this shouldn’t mean a cut back on ideas and innovation; rather that they will be the lifeblood of any recovery.  We’re all going to have to be quick on our feet and adaptive if we’re going to survive it. So from the thoughts of a great physicist, I finish on a note of Darwinism!

May I wish you all the very best wishes for Christmas and success and prosperity in the New Year.

Related: The Wax Museum After Dark / Themed Design: The Attraction of Scent

By Mikkel Sonne

The design consists of three lighting rings encircling each tree on the avenue, but without touching it. The outside of the ring is an LED strip, giving a glow of light, while the inside LED strip lights up the tree itself and mirror discs hanging on the branches of the tree will reflect the light rays in all directions as they move freely in the wind.

The installation will change color, intensity and rhythm and will have a special colour scheme for the days of, before and after Christmas. For New Years Eve a special light show will be programmed, with the twelve strokes of midnight being visualised all along the Champs-Élysées.

The concept is designed by Koert Vermeulen and Marcos Viñals Bassols, from Belgian ACT lighting design, who has experience of show lighting (among their many projects - Le Rêve at the Wynn in Las Vegas and the Singapore Youth Olympic Games 2010), themed attractions (Futuroscope, Tivoli, Center Parcs, Parc Asterix) and countless outdoor lighting projects.

And now ACT is combining their experience from these diverse projects into what seems to be a very contemporary street theatre show. Principal designer Koert Vermeulen states that they wanted to break away from the traditional Christmas lighting designs and create something with a strong identity. And a green one, too. The new lighting scheme will have a 51% energy consumption compared to last year.

Champs-Élysées' new Christmas illuminations will be inaugurated November 23rd and will be on show every Christmas till 2014.

Photo credit: ACT lighting design

Related: Where is the next growth market for themed attractions?

The vast majority of people – all but one -- responded that they were going to the Expo and answers as to as their “main objective” range from wanting to make contacts and launch products to (of course) looking forward to the parties!

Here are some of the highlights of this discussion …

• We need to find some revenue generators and work on a long term plan for implementation of some new product in our park.

• We’re looking for animatronics and mascots. There is no exhibition in the world that you can find so many producers of that sort of things.

• Looking forward to discussing our newest high tech ride attractions and service projects with our valued clients. No other gathering in the industry brings so many people together and we look forward to seeing many friends.

• We are looking to connect with new prospects who share our vision of making the customer smile. We look forward to meeting and sharing our vision of customer engagement and entertainment with fellow believers ?We look forward to meeting you there.

• A great place to conduct business, network with global colleagues, both clients and suppliers, see old friends and meet new ones.

• We are showcasing our different companies and capabilities trying to find that next great project, as well as searching the floor for new attractions and old friends.

• Looking for "what's new” and holding meetings with clients and prospects. 

• IAAPA is a terrific opportunity to meet with potential clients and show off our latest products.

• Interview electrical engineers, technical designers, estimators and project managers.

• We will be exhibiting and showcasing our latest product.

• I'll be attending for the first time. Hoping to meet others in the industry, see what's going to be new from everyone for 2012, and share what we're up to. We decided to skip having a booth this year, but we plan to next year.

• I'm looking forward to my very first IAAPA Expo. I hope to reconnect with some people I've already met and also to meet some new people and introduce them to our technology. Tremendously excited, for all the reasons everyone else is saying, plus it will be nice to be a little warmer than it is in the UK right now!

• We are exhibiting.I will also be walking the show talking to other exhibitors to add to our always expanding network of resources.  Can't wait to see everyone there!

• I am going to IAAPA just so I can party with Jeff at the Hettima Group

• I haven't been since 2001. I can't believe it's been 10 years.

• I will be there celebrating 25 years in this business! Also looking forward to catching up with old friends and colleagues and spending a few days at the Disney, Universal and Lego parks with my wife and 3-year old!   

• Excited to share with everyone our new and exciting venture.  Looking forward to connecting with old friends and making some new ones!

• Looking forward to meeting Tracy Kahaner : )

• We are looking to meet with our current clients and meet new ones.

• I am looking forward to giving Charlie Read and entourage a lift to where ever they happen to be going!

• I has been a few years now since my last IAAPA, but it will be fantastic to be back!

• Announcing our service and looking for leads and prospects.

• Dare one say I'm looking forward to the parties?

• Obviously!  I'm also looking forward to a great week in Orlando, and see if our industry is really so good at weathering the current global economic crisis as it looks like.

• See you all there!

Just to remind you, in their words “The Millennium Commission assisted communities in marking the close of the second millennium and celebrating the start of the third. The Commission used money raised by the National Lottery to encourage projects throughout the nation which enjoyed public support and would be lasting monuments to the achievements and aspirations of the people of the United Kingdom.”

Related:   Should National Museums allow Free Entry? / What is more important, recruitment or training? 

By Martin Barratt

The website has a searchable database that gives access to all the projects they supported… but hang on a bit, some of them are missing! The Millennium Commission website exhorts us to “…Search the Millennium Project database to find out about all the different types of project the Commission has funded.”, but try typing in ‘Earth Centre’ or ‘Big Idea’ and there are no results.

The website was abandoned in 2007 so it’s no surprise that it still lists Wildwalk and the Imax theatre as part of At-Bristol, although these closed four years ago. Do you remember the rather touching innocent surprise of management, when the sponsorship and public funding that bridged the gap between its costs of £6m a year and its revenues of £4.5m dried up? One of the buildings so expensively restored as part of the Millennium project is now an aquarium run by a commercial operator who I suppose are the ultimate beneficiaries of the lottery funding.

Every year that passes the abandoned website will get more out of date; already it’s a rather poignant corner of the internet, a bit like the unchanging face of Dorian Grey it will never age while the attractions it represents fade and die.

And that of course is the tragedy, not the abandoned website. Last month we learned about the demise of Ceramica in Stoke on Trent. The £3.5 million pottery museum was closed by trustees in March after Stoke-on-Trent City Council pulled the Burslem venue's £150,000-a-year funding. Now it has been placed into receivership and the locals are all in favour of its conversion into a Wetherspoons, but the old town hall that housed the exhibition is owned by the Town Council and the rather horrid extension by the Big Lottery Fund, so who knows what they will allow to happen. What is certain is that the money used to develop it will be largely wasted and whatever benefit still remains from the investment will likely be enjoyed by a commercial company.

Similar to the Earth Centre (see images) then, which cost nearly £64m and received a Millennium Commission Grant of £36m. After it closed Doncaster Council got fed up with paying £200,000 a year to maintain it and they sold it for an undisclosed sum to a company planning to develop a commercially focussed activity centre for school children expected to open in 2012.

Are we seeing the start of a trend here? How bad does our economy have to get before more local councils pull the plug on their Millennium white elephants?

The Commission was quick to shout about any of its attractions which beat their visitor targets, but do any of the Millennium projects even approach their visitor targets now? How many are truly commercially viable and wouldn’t have to close if their public funding was pulled?

I suspect that the answer would be very few, if any, and that should be no surprise. After all The Millennium Commission itself admitted that it had “…taken some calculated risks. It would have been easy to invest in the  traditional tourist honeypots, but the aim was to get a UK-wide spread of projects and schemes. The Commission invested in some deprived areas because we believe this attracts new investment and raises the level of the local economy.”  In other words they invested in attractions built in places where no commercial attraction would work.

So I wouldn’t be surprised if more Millennium projects followed Ceramica into oblivion, leaving their expensively developed sites to be exploited by commercial operators.  Am I alone in thinking that the whole Millennium fiasco was a scandalous misuse of money raised from what is ultimately a tax on the poor? According to a Theos study in 2009, their research adds to a growing body of evidence which shows that Lottery players come from poorer backgrounds. They also spend significantly more, as a proportion of their household income, than more affluent players. The poor tax they gambled on the Lottery was used to create visitor attractions that could never pay their way and which would have to be supported from their council tax, until the point when they can be supported no more and they are sold off cheap.

Maybe it’s time for someone, anyone, to revisit the Millennium Commission website and try to express just a little humility for the mistakes they made.

Predictions range from Dubai bouncing back (with a dash of realism), to China continuing to boom and South Korea, Brazil and India as ones to watch, while many backed the US as a safe long term bet. 

Here are some highlights of the discussion…

•    If the price of oil holds high and they keep social unrest to a minimum, I’d still look to Abu Dhabi and Saudi Arabia. 

•    China

•    Whilst Dubai was the catalyst for the initial development of attractions / entertainment facilities this year’s DEAL trade show proved that the vast majority of other areas within the MENA region are still on the “up”.  Dubai is static for obvious reasons, but it will come back once the economic cycle improves.

•    I agree Dubai is still in the doldrums and key investments are still on hold due to the regional turmoil and investors and banks putting on hold loans that had previously been agreed. I agree Asia as whole looks a much safer investment prospect with regard to stable growth within the leisure market. However should things stabilize regionally in the Middle East and once the banks are confident to start lending again, the Middle East will bounce back very quickly with rapid growth in Leisure.

•    Dubai I think will do well over the coming years if and when the banks and the money folks feel its safe to invest again. China on the other hand is already very strong with major cash and markets. The problem with China is its Government and all the major risks that could come with it. I feel the US market still has much to offer for the right investors as well as people with new ideas. And so for me the US is still the best market and will remain so for years to come.

•    I agree, but it is interesting that no one ever mentions South America. Our quiet but powerful southern American hemisphere. Why is that, do you think? I suspect it is overlooked, because the countries that have the most turmoil, get most of the focus from the media + press.

•     I believe Dubai will bounce bank. Jordan is becoming very active and is putting in a major theme park. But, I would say look to South Korea, who is busy trying to build and promote itself as the gateway to Asia. These are certainly interesting times. As to South America, they are not spending in that direction, but they are growing and becoming more stable. They will surprise us in the near future.

•    I believe that Dubai will never again reach the scale that they had once planned, and rightly so, that type of growth is unsustainable by any stretch of the imagination. Hopefully they will relook at their plans and spread it out over a few decades and concentrate on quality. I believe the countries to look at will be Brazil, Panama, Saudi, Jordan, India, S. Korea, and China.

•     I know there are at least 2 parks in South America now because I have worked with managers that worked there. But is the area stable and are people going to these parks? China seems strong enough but they would be relying on their own people to feed the resorts, I don’t see tourism feeding it. Since I had been working there, I learned it was hard to get in and its an extra cost to travel there and get a VISA. Plus there are so many natural sites to see, so who is traveling there as a tourist to see a resort or theme park? Dubai! What feeds it I want to know? All the Arab world wanting to go there? India? If they are still ready for growth and they are awaiting the banks for loans, then I hope they are prepared to handle the tourist growth, before the new stuff starts back up and is constructed.

•    Some very good points in summary there. Interested in your thoughts regarding the generational shift. I don't think for one second that an aging population is going to be interested in visiting parks in their own right whatever operators do but I do believe that there is a definite trend for them to be taking their grandchildren, particularly where the parents have split up or have anti-social working patterns (or even simply can't take enough time off in the school holidays). One thing to remember is that they are likely to be both cost conscious and very much quality conscious, which will keep operators on their toes!

As for where the industry will be growing, you're absolutely right about South and Central America, there's so much happening already in Brazil, notwithstanding the World Cup and Olympics still to come. The other area, apart from China of course, is S.E. Asia, as our recent work in Malaysia as highlighted.

Incidentally, I like your line about ' 'Nor do people want to be questioned and searched over and over in transit.' I've heard many Brits cite that as a reason NOT to go to the USA for holidays anymore!

•    I am currently in the middle of the expansion of Hong Kong Disneyland which will segway into Shanghai Disneyland. The Asian leisure industry is definitely growing.

Russia. We have Winter Olympic games, World Cup 2018 and Formula-1. We have some projects like Entertainment park in Sochi. It'll be first but not last real park in Russia.

•    I'm surprised no one has mentioned Turkey. It is a large market in its own right with a very strong international tourist base and great tourist infrastructure.

•      Asia in general ... lots going on.

•    Brazil, Panama, India, S. Korea, and China.

•    Asia is booming! I think China is already showing that it is the growing giant of this Century. China knows how to collectively sacrifice for the benefit of a distant future. India is amazing too. I would consider Brazil also a likely candidate to be on the lookout for. Let's not forget Turkey, it can be a promising place...

•    I think the US is going to start building again. I know its not looking like it right now. I think American companies are chomping at the bit to start to upgrade old rides and reinvest in this industry. But I am an optimistic. I guess time will tell.

•    There is a lot on the menu for American companies both domestic and international ... how much of it will come to pass depends on so many things. I think all in the know ( at least those of us with a crystal ball) agree that were looking at a good five year run.

•    India is just learning about Themed entertainment. This is the right time to come to India. The economy is growing and more disposable income for middle class population makes entertainment activity the next attraction.

•    I do tend to agree, not just because I am an Indian. Considering the relatively low overall life expectancy level of 64.7 years & the high population growth rate, the Indian population is going to remain predominantly young for the forseeable future (unless of course there is a war due to which 1 maybe 2 whole generations of young productive adults are wiped out). …

•    Brazil! We’ve worked on several film and entertainment projects in Brazil and witnessed amazing growth! New studios being built, massive infrastructure in place, and 17 million people to entertain just in Sao Paulo alone!. We truly saw growth in Brazil!

•    An interesting discussion and one with no real clear answer. All the comments are good and on the mark as to good potential performers. I've been in Leisure Entertainment for over 20 years as a Master Planner, Concept and Guest Experience Developer and Inventive Problem Solver. Working at high level and internationally for most of those 20+ odd years. Following and predicting trends has been an essential part of our business and success. As early phase start up project consultants, we've seen enough project implode or wither away to last a life time. The complexity of working in overseas markets is often more work than people realize.

The true and overriding factor for all countries and markets is the Global Economy, less the actual Economy and more consumer confidence. Anyone that have ridden out a recession or three can tell you that traditionally Leisure and entertainment traditionally does better during a recession. This is a very different Global economic crisis that is very unpredictable, and, at least in my humble opinion has not had the usual effect of rallying the troops to make things better.

Most of our Client base world wide expresses near terror and uncertainty fueled by the constant negative barrage of media coverage and the political positioning that seems to occur on a seemingly daily basis. Until the economy stabilizes, predicting the next big growth market is pretty close to that, a Guess. There is still too much international instability. Fortunately, Leisure like air and shelter is a necessity and despite the craziness, random chaos and some times just straight out stupidity, there will always be growth in the Leisure market.

•     The lull in Dubai is temporary. Nobody can deny that Dubai has everything to attract tourist and investment in real estate. The constructions that are complete now are word class. I would expect Dubai bouncing back very shortly.

•    Having seen the moves in Dubai towards more FEC style facilities than the big parks; at DEAL this year we saw a number of projects being announced that take the regional entertainment facility approach to the UAE market.

Some of you may be aware of the move by FerrariWorld towards a more retail complex mix to support their park – and if you look at the SEGA Republic facility at the DubaiMall you get a feeling for the ‘Retail-Tainment’ mix of the changed market.

I have to wonder in this changed financial condition globally how many entertainment projects will promote the ‘staycation’ aspects of the new audience – how many operators and developers can even comprehend what is needed to support the needs of this new audience?

Coming up to the 15th anniversary of the DisneyQuest project I worked on as a Walt Disney Imagineer – it would seem the time is once again ripe for a retail unit entertainment project (LBE).

•    My group and I are some of those hired guns that have traveled the world for various projects bringing the so-called "American Theme Park Expertise" to markets and Clients that are engaged in large to medium Theme Park / mixed-use leisure projects that are looking for that next-level (culturally sensitive) American Creative input and development managements teams.

We have had a few India projects cross our desks this past couple of years, but it seems none have gotten past the detailed meeting stages. We have gotten into the bidding on a couple as well, but have not seen a kick off yet. Not that this is particularly unusual. We've worked on many early stage projects than I can remember them all, that are great projects but do not get to the finish line. India is an interesting market and our group lives for new challenges.

I'd be interested in looking at some serious projects in India. We have not run into one yet that has the base elements in place all at the same juncture. Brazil is growing interesting and we are going to take a more serious look. What's the climate, are there active projects or just potential?

•    The world in our time is changing and no matter how hard you look or where you seek the best bet is still the US Market. The sad part is you cant get investment folks to look at what is a major market that could be making major returns by next summer. Yes India, China, South America and Dubai just to name a few are all markets that in time will also make good returns, but not as fast as a few good projects right here in the U.S. and right now. I think its that old saying “a Dollar waiting on a Dime”, time will tell if some one out there picks it up before it’s lost.