Bemusement - The Attractions Industry Blog

Wednesday, February 08, 2012 Parkology: Coney Island the First Theme Park?    parkology

(park•ol’•o•gy)
n.
1. The systematic study of the art and science of the theme park, especially the study of the origins, organization, development, and nature of said art form.
2. The indulgent ramblings of an industry veteran trying to make sense of it all

also, park•ol’o•gist n. ...View more

Wednesday, September 21, 2011 "And the bigger one is called a Giant Leonopterix" : Theme Park Designers on the Disney / Avatar News    Yesterday saw news that Walt Disney Parks will collaborate with filmmaker James Cameron and Fox Filmed Entertainment to bring the world of AVATAR to life at Disney parks. What does this development mean for Disney, for the theme park business, will it be a good (or logical) fit into Animal Kingdom and will Disney's HR team soon be looking for 9ft tall blue skinned applicants? We spoke to some leading theme park designers...
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Monday, September 19, 2011 Themed Entertainment: TEA gets BeWitched at BeWILDerwood    Norfolk's BeWILDerwood theme park played host to the TEA's (Themed Entertainment Association) European and Middle Eastern division last week as around 30 creatives from the theme park and themed entertainment industry took the opportunity to visit the park, hear about its history and background and engage in the kind of convivial alcohol-fuelled networking for which the TEA is rightly known.
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Sunday, August 21, 2011 Audiovisual installations: When "Urban Art" Just Doesn't Work    I find it, still, incredible, the number of ‘Urban Art’ high tech projects dotted around cities that do not work. Is it because there is no financial incentive?...View more

Friday, January 21, 2011 Theme Park Design and why Steve Alcorn’s Time Portal won’t get made    "If a theme park attraction were a kitchen it would be pretty crowded, and not just with cooks." I thought I had a good working idea of what went on behind the scenes at a major theme park, I really did. Turns out I didn’t and were it not for Steve Alcorn’s new book I’d still be none the wiser......View more

Tuesday, September 14, 2010 Themed Design: When Less is More...    BRC Imagination Arts' CEO and founder Bob Rogers spoke recently about the importance for the themed designer to focus initially on what the audience wants to see, or as he rather more poetically put it, "to look into their hearts". The story and the experience is the key, and the theming, the design, the technology should be a secondary consideration, as these are a means to an end, the method by which the designer creates the experience and communicates the story....View more

Friday, May 07, 2010 Branded Attractions and Theme Parks: At Ferrari World, Speed is the Thing    Of all the world’s iconic brands, perhaps none is so striking, so steeped in romance and so aesthetically pleasing as Ferrari’s. Manchester United’s is another another red sporting image familiar worldwide, yet its red devil can’t hold a candle to the Italian’s prancing stallion - such is Ferrari’s hold on the imagination. Set to open in October, Ferrari World Abu Dhabi will stand on its own merits as an international visitor destination and high-profile branded attraction......View more

Tuesday, April 20, 2010 Themed design: GKTW ‘s Serendipity sets sail…    While exhibitors remain on tenterhooks as to whether they might actually be able to make it to the DEAL show in Dubai later this week – frustratingly Iceland’s’ volcanoes haven't provided an itinerary, nor do they subscribe to the Marquess of Queensberry's rules - and British school kids test their teacher’s resolve with the novel excuse of volcanic ash, it seemed a good time to show some rather cheery pics of “Serendipity”, a vessel we first caught sight of last month…...View more

Thursday, April 01, 2010 Attractions technology : 3 Major Projects – What happened next?    With a mood of cautious optimism in the amusement park industry and a number of high profile developments creating a stir – Disney in Asia, Sentosa, massive Chinese developments, the growth of the industry in South America and the rise and rise of Merlin – it is timely to revisit 3 major projects . What happened?...View more

Thursday, March 11, 2010 Theme parks: The Tivoli Gardens Flying Trunk Ride    In Hans Christian Anderson's “The Flying Trunk” a penniless lad is carried off to far away lands by means of (you guessed it) a magical flying trunk. On the Tivoli Gardens Flying Trunk Ride, guests are whisked off to 32 different animatronic vignettes of favorite H.C. Anderson's fairy tales. Tivoli director of design Mikkel Sonne is heading the project....View more

Thursday, January 14, 2010 Roller Coasters and the Science of Thrill Seeking    A fascinating look at the latest developments in coaster technology in the Times the other day in “How to embrace fear. Good news for thrill-seekers: Scientists are adapting roller coaster technology to bring us the ultimate ride"....View more

Wednesday, December 16, 2009 Theme Parks: Paultons Park gets approval for Cobra    A separate application to retain the Cobra steel rollercoaster at Paulton's Park was approved this morning at the NPA's headquarters.   The approval means the Gerstlauer customer coaster, complete with its control building, catering kiosk and photography booth, can stay in its current location and does not have to be scrapped or moved.
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Monday, December 14, 2009 Theme Parks: IAAPA Expo photos.    From 17th to 20th November 2009, and for the first time in its 91 year history, the IAAPA (International Association of Amusement Parks and Attractions) Attractions Expo took place at the Las Vegas Convention Center, USA. For the first time ever, the world's biggest event in this sector was held in the capital of gambling and entertainment...
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Tuesday, November 24, 2009 Theme Parks and Cultural Attractions: Judy Rubin reports on IAAPA in Las Vegas, Part 2    From Insecticide to Coney Island, Flip books to running machines, Blooloop Editor Judy Rubin reports from the show floor at the year's biggest bash and meets an industry leader who is just not what he was..
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Saturday, September 26, 2009 Themed Entertainment: Blue Sky Adventure at TEA's SATE Conference    After a briefing and introduction from George Wiktor, Karen Armitage, Larry Tuch, Jeff Mayer, Chick Russell and Linda Smith, attendees of the 3rd annual SATE Conference (Storytelling-Architecture-Technology-Entertainment) in Orlando split up into five groups to conduct two-hour mini-charrettes......View more

Friday, September 25, 2009 Themed Entertainment on both sides of the brain    The discussion at the third annual SATE Conference, hosted by TEA (Themed Entertainment Association) was lively and productive today. We met in the beautiful Atlantic Dance Hall at Disney's Boardwalk in Orlando for a transformative nine hours....View more

Thursday, June 11, 2009 Themed Design: Building a Brachiosaur- Video    It’s not every day you spot the largest animal to walk the earth trying to break into a building, least of all an august institution such as the Children’s Museum of Indianapolis. But watch the video, look again, this is no 50 tonne felon …...View more

Tuesday, June 02, 2009 Museum Design: Blistering Barnacles, it's Tintin and Magritte!    There are famously not any famous Belgians. However, today sees the opening of a museum each for two of the Kingdom’s most celebrated sons: the acclaimed artist - and painter of floating pipes - Magritte and that intrepid boy reporter and comic strip character Tintin....View more

Friday, March 20, 2009 Themed Entertainment : Animatronic Dinosaurs and Proto-Feathers    Prehistoric beasts are big business, whether eating lawyers at the local cinema (Jurassic Park’s T-Rex showing questionable or admirable taste depending on your point of view) or wowing crowds at our major museums in skeletal form....View more

Thursday, March 05, 2009 Museums: Unique Underwater Museum for Egypt's Famed Ancient City    In the news this last week, The UNESCO backed giant underwater museum, designed by French architect Jacques Rougerie, a specialist in water based construction, is to be located on the site of Cleopatra’s Palace in Alexandria and is set to break ground/water in 2010 and be completed in 3 years.
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Thursday, February 05, 2009 Museums and Green Building: Look at the big picture to create a truly sustainable facility and establish a basis for meaningful decisions    The term “green building” is something of a misnomer because the heaviest environmental impact comes after construction, with the behavior and consumption of the building's occupants. When you look at the life cycle and total cost of a green building, the vast majority of the expenditures involved are connected to the people inside it ......View more

Wednesday, January 14, 2009 Amusement Parks : Adding More Value at Gold Reef City Theme Park    Steve Cook, CEO of Gold Reef City Theme Park & Casino in Johannesburg, reports on a successful holiday season and end of year for the complex and is pleased when a visitor thinks a ride looks "old and rusty"...
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Monday, December 08, 2008 A Blog-Dependent Update on Shanghai Expo 2010    The existence of a US Pavilion remains shamefully in doubt for Shanghai Expo 2010 , but there’s plenty of activity from the other international participants (about 200 of them) gearing up for what may be the largest world’s fair of all time in terms of size (1,300 acres) as well as attendance (70 million visits projected)....View more

Wednesday, November 12, 2008 Themed Entertainment Design: BRC’s Chuck Roberts Gets Bemused    Back when I was the young designer with the crazy ideas, somebody (I'm trying to remember who) came back from a meeting and handed me this piece of paper headed “Details, Dimensions, and Specifications Are Not The Real Thing.”...View more

Saturday, August 23, 2008 Museums: More news from the installation front!    Here is the latest entry of Cinnabar’s installation diary, by Jonathan Katz (Executive Director) and Jeannie Lomma (project manager)...View more

Tuesday, March 11, 2008 Design for Eiffel Tower visitor platform    Design submitted for Platform as part of Eiffel Tower's 120th anniversary celebrations ...View more