InPark Magazine issue #82 (Summer 2020)

issue 82, summ e in p a r k m a g a z r 2020 in e .c o m

Innovation helps smaller attractions stay competitive Thea Awards

Masha and the Bear

Dive deep with the projects and people that organize the Theas

The Land of Legends (Turkey) turns to a popular Russian cartoon to inspire new themed lands built during the pandemic

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issue 82, summer 2020

Ultimate contrast

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Meet the press The IPM team interview one other

20 Christie Eclipse technology transformed the

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Popcorn Revenge results Walibi Belgium’s Jean-Christophe Parent

by Anja D’Hondt

24 TEA honors Thea Award recipients with Digital

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Right place, write time Screenwriter Bennett Yellin authors a future in themed entertainment • by Martin Palicki

26 Meet Nancy Seruto, Susan Bonds and Wendy

Experience for hire Consultants offer a vision of leadership for LBE and themed entertainment • by Martin Palicki

30 A Russian cartoon inspires a new themed land,

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Hayden Planetarium • by Judith Rubin Going virtual

Case Studies event • by Joe Kleiman

Following the leader

10 Smaller attractions stay competitive through innovation • by David Paul Green

On the topic of Theas

Heimann-Nunes • by Clara Rice

The Land of Legends meets Masha and the Bear built during a pandemic • by Martin Palicki Diving into the TEA/AECOM Theme Index

36 What can a decade of industry evolution tell us about the future • by Joe Kleiman

Funding, reopening and saving the animals

16 Museums struggle in COVID times • by Joe Kleiman & Judith Rubin

team & contributors

COVER:

At Cookie Monster’s Foodie Truck Challenge at Sesame Street Land, SeaWorld Orlando, Cookie Monster and Chef Gonger need your help to find all of the special ingredients needed for their custom digital recipes. At the end of each game, you become the chef and can add any of the game’s 24 ingredients, from anchovies to sugar sprinkles, to your very own pizza.

Photo courtesy of Beaudry Interactive

PUBLISHER Martin Palicki

DESIGN Martin Palicki

EDITOR Judith Rubin

CONTRIBUTORS Anja D’Hondt David Paul Green Clara Rice

NEWS EDITOR Joe Kleiman

InPark Magazine (ISSN 1553-1767) is published five times a year by Martin Chronicles Publishing, LLC. 2349 E Ohio Ave. Milwaukee, WI 53207, USA. Shipping address: 2349 E Ohio Ave. Milwaukee, WI 53207, USA. Phone: +1-262-412-7107. Printing by Johnson Press of America.

Contents © 2020 InPark Magazine. All rights reserved. Nothing in the magazine may be reproduced or used in any manner without the prior written permission of the magazine. InPark Magazine is not responsible for unsolicited manuscripts, photographs or illustrations. Such material must be accompanied by a self-adressed and stamped envelope to be returned.

Postmaster: Send address changes to InPark Magazine 2349 E Ohio Ave. Milwaukee, WI 53207, USA. Subscriptions are available annually for $45 per year ($70 international). Opinions expressed in editorial matter are not necessarily those of InPark Magazine or its publishers, Martin Chronicles Publishing, LLC.

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Meet the press

In place of our typical editorials the InPark team checks in to learn more about one another...one question at a time Joe Kleiman, InPark Magazine news editor Question from Judith Rubin

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ell us about your extracurricular blogging and how it complements your InPark role

The blogging actually started well before I joined InPark. About fifteen years ago, I owned a website called WorldEnteractive that reported on the digital transition in home entertainment, cinemas, and attractions. My business partner was a university English professor and she made sure we followed the AP Style Book and that all sources were vetted. At the time, trade shows did not consider most bloggers as legitimate media. I saw many turned away from the press office at CES, NAB and ShoWest.

These days, blogging allows me to approach topics (and approach them in ways) that may not fit the mission of InPark or other trade publications that I’ve written for. I speak in my own voice but always base my opinions on conscientious research. Whether it’s an homage to Star Trek attractions long past or showing that a major travel agency’s commitment to ending dolphinariums conflicts with their owner’s opening of a brand new one, I try to write in a style where there’s something to be taken away by everyone.

My blogging has given me great international connections and the skills to conduct deep research. As a result, I’m able to see patterns others may not. I’ve taken these connections and skills and applied them to my work at InPark. Likewise, working with the phenomenal editing team at the magazine, my writing has improved substantially on my blogs over the past decade.

as into overlapping sectors. Various parts of the industry learn what various other parts of the industry are doing, with reliable information from a reputable, even prestigious source. That exchange of information supports collaboration, innovation, best practices and growth. In COVID times, it can help the industry get back to work.

Martin Palicki InPark Magazine publisher Question from Joe Kleiman

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hat inspired you to publish a trade magazine on the themed entertainment industry?

Honestly, this is the number one question I get at parties. Fun fact: When I was about 10 years-old I wrote a letter to Ron Toomer of Arrow Dynamics asking how I could become a roller coaster designer. He responded and told me I needed to start studying mechanical engineering. I never had the patience for that much math and physics, so in college I turned to the operations side and began working for Six Flags Great America. I tried to get full-time work there, but ended up pursuing other jobs – though I still kept ties to the park. My degree is in English, so I figured there had to be some way to tie together my passion and my education. Thus, InPark was born.

Professionally speaking, InPark and I grew and improved together, with a lot of help from friends and colleagues who also love this industry. The core editorial team of Marty, Judy and Joe evolved, and InPark took flight.

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Judith Rubin, InPark Magazine editor Question from Martin Palicki

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ou have an illustrious career with several trade publications, including InPark. Why do you think the industry media is important, particularly now?

Professional journalism brings perspective and objectivity to the table. Those are basic to maintaining high editorial standards.

But we also serve and support a specific industry. That calls for specialized information, put into meaningful context - knowing your industry and helping others to know it too. It also calls for distribution - a breadth of distribution that helps the story reach a useful cross-section of the business community as well

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Alcorn McBride

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Lagotronics

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Chris Lange

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Mycotoo

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Oceaneering

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Polin

back cover

Stoneface

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Vekoma

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Visual Terrain

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David Weiss

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Popcorn Revenge results Walibi Belgium’s Jean-Christophe Parent on the Thea-honored Popcorn Revenge

by Anja D’Hondt, Flower & Feet PR

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alibi Belgium is a TEA Thea Award recipient, with Outstanding Achievement honors for its Popcorn Revenge interactive dark ride, developed and installed by neighboring dark ride specialist Alterface. With Jean-Christophe Parent, Managing Director of the Belgian park, we look back at the first season and find out why this attraction earned such a prestigious award.

Bonjour et bienvenue, Jean-Christophe! Congratulations to you and the entire team! What does the Thea Award signify for Walibi Belgium park?

Receiving this award is a wonderful international recognition for our park and proves our renovation strategy pays off. We have worked really hard to upgrade Walibi Belgium and reposition it with new attractions and immersive areas, so it comes as a great reward to the entire team. Watching all the happy faces and enthusiasm of visitors leaving Popcorn Revenge during the first season, we can confirm it has been worth the investment, along with the many other awards and nominations we are still receiving!

Why did you choose to add Popcorn Revenge, instead of a more classic thrill ride?

We always strive to diversify our attraction offering and appeal to a wide audience. Popcorn Revenge is very innovative as it leads us into a new digital dimension with a video game type interface.

As the first dark ride using the non-linear Erratic technology, it delivers a unique immersive experience, and the gameplay and the order of scenes vary per ride. Popcorn Revenge is a multilayered game with physical and digital thrills. It appeals to all ages, to play individually or with friends and family. It has a high repeat factor with players coming back to discover new elements and improve their scores. Furthermore, we can accommodate a large number

Jean-Christophe Parent

of visitors on a relatively small area, and it is also an indoor attraction, important in a rainy country such as Belgium! We are very proud of it.

How did visitors respond to the first seasons of Popcorn Revenge?

Popcorn Revenge has certainly proven its value and entertained a large audience during the first season. It is mostly popular among families with children between 8 and 14 years, which is a key audience for us. As there are so many layers in the story and gameplay not everyone immediately grasps everything. But we consider this an advantage as it motivates competitive players to come back, while others can just enjoy the ride and storyline and interaction. Visitors are charmed by the popcorn characters, which they can relate to well-known superhero movie characters.

This is evident in the popularity of the ride’s merchandising shop, which has significantly increased the park’s income.

Do you have any advice you can give to other parks who are considering such an attraction?

The only advice we can give to anyone who is interested in such ride is to experience it for yourself in our park. Seeing is believing! • • •

Popcorn Revenge will be showcased as part of TEA Thea Awards Digital Case Studies, on October 22, 2020 (www. teaconnect.org). For more information on Popcorn Revenge, see “Kernels of Truth,” InPark issue #79, 2019 (www. inparkmagazine.com/alterface-kernels-of-truth/) The exterior of the Popcorn Revenge building at Walibi Belgium

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Right place, write time Hollywood screenwriter Bennett Yellin authors a new future in themed entertainment

by Martin Palicki

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t’s a scene many industry pros might relate to. A young boy visits Disneyland, and while the rest of his family enjoys a ride, the child diligently tries to figure out how it was created. Bennett Yellin was one of those kids. Growing up in Southern California, Bennett was fascinated with the innovative attractions being created for the theme park industry, as well as the excitement and theatrics of Hollywood. Yellin was something of a child magician and this gave him the perspective to see that both film and theme parks were ultimately doing the same thing: creating a magical experience for their audiences.

“I was enthralled with Disneyland and movies and knew early on that I wanted to work behind the scenes on both,” says Yellin.

The realization gave birth to two “crazy dreams”: to write motion pictures and create theme park attractions.

Yellin had heard the term ‘Imagineer’ on The Wonderful World of Disney but wasn’t sure how to become one, so he turned his attention to a more straightforward goal, teaching writing. This led him to receive a Bachelor’s in Fiction from UCLA and an MFA from the University of Massachusetts, Amherst.

Bennett never made it to that teaching job, though, as early in grad school he met Peter Farrelly, another student in the MFA program. The two co-authored a script and managed to get it to Eddie Murphy (credit goes to Peter’s date, who told him the actor lived next door to her parents). Murphy passed it on to execs at Paramount Studios, who brought the duo in, kicking off their writing careers.

Their partnership (with the inclusion of Peter’s brother Bobby) resulted in Bennett’s most notable credit: the 1994 hit “Dumb and Dumber.” The film has become a classic, and has earned a spot in pop culture’s collective conscience.

Yellin spent the next 30 years writing for Hollywood, working with the likes of the Zucker Brothers (creators of Airplane!), John Hughes, Madonna, Jim Carrey, Paul Reiser, Matt Damon, Gregg Kinnear, Cher, Kate Hudson, John C. Reilly, and Patrick Stewart.

The next step Fast forward to 2017, when Yellin realized he had successfully achieved his childhood dream. “I’d done a bit of everything in my screenwriting career, and I was ready for a new challenge even though I wasn’t quite sure what that would be,” says Yellin. “I’d completely forgotten about the idea of creating attractions for theme parks.”

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Bennett Yellin (center) with “Dumb and Dumber” stars Jeff Daniels and Jim Carrey All photos courtesy Bennett Yellin

Around this time, one of Yellin’s acquaintances had been posting on social media about the opening of Warner Bros. World Abu Dhabi, where he’d served as senior art director. “I asked him if it was feasible to pivot from writing for films and television to theme parks. His response was ‘Absolutely! People do it all the time.’” Just like that, Bennett’s long-dormant dream was reignited.

After some research, Yellin discovered the Themed Entertainment Association. He joined in late 2018 and decided to attend the TEA Western Division’s annual holiday party. Yellin “didn’t know a soul” at the event, so while waiting to get in, he nervously struck up a conversation with the woman in front of him, who took him around and introduced him to guests. That led to a conversation with Co-Founder, CEO and Executive Producer at Super 78 Dina Benadon, herself a successful navigator between themed entertainment, film and television.

A few months later, Super 78 brought Yellin in to do some work on their project ‘20,000 Leagues Under The Sea: An Interactive Adventure,’ the company’s newest Geppetto-powered interactive character attraction at Moody Gardens [See “Geppetto Grows,” InPark issue #80, November 2019]. While the script had largely been written, Yellin was asked to bring more comedic elements into the story.

“20,000 Leagues was the perfect project to allow me to apply all of my screenwriting strengths,” says Yellin. “I had an absolute blast!”

“We were so thrilled to have Bennett work with us on ‘20,000 Leagues Under The Sea: An Interactive Adventure,’” said Benadon. “We’re all huge fans of his fantastic movies and he’s

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just an incredibly fun and talented guy. His comic instincts added tremendously to the final product. We can’t wait to work with him again!”

20,000 Leagues has been well-received since opening in November 2019. It was even nominated for the inaugural Innovation Award by the Producers Guild of America, which recognizes projects that are advancing media technology and creativity across a variety of disciplines.

Although comedy is Yellin’s specialty, he has experience in other genres too, having authored thrillers and sci-fi during his Hollywood days. “It’s always about creating an experience in the envelope of a story and I don’t think that’s ever really going to change,” says Yellin. “I’m a storyteller at heart – give me a premise and ideas will start popping from my head.”

Yellin likes to say he thinks outside the box, but always keeps one toe in it. That’s a good match for theme parks and museums, which frequently are looking for the next great thing, but still can be a little risk-averse. It’s also an industry that values experience and accomplishment, which Yellin offers.

“I’ve created original characters for studios as well as written for existing characters, ensuring they remained on brand and within strict guidelines,” explains Yellin. With IP oftentimes being the central element of a project, it’s critical to get that component right, especially early in the process.

Writing the future One year later at the 2019 TEA Western Division holiday party, Yellin already had a successful project under his belt and walked into the event knowing dozens of people he had met and worked with over the past twelve months. “There is a warmth and commonality to this industry that I really appreciate,” says Yellin.

“The shared enthusiasm and passion for wanting to provide guests with a wonderful memory really speaks to me.”

“Part of my career success is thanks to being in the right place at the right time, but it’s really about the relationships I have made and nurtured through events at TEA and IAAPA that have made the difference.”

What’s next for Bennett? “Flexibility is the name of the game,” he says. Yellin welcomes freelance gigs but would consider a fulltime opportunity as well.

“In hindsight, my career progression seems entirely natural, even though I didn’t realize it at the time,” says Yellin. “I’m truly lucky to be able to be ‘living the dream’ – both of them!” • • •

Bennett Yellin, President of Really Important Guy, Inc. can be reached at bennettyellin@yahoo.com

THEN AND NOW: Bennet Yellin as a child, excited for a visit to the Disneyland Resort, and today, writing for the themed entertainment industry.

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Experience for hire The rise of consultants since COVID-19 affords a vision of leadership for the Location Based and Themed Entertainment Industry

by Martin Palicki

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leventh Hour President Jeff Ganter has observed marketplace changes through his decades of experience in business, management and human resources facets of the entertainment industry. In 2004, he founded Eleventh Hour, a full-service staffing and recruiting company targeted to the needs of creative industries including themed entertainment. Eleventh Hour’s business model streamlines a variety of placement services, including direct hire, freelance, freelance-to-hire and more.

Partnering directly with corporate leadership teams as well as with individuals seeking work, Ganter has developed a uniquely qualified perspective on industry needs and nuances.

“As we are all experiencing firsthand right now, changes happen constantly and can be a disruptive force to planning. Sometimes, like with COVID-19, the changes happen abruptly, while other times they happen more gradually. In either case, managing those changes within a corporate environment can be challenging.”

To help companies and teams respond to industry-specific intricacies, Ganter recently expanded Eleventh Hour’s business model to include a mid- to executive-level consultancy service.

How can consultants help executives?

The consultants are a resource for companies looking to navigate big-picture questions for their business. They can provide vision for leadership while empowering internal teams to push themselves further in pursuit of the overall, aligned business strategy.

Sometimes a consultant may be called in to create systems and a base of knowledge for current employees to execute. In a case like this, a company might bring in a consultant to help address a challenge, such as employee retention. The consultant could advise on a strategy, build new HR programs and create a structure for the internal team to implement, manage and maintain after the work is complete.

Or, as I mentioned before, they may be brought in to help chart a course for the company’s future. This group of professionals excel at identifying and capitalizing on emerging trends. They function as the spark to ignite and manage change at the executive level. This is where the consultants’ experiences in different markets can be quite beneficial to the company, which otherwise would not have access to the perspective and expertise.

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Jeff Ganter, Eleventh Hour

How does the consulting process work?

Once a client decides to work with us, we begin with a kick-off phase – an initial “let’s get to know one another” intake. We ask a lot of questions to understand what the objectives and goals are and what capabilities need to be built or focused on. We then compile and analyze our findings to match the proper executive to meet the client’s needs. In many ways, it’s similar to our existing recruiting services.

Why does our industry need this now? What changes have you seen?

Through our work with clients around the world, we have a global perspective on where companies are allocating their budgets. What we’re seeing is that, while the need to grow market share is always present, this is being tempered by a new level of budgetary caution. Even before the effects of the pandemic were clear, we were observing a restraint in the levels of expenditure planned for the coming year.

Our industry had a very successful decade, buoyed by emerging middle classes in international markets and a reasonably stable global economy. Business models are now forced to change, and the situation for the entertainment marketplace is evolving daily.

I think high-level decision makers in companies are strategizing

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and ideating the best ways for their organization to adapt – on both the supplier and the operator side.

Who are the consultants?

We have assembled a team of professionals from a variety of companies and industries outside of LBE: retail, consumer marketing, branding, and sports, for example, from mid to executive level. They bring decades of experience and knowledge.

Most of them came to us over the last year as they sought our placement services. In varied cases, some were looking for their next career move, while others were not ready for retirement and they wanted to share their skills but were not necessarily looking for a full-time job.

The consultant creates phases or work steps for the client to help them reach the goal(s) they have identified. Each platform and package is customized to suit our client’s objectives.

Why bring in outside voices?

It is a smart business practice to engage with voices from outside one’s own organization for different perspectives and knowledge.

But it’s not always easy for companies to find that expertise. We developed this service as a direct output of our own company’s evolution and awareness of a changing marketplace.

experience and wisdom from outside the organization. The timing for engaging a consultant differs for each organization.

Change can be uncomfortable, but it frequently is incredibly valuable. Often a small adjustment turns into a major benefit and the ROI can be extraordinary.

Who should consider executive consulting services?

The ideal client is one who is ready to engage with change. There is the immediate change required because of COVID-19, but there are also longer-reaching changes that continually need to be addressed.

Beyond that, Eleventh Hour works with all types of companies, from startups and small businesses to mid/large-sized corporations. Our consultants fit into any situation.

I would be remiss if I didn’t mention that there already is an obvious employment impact as a result of COVID-19 and Eleventh Hour continues to assist in recruitment and placement services for our creative industry. • • •

For more information about Eleventh Hour’s recruiting services or their new consulting program, please reach out directly to Jeff Ganter at jeff@11thr.com.

Ultimately, the consultant will help push the corporate leadership team outside of their comfort zone, contributing best-practice

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Teams from Six Flags and Sally Dark Rides install Justice League: Battle for Metropolis attraction at Six Flags Over Georgia. An Oceaneering ride vehicle is ready to be unwrapped and put into service.

Photo courtesy of Sally Dark Rides

Following the leader How smaller attractions stay competitive and innovative when big operators raise the bar

by David Paul Green

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ver time, a familiar cycle has driven the themed entertainment industry: Big operators raise the bar with epic, destination attractions (digging into deep pockets and taking big risks), then smaller operators work to catch up.

The new Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge lands at Disney parks in California and Florida have set the bar very high. Some say that it will be difficult and take a long time for smaller parks to be able to deliver a competitive guest experience. But nowadays, smaller operators can respond quickly thanks to sophisticated, readily available technology, a trend to smaller/scalable attractions,

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the entry of major brands and IP into LBE (location-based entertainment) and the assistance of suppliers who customize products for them.

There’s no question that the COVID-19 pandemic adds new uncertainty to the situation. Parks and attractions of all kinds must now consider not just how to compete but simply survive.

While we wait to see what the “new abnormal” will be, operators must plan for the unforeseeable: Nobody knows exactly how regulations, guest attitudes, safety practices, and other factors will be affected.

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For perspective, we spoke to four industry leaders who serve the industry in a variety of ways. Their work with operators of all sizes gives them insight into the full attractions spectrum.

• Greg MacLaurin, Senior Designer, American Scenic Design, a provider of high-end, specialty design services, founded by industry veteran Phil Bloom • David Beaudry, Principal, Beaudry Interactive (aka b/i), an award-winning experiential design studio with a focus on audience engagement • Dave Mauck, VP and GM of Entertainment Systems for Oceaneering International, an engineered products and services provider for the offshore energy, entertainment, materials handling, defense, aerospace, and science and research industries • Lauren Wood Weaver, VP of Marketing and Business Development for Sally Dark Rides, a leading attraction design and fabrication company that also provides animatronics and creative services

Local and unique Greg MacLaurin of American Scenic Design takes an historical view on smaller operators competing with bigger companies for guests. “They’ve got to focus on their strengths, and their strength is community and locality. They understand their specific smaller community,” he said.

MacLaurin points to Knott’s Berry Farm as an example of a smaller park that has thrived, despite being just a stone’s throw from Disneyland. “Walt certainly went to Knott’s Berry Farm before he built his park. He talked to Walter Knott, specifically.

They actually became friends,” MacLaurin said. “Walter Knott and his wife Cordelia were invited to the Disneyland opening, and they were kind of depressed. They thought, ‘Gosh, look at all these people. Nobody’s going to come to our little Knott’s Berry Stand anymore.’ They drove home, and their park was packed.

They were packed because not everyone could make it into Disneyland, and they wanted to do something fun and Knott’s Berry Farm was local and nearby. It turned out to be copacetic.”

Knott’s also resonated for Beaudry Interactive’s David Beaudry, who said, “Knott’s Berry Farm’s ‘Ghost Town Alive!’ is a perfect example. In the shadows of Universal Studios and Disneyland, they created arguably one of the best experiences in recent memory. It received a Thea Award, so I’m not alone in that thinking!”

Greg MacLaurin

David Beaudry

“Ghost Town Alive!” is described by Beaudry as “a small-cap project that had a huge payoff because Knott’s focused on what they do best. The added level of engagement and immersion with the live performers, day-long story line, and authentic set and costumes made the guests feel they just experienced something special and just for them.”

Beaudry spoke of a regional LBE client with similar goals and restrictions. “The question becomes, ‘What can you provide that no one else can? And how can you make that experience more engaging for your guests?’ Getting our client to focus on their uniqueness is key. Whether it’s nostalgia, local culture and history, or a thriving art scene, focus on those experiences and come up with the ‘handles’ their guests will need to create their own intimate exchanges and immerse themselves in these experiences.”

Speed to field At Oceaneering International, Dave Mauck says the company’s breadth makes it possible to spread out much of the inherent risk of development, thus reducing the risk and costs for individual operators. “For many years, Oceaneering was the go-to company for some of the most complex, high-end ride systems and experiences in the world,” Mauck said. “However, our barrier to entry for the regional or mid-tier parks was two-fold: we had to overcome that lack of customer NRE [non-recurring expenses] and their aversion to the risks associated with ‘Serial Number 1.’ As a large company, we could address the NRE and the first article build, but what features would a product have to include?”

Oceaneering’s Revolution trackless ride technology, which received a Thea Award for breakthrough technology, was one result of that line of questioning. Mauck asked, “Looking at the systems-level costs, what, holistically, are the cost drivers for an attraction, which may or may not be coming from the ride system, but are affected by the ride system? That was one of the primary focuses, initially, for our trackless product.”

The company looked at ways to reduce cost and streamline production while reducing building time, and found that there were creative benefits as well. “Our trackless products would be essentially divorced from the infrastructure… we don’t need big tracks, foundations, networks of conduits, etc. Early ‘dust-free’ dates and final integration would be affected and would reduce the overall schedule. That goes to speed to field. Many mid-tier

Dave Mauck

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Lauren Wood Weaver

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parks don’t have a two-and-a-half to three-year capital plan to deliver a ride. You’re trying to deliver a new ride in roughly 12 months from the date of contracting. Speed to field is a real consideration for them.”

Meeting expectations Sally Dark Rides’ Lauren Wood Weaver concurs that designing to smaller budgets is key to bringing destination attraction punch to regional parks. “We’ve - Sally - had a long history of designing to budget, quite often at a regional park level,” said Weaver. “One of our specialties is figuring out certain tricks of the trade that can make budgets stretch. We pinpoint where we need to spend, and where we can afford to pull back, depending on the overall value to the story, and the ride or experience.”

Greg MacLaurin in the 90s, suited up to grind down the rough seams of a fiberglass rock for an exhibit in Adventure Island at the Los Angeles Zoo. Greg notes, “Art & Technology was small, and everyone did everything. Grinding fiberglass is dusty, prickly work and it gets everywhere. It’s also not very healthy. Hence the suit.”

Photo courtesy of Greg MacLaurin

“You can’t deny the inspiration that those major, blockbuster attractions provide,” said Weaver. “And you can’t deny that then they set the bar… and park-goers see that, and that’s their new bar, their new expectation for a great attraction. For the longest time, in the dark ride field, the classic attractions - like Pirates of the Caribbean, Haunted Mansion, ET, Monster Plantation, Dreamflight - had set the bar. We helped bring that kind of ride experience to parks in Europe with projects such as Challenge of Tutankhamon at Six Flags Belgium, now Walibi, and Labyrinth of the Minotaur at Terra Mitica, using ‘classic’ dark ride methods: heavy theming, animatronics, lighting, special effects, theatrical elements and a great soundtrack.

“Then [Universal’s The Amazing Adventures of] Spider-Man set the next bar. And we did have to kind of allow time to get us to a point where some of those elements and effects - such as high-end projection and motion-based ride vehicles - that helped set that bar were available, and at a price point that could be affordable for the regional market at that time. But over time, obviously, technology adapts and prices come down. Suppliers and their products also adapt, and then you can bring that magic to a regional park.”

Experience and creativity “In the end, you rely on experience,” said Weaver. “You’ve got to have a grasp on what works and what leaves a lasting impression.

We’ve personally put our butts in the seats so many times, all around the world - and sat there and watched other people’s faces, and we’ve taken note of what works. Sure, some new technologies are impressive, and if they’re affordable and fit into budget, let’s consider using them! But certain tricks aren’t the most expensive tricks, and they can be the most effective. At the end of the day, you just have to make sure it’s fun.”

The load station with an Oceaneering vehicle at the Pacific Rim: Shatterdome Strike attraction at TranStudio Cibubur in Indonesia.

Photo courtesy of TranStudio Cibubur

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MacLaurin made a similar point. “Museums are really fun to work on, because unlike theme parks, which focus on the immediate experience, and the big movie IP, museums care all about content. They want things to be accurate and true. Truly the thing that’s going to slow down a museum project will be budget. But if you focus on the budget that you have, you can really make anything work well. Smaller operators have to focus on Intimacy, Immediacy, and Interactivity.”

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continued on page 14

Interactivity in the Age of Covid-19 Shortly after beginning this assignment, the Covid-19 pandemic struck the world. Themed entertainment was hit hard, with parks shutting down worldwide. Now, the industry must consider how operations will have to change after reopening, and possibly, forever. Large parks may be forced to spend like small parks until the economy recovers.

“I’m already seeing the direct impact of all the parks pulling back on their capital spending,” Dave Mauck said. “The impact has been so deep… Whatever budget you thought you had, you don’t have it any more.”

“Interactive devices always provide the most intimate experience, but the technology will (or needs to?) change,” said Greg MacLaurin. “Buttons and touch screens are now problematic. Touchless interface will become the norm, where we use hand gestures and facial recognition to receive responses from the guests.”

David Beaudry notes, “The key is to be ready and focus on those markets most likely to recover the quickest. Regional and local LBEs and FECs - these smaller mid-market experiences - may be best able to pivot and adapt the quickest to our new norms of ‘no touch’ and ‘keep your distance, please.’ A perfect time to re-examine existing experiences in the light of cutting edge, hands-free interactive technology.”

Lauren Wood Weaver adds, “Our design and creative departments have been working on new product development, at both large and smaller scales. Like it or not, we know capital investment plans have most likely been altered. So, what we’d like to emphasize to parks is that we have some really great options, at lower, more cost-effective price points. And that might be an awesome solution right now. Dark rides are great that way. You can create a lot of magic at varying investment levels – as long as you know how to make it fun!” •

The Crayola Experience’s Crayola Adventure Lab (Orlando, FL, Easton, PA, Plano, TX) is an adventure into a very mixed-up reality where guests must solve a variety of creative challenges while straddling the real and virtual worlds of Crayola’s R&D Lab. Photo courtesy of Beaudry Interactive

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we travel and experience other rides, we take note of, ‘Wow, that really worked!’”

Regional power

The team from Sally Dark Rides enjoys a ride on their newly opened Sesame Street: Street Mission dark ride at Port Aventura in Spain.

Photo courtesy of Sally Dark Rides

To those three I’s, Mauck adds two more, noting that even a small child making a fort from a cardboard box may be Immersed in his or her Imagination. “This may be controversial to some: I think to some extent,” he said, [that] “having deep pockets is sometimes a barrier. I grew up in a rural farming community and my family was self-employed. It was drilled into our heads that necessity is the mother of invention. If you don’t have a dog, learn to hunt with a cat… there is amazing creativity that emerges when you don’t have the financial wherewithal to throw more ‘stuff ’ into an attraction; the Team is forced to become hyper-focused on the guest experience and story. Immersion is not automatically granted to a well-funded project. Immersion is immersion.”

Adventure City in Anaheim was another example MacLaurin gave. “It’s a couple of miles from Disneyland. They have lots of children’s parties, and how they stay alive is to focus on the community, to focus on the neighborhood, and events, small events that the community will have.”

Connecting with the guest

Weaver points out how, with dark rides that are story-driven and well-imagined, regional parks can compete with big parks on their own turf. “Knoebels [park in Central Pennsylvania] Haunted Mansion is one of the best, ‘old-school’ dark rides that you will ever ride. There is no new technology. It is ‘old-school’ with a million exclamation points behind it! And it is one of the most memorable attractions I’ve ever ridden, because every single thing - every gag - is timed perfectly. That is why it is so highly regarded, and has been maintained in this place for years and years and years, and has this value… this nostalgic wonderful dark ride value. You scream and you yell, and you walk off and you’re like, ‘What the heck just happened?’”

For Beaudry, a great immersive experience requires being smart about where, when, and how interaction is designed into an experience. “We always try to step back and ask why? Why are we trying to make this particular experience interactive? Who are we trying to engage? What are those connections? What are those hooks? Then, and only then, do we figure out the right type of technology to use. You gain tremendous freedom once you become tech-agnostic. It lets us approach interaction design from many angles. ‘Do I really need a $50K tracking system in order to accomplish this particular thing, or can I do it with a 50-cent sensor?’ Be ready to do either, but let the experience guide us.”

Beaudry added, “When I started the company, interaction design was still so new. It was hard to explain to others what we were trying to accomplish. We were creating these moments… very intimate moments when people really became part of the story and they feel that their presence there mattered. That connection still drives us today, and you don’t need big budgets to get there.”

Personal connection was a theme throughout these interviews: Weaver said, “Our goal is to make it memorable and enjoyable for the whole family. It’s about using elements wisely, figuring out where you want your audience to focus, and making sure you get those moments right. It is story first, and then ‘How can we use technology to reach out and touch you with that story?’ But we are always looking at new technologies, and certainly, when

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MacLaurin described how smaller operators can succeed where larger operators may struggle. “Because a smaller park is more community-based and deals with more of the local people, they can also tap into volunteerism that a large park can’t,” he said.

“They can even have some fairly prestigious people, some famous people, and ask them to just help, as a donation. I worked with LA Zoo in the 1980s and 1990s, on some interactive exhibits for their children’s zoo. Betty White stepped up and said, ‘Hey, I love this zoo. I will donate my time, if you want to videotape me, and I’ll be onscreen.’”

As examples of other regional events that draw on local community and culture, MacLaurin also mentioned Magic Mountain’s Magic Pagoda attraction from several decades ago and Knott’s Berry Farm’s boysenberry festivals. “A local, little theme park, a local mom-and-pop place: they would be able to have parties, and birthdays, and events, and anniversaries, at their facility, that a big park won’t be able to have.”

Smaller operators may not have the financial clout or scale of bigger operators, but through story-driven attractions - based on community, intimacy, and cleverly using just the right technology with unlimited imagination - they cannot only compete, but endure and thrive. • • • David Green is COO of President of lighting firm Visual Terrain, Inc. He has over 35 years of experience in managing and delivering large and small development projects, including user experience design, creative and technical writing, theme parks, film, website producing, television and animation support, software development, information architecture, project management, public relations and photography. David holds nine U.S. patents for user interface design and is a frequent contributor to InPark. Email him at davidg@visualterrain.net.

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Connecting What’s Needed with What’s Next™

OUR FAMILY. YOUR STORY. Oceaneering thrives on helping storytellers deliver the next big thing in entertainment.

Connect with what’s next at oceaneering.com/OES Copyright © 2020 Oceaneering International, Inc. All rights reserved.

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The Met in New York City. Photo courtesy of the Metropolitan Museum of Art

Funding, reopening and saving the animals Museums struggle in COVID times

By Judith Rubin and Joe Kleiman

T

he latest edition of the TEA/AECOM Museum Index, covering calendar year 2019, showed that globally, attendance at the top 20 museums had dropped 2.4%. For the top 25 in each region, North America dropped 13.2% and APAC by 0.6%,, and EMEA increased 4.4%. Most of the North American drops were attributed to a falloff in the year after a blockbuster exhibition.

All of this was pre-COVID, when we might have expected 2020 to play out along similar lines, with a few rises and dips. At this writing in summer 2020, the museum landscape is radically altered. We look at some of the chief factors.

The biggest museums & the blockbuster model For decades, the top museums in destination cities have depended on blockbuster exhibitions and tourism to keep attendance levels high.

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Linda Cheu, Vice President – Economics, Americas, writes in the Museum Index: “Special exhibitions continue to be primary drivers of attendance change in our lists and are an important way that the largest museums invest in the visitor experience to maintain market share and keep pace with population and tourism growth.”

The situation affects producers and distributors of traveling exhibitions as well as the museums that book the shows. A number of museums are in fact reopening with restrictions and safeguards in place, and using timed ticketing and advance reservations - the tools of blockbuster crowd flow - to regulate attendance levels. Even when COVID-related travel restrictions ease, attendance restrictions and social distancing requirements may remain.

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After a five-month closure (since March 13, 2020) the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City welcomed visitors back on Saturday, August 29, unveiling three new exhibitions. Under the circumstances, it seems likely that most of the returning visitors will be locals. Max Hollein, Director of The Met, said, “So many people have reached out during the time of closure to express how much they miss being at The Met, and we are eager to welcome all back to the galleries. Opening The Met’s doors is an important signal for New York and for all of us. This will be a time for New Yorkers to reconnect with their favorite artworks and spaces in their Museum.” The Museum has developed comprehensive safety procedures for its staff and visitors, following guidelines issued by the Centers for Disease Control (CDC), New York State, and New York City.

In London, on July 8 the National Gallery was the first major gallery to reopen, with a host of strict new health and safety measures in place and advance booking requirements. On July 27, the Tate reopened all four of its galleries – the Tate Britain and Tate Modern in London, as well as Tate Liverpool and Tate St Ives.

Although they will take a hit from reduced tourism and reduced capacity, the world’s biggest museums can be expected to set an example for how to move forward - much as the big theme park operators will. Perhaps those with the greatest resources will give new life to struggling smaller museums through acquisitions or partnerships, in keeping with the already growing trend of brand expansion - big names such as Guggenheim, Louvre and Smithsonian as well as newer “popup” brands, and art collectives such as Meow Wolf and TeamLab. As pointed out in the Museum Index, even though it experienced a 5.9% attendance decrease from 2018 to 2019, the Louvre still maintained its position as the most-visited museum in the world.

Theaters, immersive experiences & interactives

deployed to local health care workers” and “20,000 square feet of outdoor space for casual seating.”

With advance reservations required as well as masks for visitors age five and older, the Minnesota Children’s Museum reopened August 1, 2020. Like others there are new cleaning protocols, plexiglass barriers and hand sanitizing stations. The museum also upgraded its air filtration system. “We look forward to welcoming you back when it feels right for your family to return,” reads the announcement that also indicates the cafe and store will be open.

Funding and revenue: Plight of US museums is most severe Closures due to the COVID-19 pandemic have had a hard impact on the museum community everywhere in the world.

Between April 7 and May 7, 2020, the International Council of Museums surveyed 1,600 museums and museum professionals in 107 countries on the impact of COVID-related closures. 82% anticipated a decrease in activities, 30% a downsizing, and 12.8% feared permanent closure.

AECOM’s Cheu writes in the 2019 Museum Index: “The museum industry is decentralized, with diversity in markets, business models, and financial fitness, which will translate to varied resiliency in regard to COVID challenges.”

When compared to the global front, the situation in the United States - where museums typically receive less government funding than their international counterparts - appears much worse.

On June 8, 2020, the American Alliance of Museums (AAM) launched a survey of 760 US museums to understand the impact of COVID-19 on the museum community. 33% of respondents reported that without financial relief, they would not survive sixteen months. 16% believed themselves to be at significant risk of permanent closure. 87% had less than 12 months of financial reserves, 56% less than six.

Museums have availed themselves of technology to help tell their stories in ways that resonate for modern audiences. This is true for museums of all kinds, but science centers and planetariums especially tend to depend on special venue theaters and handson interactives, with heavy traffic from school groups. Children’s museums are also high-touch.

The Franklin Institute in Philadelphia reopened on July 8, 2020 with a disclaimer, “By visiting The Franklin Institute, the guest voluntarily assumes all risks related to potential exposure to COVID-19 in or about The Franklin Institute,” an advance ticketing requirement, mask requirement and temperature checks, reduced capacity, no indoor dining. The museum’s high-touch exhibits and the IMAX theater are closed but the Fels Planetarium is running hourly shows, at reduced capacity.

The reopening announcement called attention to science events on the floor including “Tech experts discussing 3D printing innovations that have emerged during the pandemic, showing examples of face shield visor bands produced from home and

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Directional signs for visitor flow and social distancing markings are key for reopening.

Photo courtesy of Reina Sofia

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It comes down to money

a zoom conference, and baby showers for pregnant animals, also drive-through zoo experiences.

Museums in the US have lived on the edge for several decades as government funding has dried up. They’ve depended on individual and corporate sponsorships and revenue generators such as giant screen theaters, food courts and evening events.

Some are going to extremes to please corporate givers, such as integrating advertising into exhibit signage. Going forward, museums and other cultural attractions will need to find the balance between earned revenue, such as admissions, pass sales, and retail, and donated revenue. In August, the Vancouver Aquarium announced that it would temporarily close to evaluate and transform to a new business model. Our review of the 2018 financial records for the aquarium (the last filed) show that the split between earned and donated revenue was an extremely high 80% to 20%.

Saving the animals

“When COVID struck and San Antonio Zoo shut its gate, we were left with no income,” Tim Morrow, President and CEO of the San Antonio Zoo, told InPark. “Unlike most other accredited zoos in the country we depend 100% on visitation, grants and donations to operate. The Drive Thru Zoo idea was created to offer people a way to continue to visit and help the zoo from the comfort and safety of their own cars. We designed a route, created an online audio tour and added fun merchandise and culinary opportunities along the way. Other zoos around the world soon followed our lead so support of the missions of zoos was magnified beyond our gates. The Drive Thru Zoo not only helped our zoo through closure it helped our community by giving them reprieve from lockdowns, a connection with nature and hope for a return to normalcy.”

Voices from AAM: Serving community & mission

Zoos and aquariums face particularly steep funding challenges because of the cost of caring for the animals. We’ve seen them find creative ways to generate revenue such as rent an animal for

Just at the time where their survival is in peril, museums have an increasingly vital role in the communities they serve - to help

Reopenings among the world’s top 20 museums With a variety of health safeguards, many of the world’s top museums have reopened or are preparing to reopen. These are the world’s top-attended museums per the 2019 TEA/AECOM Theme Index and Museum Index.

Louvre Paris July 6, 2020

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National Museum of China, Beijing

May 1, 2020

Vatican, Vatican City

June 1, 2020

Metropolitan Museum of Art, NYC

August 29, 2020

British Museum, London

August 27, 2020

Tate Modern, London

July 27, 2020

National Gallery, London

July 8, 2020

Natural History Museum, London

August 5, 2020

American Museum of Natural History, NYC

preparing to reopen

State Hermitage, St Petersburg, Russia

July 15, 2020

Shanghai Science & Technology Museum

new visiting policies as of June 25, 2020

Reina Sofia, Madrid

June 6, 2020

National Museum of Natural History, Washington DC

September 9, 2020

Nanjing Museum, China

March 24, 2020

Zhejiang Museum, China

March 26, 2020

National Gallery of Art, Washington DC

July 20, 2020

Victoria & Albert Museum, London

August 6, 2020

China Science and Technology Museum, Beijing

July 23, 2020

National Palace Museum, Taipei

remained open with reduced hours

Musée d’Orsay, Paris

June 23, 2020

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Lonnie G. Bunch III, Secretary General of the Smithsonian Institution, said at the AAM virtual conference (#AAMvirtual) in June 2020: “This is the time for museums to realize we are integral and integrated to this moment. Museums help the public find tools to live their lives, to understand this. Good museums help people to find reality, and give hope.” But he also said, “This is the opportunity to say we can’t just lay on beautiful strategic visions on old structures,” and “Museums are not built to be community centers but they sure could be at the center of their community. Put community, education, conversation and collaboration at the center.”

Lonnie G. Bunch III

AAM’s virtual conference took place June 1-4, 2020. While it was being planned, the world was already several months into the pandemic, with museums closed and an uncertain future, and sessions like “Conversations on Sustainability & Resilience for Museums” on the program. The agenda and the dialogue became even more complex and urgent with the killing of George Floyd on May 25. In a special session, “Racism, Unrest and the Role of the Museum Field,” speaker Dr. Johnnetta Cole, who previously served as President of Spelman College and Director of the Smithsonian’s National Museum of African Art, said, “Could we imagine that our museums could be of special importance coming out of this pandemic and at this moment when our nation is so torn? What are we called to do, what are we capable of doing?”

Dr. Johnetta Cole

Lori Fogarty, Director and CEO, of the Oakland Museum of California, said, “This is the defining time of our lives as a country, as individuals, as museums. Let us not miss this moment.” • • • Lori Fogarty

Resources from museum organizations

distinguish fact from fiction, uphold science, get a balanced viewpoint on the world and its issues, engage in meaningful discussion on race and inequality.

Museums, science centers, zoos and aquariums quickly began to leverage their websites and other online platforms to stay connected with their communities during pandemic shutdowns, but virtual content requires time and labor to produce. In a July 22, 2020 article for the American Alliance of Museums (AAM), Brendan Ciecko of Cuseum outlined six possibilities for generating revenue through online content including virtual memberships, virtual summer camps and monetizing special interactions with living collections and staff.

Museums with scientific missions and research teams were stopped in their tracks, their teams unable to access collections or travel. Many staff have been furloughed, laid off or taken early retirement. A May 28, 2020 article by Elizabeth Pennisi in sciencemag.org pointed out that that the situation has added new impetus to the digitizing of collections, and spurred museums and researchers to find creative ways to continue their work using webcams, teams of ‘citizen scientists’ and also refocusing their research on the pandemic itself.

Associations serving and advocating for the museum community have published various resources and guides for surviving in COVID times. Here is a sampling: AAM https://www.aam-us.org/programs/aboutmuseums/covid-19-resources-information-forthe-museum-field/ ASTC (Association of Science-Technology Centers) https://www.astc.org/coronavirus/ NEMO (Network of European Museum Organisations) https://www.ne-mo.org/fileadmin/Dateien/ public/NEMO_documents/NEMO_COVID19_ Report_12.05.2020.pdf AZA (Association of Zoos & Aquariums) https://www.aza.org/covid-19-resources

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Ultimate contrast How Christie Eclipse technology transformed the Hayden Planetarium and earned a Thea Award

by Judith Rubin

“T

his is the spec we have all had in our heads for quite some time,” said Benjy Bernhardt, senior director, Electronic Media Engineering and Support at the American Museum of Natural History (AMNH) in New York City. It was November 2019 and the 87-foot diameter, 429-seat digital dome theater of the museum’s Hayden Planetarium was displaying the majesty of space on its new, state-of-the-art, custom fulldome system developed with tech partner Christie. Star of the system: the array of six new Christie Eclipse 4K, true HDR, RGB pure laser projectors. The Christie Eclipse technology has been named for a TEA Thea Award for Innovative Technology.

Ellen Futter, President of AMNH referred to an “eye dazzling manifestation of what is now possible from a technical standpoint…the most sophisticated projection system in the world with unprecedented colors and blackest black.”

“It has the punch and color of true [RGB] laser, with true black and high dynamic range, enabling us to visualize these things as though we were really there,” said AMNH Director of Astrovisualization Carter Emmart.

Live demos are very important to convey what the Christie Eclipse can do, because its color gamut, brightness, contrast and frame rate are beyond the scope of most other display systems. As Larry Paul, Executive Director – Technology and Custom Solutions Enterprise and Entertainment at Christie, and product manager of the Christie Eclipse says, “You can’t see it until you see it.” And thanks to the Hayden installation at AMNH - one of the world’s top 10 museums by attendance and a series of demos organized by Christie, many people have now seen it.

Paul described it as “a quantum leap for storytellers to create incredible experiences and shows and to transport audiences.”

An illustration of various residual black levels and blend zones. © Copyright 2020 Christie Digital Systems USA, Inc.

“‘Video black’ has become true black,” wrote the TEA Thea Awards Committee in its official description of Christie Eclipse.

“The Eclipse projector has a previously unimaginable contrast ratio of up to 20,000,000:1, immersing audiences in a degree of detail and depth of color never before possible.”

“The Thea Award is well deserved for this unique projector, which has a lot of applications in the special venue world,” says Bernhardt.

On the cutting edge of digital display and immersive experience True HDR RGB laser projection systems produce true blacks without any residual light so you cannot see the edge of the frame, nor any blend zones on multi-projector arrays. © Copyright 2020 Christie Digital Systems USA, Inc.

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Audiovisual technology is highly competitive in the themed entertainment space, key to a wide array of guest

The Christie Eclipse projector

experiences including immersive attractions, museum exhibits, corporate brand centers, dark rides, projection mapping, art installations, parades, live shows, augmented reality, interactives and gamification.

With this new, true HDR RGB laser projection technology, the industry at large has gained a new creative tool and Christie has reinforced its dedication to the themed entertainment vertical.

Over the past 15 years or so, planetarium theaters have become a laboratory for immersive, media-based guest experiences as around the world most have upgraded to sophisticated, digital dome projection (fulldome) systems. Depending on size and complexity, these systems may use a single projector or as many as 20 units to fill their dome screens with imagery. They require sophisticated controls and specialized content. Fulldome display technology and content production have continued to evolve and improve and catalyzed a convergence between planetariums, giant screen cinema and themed entertainment.

The converging forces, multiple industry influences and close collaboration that produced the Christie Eclipse and the Hayden installation include Benjy Bernhardt and Larry Paul’s own diverse backgrounds and experience on pioneering projects. Bernhardt has been with AMNH since 1998, which is also when the industry began to see the first permanent fulldome installations.

He brought his background in music, immersive and interactive media production and sound editing and programming as well as experience working on Douglas Trumbull’s Luxor Pyramid trilogy (Las Vegas), a simulation adventure from the 1990s that utilized multiple special projection formats and theaters.

Paul is a specialist in “enabling technologies” including simulation and visualization for government defense and industrial clients as well as mainstream cinema (with Christie, two recent, highprofile projects with filmmaker Ang Lee, pushing the limits of the medium). His themed entertainment experience dates back to the 1980s and includes eight years with the late Peter Chernack’s company Metavision and its Spacequest Casino project, a 1997 TEA Thea Award recipient. “All these technologies and tools are cool, but they don’t become meaningful until we enable people to do things with them, to create experiences and impressions that last a lifetime,” he says. “That is my focus, my part of the equation that helps drive what we do at Christie.”

Unpacking the technology Christie’s literature lists these as key features of the Christie Eclipse: True HDR projector, color gamut approaching the full Rec. 2020 / Rec. 2100 color space, true black without any residual light, high frame rate performance in 2D and 3D up to 120 fps (frames per second), and RGB pure laser illumination.

High Dynamic Range projection, true blacks and expanded color gamut are interrelated. An HDR video signal provides a wider range of brightness and color information, eliminating many limitations commonly associated with video projection. There is simply more data contained in the signal, enabling very bright objects and very dark objects to coexist on the same screen, in a fully light-controlled environment, with nothing lost to image processing.

“Video black” has for some years been a necessary evil, a limitation tolerated for the sake of other benefits, now done

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away by the HDR capability of the Christie Eclipse. The need for optical edge blending is also gone.

“When you have perfect black, you don’t need any optical edge blending; just make sure things don’t brighten up where the edges meet,” says Bernhardt. High-contrast projection lends greater visual range to any content and is of course highly prized in planetarium shows for vivid depictions of space and the night sky. “With the Christie Eclipse we have the brightest brights we could ever want, all the colors we could ever want, we have the blacks, and there’s no edge blend problem. You don’t have this sort-of-gray to kick you out of the experience. It’s all part of the HDR super high contrast. People are blown away,” Bernhardt testifies.

If an image on a standard contrast display has limited brightness in the specular highlights, viewers perceive the image as somewhat “flat.”

In 2018, Christie rolled out two RGB pure laser projectors, the D4K40-RGB and the Mirage SST, both supporting the expansive Rec. 2020 color palette, already a huge leap beyond the previous high point of Rec. 709 (HDTV is Rec. 709, as are most planetarium display systems; the DCI standard is P3). The Christie Eclipse takes the capability even further, with the ability to work in any color space from P3 on up to near Rec. 2100 - a producer’s dream in visual richness and range and precise color match for branding and IP. When the production team at the Hayden was developing new content in 2019, it was their first time working with the Rec. 20202100 color space instead of Rec. 709.“They realized that they could see things on the dome that they couldn’t see on the monitor,” said Bernhardt. “All the final mastering was done in the theater.”

The term “RGB pure laser” refers to the On an HDR display, the increased brightness is not used to make the bulk of the image use of individual red, green and blue lasers brighter, but mainly kept in reserve to make the specular highlight areas gleam. to generate light. RGB laser is a solid-state technology that employs individual red, said Bernhardt. “You’re seeing every frame. Moving through green and blue laser diodes as its light source. RGB laser light stars feels a lot more natural than it did in the past, allowing the color is scalable, supporting increasing levels of brightness and the expanded color palette, and does not degrade as the projector audience to really feel like they’re out there.” ages.

The collaboration

The Christie Eclipse has frame rate capability up to 120 fps, a welcome benefit for projects involving animation, gaming engines, data visualization and/or special effects. “Just the difference going from 30- to 60 fps allowed us to lower motion blur, important in scenes where objects are moving quickly,”

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It began in earnest in 2014, with a visit by Bernhardt and Jeffrey Gallitzer, Assistant Dir. Rose Center Engineering, AMNH, to Christie headquarters in Kitchener, Ontario, to see an early prototype. “The prototype did not have all the features yet, but it showed we could do video black as true black,” said Paul.

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It was clear that the process would take time. “We knew that there was a multi-year roadmap,” said Bernhardt.

Meanwhile, Hayden needed a new system within 12 months.

Christie installed a custom interim system in 2015, configured so that it could be upgraded with relative ease when the new projectors were ready. “It included RGB laser, fiber, lenses everything but the final projector heads,” says Paul. “In February 2019, we removed the old projectors and mounts, ‘levitated’ the lenses in place, put the new projectors in the same positions, upgraded the software and were up and running as anticipated within a few weeks.”

themed entertainment world are designed to help clients innovate and create, to make compelling, immersive experiences. Having to work within the constraints of technology is never the ideal way to design an attraction; we don’t want technology to be the limiting factor. We enable the community to truly bring people to a place they have never been before.”

The Christie Eclipse technology will be showcased as part of TEA Thea Awards Digital Case Studies, on October 8, 2020 (www.teaconnect.org). For more information about the product and the technology, visit the Image Matters page on the Christie company website at https://www.christiedigital.com/helpcenter/whitepapers/image-matters/. • • •

Bernhardt observed, “We had talked to all major projector manufacturers over the years about a projector that could do what this one does. A couple of them understood the basic engineering needed to achieve it but were not ready to put in the R&D. Christie made that investment and that commitment. It was harder to do than it looked on paper. There were technical hurdles. Those things come up, and they pushed through them.”

“The requirements were lengthy and demanding, and we signed up for them and worked hard to satisfy them,” says Paul. “Where the Hayden goes, the market does follow, in terms of content creation, environment and space and everything else. They know what they are doing, and we had a great working relationship.

They stayed on our case to make sure we were getting it all right; we pointed out things to them and they were appreciative.”

Paul continued: “The Christie Eclipse exists because we - the industry - needed better contrast. Everyone is competing for audiences and eyeballs. All of our products targeted for the

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Christie’s Larry Paul and AMNH’s Benjy Bernhardt

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Going virtual TEA honors Thea Award recipients with Digital Case Studies event

by Joe Kleiman

T

he annual TEA Thea Awards Case Studies opened August 6, 2020, showcasing Nancy Seruto (Portfolio Creative Executive, Walt Disney Imagineering) the recipient of the Buzz Price Thea Award for a Lifetime of Distinguished Achievements.

The session was a conversation between Seruto and Phil Hettema of The Hettema Group, with a live, online networking, Q&A and chat session that included some of Seruto’s colleagues.

The session was sponsored by The Bezark Company.

Subsequent Thea Case Studies sessions will go on to showcase other projects in the global slate of 26th annual TEA Thea Awards, with presentations given by the project owner together with members of the creative team. But instead of taking place over the course of a single day with hundreds of people together in a conference room at the Disneyland Hotel, TEA has adopted an online format for its 2020 Thea Awards Case Studies.

The sessions will be spread out over several months, available sequentially “live” and then on-demand. One ticket buys the full package of seven sessions.

With travel restrictions and health concerns due to COVID-19, companies and individuals – and the associations that serve them, such as TEA – have had to quickly transition to virtual meetings and working from home. And with projects postponed

or cancelled and economic uncertainty, within the industry, the need is greater than ever for networking and professional development. These are the factors that led to re-conceiving Thea Case Studies in an online format.

“TEA is a mission-based organization and our mission is to serve members, which includes helping them stay connected and facilitating networking, education and professional development,” says TEA Chief Operating Officer Jennie Nevin. “Thea Awards Digital Case Studies will help do all of that, as well as provide the uplift of celebrating some of the greatest global achievements in visitor attractions, and shine a light on industry superstars such as Nancy Seruto.”

TEA had already changed to cloud-based, team software systems in mid-2019 and built a robust social media presence over the past decade, so was in a good position to take the necessary next steps when the pandemic hit. “The TEA Headquarters staff were able to quickly and effectively transition to working from home,” says Nevin. “We launched TEA Digital in March 2020, rolling out a full schedule of mixers, webinars, watch parties and online chats, while preparing for the possibility that TEA’s tentpole conferences, such as Thea Case Studies, might also need to be part of the package.”

TEA International Board President Michael Blau and TEA COO Jennie Nevin

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It was important to the community to keep as much continuity as possible around the annual TEA Thea Awards. Since their introduction in 1994, the Theas have become a very prestigious honor, recognizing both the project owner and the creative team.

A key component of the Theas is that the project owner supply comprehensive credits, which are published in the official TEA Thea Awards Program. The credits engender better dialogue between owners and creatives as well as a more complete picture of the many disciplines, trades, artists, artisans, technicians and specialists that collaborate to produce a project.

The elegant, black-tie TEA Thea Awards Gala presented by Chimelong could not be scheduled to take place in 2020, but new dates have been set for April 2021. And the Thea Awards cycle is being continued in two other ways: 1) a submissions period was opened (and closed on July 31, 2020) so that the Thea Awards Nominating Committee could proceed with judging for the 27th annual Thea Awards, and 2) the slate of 26th annual Thea recipients are showcased in the digital case studies opening August 6, 2020. “Michael Blau, our International Board President, was a big advocate for finding ways to move forward, and to celebrate and honor the projects this year,” says Nevin.

What are Thea Digital Case Studies like? “This is a professional online series production with a full production team, including

editing,” says Nevin, “well beyond your typical webinar or video conference. We’ve created this full virtual universe – a realm where you can access everything in one place. There will be curated Q&A’s with the project designers, lounges you can visit based on theme, such as the Christie tech lounge, and lots of cool opportunities for networking.”

Hettema, participating as a moderator of two sessions including the conversation with Nancy Seruto, shares, “I’m hugely impressed with the production team and how organized they are.

Jennie and her team of TEA staff working with the presenters and moderators have done a phenomenal job in putting this event together.”

“Providing this continuity to the TEA membership and the global attractions industry that TEA serves is especially important in regard to the Thea Awards, which go to the heart of what our worldwide association is about: celebrating excellence in the creation of compelling experiences and places,” says Michael Blau. “The TEA Thea Awards acknowledge the contributions of our unique industry, and provide a forum for important and influential dialogue within our international community. Whether online or in person, TEA and the TEA Thea Awards bring us together to learn, network and celebrate.” • • •

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Wendy Heimann-Nunes, Susan Bonds and Nancy Seruto

On the topic of Theas Three industry leaders talk about the TEA Thea Awards: Nancy Seruto, Susan Bonds, and Wendy Heimann-Nunes Interviews for InPark by Clara Rice

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he three women interviewed here in connection with the 26th annual TEA Thea Awards are all entrepreneurs and innovators. All have owned their own businesses and worked for major theme park operators, and all have worked to help foster a more diverse, dynamic, and successful industry.

Susan Bonds, CEO 42 Entertainment and Animal Repair Shop A systems engineer by training, Susan began her career in aerospace at Lockheed’s Advanced Development Projects, then joined Walt Disney Imagineering, where her projects included “Indiana Jones Adventure” at Disneyland and “Mission: SPACE” at Epcot. She went on to produce the MMORPG “Uru: Ages Beyond Myst” before co-founding 42 Entertainment in 2004.

Susan Bonds chaired the 26th annual TEA Thea Awards Committee.

Susan Bonds: “True convergence” is the alignment of social, technology, gaming, and storytelling, giving audiences an authentic and validated role in the experience. At WDI we constantly talked about the envelope and how to fully immerse guests. Today, designers have tools to capitalize on immersion: to build shared experiences and engage characters to affect agency and outcome.

CR: You advocated for TEA to create a Connected Immersion category for the Thea Awards. How do you see connected immersion evolving in the next few years, and where does that leave more traditional experiences?

SB: Connected Immersion is a category meant to recognize experiences that blend the digital and real world. The challenge early on in our industry was to make something classic that lasts – 10, 25, 50 or even 100 years. The opportunity now is to make something that can be reprogrammed as the audience evolves.

Clara Rice: Your 42 Entertainment bio refers to the term “true convergence.” What is true convergence?

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This approach expands traditional storytelling into new areas, redefining new experiences overlaid onto the familiar, and creating multi-use venues for owners to maximize their investment. We will see these connections become more and more seamless.

CR: You’re an entrepreneur, and I have heard you say that you would like to see more women in positions of leadership and entrepreneurship. How can we as an industry move the dial on this issue?

SB: There have been women in positions of leadership over multiple decades, but too often they did not get the title or the recognition. Let’s recognize some of these women NOW – even belatedly. Let’s encourage women-to-women mentorships and networking. Let’s share the spotlight. Sharing more about what we are individually and collectively accomplishing is key!

CR: What did you enjoy most about being Chair of the 26th Thea Awards Nominating Committee and do you have any words of wisdom for your successor in the role, David Cobb?

SB: Being on the Thea Awards Nominating Committee means that you are mixing it up with the true entrepreneurs and innovators of themed entertainment: those pushing the envelope of where the industry is headed, as well as legends who built the industry from the ground up with no roadmap to follow.

What a great sense of responsibility – to keep the standards that differentiate us in the market, yet recognize the evolution of entertainment, and the impact of technology and audience behaviors in our industry.

My advice to Dave is, “keep your hand on the wheel, look to the horizon, listen to the wise crew rowing the boat, and have fun!”

Nancy Seruto – Portfolio Creative Executive for Walt Disney Imagineering Nancy Seruto is the recipient of the Buzz Price Award for a Lifetime of Outstanding Achievements. Her inspiring, 30-year journey as supplier, creative, project manager and entrepreneur has taken her around the world and touched nearly every vertical of themed entertainment, including theater and performing arts, touring exhibits, museums, theme parks, retail, restaurants, live events, and casinos. She oversaw several projects over her past decade with Imagineering, including “Treasure Cove” and “Pirates of the Caribbean: Battle for the Sunken Treasure” at Shanghai Disneyland.

Clara Rice: So many of us, myself included, came to the industry from the theater. Why is that?

Nancy Seruto: What we do in theme parks is rooted in theater.

For centuries, there have been those who are drawn to the public form of storytelling that is now theater. This has evolved into film and many other digital formats, but I think the instincts come from the same place.

The unique pressure of live performance drives a certain excellence. The pressure of live audience can be unforgiving and, conversely, applause is addicting. The first time we open a project to a live audience, we draw our breath in the same way, hoping and wondering if they will like it.

CR: You are considered one of the best producers and creative leaders in the industry. What are the essential qualities of a successful producer? Do these qualities differ depending on the size of the project or the vertical?

Susan Bonds is interviewed by media for the opening of the Indiana Jones Adventure at Disneyland in 1995.

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Nancy Seruto during the TEA Thea Awards Digital Case study

NS: A producer needs to keep firmly rooted in the business aspects of a project, while understanding and reaching for the nuance of creative excellence, and what makes something great art. At Walt Disney Imagineering, a producer is a leader of a very qualified, innovative and self-driven team. So, on the soft skills side, a producer at Imagineering does not need to be a manager of tasks, but a conductor of a highly skilled orchestra – also a catalyst for creativity and innovation, a facilitator and connector of groups.

CR: In the last episode of the Disney+ series, “The Imagineering Story,” you said, “when you go to a different culture, and you live in a different country, and you work differently, it changes you. It changes you forever.” How did the experience of creating Shanghai Disneyland change you forever?

Empathy and understanding are also key qualities, and conviction is a word I repeat to myself often. It’s super important: having the confidence to stay the course and work through the challenges as they come up, and trust in your experience, abilities, and instincts. As projects grow in scale, all of these qualities are put to the test, but they are core qualities.

At a professional level, the project fundamentally challenged assumptions around process. It is a shared roadmap you all agree on and follow, that builds confidence phase by phase. But when one works globally, they can’t assume process is shared. So right there, you are thrown off kilter and forced to rethink, and in doing so, you learn to be flexible, to think on your feet, adapt and find new ways of thinking.

CR: Please tell us about your work with Imagineering’s outreach program.

NS: Imagineering’s outreach program brings Imagineers together with cultural and nonprofit institutions to collaborate with them in solving their own creative challenges. By doing this work, we are engaging with some of the most brilliant scholars of our times. The exchanges broaden our perspective and often give Imagineers an important platform for exploring and sharing their own histories. Through this interaction, we also demonstrate that diverse teams are fertile grounds for creativity, and this in turn helps influence how we build teams, widening the aperture to include a broader perspective and range of voices.

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NS: This is not easy to answer, as there are many layers, but let me try to break it down, because over the course of seven years in anyone’s life, many things can be transformative.

At a deeper and more personal level, the journey led me to collaborate creatively with artists and craftspeople from China over seven years, to create and build something together. And because my relationships with them continue, they are now a part of how I see the world… through a different lens, through their eyes as well as my own.

This was a really tough job. The realization that you could not control so much of what was going on was challenging for all of us. Living away from home for so long was difficult and lonely. But despite the challenges, we built strong bonds, and through that shared experience, we made it. The power of what

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can be achieved through sheer will, and with the force of the whole company behind us, will forever leave a very humbling impression on me.

Wendy Heimann-Nunes, founder and managing partner, Nolan Heimann LLP – Recipient, TEA Peter Chernack Distinguished Service Award Wendy Heimann-Nunes is receiving the TEA Peter Chernack Distinguished Service Award for her contributions as pro-bono counsel of the Themed Entertainment Association. She spent the early years of her career in the theater. A few years after receiving her law degree, she assumed the role of executive director at The Chicago Theater. While negotiating a major theater deal with Disney Development Corporation, she became fascinated by mixed-use development and location-based entertainment, and went on to lead the Business and Legal Affairs Department at Universal Creative before founding her own law firm, which features a practice area dedicated to LBE and immersive experiences.

Clara Rice: When you got the call saying you’d be receiving the award, what was your reaction?

Wendy Heimann-Nunes: It was such a cliché reaction. When Michael [Mercandante, TEA Immediate Past President] called, I couldn’t process what he was saying. Then it was just gratitude and total astonishment. My whole career is in this industry, and there’s a reason. I will never feel like I’ve done enough.

CR: In a 2016 article on the TEA Blog, you wrote, “I would like to see us applying our core competencies farther and farther into overlapping and relevant industries.” What do you think is the next frontier for our industry?

WHN: The next frontier that I’m committed to penetrating, which I find absent in our industry, is capital sources for midtier and lower-tier opportunities, things that are not going to be funded by investment banks or the huge corporations. We need to free up capital for the growing, mid-market, experiential developments and their associated technologies – all the things that emanate from the escape rooms and the smaller FECs. We have beautiful product being created, but there’s not a direct path to capital like there is toward high-tech. It’s a void I’m committed to filling.

Wendy Heimann-Nunes

anyone else. I think our industry is still very male-dominated, which is particularly embarrassing in that it doesn’t reflect our consumers. I do think that the next generation is very different – what we are dealing with now are some lingering legacy systems that are still creating a hindrance for women to succeed. Is there a social zeitgeist happening? Yes. Do I think we are there yet? No. CR: You call yourself a “cheerleader for the themed entertainment industry”? Why is it so important to you?

WHN: Ever since I can remember, I have wanted to create – I wanted to be a part of something that was about creating. I realized relatively early that my type of creativity was in helping others create - building structures and opportunities for others to create. And that is my flow. It’s not a job for me; it’s my oxygen.

It’s like music. I’m a drummer, and the same flow I feel when I’m drumming is how I feel when I help creators create.

That’s why I care so much about our community and our industry. I’m so grateful that the industry has given me the opportunity to express that. And I have truly marched my avocation. • • •

CR: Has gender equity improved in our industry in recent years?

WHN: Anecdotally, I still don’t see a lot of female executives in the market. When female entrepreneurs need to go out to capital markets to raise money, there is still systemic sexism, despite there being more female-run venture funds.

You break the glass ceiling by building your own house. Speaking personally, if I was going to pursue my authenticity and ambition, especially as a woman, there was no way I was going to work for

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Clara Rice is the Director of Communications at JRA and Vice President of the TEA’s International Board of Directors. She has written over a dozen articles for InPark Magazine and has been a featured speaker at TEA and IAAPA events around the world. Email her at crice@jackrouse.com.

InPark 杂 志 订 阅 网

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The Land of Legends meets Masha and the Bear Turkey’s The Land of Legends resort turns to a popular Russian IP to expand its park while dealing with the impact of a pandemic during construction

by Martin Palicki

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he Land of Legends resort in Antalya, Turkey has been attracting guests to its theme park, waterpark, shopping and hotel since it opened in 2016. The park is owned by Rixos Group, a luxury resort operator based in Turkey. According to Hande Tezerdi, Business Development Director for The Land of Legends, over one million guests visited the resort in 2019 and the park expected nearly two million guests in 2020, prior to the pandemic. The resort features both waterpark attractions as well as a section of theme-park-style dry rides. It includes a shopping district, an on-site themed hotel, an evening spectacular created by Franco Dragone and plenty of room for expansion [See “Turkish Splash,” InPark Magazine issue #64 (2016) and “Defining Polin,” InPark Magazine issue #74 (2018)].

For 2020, the park assembled an international team of experts to help create two new themed areas and two new water rides.

Masha and the Bear Land of Laughter is the heart of the new additions - a themed land based on the popular animated Russian

TV series. Masha and the Bear follows the adventures of a young girl and her friend Bear, who has a knack for keeping her out of trouble as she interacts with the other animals in the forest.

Loosely based on a Russian folk tale, the show has been around since 2009. The cartoon is lighthearted and features a positive lesson in episodes for young viewers.

The centerpiece of Land of Laughter is A Joyful Journey, a slowmoving boat ride through the four seasons with Masha and the Bear. Guests enter Masha’s house before boarding boats that take them in and out of a show building. Indoor and outdoor scenes rely on sets, animatronics, media, UV lighting, sound effects, music and projections to bring the four seasons to life. Most of the scenes show Masha interacting with the seasonal weather conditions and also holidays like Halloween, Christmas and New Year’s. Over 75 figurines populate the attraction, both static and animated. While the ride is inspired by the Masha and the Bear TV series the storyline is unique to The Land of Legends.

The entrance to A Joyful Journey boat ride at The Land of Legends. All photos courtesy of The Land of Legends

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Inside the train-themed restaurant within Land of Laughter.

The winter scene inside A Joyful Journey’s show building

An indoor play structure called Bear’s Funhouse and a splashpad play area provide other attractions within the land. A quick service restaurant features Russian cuisine while the train-themed Food Station restaurant provides indoor and outdoor sit-down options. Windows on one side of the train face the land while “windows” on the opposite side are actually screens that show animated scenes and characters from the TV series.

Connecting the Land of Laughter to the rest of the park is the second new land: Forest Carnival, providing a thematic transition to the rest of the park. The Carnival area took three existing rides from elsewhere in the park (a kiddie coaster and two flat rides) and rethemed them to the Carnival motif. A series of games and a new small live-show theater round out the land’s offerings.

While the Land of Laughter and Forest Carnival opened on July 23, 2020, the park also opened the new WaterMania attraction a few weeks prior. WaterMania is a splash-battle style boat ride with a steampunk theme. Guests on the ride shoot water cannons at targets throughout the ride and at guests on land, who are equipped with their own water cannons and devices intended to get everyone refreshingly wet. The ride replaces a ropes course attraction and is adjacent to the two new areas of the park.

A Tight Timeframe Even before the pandemic hit, The Land of Legends had an aggressive schedule in mind for the new attractions. Ahmet Colakoglu, Director of Construction for Rixos Group, oversaw the construction of the new attractions. He worked alongside Hande Tezerdi to manage the design, development, installation and promotion of the park additions. The new capital consists of two boat rides from Mack Rides: their Interactive Boat Ride and a slow moving 16-passenger boat system. Both were purchased in the fall of 2019 and Colakoglu planned for them to open in May 2020.

Separately, Tezerdi began work on acquiring IP to accompany the new land. “80% of our visitors come from Russia, the CIS

(Commonwealth of Independent States) and MENA (Middle East & North Africa),” explains Tezerdi. “That is why it made sense to work with Masha and the Bear - a major brand from Russia that is also extremely popular here in Turkey and in the Middle East.”

Prior to Rixos, Tezerdi worked for a major studio and had experience dealing with entertainment brands. “I reached out to Animaccord Animation Studio (the IP holder) and though they had licensed the brand extensively, they had not worked with any theme parks. I explained the concept to them and they loved it,” says Tezerdi.

At the same time, The Land of Legends was working with Germany-based MackNeXT, a sister company to Mack Rides, to develop the attractions. They brought on Independent Creative Consultant Chris Lange to lead the project in the fall of 2019 and develop the creative concept packages with his team in Berlin.

Lange worked directly with Tezerdi and Colakoglu making decisions for the attractions, which helped to expedite the project.

“We developed two goals: to create a longer ride experience for guests, and to create a story-driven immersive experience,” says Lange.

Lange partnered with Victor Arca from US-headquartered Mycotoo Europe to develop the Schematic Design and Show production. Other industry suppliers included the UK’s Electrosonic (design and installation supervision of show control, audio and video system), Denmark’s MK Themed Attractions (figurine production),Turkey’s Daghan Yururler (production and installation of show sets, theming and decoration) and US-based companies Visual Terrain (lighting design) and Flying Doghouse Productions (script and ride concept).

Stormfront coming: COVID-19 The team began working in earnest on the project in December 2019 and by March 2020 most of the concrete had been poured

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for the rides and lands. By mid-March the pandemic effects had made their way to Turkey with travel restrictions going into place, effectively stopping all travel from outside the country to the park.

Colakoglu approached Rixos’ board and investors with several options: stop construction temporarily, proceed with added safety measures or postpone the expansion for one or two years. The board opted to move forward cautiously with the additional safety precautions. Everyone was anxious to have good news and a positive story for the park, region and industry.

Additionally, with so many projects suddenly stopped or on hold, they also hoped to negotiate with vendors for additional savings.

According to Colakoglu, the project was completed for roughly 10-15% below initial budget projections.

Instead of a site’s usual single health supervisor, Colakoglu hired three and installed temperature-detecting cameras for workers. Even though the Antalya region only had a relatively small number of cases, masks were required for workers, social distancing was enforced when possible and government regulations were followed. Throughout the construction there were no reported cases of COVID-19.

Even with a site plan in place, the park had to work around the travel restrictions and supply chain interruptions. That meant Mack Rides would not be able to send a supervisor and team to oversee the installation of the boat rides. Since they were relatively straightforward ride systems, The Land of Legends

utilized their own install team. Mack Rides created detailed documentation and instructions for the local workers to install both attractions. Once travel restrictions were lifted, Mack was able to send an inspector to check the installation and formally turn the rides over to The Land of Legends.

On the show production side, Lange and the Mycotoo team participated in daily teleconference calls and relied on WhatsApp to field questions from the site immediately. The local team captured and sent hundreds of photos from the site. When it came time for finishing, workers would complete a small section, send photos, get feedback and then finish the work.

Similarly, under normal circumstances an art director would have traveled to the MK Themed Attractions production facilities in the Philippines to approve the figurine characters during fabrication. For the Masha and the Bear project, MK sent videos and photos to the design team for review and approval before shipping the figures to the park.

Creative Director Chris Lange, Mycotoo Europe Show Producer Victor Arca, along with Art Director Jan Wünsche, supervised the execution of the Creative Intent maintaining close collaboration with all the international suppliers and the local team in Antalya.

“It was critical to have our team and the local workers on-site in sync,” says Arca. “The Land of Legends leadership stressed the importance of art direction for the project, which prompted the

This artist rendering of Masha and the Bear Land of Laughter at The Land of Legends shows all the attractions found in the new land. The trainthemed restaurant is at the right. A Joyful Journey boat ride is at the top, while Bear’s Funhouse is located in the giant tree stump on the left.

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local team to rely on the creative team for guidance in the work they were executing. It was a great blending of our expertise with the knowledge and skills from the on-site team. We became an incredibly united front that overcame the challenges of the pandemic, despite the physical distances.”

A new model of project management Now that travel restrictions are beginning to be lifted, Masha and the Bear Land of Laughter seems likely to offer an enduring, contemporary model of project management. “I don’t think we will entirely return to the old way we knew before,” claims Colakoglu. “I expect that some of the on-site approvals will likely change to virtual, but not all. Daily teleconferences are time consuming, so there is a balance somewhere.”

On the creative production side, Lange agrees it will be a mix of the old and new ways. “There are trade-offs to handling things virtually,” he says. “Checking one theatrical light placement might take an hour between the lighting designer and the onsite team trading photos and corrections back and forth. In person it could be checked in about 10 seconds.”

Lange also foresees a continued trend of using local vendors whenever possible. “Having localized production potentially insulates you from possible supply chain problems. I see that continuing to happen in the future.”

While on A Joyful Journey, guests encounter characters from Masha and the Bear as their boat travels through the four seasons.

Visual Terrain congratulates Rixos and The Land of Legends park on their successful opening of Masha and the Bear Land of Laughter and Water Mania.

Congratulations also to Hande Tezerdi, Ahmet ˘ Çolakoglu, Fatih Osmancelebioglu, Chris Lange, Flying Doghouse Productions, Mycotoo Europe, Electrosonic, and all their team members. Special thanks to Dave Lascaut for helping to see our vision through to the end.

We are grateful and honored to have been a part of the team for these great new attractions!

For example, The Joyful Journey’s artificial trees needed fabricated leaves. Lange says he typically would source that from a company in Europe. Instead, the team contracted with a Turkish fabricator who researched how to create the leaves and produced them.

An optimistic future Regardless of the project management methodology, it’s clear that The Land of Legends intends to continue growing and enticing visitors to return.

“Our sales team is already seeing reservations pick up,” says Tezerdi. “We rely heavily on tour operators in this region, so that has been challenging with travel restrictions. Now that things are starting to open up, we are optimistic.”

Lange also sees a bright future for the resort, in part thanks to the new additions. “These attractions and lands were designed to extend the dwell time for guests in the park, as well as provide guests with stories and characters that they recognize,” says Lange. “In some respects, The Land of Legends has been a bit of a hidden gem and I’m excited to see them raise their profile in the industry and the marketplace by promoting and expanding their beautiful resort.” • • • WaterMania is a Mack Rides boat ride with an elaborate steampunk theme.

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Diving into the TEA/ AECOM Theme Index: What can a decade of industry evolution tell us about the future?

by Joe Kleiman, IPM News Editor

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he Themed Entertainment Association and AECOM have jointly published the 14th edition of the TEA/AECOM Theme Index and Museum Index, showing global attendance trends for calendar year 2019 in the world’s top theme parks, waterparks, and museums. InPark dives into a decade’s worth of the report (2009-2019) to find patterns that point to future trends.

Regional and destination parks have always taken cues from one another. And in downturns and crises, industries learn, then apply the lessons to benefit in the recovery. Between 2009 and 2019, we saw destination parks work to get closer to local audiences, and regional parks adopt season extensions, resort models and multiple gates.

Around the world, regional parks that previously were open only during peak summer season have been extending their operating calendars with seasonal events such as Halloween and the winter holidays, often adding significantly to yearly attendance totals.

Shared strategies between destination and regional parks The year 2009 was the final year of the three-year Great Recession, marked by a real estate bubble burst and global economic crisis. During this period, people vacationed closer to home. As the 2009 TEA/AECOM report pointed out, lower-cost regional parks and attractions, including museums and zoos, tend to fare better as discretionary spending declines during tighter economic periods. During the Great Recession, travel destinations felt the pinch and worked to cultivate their regional markets. As stated in the 2009 TEA/AECOM Theme Index: “Destination parks rely on a combination of tourists and locals, but in 2009 had fewer of the former coming through the turnstiles: total visitation to Orlando in 2009, for instance, was down 9 percent. Destination parks endeavored to offset the lower levels of tourism by encouraging regional attendance and repeat visits through special programs, passes and discounts.”

In the 2019 Theme Index, every one of the top 25 theme parks worldwide - whether traditionally considered destination or regional - featured at least one attached hotel. With hotels being built at regional parks, what once was considered a singleday outing now becomes a multi-day visit. The desire to keep guests on property has resulted in parks transitioning into fully integrated resorts, with the addition of retail and dining districts, sporting facilities, waterparks, and, in some instances, additional theme parks.

A new era of branded and IP-based attractions Throughout the Great Recession, Universal Parks and Resorts continued construction on what became a major game-changer for the industry. Originally scheduled for 2009 and finally opened in 2010, the Wizarding World of Harry Potter at Universal’s Islands of Adventure heralded the beginning of an emphasis on new themed lands and attractions centered around existing and custom brands. The use of brands and IP in themed entertainment has attained new levels on both regional and destination platforms around the world. Disney’s Cars Land, Pandora, and Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge, along with global expansions of Universal’s Wizarding World of Harry Potter, were joined by SeaWorld’s Antarctica, Six Flags’ Justice League, and new parks in Dubai with lands themed to a variety of licensed studio franchises.

The 2019 TEA/AECOM Theme Index cover. Photo courtesy Disney

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10 years of growth in the five top-attended parks (Source: TEA/AECOM Theme Index)

1. Magic Kingdom, FL 2. Disneyland, CA 3. Tokyo Disneyland, JP 4. Disneyland Park, FR 5. Tokyo DisneySea, JP

2009

17,233,000 Magic Kingdom, FL

15,900,000 Disneyland, CA

13,646,000 Tokyo Disneyland, JP

12,740,000 Tokyo DisneySea, JP

12,004,000 Universal Studios Japan, JP

From WWOHP in 2010 to Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge in 2019, the decade represented a grand new era of branded attractions. What does the IP crystal ball hold for the next decade?

Within the themed entertainment community, the term “LBE” is again a buzzword. Location Based Entertainment refers to out-of-home entertainment experiences usually of a scale smaller than a theme park – waterparks, family entertainment centers, virtual arcades, pop-ups of various kinds, themed hospitality...

LBE-scale concepts have been popular in recent years as more and more IP owners set up verticals to explore opportunities in the space. The popularity of the smaller, scalable, LBE-style approach may well increase as theme parks hit a fiscal setback over the next few years due to a combination of COVID-19 closures and attendance reduction mandates. Instead of largescale lands, it may be more common to see mini-themed lands, with a single ride, retail store, and eatery. Working from another facet of LBEs, theme parks might also install thematic overlays of existing attractions, reducing the costs necessary for a complete infrastructure overhaul.

Over the decade, as IP holders have become more cognizant of the value of their holdings and their potential in themed entertainment platforms, a holistic model has emerged. Those theme parks attached to a studio have a ready-made base of IP to work with, one that has continually grown as the studios acquired new production companies and franchises. Others will continue to license from outside sources, resulting in the sharing of a single franchise over a number of parks in varying global markets. This approach has proven successful for IP holders such as Peanuts Worldwide, Cartoon Network, Warner Bros., Ferrari, Lionsgate Entertainment and others.

In 2009, attendance for the top 25 theme parks worldwide was 185.6 million. By 2019, the top 25 parks saw attendance of 253.7 million, an increase of 68 million, or 73% over the decade. Attendance at the top 20 waterparks worldwide in 2009 was 20.7 million. In 2019, it was 31.1 million, a growth of 10.4 million or 67%. While attendance has fluctuated over the years primarily due to global and regional economic factors, continued investment in large scale attractions and theme lands has paid off for the highest attended parks. New blockbuster branded parks, such as Chimelong Ocean Kingdom in Zhuhai China and

2019 20,963,000 18,666,000 17,910,000 14,650,000 14,500,000

Universal’s Volcano Bay have also seen and sustained strong attendance.

Getting back to business It should be noted that 2019 marks the last year of a growth curve, mitigated by the rise of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Although the virus was first reported to the World Health Organization in late December, 2019, it was on January 20, 2020, when the Chinese government declared coronavirus to be a Class 1 mass outbreak, that the first wave of venue closures began.

Prior to the Great Recession that ended in 2009, the industry experienced a major downturn in the months after the September 11 terrorist attacks of 2001. It took time before people were comfortable getting out of their homes and into attractions again. Two decades later in the worldwide pandemic of 2020, the situation is different, because the type of safety threat is different.

Those able to re-open are now operating with attendance caps and limited offerings.

In the current edition of the TEA/AECOM Theme Index, John Robinett, Senior Vice President, Economics, AECOM writes: “The general sentiment is that with new health and safety measures, many attractions will be able to get back to business this year (although at a different level). Some are predicting 30.0% to 50.0% of normal business volume for the coming months, and surveys show positive demand from the market. However, it may take one to several years to return to pre-COVID operating levels, and the investment horizon of many owners may be altered due to cash flow loss.”

Regional and destination theme parks will move toward recovery as best they can, looking for ways to welcome guests and enable them to gather safely, while maximizing revenue opportunities.

As major new attractions, rides, and museum exhibits are pushed back or cancelled, we are seeing short-term replacements such as food festivals and other low-cost special events where social distancing can be maintained. This increased reliance on festivals has already become a mainstay for both regional and destination theme parks as the emphasis has transitioned from daily ticket sales to annual and season pass holders, with a need to ensure passholder retention.

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Led by China, growth spurt continues in Asia In 2009, nine of the top 25 theme parks worldwide were in Asia.

By 2019, 12 Asian parks had made the list. All of the top 20 Asian parks listed within the 2019 Theme Index lie within four countries – Japan, China (including Hong Kong), South Korea, and Singapore. The two parks of the Tokyo Disney Resort occupy the top two positions, Universal Studios Japan sits in third. A dramatic change is the ascension of Chimelong Ocean Kingdom, now the top-attended theme park in all of China.

Chris Yoshii, Vice President – Economics, Asia Pacific and Beth Chang, Executive Director – Economics, Asia Pacific for AECOM have been the APAC voices in the Theme Index for many years. In the current report, they write of Chimelong Ocean Kingdom, “Its 11.7 million visits in 2019 reflect an 8.4% increase from the prior year, coming in about 500,000 higher than Shanghai Disneyland, which saw a slight attendance drop as it focuses on implementing a yield strategy.”

Another dramatic rise is that of OCT Group, which in 2019 became the third-largest theme park operator in the world, bumping Universal to fourth place on the top 10 list in the 2019 TEA/AECOM Theme Index. Regional park attendance in China, the world’s most populous nation, continues to grow, where over one hundred Chinese cities have urban populations of one million or more.

On the top 20 list of Asian parks, four slots were held by OCT group in 2009. As of 2019, seven slots are held by OCT Group and Fantawild, both of which continue to open parks in new regional markets.

This trend was anticipated in the 2009 Theme Index, which presented Asia as “the major growth region now and in the future” although in 2009, a year of recession, total attendance for the Asian top 15 parks was 77.6 million, down frm just under 80 million the previous year. The report cited numerous new parks in the pipeline and the expectation “that Asia will rebound quickly and continue as the main growth engine for the industry led by China.” Beijing and Shanghai in particular as well as Southern China were cited as key strategic markets and it was anticipated that the region could support multiple theme park destination developments.

These forecasts have been borne out. Total attendance for Asia’s top 15 in 2019 was 141.2 million, nearly double the 2009 figure.

Yoshii and Chang write in the 2019 Theme Index: “The most dramatic increases were in China. Theme parks, water parks and park operators in China showed strong attendance growth across the board, with some dramatic shifts in rank, globally and regionally.”

20-30% over 2018. This offset losses at Shanghai Disney, due to the first full year of yield pricing, and the Hong Kong parks, which suffered lower attendance due to political turmoil in the region.

The next few years David Rosenberg, Vice President of Guest Experience at the Monterey Bay Aquarium and the 2019 Chair of IAAPA, told InPark that he expects operations to eventually return to normal in the global attractions industry. “People like to be together in large groups,” he said in an April interview. “And attractions help bring us together to create memories.”

AECOM’s Robinett expresses a similar thought in the 2019 TEA/AECOM Theme Index, writing, “… the industry has undergone major disruptions before — related to health, safety, economic and security issues. While acknowledging the serious nature and consequences of the current pandemic, history shows us that people’s behavior, with some exceptions, largely returns to normal once the threat is removed. The attractions industry is resilient, creative, and responsive to the needs of its guests.

This - combined with the industry’s lasting value of producing family fun, shared experiences, and escape - points to a future of recovery and new innovations as it has in the past.”

One of the great issues with determining the future post-COVID is the uncertainty of what might come. Globally, guidance for reopening operations vary on a national and local level, eliminating standardization in the procedures. What may work in one country due to political or cultural structure, may not in another. For example, while theme park visitors in China must show a QR code on their phone tied in with the national health database to gain entry, such a policy might violate health privacy laws in other parts of the world.

As with security procedures implemented after Sept 11 that are still in place, some of the procedures implemented during COVID-19 may become standard. Among them – cashless transactions, virtual queuing, and the elimination of the preshow as we know it.

In the short term, expect more festivals, more licensed branding for parks big and small, and an increased emphasis on hospitality offerings, retail and expansions that support multi-day visits and increased per cap spending. Ten years after the Great Recession, worldwide theme park attendance at the top parks increased by 68 million visits. It might take as long for a similar rebound after the COVID-19 pandemic. Then again, it might not. The attractions industry is a growth industry and whenever it dives, it resurges on a scale larger than before. • • •

Growth factors included promotional ticketing and the celebration of the 70th anniversary of Communist China.

Contradictory to losses in 2009, the majority of parks in mainland China saw year-over-year attendance growth spurts of

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