Main Entrance FastCast: Theme Parks, Museums, and so much more!

For today’s Flashback Friday we’re looking at yet another Space Shuttle, this time, however, not-so-real and in a very unexpected place, Six Flags Great America in Gurnee, IL. Journey back to the future of 2094 as we take a look at this unique extinct attraction in all of its spacefaring glory on the Main Entrance FastCast.

Today we take a look at the homes of the three surviving US Space Shuttles, along with a couple of other related crafts that have found homes in attractions and exhibits across the country. Check out the Main Entrance FastCast to hear more about the final resting places of these great American spaceships!

The Space Shuttle Atlantis exhibit at the Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex is an amazingly striking way the built environment can contribute to the Guest experience at historical and informative spaces. The entire Guest experience from beginning to end is designed to elicit emotions that contribute to the overall understanding and appreciation visitors have when attending the complex. Today we talk about how physical storytelling can enhance and contribute to an experience as we look at the final home for Space Shuttle Atlantis.

Space is a dream that does not belong exclusively to the US or Russia. People all across the globe look to the stars and feel the inspiration that comes from Space Exploration. One country with a unique legacy of visionaries looking to what lies beyond the sky is France, and it’s no surprise they have a great space center experience all their own. Check out the Main Entrance FastCast today for a quick look at the Cité de l'Espace, located just outside of Toulouse, France.

"If offered a seat on a rocket ship, don't ask what seat. Just get on." — Christa McAuliffe -- It’s World Space Week and here on the Main Entrance FastCast we’re ready to celebrate by looking at some of the best ways Space has influenced the world of Location-Based Entertainment. Are you ready to strap in and blast off to the stars?

It’s the end of Epcot week here on the Main Entrance FastCast, and we’re looking at some of the Epcot countries that never were. Tune in today to hear about Israel, Spain, Switzerland, Russia, and more on today’s Flashback Friday microcast!

Today we look at one of our absolute favorite aspects of Epcot, the icons! Join us for Theme Thursday where we look at not only the famous Future World icons of Epcot Center, but how the architecture and built environment of the park also act as icons and symbols for this amazing place!

Epcot at Walt Disney World uses more than just attractions to tell a story. The very ground you walk on contributes to the way you experience the park and feel about the environment you’re in. Epcot is, first and foremost, a designed experience and in today’s CreatiCore microcast we look at some of those subtle ways designers have planned the park to enhance your adventure. Check out today’s Main Entrance FastCast to learn something you may never have thought about before!

Continuing Epcot week on the Main Entrance FastCast, today we’re looking at perhaps not just the most iconic attraction of Epcot, but maybe also the most iconic attraction at Walt Disney World itself, Spaceship Earth. Join us on this grand and miraculous trip through time and space as we celebrate the history of human communication, fellowship, and discovery as we continue our journey aboard our Spaceship Earth.

"...Though each of us has our own individual stories to tell, a true adventure emerges when we bring them all together as one..." - Illuminations: Reflections of Earth from Walt Disney World’s Epcot. Today marks the end of the twenty-year run of Illuminations: Reflections of Earth at Walt Disney World’s Epcot. In today’s Motivational Monday, we look at the power of stories to bring together people of all countries and all lands together as one. Join us on today’s FastCast as we say goodbye to a true masterpiece.

Greetings Adventurers! In today's Flashback Friday FastCast, we head back to Munich to finish our Germany week in the best way we know how, with a look at the original Oktoberfest! Please subscribe, rate, and review us on iTunes, Spotify, iHeartRadio or the podcast provider of your choice. Check back each weekday for new content and please be sure to send any comments, questions, or emotional outbursts our way at connect@mainentrancecast.com. If you’re looking for a new best friend in your life, adopt, don’t shop, and always make time to explore your world. Thanks for listening!

Greetings Adventurers! In today's CreatiCore, we talk about how designers and founders of location-based entertainment draw upon the world for inspiration, and how one such piece of inspiration has an inspiring story all its own! Please subscribe, rate, and review us on iTunes, Spotify, iHeartRadio or the podcast provider of your choice. Check back each weekday for new content and please be sure to send any comments, questions, or emotional outbursts our way at connect@mainentrancecast.com. If you’re looking for a new best friend in your life, adopt, don’t shop, and always make time to explore your world. Thanks for listening!

Greetings adventurers! In today's Attraction Spotlight, we talk about the largest portable roller coaster in the world, the five-looped Olympia Looping Bahn. Please subscribe, rate, and review us on iTunes, Spotify, iHeartRadio or the podcast provider of your choice. Check back each weekday for new content and please be sure to send any comments, questions, or emotional outbursts our way at connect@mainentrancecast.com. If you’re looking for a new best friend in your life, adopt, don’t shop, and always make time to explore your world. Thanks for listening!

"O'zapft is!" - Traditional Opening of Oktoberfest Last Saturday, September 21st, marked the first day of the 2019 Oktoberfest in Munich, Germany. In honor of this historic and exciting volksfest, this week on the Main Entrance FastCast we’ll be looking at attractions and designs from Deutschland. So, grab your morning strudel, and let’s have a quick look at how location-based entertainment can actually be a way to honor and embrace a people or culture. Cultural festivals, what the Germans would call Volksfests, are social gatherings that celebrate traditional folk crafts and folk music. In many places and events this often includes cultural foods and beverages, commonly of the alcoholic variety. Now, in the time we have, we definitely can’t go over all of them, so let’s take a quick look at a handful of these volksfeste around Germany, and what they have to offer. With our quote today, it’d be easy to start with the famous Oktoberfest in Munich, but hang tight, we’ll be revisiting the Theresienwiese later on this week. Let’s start in the city of Hamburg, home to the Hamburger Dom. The Dom, named for the former city cathedral, is actually the biggest public festival in Northern Germany, and unlike Oktoberfest, it’s held three times a year, in the Spring, Fall, and Winter. The name of this festival comes from the use of the old Hamburg cathedral as a winter shelter for merchants, artisans and entertainers. At the beginning of the 19th Century the old cathedral was demolished, sending these folks around the city until they found a new home in the Heiligengeistfeld area. Like Oktoberfest, the stars of the Dom are the food, crafts, and the rides! Here you can enjoy sauerkraut, currywurst, and the famous Schmalzkuchen, fried pastry made from yeast dough and topped with sugar. Next, let’s head over to Stuttgart, the home of the Cannstatter Volksfest, also known as the Stuttgart Beer Festival. Spanning three weekends from the end of September to early October, this festival originally began in 1817 due to a very poor harvest caused by a volcanic eruption a world away. Thanks to help from the Russian Czar, many people in Germany were saved from starvation, and in recognition of this, the festival was created to celebrate the harvest. Over time, this even evolved from an agricultural festival into a celebration of the people. As a symbol of the harvest and thanksgiving, an enormous 23 meter tall pillar was constructed, which is decorated, fittingly, with fruit. Finally, let's head deeper into winter and talk about a famous event in Germany that has been transplanted across the globe, the Christkindlmarkt or Christmas Market. These are street markets built to celebrate the Christmas holiday in Germany, Switzerland, and Austria. While these festivals are quite prolific in the region, the markets in Dortmund and Cologne see attendance in the millions! Among the wonderful sights, sounds, smells, and tastes of these markets are the Nussknacker, or nutcrackers, traditional Christmas cookies called Lebkuchen, and, my personal favorite, Gluhwein, a hot mulled wine to keep you warm on chilly winter nights. These festivals are certainly purveyors of good cheer, as well as preserving the traditions and cultures of their respective hometowns. Nowadays, it’s not uncommon to see Christkindlmarkts in the United States, United Kingdom, and Scandinavia. There’s even a small version built annually at Epcot at Walt Disney World. Volksfeste can be an incredible way to fully immerse yourself in traditional German culture. We barely scratched the surface of events that you can find around Germany, so if you plan to head to Deutschland, make sure to grab a travel guide or hop on Google and see to it that you hit at least one of these wonderful get-togethers!

In honor of the autumnal equinox tomorrow and the end of Summer, let’s look at a cherished summer activity that, while not quite gone, has certainly been diminished over the decades from its previous popularity. Roll down the windows, grab a speaker or set your radio, and let’s hear a bit about the classic Drive-In movie theater. A few different establishments have claimed to be the first ever theater designed for cars to take the place of movie seats. In Las Cruces, NM, the Theatre de Guadalupe opened what is called a partial drive-in theater, where cars could partake in a film alongside traditional seats. In 1921, Comanche, TX found itself home to a drive-in setup where it showcased silent films. The first patent for a drive-in theater, however, came in 1933 for Richard Hollingshead. His idea involved using cars instead of seats to accommodate all audience sizes and comfort. He even designed ramps to go into each space to help viewers better see the screen. He eventually licensed his concept to a larger theater company, but struggled to make a financial benefit from his invention. In all it’s many iterations, the concept of the drive-in has remained basically the same. A large screen sits afront a plaza where cars are strategically parked for best viewing. Some of the original drive-ins had large speakers near the screen, which negated the need for individual sound systems, but resulted in sound delays for some patrons. Later, the iconic in-car speakers where developed by RCA, which allowed for individual control of sound levels and a more consistent movie-going experience. After WWII, returning GIs and young American families embraced car culture, and with this came the golden age of the drive-in theater. At their peak in the late 50’s and early 60’s, it is estimated that there were 4,000 theaters spread throughout the US. By allowing theater visitors to stay in their own vehicles, many of the typical annoyances of the theater were mitigated, such as crying babies, playful kids, tired seniors, and, as would become a staple of American culture, the chance to get a little close for date night. Other often featured staples such as pay-per-car admission, and double features really helped grow the drive-in as a rite-of-passage for entertainment. However, not everything was ideal. By the 1960’s advancements in home entertainment made the appeal of watching films from a vehicle much less enticing. Along with the benefits of balmy summer nighttime movie-going, came many of the not-so-beneficial aspects, such as bugs, heat, humidity, storms, and lack of darkness. The move to universal daylight saving time in the 1970s further restricted the operating hours of drive-in theaters, which in turn limited the profit they could make. This was further compounded in the following decades, when land prices and inflation made the prospect of large swaths of land needed simply for watching films after dark less appealing. By the 1990’s, drive-ins had stopped being a typical entertainment activity, and moved squarely into the realm of novelty. Now, it was seen as a nostalgic experience to visit a theater, instead of a value or comfortable endeavor. Driving more nails into the dying activity, new technologies and projection techniques which require large upgrade investments are often too expensive for smaller operations to undertake, and many shut down as a result. Today, there are still a few drive-ins in operation, but they are significantly fewer and farther between than in their heyday. Have you been to a drive-in theater? Did you enjoy watching films from the comfort of your car, or is it a form of entertainment best suited for the history books and Grease? Let us know your thoughts at connect@mainentrancecast.com.

“But afterwards there occurred violent earthquakes and floods: and in a single day and night of misfortune all your warlike men in a body sank into the earth, and the island of Atlantis in like manner disappeared into the depths of the sea.” - Plato For millennia, the legend of Atlantis has inspired tales of an amazingly advanced civilization that disappeared beneath the waves, never to be seen again. The lost continent too has provided much inspiration in the world of location-based entertainment. Let’s take a look at some of the most well known examples of the Antediluvian world in LBE. Let's start way back in 1959, with the opening of a massive expansion to Disneyland in California, the Submarine Voyage. Inspired in part by the 1954 Disney film 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea, the Submarine Voyage, after passing through deep waters beyond the domain of light come across the lost city and the volcano which caused it’s destruction. 12 years later, 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea opened at Magic Kingdom in Florida and again featured a visit to the lost city. Disney also included the city in their latest iteration of the Submarine experience, integrating it into the story of their 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea attraction at Tokyo DisneySea. There, the citizens of Atlantis actually assist Guests in returning to their submarine base. Before heading away from Disney, it’s also an interesting tidbit to know that Disney had considered using their 2001 film, Atlantis: The Lost Empire as a theme to re-imagineer the original Submarine Voyage. They even went so far as to include an Atlantis Expedition teaser to the attraction’s lagoon at one point during a nine-year closure from 1998 to 2007. Eventually the attraction reopened as a Finding Nemo experience, due to lackluster performance of the Atlantis film. Next, let’s hop across Orlando to a park that, perhaps was most appropriate to host an Atlantis attraction, SeaWorld. In 1998, Journey to Atlantis, a highly themed Mack water coaster opened at the back of the park. This attraction housed in a 6 acre, 10 story-high recreation of Minoan architecture was an amazing entry by SeaWorld into the themed entertainment game. The ride’s story, while somewhat muddled and uncertain, was enough to propel this experience into the realm of world-class attractions. However, since its opening, many of the effects have been left to decay and as of this broadcast, the theme of the original Journey is all but lost. SeaWorld followed up this attraction with new iterations in San Diego and San Antonio, but each subsequent iteration lost more and more of the theming and story elements that made the original so unique and alluring, favoring instead the simple thrills of the water coaster elements. Also in 1998, the lost city made an appearance in a most unlikely place, the deserts of Nevada. Race for Atlantis, an Imax 3-D motion based simulator opened at the Forum Shops at Caesar’s Palace in Las Vegas. This same attraction also found a home in Germany at Phantasialand in Bruhl. Unfortunately, both versions of this attraction closed in 2016. Moving ahead just slightly, Universal Orlando, in 1999, revisited Atlantis with their epic walkthrough attraction Poseidon's Fury at Islands of Adventure . Not only does this multimedia adventure incorporate a thriving underwater city in it’s thrilling conclusion, the very show building itself, representing the Temple of Poseidon, would certainly be at home on the Lost Continent. At Legoland Windsor, the two truly became one with the development of the Atlantis Submarine Adventure. Housed in a uniquely decorated show building, this attraction takes the Disney submarine experience and adds it into an authentic marine environment.

Exit Through the Gift Shop. While also the name of a 2010 documentary by artist Banksy, this concept has become kind of a joke among critics and fans alike in the location-based entertainment industry. Even Disney attractions themselves have referenced this concept, with a joke on the World Famous Jungle Cruise stating that floating through a temple could lead to danger or adventure, but probably leads to a gift shop. You might think from all this talk that this is just the way of things in the industry, that every attraction ends with the ability to buy all the merchandise in the world, but in reality, this is an exception to the rule. Even at Walt Disney World’s Magic Kingdom, only 6 of the 37 listed attractions actually exit through a gift shop, and one of those, Fantasy Faire, is really more of a side opportunity than a forced walkthrough. While it has become a joke, the concept of finishing an experience with a shop is actually a brilliant design move and, I would argue, contributes to the overall Guest experience. Attractions are designed to excite or inspire their Guests. The very best attractions inherently create a call to action to their Guests to remember or relive their experience. What better way to reinforce this call than through specific merchandise or keepsakes that reinforce those memories, giving the Guests something tangible with which to relive their adventure. And it’s not just theme and amusement parks. Museums, Zoos, Aquariums, and Historical Sites all rely on the income and inherent guerrilla marketing that comes with the sale of souvenirs. Traveling exhibits, such as the Leonardo Da Vinci exhibit most recently at the Denver Museum of Nature and Science features its own merchandise location for the exhibit itself, in addition to the museum shop. This popup shop features recreations of many of Leonardo’s stunning inventions along with the tools and resources that would allow visitors, especially children, to continue exploring their own inherent ingenuity in the same way Leonardo did. Sure, the exhibition relies on the income generated by this location, but it also provides a channel for Guests to take their enthusiasm and that deeper “call to action” beyond the walls of the museum to their own lives. The experience fosters a curiosity, and the merchandise helps it grow, it’s all part of the Total Guest Experience. So while in this day and age, when gift shops and merchandise opportunities may be seen as “shameless” cash grabs or just another way to empty Guest wallets, I would posit that Guests would be keenly aware of a lack of this design and business choice. Far be it from a capitalistic cliche, exiting through the gift shop is really addressing Guest and business needs in a most simplistic and effective way. Now of course, if done in an obnoxious and detrimental way, it could certainly negatively impact the perception of an experience, but that holds true for any segment of the designed environment. A poorly designed queue, lack of shade in a tropical environment, lack of benches, inefficient HVAC, all can contribute negatively to the overall attraction experience, but at the end of the day, I dare say in most circumstances, the Total Guest Experience is enhanced by encouraging visitors to “exit through the gift shop”. How do you feel about this concept? Do you agree with my assessment or do you think I’m completely off base? Either way, let us know at connect@mainentrancecast.com.

Not all attractions are designed to delight and thrill. Many of the most impactful places in the United States of America have histories behind them that demand introspection and reverence, and today’s spotlight is certainly one of those. It’s easy in the age of blockbuster films and multiplayer video games to think of the World Wars when one considers the most violent periods in American history. But, in reality, the bloodiest day in American military history occurred 157 years ago today, September 17, 1862 outside Sharpsburg, Maryland, when the Union Army of the Potomac battled the Confederate Army of Northern Virginia near Antietam Creek. The Battle of Antietam resulted in over 22,000 dead, wounded, or missing. While tactically considered a draw, strategically, most historians consider it to be a union victory, but at a tremendous cost. Following the battle, Abraham Lincoln felt he had the political capital to issue the Emancipation Proclamation, which would go a long way toward preventing international recognition of the Confederacy and hastening the end of the American Civil War. Today, the battlefield of Antietam rests within Antietam National Battlefield, administered by the US National Park Service. The 3,230 acre reserve preserves the landscape of the battlefield, and efforts have been made over the years to restore previously developed portions back to their 1860’s state. Within the site, Guests can visit the Visitor Center, which contains exhibits on the battlefield and events of the day, as well as an observation room, theater and museum store. The Visitor Center also features a 26-minute orientation film narrated by the legendary James Earl Jones. Around the battlefield are many resources to better help Guests understand the scope and importance of the battle. The National Park Service has installed Wayside signage at key locations within the complex. These explain the battles that occurred within the grounds and interpret the events for the general public. Predating the NPS waysides are over 300 19th-Century tablets created by the War Department that detail the regiments and actions of the battle. The National Park Service recommends that Guests have a good working knowledge of the battle of Antietam to best use these landmarks to interpret the site. Following the battle, veterans’ organizations and states commemorated the sacrifice of their troops by constructing memorials at the battle site. Today there are 96 distinct monuments, most of them Union in origin. Exploring the grounds further, Guests can also find artillery locations, denoted by decommissioned cannons on the battlefield, mortuary cannons, which indicate the locations where three Union generals and three Confederate generals were killed or mortally wounded, and can see fence placements from the battle. If an aerial view is more your speed, the site also contains an observation tower built in 1896. The battlefield is also home to the Pry House Field Hospital Museum where visitors can learn more about the medical treatments of the day. Insider tip, come with a strong stomach. Guests can also experience the hallowed ground of the Antietam National Cemetery, the final resting place of over 4,000 Union troops, including over 1,800 unknowns. The cemetery is also home to the Private Soldier Monument, originally displayed at the Centennial Exposition in Philadelphia and then moved to Sharpsburg. This is only the briefest of overviews of this poignant site. A place like this cannot be sufficiently described in the time we have today, so I encourage all of you to visit this site as well as any of the 11 national battlefields, nine National Military Parks, four National Battlefield Parks and the sole remaining National Battlefield Site. A visit to Antietam is certainly an opportunity to reflect and respect the sacrifices made by so many.

"To live a creative life, we must lose our fear of being wrong." --Anonymous Today’s quote can mean many different things to many different people. As a person who considers himself to be creative, I know I personally struggle with this very concept quite often. The simplest place this quote manifests itself for me is when I come face to face with one of the most terrifying objects in the known universe, a blank piece of paper! What’s so terrifying about a piece of paper with nothing on it. The answer is that there could be anything on it, anything I can imagine or dream or draw or sketch, anything! The entire universe could exist on that page, and my mind races with what piece of the universe should appear on the spread. It’s simultaneously the largest opportunity one can have, while also being cripplingly open. Much of this, undoubtedly, comes from the fear of being wrong, of doing the wrong thing or heading down the wrong path. This is not a fear or challenge I experienced as a child. As a kid, a piece of paper was the greatest possible thing I could have. With a pencil in my hand, I could create new worlds, parks, attractions, experiences, whatever my imagination could conjure! I was not afraid. I didn’t care that what I was drawing would never be built or that it didn’t make sense. I wasn’t trying to figure out the physics behind it or theoretical hourly capacities. I designed Ferris Wheels made of wood, bike wheels, and lawnmower motors. I designed mine rides that used optical illusions out of Indiana Jones to make riders think they were about to fall into a bottomless pit. A haunted house seemed perfectly at home next to a space station. Jurassic Park was real, with real tour vehicles, audio-animatronic dinosaurs that could walk using cleats and had special compartments so they could “eat” live actors, all part of the show. All of these things were as real as the nose on my face. In my imagination, this was all possible, I had no doubts about it. But, as children are apt to do, I grew up. Suddenly, I had knowledge of the world, I had the wherewithal to figure out what could be built and what was simple a flight of fancy. I began to fear reality. It was no longer worth my time to draw up something that was impossible. In my head now were precedents and best practices, architectural philosophies and structural codes. My unlimited whimsy was replaced by a desire to exist within the real world, and my creativity took a major hit. What I wouldn’t give to have that childish freedom back. The truth is, I can have that freedom back any time I choose. If I choose to lose my fear of being unrealistic or wrong, the world of endless possibilities would reopen to me, so it’s a choice I strive to make each and every day. The lesson I try to take away is not that my childhood creations were impossible or impractical, the ability to create them just hasn’t been developed yet. Maybe someday there will be an attraction with a bottomless pit effect. Maybe someday there will be a cruise airship that soars silently above the clouds. Sure, the physics doesn’t support it now, but just over a century ago mankind could only fly in balloons. Now we’ve been to the moon, and are planning to go beyond. Creativity is a fickle thing, I find for me it tends to spark at the least opportune time and chooses to hide away when I need it most, but by releasing my fear of being wrong or silly I know I can cultivate a rebirth of youthful imagination in my life, and I sure hope all of you out there know how to feed the imaginative sparks within you. Don’t be afraid, seize your moment to create something the world has never seen! What do you do to stay creative? What are some of your favorite projects or creations from your childhood or beyond? Let us know at connect@mainentrancecast.com.

Not every location-based entertainment offering needs to be a theme park, museum, or roadside oddity. Sometimes, a place can be entertaining and unique simply for being, or being used. This Friday the 13th, we’re not going to be looking at a haunted house or scary maze, instead, we’re going to be looking at a real environment that lent itself towards a much more horrific endeavor, and is immortalized as a result. Today we’re taking a look at the real Friday the 13th legacy in northwestern New Jersey. Camp Crystal Lake. That name sends chills down the spines of those familiar with the iconic Friday the 13th franchise and its infamous villain, Jason Vorhees. But what many folks don’t know is that the original 1980 film, Friday the 13th was filmed at a real camp. The filming location, Camp No-Be-Bo-Sco, is a Boy Scout camp in Hardwick, NJ. It’s still in use as a camp today and is private property, so don’t go doing any scouting or re-creating on your own. For a number of years, a tour was available of the camp, allowing fans to get up-close-and-personal with the places they know from the silver screen. However, the camp itself does not seem to pride itself in its cinematic chops. Guests are reminded that it is a film shooting location, and that the events of Friday the 13th were in no way inspired by any events that happened at the camp. In contrast, the cities of Blairstown and Hope, NJ seem to embrace their history as shooting locations for the film. All around town you can find familiar sites and even if you didn’t know going into it, a couple of the businesses will happily point it out to you. Filming locations can truly be a great tourist attraction for a town or area to cultivate. It’s not hard to find pictures of folks road tripping out to the bluffs of Hawaii in search of scenes from Jurassic Park, or heading down the trail to see the remains of the train crash from the movie “The Fugitive”, located in Sylva, North Carolina. Some cities fully embrace their legacy, like Keene, New Hampshire, which features an advertisement for Parrish Shoes from the film Jumanji. Others may pass on the notoriety and their contributions to film fade into obscurity. Have you had a chance to visit a filming location from a beloved film in real life? What was it like? Would you recommend it? Let us know at connect@mainentrancecast.com.

Star Trek has inspired seven television series, with another few on the way, thirteen movies, and, of course, multiple attractions throughout the years. Let’s start in Hollywood, at Universal Studios. In 1975, Universal opened the Screen Test Theatre to show off their hit television shows and allow audiences to be part of the action. In 1988, this theater received a seven million dollar upgrade and became the Star Trek Adventure. Similar to iterations that came before it, the Star Trek Adventure allowed members of the audience to play a role in their own Star Trek adventure. Featuring highly detailed sets and costumes, this attraction replicated the movie era of the original series. Guests would partake in a conflict with the series long-time baddies, the Klingons, which would all be recorded on a keepsake VHS, available for purchase, of course. The Star Trek Adventure would later be added to Universal Studios Florida as well, as part of the Screen Test Home Video Adventures from 1991 to 1994, but this version was far less detailed. Perhaps the greatest Star Trek attraction of them all was the 70 million dollar permanent (or not so permanent) Star Trek: The Experience in Las Vegas, NV. Housed at the former Las Vegas Hilton, The Experience was the mecca of Star Trek attractions. Originally envisioned as a full scale replica of the refitted Enterprise NCC-1701, the attraction eventually opened as a combination museum/ride experience. Opened on January 3rd, 1998, Guests first encountered the History of the Future, a museum featuring props from the series and films to that date. They then found themselves, through means of an ingenious transporter effect, aboard the USS Enterprise-D. Guests were plunged into a time-travel story where they would visit sets from the Next Generation starship and eventually board a shuttle to save the very existence of Captain Jean-Luc Picard. Upon exiting the ride, Guests could then explore the environs of space station Deep Space Nine from the series of the same name. In 2004, the Borg Invasion 4D attraction was added to The Experience, this time centered around an encounter with Star Trek's most infamous villains, and set in the Star Trek: Voyager timeframe. Like the Klingon Encounter before it, Borg Invasion 4D featured actual cast members from the Star Trek series. Unfortunately, Star Trek: The Experience was not long lived. Due to declining attendance, the attraction closed on September 1st, 2008, after only ten years of operation. Interestingly, another home to the Borg Invasion 4D attraction, Space Park Bremen in Germany, also closed rather prematurely, leaving no active iterations of the ride. Since the closing of the Experience, multiple touring exhibitions have been developed to continue bringing the sets and props of the beloved franchise to it’s fiercely loyal fanbase. Venues such as the Kennedy Space Center, the Henry Ford, the Museum of POP Culture in Seattle have all hosted these encounters. Star Trek has even made the jump back into theme park territory, with the opening of the Star Trek: Operation Enterprise roller coaster at Movie Park Germany. Again themed to Star Trek: The Next Generation, this coaster features a heavily themed queue and ride experience, including a visit, once again, to the bridge of the Enterprise-D. Surely more experiences shall arise for this classic franchise. Concept art has been seen of new developments for theme parks worldwide, and rumors still pop up every once in a while for large scale installations at major players like Universal Studios. With new shows under development and a long history of inspiring scientists and explorers, the Star Trek legacy is far from over, and is sure to “live long and prosper”.

The total experience. Three little words that have so much meaning, but are so often overlooked. When Guests visit location-based entertainment offerings, they usually know what they are going to get. Maybe rides, probably stores and restaurants, places to sit and places to walk, things to see and do, and always plenty of ways to be relieved of their hard earned cash. But the total experience isn’t just important at that scale, total experience needs to be considered on smaller and more macro levels. A ride can exist in a vacuum. Board the ride, ride the ride, leave the ride. But the truly great attractions, the ones that people remember, are the ones that provide the total experience. What would the Harry Potter and the Forbidden Journey be without the expansive Hogwarts Queue or eclectic Filch’s shop at it’s coda? Sure, it’d be fun, but what takes Guests out of Florida, California, or Japan, and into the Scottish Highlands is the full immersion and the use of multiple elements to make a full entertainment composition. Let’s look at another way this was done. At the heart of Epcot Center, nestled sweetly near the threshold of Future World and World Showcase are beautiful and uniquely designed pyramids. These crystals of imagination are the home to a legendary extinct attraction, the original Journey into Imagination. While we’re certainly going to talk about that famous experience in a future talk, today, let’s look at how this pavilion was designed to provide the total experience. Much like a film, this attraction was not just designed to entertain riders, the very architecture itself is enticing and memorable. You’d be hard pressed to find a visitor who didn’t consider snapping a photo of these magnificent glass structures. It’s no wonder the original sponsor of the place was Kodak. Introducing you to the concept and exploration of the imagination was the original ride, a Journey into Imagination featuring your hosts Dreamfinder and his lovable purple dragon, Figment. Throughout your journey, Figment demonstrates all the ways you can use your imagination to create wondrous things. Music, literature, science, our little dragon friend was the perfect ambassador to the possible. But even at the end of the attraction, when Guests were feeling the drive to go out and create, this pavilion offers more. On the second floor lived the Image Works, a magnificent playground where Guests could let that imaginative momentum translate itself into real, tangible expressions of fancy. It would have been so easy to lead Guests through their fantastic voyage and set them loose in the park, but no, this total experience provided the appropriate coda to their trek. Reinforcing it still, Guests could then head over to the Magic Eye Theater, home to Magic Journeys, followed by Captain EO, finally hosting Honey, I Shrunk the Audience. Here, they could expand their inner eye and see images of wonder and whimsy. These three experiences together were not just an attraction or pavilion, they were a symphony, a complete expression of imaginative power and exploration. A visit to the Journey into Imagination Pavilion was an expedition all its own. Even the grounds were an extension of this adventure. Guests could meet Dreamfinder and Figment and play among dancing, jumping fountains. Among all of the opportunities for discovery and exploration the original Epcot Center cultivated, it was always good to know there was a little oasis for introspective exploration and fantastical fun ready to delight and entertain. It’s no mystery why upon the closure of the original attraction and Image Works there is such a nostalgic yearning for these experiences to return. There aren’t many documented cases of Guest fervor bringing back a beloved character, but the triumphant return of Figment stands as a testament to the power of imagination and, of course, the total experience.

Almost 2,000 years ago, in the year 79 AD, Mount Vesuvius blew its top in a volcanic eruption that released 100,000 times the thermal energy of the atomic bombs dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki. In the shadow of Vesuvius, Pompeii was a bustling seaside Roman resort town, but in a cataclysm of ash and fire, the city would be wiped from the face of the Earth, buried and forgotten. In 1995, the city of Pompeii re-emerged in the most unlikely of places...on an entirely different continent a world away. Today’s Attraction Spotlight is the epic Escape from Pompeii at Busch Gardens Williamsburg, Virginia. Set in the Italian village of San Marco, Escape from Pompeii is a classic shoot-the-chutes-type attraction with theming taken to a whole new level, especially for a seasonal park. Built by famed attraction designer Intamin, the experience is housed in a grand show building resembling the rediscovered ruins of Pompeii. Guests enter the queue and proceed directly under the final chute. Once in the queue, Guests are treated to archaeological displays of the lost city, enticing visitors with expeditions of the site. Guests then board boats and are immediately lifted up into the Roman city itself. Once inside, it’s clear that not all is well. Warned nearly immediately of tremors in the area, the city begins to shake...and burn. Fire begins to engulf the room, with statues, walls, ceilings, and even the very water Guests float upon starting to burn. Statues crumble, and one such edifice nearly crushes riders as they continue their doomed trek deeper into the city. A monumental soundtrack swells as the boats near an uncertain fate, a dark wall lies ahead of them, blocking their escape from the inferno. Suddenly, the wall, which is actually a pair of doors, opens, revealing the nearly 50-foot drop ahead. The boats then plunge down the 80-foot chute toward the lagoon below, instigating a deluge that will leave Guests soaked, and eager to make a return trip! Escape from Pompeii, like Busch Gardens Williamsburg around it, is a themed masterpiece. A faithfully recreated piece of Ancient Rome built within the forests of Virginia, this attraction is just one of many constructs that are really pieces of architectural art. While the ride system and thrill are pretty basic, the sheer force of earthquakes, fire, and physical prop effects turns what would usually be interpreted as a standard flume ride into an experience like no other. This is the magic of Busch Gardens Williamsburg. Its easy to claim that you have a theme, and easier still to slap a sign on a generic attraction and call it theming, but for Busch Gardens, quality will out. Often rated the most beautiful theme park in the United States, if not the world, highly themed attractions like this contribute to the escapism of the park. Busch Gardens is not just another amusement park, it is an escape from reality, a chance to travel the old continent while never leaving American shores. And of course, it provides an opportunity to escape an ancient burning city with your wits in tact, if not your state of dryness.

In honor of the Main Entrance FastCast releasing on Apple Podcasts today, we have a quote from the legend of Apple himself, Steve Jobs. “You can’t just ask customers what they want and then try to give that to them. By the time you get it built, they’ll want something new.” Having a finger on the pulse of location-based entertainment is truly never enough. One could even say that this is true for design in general. Once you begin to turn your design to match the zeitgeist, you may as well begin to design renovations or replacements. One of the greatest and most inspiring aspects of the entertainment industry is its ability to look into the crystal ball to try and figure out what the people will be clamoring for. The designers and builders that do the best job go beyond even this, they show the people what they want before they even knew they wanted it. Let’s look at an example that may not be the most mainstream story, but illustrates this well. Let’s look at Disney’s original plan for a Harry Potter theme park land. As told by industry insider Jim Hill, Disney was presented with an opportunity to do a Harry Potter environment at the peak of the boy wizard’s popularity. Far from the expansive and detailed Wizarding World we know today, Disney’s approach was conservative to say the least. Disney proposed two attractions, a Defense Against the Dark Arts dark ride where Guests would use magic wands similar to the Buzz Lightyear and Toy Story Mania attractions at Disney parks. The second attraction would be a magical petting zoo akin to the Triceratops Encounter at Universal’s Islands of Adventure, where Guests would be able to meet a hippogriff. Looking back on it now, it’s clear to see that it was underwhelming to say the least. J.K. Rowling sure thought so, and went to Universal instead. So how does this reflect the quote today? Disney suffered from one of the worst things that can happen to an amusement enterprise, over-confidence. Disney, long renowned for being on the cutting edge of experiences in the industry, as well as entertainment in general, began to rest on their laurels. They operated under the assumption that people came to Disney because Disney was what they wanted. They didn’t need a huge land dedicated to a boy wizard to trump their character catalog. Disney Parks were already at the top of their game, the attractions Disney proposed were exactly what Guests appeared to want. Disney, in this proposal, did not take the risk to break new ground, and lost the Harry Potter contract. Universal, on the other hand, built something no one had really seen before. A new ride that featured technologies used primarily in manufacturing to create an experience unlike anything else in the world. Sure, it made some Guests ill, and others might have had a hard time fitting in the new vehicles, but the experience was so new and so unique, other attractions since then have been trying to find ways to “swat” its popularity. But aside from that, they also built a new environment that honestly goes against all the major design rules for theme parks of the day. Tight corridors and retail spaces, keeping out major brands like Coca-Cola, and overall ripping Guests out of the theme park realm and into the Wizarding World itself. Universal wasn’t following the rules, they were writing new rules, and those rules have come to define what the theme park environment looks like today. Disney, for their part, found themselves in the new and uncomfortable position of needing to catch up. Pandora - The World of Avatar and now Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge are the result. But, looking at some of the international efforts Disney has been putting forth, it’s possible they’re still playing directly to what audiences want, and not necessarily proposing to them what it is. This is a risky position to take, but as Universal has shown, can result in unparalleled reward.

For those that love studying the history of the Disney parks, every once in a while a unique concept is stumbled upon. Something that is a little different from the castle parks and Vacation Club resorts. Every once in a while information comes out about one of Walt’s regional experiments, be it the famous Mineral King project in California or Riverfront Square in St Louis. Often these are seen as the Disneylands that never were, but there was one project that did come to life, and actually operated all the way up into the 1990’s. Located in my adopted hometown, Denver, CO, the Celebrity Sports Center is a not-as-well known hospitality oasis founded by Walt Disney himself. Celebrity Lanes, as it was first known, opened in 1960, and was given its unique moniker due to the initial band of investors Walt lined up to open the complex. Joining Walt in this endeavor were his brother Roy, Jack Benny, George Burns, Bing Crosby, Burl Ives, Art Linkletter, as well as Charles Laughton, John Payne, Spike Jones, and Jim and Marion Jordan. Technically located within Glendale, Colorado, the location was chosen due to the large population growth the area was experiencing. Denver was already known for its outdoor adventures, but needed indoor recreation for the cold winter months. To fill this need, the Center was home to 80 lanes of bowling, three arcades eventually featuring more than 300 video games spread between them, a full service restaurant, Hofbrau, Coffee and Soda Shops, and even a Shooting Gallery. A year later, an olympic-sized pool was added to the attraction lineup. Reminding Guests of the Disney connection, it wasn’t uncommon to see Goofy water skiing on the 500,000 gallon pool. Outside the watery confines, the big cheese himself, Mickey Mouse would also make appearances. Walt, ever the perfectionist, even assigned an art director from Disneyland to the center to oversee new additions. The Center would be expanded throughout its history, adding waterslides and dining options. However, it was not always successful. Within a few years of opening, management issues would scare away many of the celebrity investors that had been so critical to the opening of the complex. Beginning in October 1961, Walt Disney Productions began to buy out the other partners, and by 1962 was the sole owner of the property. It was at this time, the complex took on the name Celebrity Sports Center. For Walt, this was not just a mere entertainment enterprise. This was a chance to address societal needs. Children and Teens, no longer part of the workforce to the degree they had previously were, needed something to do, amusement to keep them out of trouble. This center provided that, at a reasonable cost. But the biggest advantage this place had was the ability to train future managers for the upcoming “Disneyland East” project Walt was dreaming up for Central Florida. Employees at the Center were held to the same high standards Walt expected from his Disneyland Cast Members, and as Disneyland employees, they also received the benefits of working in the kingdom. Really, the center was a small Disneyland in the Rocky Mountains. But, like all good things, this too came to an end. After Walt’s death in 1966, Walt Disney Productions continued to operate the Center to train management for their Florida operations. In 1979, amidst the planning and construction of larger projects in Orlando and Japan, WDP sold the property to a group of buyers. The new owners continued to expand the complex throughout the 1980’s and its popularity soared. However, the success was not to be long lived. By the late 80’s the center began to attract more troublesome visitors, and attendance began to decline. With this decline came an equal decline in revenue, and in 1994, it was announced the Celebrity Sports Center would be closed forever, its land sold for retail development.

In 1993, a film premiered that was unlike anything that had come before it. Audiences worldwide were shocked by the incredible monsters it featured and the sheer terror wrought upon its main characters. Meanwhile, a 7-year old boy in Minnesota watched the film and thought, boy, that would be an amazing theme park. That film, of course, was Steven Spielberg’s masterpiece, Jurassic Park. Our story begins in 1996 on the lower lot of Universal Studios Hollywood. There, the creative minds at Universal brought a small section of Isla Nublar to Southern California in Jurassic Park: The Ride. In the story, Guests are about to tour Jurassic Park through a River Adventure ride. In the queue, Guests hear all about the park from its founder, John Hammond, played again by the incomparable Richard Attenborough. Once on board, Guests are lifted up to the river, where Richard Kiley, notably the narrator selected by Jurassic Park author Michael Chricton in his book, and also featured in the film, introduces the park. The gates open and Guests come face to face with ultrasaurs, psittacosaurs, stegosaurs, compsognathus and a playful parasaurolophus. They are unfortunately bumped off course near the predator enclosures where they encounter the spitting dilophosaurus. Heading into an Environmental Systems Building to escape, Guests instead come face to face with hungry velociraptors, and finally, from behind a waterfall, they meet the king (or should I say queen) of the dinosaurs, the T-Rex herself, before falling 85 feet to the lagoon below. Interestingly, development for this ride began while the movie was still in production, leveraging the creativity of production designers right from the film! The attraction was a smash hit, and brought a whole new level of detail to Universal attractions. This success was replicated just three short years later with the opening of Islands of Adventure in Orlando, Florida. While very similar to the California experience. Florida’s ride, the Jurassic Park River Adventure, features a raptor containment unit falling above Guests in place of a falling jeep effect from the original. Also, in Florida’s story, a Jurassic Park was opened in Orlando following the disaster at Isla Nublar, but it also might be on an island. Admittedly, it’s a little unclear. What’s not unclear is the grandeur and scale of the attraction, as well as the amazing presence of Richard Attenborough as John Hammond once again. Two years later, Universal took the dinos overseas with the opening of the ride again at Universal Studios Osaka. This version is very similar to Orlando’s attraction. In 2010, however, designers breathed new life into the ride franchise with the opening of the Jurassic Park Rapids Adventure in Singapore. Instead of a shoot-the-chutes experience, Guests ride in 9-person rafts on a wild churning river. The highlight of this attraction involves a unique elevator-type lift in the park’s “Hydroelectric Plant” where a hungry T-Rex awaits above delicious riders, who only just escape down a 40-foot escape chute. From there, we come full circle, as we return to Universal Studios Hollywood. With the Jurassic Park film franchise receiving a breath of new life in the highly successful Jurassic World films, Jurassic Park: the Ride underwent a major renovation starting in 2018, reopening in July 2019, becoming Jurassic World: The Ride. Alongside the returning park denizens from the original ride, the popular Mosasaurus and Indominus Rex were added to the attraction, along with an all new look and feel consistent with the 2015 film. Perhaps new additions will come with the opening of Universal parks in China and Orlando. One thing is for sure, the ride future looks bright for the franchise 65 million years in the making.

For today’s CreatiCore, we’re going to be talking about the segment’s namesake, Communicore. Designed as a two-in-one pavilion at the heart of Epcot Center’s Future World, Communicore was the community core of the park. While Communicore’s twin structures provided more context and detail about the themes of the Epcot Center pavilions, at its heart, Communicore introduced the public to the new and emerging realm of computers. In fact, Guests could see a presentation that showed them the nerve center of the entire park. Originally called the Astuter Computer Revue, it was quickly replaced with Backstage Magic, featuring hosts Julie and I/O. Another Epcot icon, SMRT-1, also called Communicore East its home. Communicore, from a design standpoint, served many important roles within the park. Today, at least for the near future, but soon to change, the center of the pavilions that used to be Communicore is covered in massive spans of pavement surrounding a large fountain. But initially, this wasn’t the case. There were in fact, a few other water features that resulted in the plaza being significantly tighter. This may seem like an odd design choice, but it was very intentional. Beyond serving as an exhibit and attraction hall, Communicore also acted as an Epcot Center Main Street. The space was actually designed in such a way that there were transitways through the building, with exhibits and sights being on different elevations altogether. To get a sense of what this was like, check out Club Cool before it closes. Communicore was also host to the Stargate and Sunrise Terrace Restaurants. The Centorium, Epcot Center’s main retail location, and Walt Disney World’s largest store at the time, was also housed in Communicore East. The buildings were constructed with expansive window walls. While providing an inviting look into the two buildings, these walls served a more practical purpose as well, as Communicore was designed to be easily expandable. This design trait was the progeny of the original plans for World Showcase, back when it was planned to live closer to the Transportation and Ticket Center. From one side, in this case, the fountain side, Communicore would look sleek and uniform, however, the outer walls could be easily removed, and the building could be expanded to accommodate new attractions. This actually occurred in 1993 and 1994, as Communicore was retired and converted into its successor, Innoventions. Did you know, Communicore was built extra tall to be able to accomodate a future Wedway Peoplemover? True story! With Innoventions, however, came the end of much of what made Communicore so unique. The bright, inviting window walls were blackened, the entire space was flattened to one pedestrian level, and the fountain plaza area was paved. While as a successor, Innoventions was initially successful, with bright flashy sponsors like Sega, AT&T, and IBM, little by little the offerings of the two buildings eroded, leaving behind big awkward empty spaces. The flow of traffic gone, Innoventions was never truly a successor Main Street, instead acting as another warehouse of quickly outdated products. The retail location, now called MouseGear, expanded outside it’s original space to encompass the entire south end of Innoventions East. Coca-Cola would take over exhibit space at the south end of Innoventions West. Finally, with the expansion of Epcot Character Spot into the West building, the days of Innoventions and Communicore were solidly over. In the coming months and years, Communicore West will be demolished, and the East building will become home to a store and restaurant, but ironically, the traffic patterns that were once embraced by the Communicore model seem to be partially returning, bringing back the importance of what was the Communicore courtyard area and reintroducing the Main Street of Epcot.

Today for our attraction spotlight, we’re going to incorporate a bit of a review as well. Nestled in the corner of Nickelodeon Universe at Bloomington, Minnesota’s Mall of America is an attraction that is simultaneously unique, yet very familiar. Inspired by Disney’s famous Soarin’ attractions, FlyOver America brings the flying theater concept to a very different venue. Opened in 2016, this attraction is the brainchild of Stephen Geddes and Andrew Strang, who originally opened FlyOver Canada, which is currently operating in Vancouver. After demonstrated success at that venue, the partners looked for a new location, and found it at the Midwest Megamall. The ride system of the attraction was designed by Brogent Technologies Inc. and in part by famed coaster manufacturer Vekoma. The 20 million dollar attraction is very much like it’s Soarin predecessor, however with some very distinct differences. Both feature a comical safety video, with the US version currently borrowing from its Canadian sibling. It’d definitely be interesting to see Patrick Warburton’s safety spiel overlaid on the FlyOver video. I’m sure an impressive amount of synchrony would be the result. In Soarin’, Guests all board the attraction at the same level, with the ride vehicles being lifted into position by massive mechanical arms. This gives Guests a “takeoff” sensation to begin their adventure. FlyOver, on the other hand, asks Guests to do the lifting, with queues ending on multiple levels from 10ft off the ground to 40ft, accessed by stairways and ramps. Upon entering the theater, Guests board hang-glideresque benches and face the screen. Once buckled in (with smaller aviators who don’t measure up to height indicators on the seats needing to thread their buckle through a loop on the seat) the lights go out, the guide rails fall back, and the vehicles are slowly moved out into position above the screen. From that point, the experience is very similar. Large sweeping views of diverse landscapes around the country, with the occasional blast of mist to represent ocean spray or the bite of arctic cold. Slight smells are also generated, further adding to the experience. Not adding to the experience, however, is the abrupt end of the screen at the top and bottom, as well as the shadows from the ride vehicles on either periphery. This is an issue Soarin’s omnimax dome screen and projectors do not have. The soundtrack is certainly inspirational and appropriate, albeit somewhat sedate and not nearly as catchy as its Disney counterpart. The ride length, however, is impressively long, with many more locales being featured as a result of its ample run time. Overall, FlyOver America feels like a generic version of the Disney classic. It is certainly fun, and definitely easier to access. The lack of corporate red tape allows for more flexibility in the films produced for the attraction, which allows for seasonal overlays and future enhancement. However, the queue areas feel somewhat amateur, and the staff certainly could use an infusion of charisma. Also, while certainly more practical, the omission of the lift into position takes away a needed scene one to the attraction, putting riders immediately into the action, further emphasizing that this is just a motion simulator. It feels like a great flying experience, but it's clear some expense was spared. That being said, it is worth seeing, especially if you happen to come across a BOGO or coupon. Without that, the $20 ticket price for adults and $16 ticket price for children are a bit steep for the experience and execution of this ride. Have you had a chance to experience FlyOver America or FlyOver Canada? What are your impressions of the attraction? Let us know at connect@mainentrancecast.com.

“A rising tide lifts all boats.” Today’s motivational Monday quote is actually more of an aphorism. The source of this saying is not 100% known, but it is said to have been a part of the Chinese language for hundreds of years. While this phrase is often used in the context of economic development or politics, it actually can be quite appropriate to the realm of location based entertainment. Let’s first look at a man named Walt in Southern California. No, not Walt Disney, rather Walter Knott, founder of Knott’s Berry Farm in Buena Park, CA. Knott’s Berry Farm really started in the mid 1920s, when the Knott Family would sell their famous jams and jellies at a roadside stand. Over the next few decades, the farm would grow to include the famous Chicken Dinner restaurant and a ghost town to entertain guests. It was certainly a well known attraction in the Los Angeles area. Then, in the mid 50’s another Walt, yes, this time Mr. Disney, scouts out nearby Anaheim for his own park. This, of course, started the infamous Walter War that put Knott at odds with Disney for decades! Just kidding, in fact, Walt Disney and Walter Knott actually had a fairly friendly relationship, with both Walts visiting each others parks. It’s said Walt Disney even got some ideas for how to more heavily theme attractions and develop the queues at Disneyland by watching the progress of designer Bud Hurlbut’s Calico Mine Train attraction. Even with the opening of Disneyland, Knott’s Berry Farm saw continued success. In 1980, Knott’s even put adds in local newspapers wishing Disneyland a happy 25th anniversary to go along with their 60th. Guests to Disneyland would often plan trips to Knott’s and vice-versa. Even to this day, a theme park trip to Southern California can include Disneyland, Universal Studios and Knott’s Berry Farm. In Aurora, OH, for many years the theme park Geauga Lake was a friendly neighbor to the second SeaWorld Park, Sea World of Ohio. In fact, the park was built next to Geauga Lake in an effort to drum up excitement and visitors for both parks. Later, Six Flags decided to buy both parks and combine them to form a mega park, which it then proceeded to sell to Cedar Fair, who later closed all parks and demolished the land in what has to be one of the most depressing episodes in theme park history. Even in Orlando, the addition of Walt Disney World was initially seen as a big plus to nearby Cypress Gardens. Even Disney got in on the action, welcoming Universal Studios Florida to the Orlando area, stating “What’s good for tourism and entertainment is good for Central Florida. With the Eisner era, competition certainly heated up and became more cutthroat, but at the end of the day, when one park in Central Florida succeeds, all of them can reap the benefits. Without WDW, we wouldn’t have SeaWorld or Universal Orlando. While both parks would certainly love to steal market share from the other, I would find it very hard to believe that either would wish the other completely gone. Truly, a rising tide lifts all boats. What do you think? Do you think cordial neighborly relationships benefit all entertainment enterprises, or is the cutthroat, all-business approach the more economically viable? Let us know at connect@mainentrancecast.com

Imagine yourself in the early 80’s. You’re into the future, all of the promises of tomorrow, in fact, you’d love to get a glimpse of what the future has in store for you. Maybe you’d like to see a house of tomorrow. You hop in the family car and head to a destination that will show you exactly what you’ve been dreaming of. You step outside the car, and what do you see. Why, you see an incredible piece of fantastical architecture. Is that a UFO, or a space station? Eagerly, you line up for your ticket and proceed into what is sure to be an unforgettable experience. You’ve finally arrived at your destination. No, it’s not Epcot, in fact, it’s over 1,300 miles from there. You’ve arrived in the Wisconsin Dells, and Tommy Bartlett’s Robot World. Opened in 1982, Robot World was the brainchild of entertainer Tommy Bartlett, who, like Walt Disney, was a showman at heart. Specifically, he specialized in water ski shows. Interesting fact, Tommy Bartlett was inspired to create his own water ski spectacular after seeing one himself at the 1949 Chicago Railroad Fair, the same fair where Walt Disney started dreaming up the possibilities for the park that would eventually become Disneyland. It is a small world, after all. Tommy eventually found a permanent home for his show in Wisconsin Dells, where he then began to branch out into other attractions, including dancing waters and the focus of our flashback, Robot World. Robot World was originally built to showcase the House of Tomorrow, and did so as a walk-through tour of various vignettes designed to show a futuristic family living their daily lives. Sounds a bit like Horizons at Epcot Center, doesn’t it? But this one came first. The robots generally fell into two main categories, there were the more simple type, consisting of spheres with prominent eyes and arms, and the more human-like models, looking a tad bit reminiscent of C3PO from the Star Wars films. Your host was the odd exception, being a four-foot tall R2D2ish robot guide by the name of Tatu. Within the futuristic 2.2 million dollar space-capsule-esque building, designed by a protege of Frank Lloyd Wright, Guests would board a rocket capsule and fly to the Star Shadow Habitat in the distant year of 2020. Once onboard the habitat, Guests could see everything from food preparation to the computer classroom of the future. One somewhat awkward scene had guests barging in on a bath in progress. The robot denizens of this experience would even serenade your arrival and departure with an ear worm likely to stick with you for the rest of your vacation. In 1983, Robot World added the Exploratory, which featured a wide array of interactive science experiments designed to engage members of the whole family. As time went on, more and more emphasis was put on the exploratory, including the amazing addition of an actual core module built to be a replacement to the Russian Space Station MIR. Sadly, Robot World slowly devolved into a shell of its former self. In 2018, due to leaks that couldn’t be repaired, the original Robot World building was retired, with all of the remaining exhibits being moved to the former gift shop of the experience. Now, only two robots remain, an android named Tutorios, and Tatu. As a smaller attraction in south-central Wisconsin, Robot World featured many elements that one could usually only see in a major theme park, like fully articulated animatronics. Sadly, like Disney’s Tomorrowlands, the future caught up with Robot World, and it now exists only in memory (and YouTube!). But for a time, the house of tomorrow was within reach among the lakes and trees of Wisconsin Dells. Have you had the chance to visit Robot World or another attraction like it? Do you miss those optimistic and sometimes cheesy looks at the future? Let us know at connect@mainentrancecast.com.

Today, we’re going to be heading to infinity, and beyond, as we talk about that infamous Space Ranger, Buzz Lightyear, and his many attractions around the world. Now, when talking about the many attractions to bear Buzz Lightyear’s name, it’s easy to think of Magic Kingdom having the original, but that’s actually not the case. As a matter of fact, Magic Kingdom was beaten by it’s now defunct quasi-sibling a few miles away, DisneyQuest. Buzz Lightyear AstroBlasters opened with DisneyQuest in 1998. Looking like a bumper car on steroids, AstroBlasters combined the driving and bumping of dodgems with a rubber ball cannon that could be used to blast other cars in the arena, causing them to spin uncontrollably for a few seconds. This fast-paced game was best played with two players and could command pretty high wait times, but it was certainly unique, and memorable. In November 1998, Buzz Lightyear Space Ranger Spin opened in the former home of If You Had Wings, If You Could Fly, Delta Dreamflight, and Take Flight. Utilizing the exact same layout and vehicle type as the previous tenants, Space Ranger Spin was the first laser-based interactive attraction built by Disney. In this ride, Guests board a XP-37 spaceship ride vehicle with a joystick that allows the ship to spin on the track. Throughout the ride, Guests shoot at “Z” targets located on robots, ships, landscapes (including a volcano) and other minions of the evil Emperor Zurg. Fun fact, the ride actually incorporated a few elements from the previous attraction housed in that building, including the speed tunnel from If You Had Wings, the jet engine effect and even the base of the marquee from Delta Dreamflight. Seriously, same sign, take a close look! A couple additional interesting features of Magic Kingdom’s ride include the ability to see into the attraction from the Tomorrowland Transit Authority Peoplemover, and it is the only version of this attraction with blasters mounted to the ride vehicle. The next version of the attraction opened in 2004 at Tokyo Disneyland, now named Buzz Lightyear Astro Blasters. There, it had replaced the Visionarium attraction, known as Timekeeper in the United States. While very similar to the Florida version, now the blasters could be lifted off the spaceships, allowing for much more freedom in aiming. Disneyland followed shortly thereafter in 2005, replacing the queue for the ill-fated Rocket Rods attraction, which was also previously the Circle-Vision theater. This version, similar to Tokyo, also had removable blasters, but can also send scores to visitors, along with their pictures, at home. Due to the unique home of this attraction, it has a more compact and tightly placed queue and ride path, but is still a marked improvement from the WDW original. The attraction was later added to Disneyland Paris, Hong Kong, and Shanghai, with the latter two getting new purpose-built facilities instead of replacing older attractions. Like Disneyland and Tokyo Disneyland, these versions of the attraction continued to feature detached blasters. Interestingly, Hong Kong Disneyland’s version, opened in 2005, has gone to the great space station in the sky, being replaced in 2017 with the Ant Man and the Wasp: Nano Battle! attraction, based on the Marvel film. While very similar to the Buzz Lightyear attraction that preceded it, Nano Battle removes the ability to control the spin of the cars, allowing designers to focus Guest attention in the direction they choose. Despite newer and arguably more impressive rides of these types being launched since the original Space Ranger Spin premiered, these attractions are still very popular and manage to attract long waits at their parks. Certainly they are trailblazers, and it will be interesting to see what kind of interactive shooting dark rides will come to be in the future.

Welcome to very first CreatiCore! In the CreatiCore, we’re going to bring you stories and tidbits about the design and technology of Location-Based Entertainment. Today, we’re going to start with an example of design that often goes unnoticed, but really is interesting when you take a deeper look. Main Street U.S.A. is the entryway into five of the six Disney castle parks. A love letter to turn of the 20th Century America, Main Street U.S.A. has been called an idealized view of Marceline, Missouri, the boyhood home of Walt Disney. Interestingly, many amusement enterprise operators criticised Walt’s idea of a single entrance to his park, saying that it would create congestion and bottlenecks, or would limit the income potential of the park as a whole. Ultimately, this did not end up becoming the case. In fact, Main Street U.S.A. shows a very deep and logical understanding of people and their habits. As the entrance and the exit to the park, Main Street serves as a great provider, provisioning Guests with all the goods they need to begin and end their day in the best way possible, and it uses societal norms and design to accomplish this in a very ingenious way. Consider Magic Kingdom Park, at Walt Disney World Resort. Upon entering the park, you may notice that key stores, such as the hat store, candy store, and most important of all, the bakery, sit on the right-hand side of the road. In the United States, traffic patterns generally have cars and pedestrians keeping to the right side of traffic. Thus, when entering Magic Kingdom, especially in the morning, your source of baked goods and coffee will greet you on the side of the road you are most likely to take to enter the park (that is, if you are an American Guest, or from another country that drives on the right side of the road). Conversely, as you exiting the park, the purveyors of late night snacks, the ice cream and hot dog shops, are at the end of Main Street, with Casey’s Corner again on the right side of the road. And what is Casey’s connected to? Why, the largest shop in all the kingdom, of course. Even those intrepid visitors who feel they can leave without that last minute souvenir may find themselves drawn in by the cleverly designed window displays that line the street. Knowing that they are positioned for maximum visibility, this subtle design can actually contribute to park profit. It’s a very clever design tactic, one that most people probably don’t even notice. Magic Kingdom is not alone on this one, either. Where is the coffee shop at Disneyland? On the right. Where is the coffee shop at Epcot (for now) or Disney’s Hollywood Studios? Again, they’re on the right. Now, an argument could be made that this tactic only works in parks where a general hub approach is taken with park navigation, and to a degree I think that’s true, as in other parks, traffic flow can usually be determined by the placement of key attractions. However, where in place, it’s interesting to see this design choice in action and easy to appreciate how human psychology can really make an impact on the planning choices for a destination. Do you think this is an intentional design choice, or did it just end up that way? If it is intentional, do you think it’s effective? Let us know at connect@mainentrancecast.com.

Welcome to our first Attraction Spotlight! Today, we’re not going to be talking about a theme park, a ride, or a museum, we’re going to be talking about something very different, and very popular. Sports and games really are a fundamental part of the human experience, from team sports like basketball and football, to digital sports, board games and even those games that get made up on the fly. But we’re going to focus on one sport today and a novel way it’s been brought to the masses. Today, we’re going to head to the links and talk about the royal and ancient sport of Golf, but in a not-so-ancient way. Today’s Attraction Spotlight is TopGolf. Founded in 2000, with an original location just outside of London, UK, TopGolf is unlike any golf course or driving range that had come before. TopGolf is unique in that each golf ball has a trackable chip implanted within it. The TopGolf range includes an array of large bunker-ish targets that span its length, with the targets including sensors that can read the golf balls as they fall into them. This gives TopGolf the ability to create games for its patrons to play. From Top Chip to Top Pressure, there are games for every skill level.While this may be seen as a far cry from the traditional game of golf, it certainly democratizes the game and has introduced the fundamentals to a whole new audience. Fun fact: Did you know the Top in TopGolf is actually an acronym? It actually stands for Target-Oriented Practice. Cool, right?! TopGolf wasn’t initially successful, surprisingly. Mostly, this was due to no one really knowing what it was or what it entailed. Golf, regrettably, has been on the decline for a few years, and a new golf-based experience just wasn’t prime in the minds of potential Guests. This is where the genius of TopGolf comes to the forefront. In addition to the game, TopGolf offers a full bar, full menu, convention and event spaces, and even arcades. TopGolf stopped being an enhanced driving range, and instead became a watering hole, gathering place, and entertainment complex, all in one! That, along with an aggressive, yet strangely low-tech marketing campaign drew in the initial crowds, while word of mouth continued to bring in the masses. Now, TopGolf features 56 locations, with new locations opening up seemingly every month! There are TopGolf locations in the United States, the United Kingdom, and Australia. Growing beyond its initial offerings, TopGolf now offers, in addition to its trademark games, concerts, leagues, tournaments, and all of the favored amenities of high-tech sports bars. It has also expanded into creating its own television and radio, and even purchased the World Golf Tour, an online golf game with millions of active players. What started as a simple idea to enhance the golfing experience is now a bonafide sports entertainment empire! Have you been to TopGolf? Are you a fan, or is it not really your cup of “tee”? Let us know at connect@mainentrancecast.com.

Welcome to the very first Main Entrance FastCast. As we mentioned last Friday, Monday’s will be Motivational Mondays. So what does that mean? Well, it means we’re going to start with a motivational quote and explore the quote in the context of a Location-Based Entertainment story or anecdote. We hope you’ll find these quotes and stories inspirational and that they’ll help get your week started on the right foot. So, here’s our quote for today, which we hope is appropriate to our new endeavor. “The first step towards getting somewhere is to decide you're not going to stay where you are.” - JP Morgan Here at the Main Entrance Cast, we definitely face times that we’re pretty dead set on what we decided to do, and try our best to muscle through it, even if its not working as we’d hoped. The Thoughts of the Day were one of those things. While certainly a blast to write and record, we struggled to bring new and exciting content each day, and realized that something else was needed, something more solid and dependable. That led us to design the format for the Main Entrance FastCast. This happens all the time in Location-Based Entertainment. Sometimes, it’s easy to get so attached to an attraction, or a way of doing things, that it becomes nearly unthinkable to change what has worked for so long. I think back to 1982, the year Disneyland discontinued issuing A-E tickets for their attractions and went to pay-one-price admission. Today, it seems almost inconceivable that you’d have to save up your tickets to re-ride Space Mountain or the Haunted Mansion, but that certainly was the case. While there was a transition time from the late seventies until the tickets were discontinued completely, this presented a completely different way of doing things in the parks. Was it better the old way versus the new. Hard to say. It certainly made the parks much more expensive to visit up front, but I would argue the current arrangement guarantees that a Guest has the ability to choose and execute their own definition of personal value and how they attain that in their visit. Think of the story of Walt Disney himself. Born in Chicago, grew up in Marceline, MO and Kansas City, Walt was definitely a dreamer. The current Walt Disney Company won’t let you forget that. But Walt’s story is definitely inspirational in that he had to fail at many ventures before finding success with Mickey Mouse and Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs. Walt, at several times in his career, decided that he wasn’t going to stay put, and that he needed to keep moving toward his ambitions. New beginnings were a critical part of the early Disney story. Even in the parks, Walt was not one to stay put. Walt famously loved the circus, and among the attractions offered at Disneyland in its first year was the Mickey Mouse Club Circus. Not only was this an opportunity for Walt to have his circus, but he could also showcase his beloved Mouseketeers in his new park. But, it just didn’t resonate with his Guests. Now, Walt could have held strong and continued the circus well past its premature prime, but keeping with his mantra of moving forward and opening new doors, he pulled the final curtain on the Mickey Mouse Club Circus on January 8, 1956, after having been open just over a month. This represented a sizable loss of investment, but still, it wasn’t worth keeping around that which wasn’t working. Moving on can be difficult, but it's often necessary. It’s a big risk to decide to leave where you’re comfortable and head towards brighter futures. Have you made a leap like this in your life? Let us know at connect@mainentrancecast.com.

Main Entrance Cast Thought of the Day - June 21, 2019

Main Entrance Cast Thought of the Day - June 20, 2019

Main Entrance Cast Thought of the Day - June 19, 2019

Main Entrance Cast Thought of the Day - June 18, 2019