Theme Park University website now offering insights about how the themed entertainment industry actually works

Jim Hill

11 years ago

The Internet is really a wondrous place. Especially if
you're a young person who's considering a career in animation. If you've ever
considered becoming a character designer someday, you can always swing by Tom
Bancroft's Character Mentor Studio or Stephen Silver's blog and then pick up
some good practical tips. Likewise if you've dreamed of becoming an art director,
you should definitely be bookmarking Mike Peraza's sites.

The same goes with Mark Evanier's News From Me or Floyd Norman's Mr. Fun's
Blog if you hope to someday write for animation. And if you want to master the
actual craft of animation … Well, starting tomorrow in Scottsdale,
AZ, Don Bluth himself begins teaching a
week-long master class in the Art of Animation.

Mind you, that's on the animation side of the fence. But if
you're someone who dreams of working in themed entertainment, the pickings
online can be pretty slim.

Oh, sure. There are plenty of sites where fanboys pay
tribute to various theme parks. And every so often, you'll come across
something as spectacular looking like Kirk Design, Inc. or Tim J. Delaney
Design. But these sites are really online portfolios. Long on genuinely
impressive eye candy, but short when it comes to good practical information on
how someone might actually pursue a career in themed entertainment.

Well, all that changed this past Friday with the launch of
Theme Park University, a site that eventually hopes to become an online campus
where one can go to study the art and the industry of the theme park &
related fields.

As for Theme Park
University's faculty … Well, for
starters, there's Ron Schneider. As the author of "From Dreamer to
Dreamfinder: A Life and Lessons Learned in 40 Years Behind a Name Tag
" (Bamboo
Forest Publishing), Schneider has already demonstrated his gift for turning
real life experiences from his time at various theme parks into teachable
moments. And Ron doesn't disappoint in his initial essay for Theme Park
University, where he talks about Epcot's "Journey into Imagination with
Figment" attraction.

Ron Schneider wowed the crowd at D23's Destination D – Walt Disney World 40th
event in May of 2011 by donning his old Dreamfinder costume and then joining
Richard M Sherman & Figment onstage to sing "One Little Spark"

Now you'd think — given Schneider's close association with
the Dreamfinder character — that he'd be among the horde of Disney theme park
fans who continually call for this Future World favorite to be restored to its
former glory. But that's where you'd be wrong. As Ron explains in "On
Imagination's 30th: A Re-Birthday Wish," while …

… I can sympathize with all the self-appointed "Friends of
Figment" who still campaign to bring back the old ride. It was a magic thing,
an inspiration… and it's easy to believe that if it returned we'd also get
something back of our lost innocence. But it's a lie. (Besides, I've actually
heard the recording of Walt Disney saying, "You can't top pigs with pigs".)

(So) Let's punch the 'reset' on our hopes and expectations.
Let's pray for another revolutionary journey, similar to the original but
different.

That's what's great about the Theme Park University website.
Right off the bat, it challenges your expectations when it comes to the themed
entertainment business. Better yet, it takes you behind-the-scenes to events
that few outside of this industry have ever had the chance to experience. Take
— for example — Josh Young's excellent article about those employee meetings
that Universal Orlando officials used to hold in the early 2000s in order to help
energize & motivate the people who worked in their theme parks.

So if you're considering a career in themed entertainment, do
yourself a favor and bookmark TPU ASAP. For Ron & Josh are just get started
when it comes to posting fascinating pieces about how this industry actually
works.