Zeitgeist Design & Production, the creator of UX-IRL: User eXperiences In Real Life, has announced that the third season of the Spirit of the Time Zoomcast will launch with an interview with internationally acclaimed theme park designer Tony Baxter.
The live online interview series is hosted by Ryan Harmon and Joe Lanzisero, who are both executives at Zeitgeist and industry experts. The series started on 30 April 2021 and each monthly episode gives an insight into the work of a leading entertainment industry figure.
Guests are invited to take a time-travelling journey which will explore key moments in the interviewee’s life and career. Previous contributors have included Disney great Joe Rohde, co-founder of Universal Creative Bob Ward, pop culture artist Shag, creative leader Phil Hettema, and Peggie Fariss, Tori McCullough, and Becky Bishop – three of the Women of Imagineering.
The entertaining and educational hour-long Zoomcast appeals to fans of theme parks, Disney, Universal, and immersive entertainment. While it was previously only available on the Zeitgeist website and YouTube channel, you can now also find it as an audio-only podcast on all popular podcast apps, including Apple Podcasts, Audible, Spotify, and Google Podcasts. It is always free to watch and listen.
Launching season three
Season three of the Spirit of the Time Zoomcast will air on Friday 16 June at 12.00 noon PST. This will be the 25th episode and will welcome Tony Baxter – who is widely regarded as “the world’s most famous theme park designer”.
Tickets are available to book through Eventbrite.
Baxter has been at Walt Disney Imagineering for almost 50 years. The TEA Lifetime Achievement Award Recipient and Main Street Window honoree led the creative direction for Disneyland Paris, as well as taking a pivotal role in the development of Indiana Jones and the Temple of the Forbidden Eye, Big Thunder Mountain Railroad, Journey into Imagination, Disneyland’s New Fantasyland, Finding Nemo Submarine Voyage, and Splash Mountain.
He is such a key personality at Disney that his signature style – with a bushy moustache and flannel shirt – is often copied by fans at the bi-annual Disney D23 Expo.
Harmon says: “We are thrilled that our longtime friend and colleague Tony Baxter has finally agreed to embark on a time travel journey with us. Tony was born to be a theme park designer; it’s in his heart, it’s in his soul – he just intuitively knows what works and what doesn’t; what audiences will respond to; and how to tell immersive stories like few since Walt Disney, himself. Even I’m counting down until June 16th!”
Lanzisero adds: “Our live online interviews recognize superstars like Tony Baxter, while also documenting and sharing a real insider’s view of how entertainment experiences take shape, from concept to reality. So many of our past passengers have referenced Tony as a mentor and an inspiration, so now we’ll get to hear the tales from the Disney trenches from the man, himself!”
Beckie Kiefer, on-air co-producer at the Spirit of the Time Zoomcast, says: “Set your clocks now for an hour of stimulating conversation and Q&A with one of the world’s most creative people. The Spirit of the Time Zoomcast offers a little bit of time travel, a little bit of immersive entertainment history, and a whole lot of fun!”
Zeitgeist Design & Production helped Hersheypark in Pennsylvania to launch a world-class Halloween event, Dark Nights, for 2022. The project included the development of three immersive haunted house experiences inspired by local Pennsylvania legends.
