Storyland Studios, a global experience design and strategy firm, has announced Adam Moore as its first vice president of story, bringing the renowned storyteller and creative leader from Walt Disney Animation Studios into the themed entertainment and experience design sector.
The appointment reflects the company's 'story comes first' approach by placing an executive title behind the philosophy for the first time.
Storyland intentionally sought a leader whose career has spanned storytelling across a range of perspectives, including film, television, animation, interactive entertainment, and higher education, rather than recruiting solely from within the conventional themed entertainment space.
With this appointment, Moore is set to bring those experiences to a medium in which audiences do not merely watch stories, but physically enter and take part in them.
Mel McGowan, founder and chief creative officer of Storyland Studios, says: "Story isn’t a new initiative for us. It’s the foundation of who Storyland is.
"For more than two decades, we’ve built teams of architects, designers, artists, strategists and technologists around the belief that the strongest experiences begin with a great story.
"Bringing Adam onto the team gives us someone whose entire career has been devoted to understanding how stories work, why they move people and how creative teams bring them to life."
As VP of story, Moore will work across Storyland’s multidisciplinary practice, helping to define the narrative and emotional foundations of projects, create original concepts, and align story with strategy, design and visitor experience from the earliest stages a project's development.
Story at the centre
Moore previously served in a leadership role at Walt Disney Animation Studios, where he supported creative and technical teams within the feature-animation production environment.
Prior to this, he served as chair of the Department of Cinematic Arts at California State University, Long Beach, leading a significant multidisciplinary film programme and reimagining the screenwriting programme.
His portfolio also includes work as a professional writer and producer across film, television and interactive entertainment, including co-creating and executive producing the globally distributed television series The Pinkertons. He earned an MFA in Screenwriting from the AFI Conservatory.
Moore says: "What excites me about Storyland is that story is embedded in the company’s DNA.
"Story isn’t something layered onto an experience after the fact. It’s where the experience begins. It helps us understand why a place should exist, what journey we want to take people on, what we want them to feel and what we hope stays with them long after they leave.
"That philosophy has guided Storyland for 25 years, and I’m incredibly excited to help carry it into the company’s next quarter century."
"For me, this is also deeply personal. I was the kid who covered huge sheets of paper with my own theme park designs and built attractions out of Lego bricks. Then, when I visited EPCOT for the first time at ten years old, something clicked.
"I suddenly understood that stories didn’t have to live only on a screen or a page. They could be places. They could surround you. You could walk through them, discover them and share them with other people. I knew I wanted to tell stories on a canvas that big someday.
"I’ve spent the years since telling stories in film, television, interactive media, animation and the classroom. To now bring everything I’ve learned across those worlds into experiential storytelling feels like coming full circle.
"Joining a company that puts story at the center of everything it creates is quite literally a childhood dream come true.”
For Storyland, establishing the VP of story role marks both a continuation of its history and an investment in the company's future.
"Adam isn’t coming here to introduce story to Storyland," says McGowan. "He’s coming here because story has always been central to what we do. We believe his perspective can help us push that commitment even further."
Earlier this year, Storyland Studios revealed details of its contribution to Red Sea Global’s Adrena as landscape architect. This integrated destination offers visitors everything from extreme sports to adventurous fun to enrichment activities.
Rebecca Hardy has over 10 years' experience in the culture and heritage sector. She studied Fine Art at university and has written for a broad range of creative organisations including artists, galleries, and retailers. When she's not writing, she spends her time getting lost in the woods and making mud pies with her young son.
