Theme park stories

According to Thrill Engineer Brendan Walker, the most  thrilling moment of any theme park experience is just before it begins. That brief interlude between being strapped in and the launch of the ride. “Nothing matches that moment of giving yourself to the ride, that point of no reasonable return, ” he says. Walker specialises in […]

There’s more to Technifex than meets the eye, which isn’t that surprising given the company’s ability to deceive the imagination with state-of-the-art special effects. Alongside its thriving theme park activities, Technifex also builds training systems for government agencies including the fire service and the military. The two disciplines have more in common than one might […]

On the 7-8th Dec 2016, a select group of operators and attraction industry professionals met at the Vision XS Operators Conference held in Wallingford, Oxfordshire. Hosted by leisure industry specialists, Vision XS, the theme of the conference was “Why Should I Stay?”. It explored the positives and negatives of adding various forms of accommodation to a […]

Over the past 39 years, Sally Corporation has grown from an animatronic specialist into one of the world’s leading creators of dark rides and attractions. Credited with the birth of the interactive (shooting game) dark ride, the launch of Justice League: Battle for Metropolis signalled the company’s paradigm shift into mixed media attractions. Blooloop spoke […]

Since 1999, Merlin Entertainments has been working its magic on the attractions industry, achieving meteoric growth with a lean corporate structure to become the second largest attractions company in the world after Disney. Currently operating in 23 countries, with a growing presence in Asia, Merlin’s smart, focussed leadership and entrepreneurial culture, coupled with strategically astute […]

Virtual reality (VR), arguably the ultimate expression of the immersive experience, is about to go mass-market. The advent of Sony Playstation VR will put technology that was once the preserve of developers and committed enthusiasts into the hands of the consumer. And, just as the ubiquitous smartphone has changed how theme parks operate, so it […]

As human beings we are hardwired to respond to the natural environment.  Designers from PGAV Destinations share their favourite inspirations from the natural world. The relationship between nature and destinations is easy to forget when we spend so much of our time inside climate-controlled buildings, staring at screens. Former Microsoft research fellow Alex Soojung-Kim Pang […]