E "Eddy" Edwards, et al
Design and Development:
Johann Wilhelm Ritter (1776-1810): Ultraviolet and ultra cool
E "Eddy" Edwards
Aw, romantic Chojnów! The Stockton, the Kearney, the East McKeesport of south-west Poland! A bustling metropolis just a stones through from the thoroughly-modern A4 highway, the "road of undiscovered dreams," by those in the know. But this idyllic off-center center of Gmina Chojnów, wasn't always the place it is today. In the early 1800s, Chojnów could be a very lonely place, especially for a young man by the name of Johann Wilhelm Ritter (December 16, 1776 - January 23, 1810). With an inquiring mind and an eye toward what was beyond human ability to see, he searched his heart and the horizon for what was "beyond the blue." In time, his existential déjà vu would in time become the very empiric rationalist jamais vu for the "beyond the blue" end of the spectrum and therein lies our tale.In short, we can all thank "Johnny" Ritter, physicist, chemist, psoriasis-sufferer (un confirmed) for discovering ultraviolet radiation, better known as "ultraviolet light," still better known as "black light" making it possible for the later development of dark rides and for teenagers around the world to finally cop a feel in the semi-dark and nearly get away with it . . . (More)
E Eddy Edwards
Casey Jr. Railroad Train is the best, most perfect theme park attraction in the world. This single attraction is a careful combination of most of the vital elements that, working together, define a complete themed attraction experience.Wait! Say wha'? Can it be that the Casey Jr. Circus Train in Disneyland, all 3 minutes, 30 seconds of it, is the best, most perfect attraction in the world?
Sure, what the hell. I mean . . . why not?
The "why not" list could be lengthy, so let put this selection in perspective . . .
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E "Eddy" Edwards
Greetings DeScopers! Sometime in the late 1990s — or last week, I dunno. Time is so relative, you know? — I posed to you, the discriminated readers of DeScope -- A Cranky Journal of Themed Entertainment Design and Development, what, in your oh, so sensitively- attuned- to- way- gnarly- bitchin'- themed- stuff minds, was THE top theme park attraction now or ever. I also asked to name your favorite illicit theme park thrill. And where is the best hotdog-on-a-stick location.
Not surprising, the response was unanimous on the most important question, mainly because I am the only one of you slackers who responded . . . (More . . .)
E "Eddy" Edwards It has come to my attention that some other online / bloggy / Journal-eque publication, the name of which escapes me, ran a poll, nay, a tournament to find the best ride in America.
Theme Park and amusement park rides, I suppose that means (but feel free to insert your own smutty joke here).
And the winner, with a full 50% of the over-all votes was . . . Tower of Terror?
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Dark Rides on my Brain: In Praise of Day-Glo Thrills
and Paper-Mâché Glories
E "Eddy" Edwards
Well, another seemingly seasonable season is soon to be a fevered memory, the official end of the Summer preparing already to leap upon us like a bi-polar hop-head monkey on a six-week corn dog, funnel cake, and Sno-Cone binge, dropping down onto our unprotected shoulders as if from some hidden trap door in the ceiling of the Santa Cruz Giant Dipper entry ramp, emitting as it plummets an eerily-mechanical scream, clawing at our necks with a full set of Lee Press-On Nails®, trying to get at the candy necklace we purchased moments before in front of the deep-fried artichoke heart and mushroom stand.And I think I speak for all of us in the themed amusement racket when I say: "Not a moment too soon." About the "end of Summer" thing, that is. The bit about the monkey we could have done without and will certainly have us in therapy for years yet to come. And who would sell Lee Press-On Nails® to a monkey anyway? (More . . .)
E "Eddy" Edwards
PlayAn Event should mirror the joys, discoveries, physical, sensory, and emotional expressions of play and should be emotionally engaging to a child on their most basic emotional and schematic level. Children process new situations and information through play. When they are properly designed, Events allow them become a first person part of the story being presented, bringing them into the "make believe" of the situation, and in doing so create for themselves a bound with the content being presented . . . (More . . .)
The evolving process (as in, a process that is allowed to evolve to meet changing design and project needs as the design is developed in a natural fashion as needed) that brings together diverse sets of factors — personal schema, physical needs, external story or context budget, footprint constraints, personalities of the designers and those for who the design is being executed, the need to mention the client's name early and often, etc. — with the specific intention of presenting opportunities for immersive, first-person (including groups of "first-persons" having individual experiences in a group) multisensory, multischemic experiences. (More . . .)
Live themed out-of-home entertainment event? Nay, SUPER live themed out-of-home entertainment event! Thirty five years before a passel of light bulbs wowed `em in Anaheim, Lee Tracy, that man among men set the standard for all that would follow . . .
"I hope we never lose some of the things of the past." - Walt DisneyIt's mid-July, 1955, and there you sit in transfixed. Hotter `n hell outside, but here in the living room your face is cooled by the bluish glow of the giant 21 inch cathode ray tube in your family's RCA Victor RotoMatic TV set. It's late afternoon, maybe it's early evening.
Outside, it's your yard, your neighborhood, your village / town / city. But sitting there right . . . NOW, you are miles away from mundane everyday foo-foo-rah because you're tuned to your local ABC affiliate to watch . . .
"Disneyland!"
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The Lazarus Effect . . .
. . . is a sub-set of themed entertainment design and development named after paleontologic concept of " Lazarus Taxa," a term that describes the phenomenon of a species of plants or animals that seemed to have become extinct at sometime or another only to appear again later either in the fossil record or happily moving about unaware that reports of its death have been greatly exaggerated. The Lazarus Effect in design and development is the rediscovery (or reuse or repurposing) of a supposedly extinct entertainment or exhibition technique to engage and communicate with a modern audience.
"Lazaruses" in this context can be just about anything from earlier times . . . (More . . .)
Themed Entertainment Design and Development!
Aw! 2008! A year of rebirth and renewal, a year of "becoming" (usually a good thing) and, more significantly, of "not becoming" Polar opposites? Nay! As the aging hipster-wanna-bes still (alas) say, "It's all goooood."
Becoming:
DCA actually becoming a theme park!Not Becoming:
Six Flags not becoming America's foremost supplier of land for condos (at least in So-Cal, at least for now) . . . (More . . .)
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