Introduction
After school's went online in March 2020 due to COVID-19, I was left at home with little to do. Looking to increase my theme park knowledge and skills, I entered into the Cornell Theme Park Design Contest. It's an annual contest where college students-in groups of 2 to 4-compete for the top prize of $3,000 and to catch the eye of the judges from industry leading companies. I convinced a close friend to sign up with me, knowing they would not be doing anything for the contest. The day the contest started, I received this prompt:
I was given 30 days to finish 5 deliverables:
1. Concept Design: A board displaying some combination of illustrations, renderings, and/or storyboards that explain the ideas for the attraction's narrative.
2. Innovation: An essay describing a cutting-edge interactive technology including diagrams to show how it will function.
3. Technical Analysis: A technical schematic that demonstrates the feasibility of the ride system.
4. Development: A written account of how the components of the proposal will work together to provide a cohesive experience.
5. Master Planning: An illustrative demonstrating the spatial layout of the experience's components.
Story Treatment
The ride is a boat ride like Pirates of the Caribbean. Guests enter the queue seeing signs advertising the new time machine recently invented by the research group at the aquarium. The signs also mention that the research group is offering voyages on the time machine for guests to experience the wonder of the Fraser River. As guests continue through the ride queue, it transforms into a museum exhibit telling guests about the history of the area. First, it tells of the First Nation groups who made the Fraser River their home. Then it tells of the gold rush that brought in huge swathes of settlers. The line includes several interactive exhibits, such as a short fishing mini-game, to keep guests entertained as they wait.
As guests approach the end of the queue, things get more mechanical as they near the time machine. They step into the ride vehicles, which would be shape like the canoes that the First Nation people in the area used. The canoe takes a short trip into an elevator. There, guests are given a preview of the peaceful land they would soon be visiting.
Once the doors open, however, guests are greeted by a scene of chaos. They've been dropped right into the heat of the gold rush!
Settlers can be seen everywhere: Some pan for gold, Parents try to put together a house while being distracted by wild kids, a drunken miner leans on a barrel of T.N.T while taking practice shots over the heads of the guests. Looking ahead, guests see a miner attempting to blow up rocks and cover their path! Just as the miner ignites the dynamite, the canoes suddenly plunge down a waterfall that takes them further back in time.
Settling in after the fall, guests are greeted with the peaceful landscape they were promised. As they continue to travel down the river, they see some First Nations people practicing the ritual of the first salmon. There is also a father teaching his son how to spear fish. However, two First Nations people notice our guests floating down the river, so the scientists decide it's time to bring everyone back and avoid any temporal disturbances. This conclude the experience, with guests exiting through a gift shop themed as the aquarium research group's HQ.
Concept Art
A close up of a proposed logo for the Seas of Imagination Aquarium
A drunken miner from the gold rush takes some unwise practice shots as the guests pass by.
A hopeful father attempts to teach his son the art of spearfishing.
A colonizer coming in for the gold rush is disappointed by his yield from panning for gold.
A concept drawing of the back wall of the loading area of the ride. It is meant to show the imaginary technology running the time machine, with some of it covered up by a banner advertising the ride.
A visualization of the peaceful landscape that would greet guests after falling down the waterfall. There would be some animatronic figures here as well.
Conclusion/Lessons Learned
I completed the other deliverables as well, but do not feel they need to be shown.
While I might not highlight this as my strongest work, it is still something I'm very proud of. Wanting to learn more about what it took to design theme park attractions, I jumped headlong into something I was fairly unprepared for both in terms of the workload and my experience level in several key areas. I didn't have time to iterate on ideas. I didn't have time to make second drafts. Through prioritization, concentration, and a some very long days, I was able to make a final product that I can honestly say I put all my effort into. I learned a lot about how I can push myself, what my limits are, and what areas of design I need to work on to be successful in the theme park industry. It also gave me glimpses into the worlds of engineering and mechanics, which will be good to stay updated on so I can more easily communicate with colleagues in the themed entertainment industry.
