Buckle up. This is going to be one heck of a ride.
And that’s before the attraction even opens.

Devising, creating, and commissioning a themed attraction is not for the fainthearted. These attraction’s ambitions don’t simply knock on the doors of what’s possible; they hammer with both fists as they look to create something that’s never been done before, that pushes every boundary and yet must be delivered on time, on budget, and work perfectly day after day after day.

Where they want to be

The Christie themed entertainment team knows all about the legitimate demands of this market, one that seems like the most unforgiving of all the ProAV disciplines. Yet, when you talk to them, all you hear is absolute enthusiasm. They’re working at the cutting edge because that’s where they want to be as they finesse the technology that enables some of the most thrilling creative visions around and offer customizable professional services that make fantasy reality in flying theatres, dark rides, and theme parks across the globe.

Ernest Bakenie, Christie’s senior director of entertainment, takes up the story: “I’ve been in the industry since 1996, and what has always excited me is how it allows me to escape into a different reality. Why do people read books? They read books because of the detail that creates fantasies in their head,” he explains. “And today, nobody makes detailed, immersive worlds better than the themed entertainment business. It blends original IP from books and movies and then takes it to the next level.”

Ernest’s reference to novels, rather than just cinema, is telling because it shows that he sees themed entertainment as part of an unbroken tradition of storytelling. That themed entertainment done well isn’t just intellectual property (IP) plus pizzazz: it offers something valuable, original, and unique.

The key to achieving this deep level of immersion comes from the 18th-century poet Samuel Taylor Coleridge’s idea of a “willing suspension of disbelief” — where the audience actively agrees to believe in the story being told. But as Jan Miller, senior manager, business development, entertainment, explains, it’s not without its dangers.

“If you don’t attain a willing suspension of disbelief, you lose your audience in all respects,” he says. “They’ll disengage from the experience and become less likely to re-engage, so it’s the most critical aspect of what you do.”

Knowledgeable audiences

And most of these audiences are knowledgeable audiences. Yes, they’ll willingly suspend their disbelief, but only if it makes sense within the fictional world they already know and love. Cory Baranieski, strategic account sales, entertainment, knows this firsthand. “I grew up playing Super Mario. And to go into that world in its conceptual phases and to see something I can actually be immersed in was special,” he explains.

Perhaps that’s why the Christie team finds this hugely challenging discipline so rewarding and compelling. It’s clear from speaking to them that their enthusiasm goes far beyond commercial interests. For Cory, it’s personal; for Jan, it’s philosophical; for Joe, it’s generosity; and for Ernest, it’s the next exciting step in a long storytelling tradition. The ride, it seems, has only just begun.