Theme Park Ride Designs: Andrew Johnson
The Show Production & Touring graduate is there at the inception for such attractions as The Simpsons Ride
Amusement park visitors may flock to the on-site rides, but few understand the hard work and planning that goes into turning those attractions from an idea into reality. As a Design Associate for audio-visual company Electrosonic, Andrew Johnson knows first-hand about the process a ride goes through, as his job finds him involved at the very inception of some of these world-renowned attractions.
“My job entails specifying equipment and building schematics and faculty impact drawings for real integration and installations for amusement parks, museums, and other things like that,” Andrew says of his projects, which have included the Simpsons Ride at Universal Studios Orlando, the Hard Rock Park in Myrtle Beach, SC, and Grand Indonesia Fountains. “We take it from the design phase all the way through the schematic and detail phase and right into installation.”
Though nondisclosure agreements prevent him from talking about all of his current projects, the Full Sail Show Production & Touring graduate has spent the last six months involved in the planning phases for the upcoming Dubai Land amusement park, as well as production work for Resorts World in Singapore.
Each project can be a challenging process, but Andrew indicates that the hurdles don’t necessarily come from where you might expect. “Every project has thrown me for a loop,” he says. “To be honest, the most difficult part of this industry is the clientele. It can be tricky to make sure that everyone is happy and that they understand the terminology and technical lingo that we use. You’ve got to make sure that people get what they want and that the end result is a fully functional product. You’ve got to make people understand that there’s only certain ways to get it right, and that’s why we went to school for this.”
That educational experience is one that Andrew definitely values today. “When I went to Full Sail, they had all the equipment there and it was really great to be able to work with industry-standard equipment. If you can troubleshoot with the gear there, you can certainly do that in the field.
“It’s really great when you deal with a client for a year or so and they think that something is impossible, but then you get to a point within their budget where you reach a solution that’s not just entertaining and attractive, but new,” he adds. “When they come back to you after it’s installed and shake your hand and say it’s better than they ever could have imagined, it’s really rewarding.”
And now that he’s seen the behind-the-scenes world of amusement parks and rides, Andrew is one of the more observant faces in a crowd of theme parkers. “When I go to a park now, I absolutely can’t stop noticing and analyzing things,” he admits. “It’s like a constant motion of watching things and being super-critical and attentive to all the details because now I know about all of the hard work that goes into it. It’s a whole new thing now.”
“My job entails specifying equipment and building schematics and faculty impact drawings for real integration and installations for amusement parks, museums, and other things like that,” Andrew says of his projects, which have included the Simpsons Ride at Universal Studios Orlando, the Hard Rock Park in Myrtle Beach, SC, and Grand Indonesia Fountains. “We take it from the design phase all the way through the schematic and detail phase and right into installation.”
Though nondisclosure agreements prevent him from talking about all of his current projects, the Full Sail Show Production & Touring graduate has spent the last six months involved in the planning phases for the upcoming Dubai Land amusement park, as well as production work for Resorts World in Singapore.
Each project can be a challenging process, but Andrew indicates that the hurdles don’t necessarily come from where you might expect. “Every project has thrown me for a loop,” he says. “To be honest, the most difficult part of this industry is the clientele. It can be tricky to make sure that everyone is happy and that they understand the terminology and technical lingo that we use. You’ve got to make sure that people get what they want and that the end result is a fully functional product. You’ve got to make people understand that there’s only certain ways to get it right, and that’s why we went to school for this.”
When they come back to you after it’s installed and shake your hand and say it’s better than they ever could have imagined, it’s really rewarding.
Andrew Johnson
“It’s really great when you deal with a client for a year or so and they think that something is impossible, but then you get to a point within their budget where you reach a solution that’s not just entertaining and attractive, but new,” he adds. “When they come back to you after it’s installed and shake your hand and say it’s better than they ever could have imagined, it’s really rewarding.”
And now that he’s seen the behind-the-scenes world of amusement parks and rides, Andrew is one of the more observant faces in a crowd of theme parkers. “When I go to a park now, I absolutely can’t stop noticing and analyzing things,” he admits. “It’s like a constant motion of watching things and being super-critical and attentive to all the details because now I know about all of the hard work that goes into it. It’s a whole new thing now.”
