Attractions Expert Q&A: Brent Young
Brent Young is an award-winning director, Emmy-nominated visual effects supervisor, and Founder and Creative Director of Super 78 Studios. He is a Producer and Supervisor of media-based attractions for theme parks, zoos, and aquariums.
by Kendall Wolf
Brent Young has directed and/or created world-class media with Nickelodeon, Universal Creative, ESPN, Electronic Arts, SeaWorld, Cartoon Network, Busch Gardens, Disney, American Greetings, and Discovery Networks. His film, “Flying Over the United States,” is the longest and most extensive helicopter aerial shoot in film history.
He also directed “Madagascar: The Crate Adventure” for Universal Studios Singapore, oversaw the animation and technology for their “Donkey Live!” with DreamWorks, and served as media director for SeaWorld’s Shamu show, “Believe,” earning the highest THEA award for Best Live Show. The previous year, he served as visual effects supervisor for the Busch Gardens 3D/4D dark ride “Curse of Darkastle,” earning a nomination from the Visual Effects Society and another THEA for The Best Attraction of the Year.
What theme park souvenir might we be surprised to find on your shelf, and what’s the story behind it?
I collect a lot of little models of theme park trains and other vehicles, like Autopia cars. I have a model of the EP Ripley from Tokyo Disneyland. And (really cool) I have a miniature Nautilus Submarine from the 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea ride at Disney World.
What theme park have you always wanted to visit but have never been to?
I’ve always wanted to go to Tivoli Gardens – I would love to visit that park as I’m a big Walt Disney fan. I’ve always heard that was a huge inspiration for Walt, so I’d love to see that.
Was there a theme park or attraction that made you want to be in this industry? How did it inspire you?
The theme park was definitely Six Flags Over Mid-America (now Six Flags St. Louis). That was the theme park I would go to in the summertime. I was there the year the Screaming Eagle (wooden roller coaster) opened.
But what really inspired me to get into this whole crazy entertainment industry was the band KISS. KISS inspired me with the music, the theatrics, the sound, and the theater. It was the full package–costumes, characters, larger-than-life comic book superheroes, pyrotechnics, lights, everything.
In an interesting appreciation of that, I always do a little homage to KISS in all the attractions I design. I like to try to put fire or fireballs into the rides. You’ll see that in Movie Park Germany at the The Lost Temple. It’s a big media attraction, an immersive tunnel. There’s a huge carved Aztec head over the queue, and it shoots fireballs, so that was my homage to KISS. I always try to slip something in.
What was your favorite ride or attraction as a child, and why?
The puppet show by Sid and Marty Krofft at what was then the Krofft’s Puppet Theater at Six Flags. It was absolutely amazing and so memorable. They had a guy in a gorilla suit that climbed up on the Empire State Building. There were biplanes. They had an ice rink with puppets that would do Ice Capades. The gorilla came into the audience and would run around and scare kids. It was like going into the world of Syd and Marty Krofft, like Pufnstuf, but in an actual theater show.
Was there a ride, attraction, or character that frightened you as a child?
That would be Injun Joe’s Cave at Six Flags. It was the first dark ride I ever went on, based on Tom Sawyer and Huckleberry Finn. I remember you were in Injun Joe’s Cave, and he had a big knife and was chasing you around with that and other weapons.
What’s the oddest or coolest job you’ve had in a theme park?
The oddest job would be the summer we installed Restaurant 360 onboard the Princess Cruise ships. It was very odd because I had never been on multiple cruises, one right after the other after the other, and it was totally like “Ground Hog Day.” The cruise would be the same every week. Week after week, you would hear, “Okay, it’s Tuesday, and this is what everyone is doing.” Serious Ground Hog Day.
The coolest job would be as the person in the co-pilot’s seat most of the time as the director for our flying films. Just being able to view these incredible locations from a vantage point that most people don’t get to see. I feel like if I’m getting this experience here in real life, and I deliver 25% of that of what I’m feeling, the audience is going to love it. It is a unique job.
What ride or attraction do you think everyone needs to experience and why?
I think Tokyo DisneySea is a park that everybody has to experience. Not just one ride or attraction–the whole thing is so darn cool. It’s where everyone should go once in their life in this industry. The detail is amazing, but so are the fans, the people that go there.
Everyone dresses up–either they’re dressed in costume, or they’re just really well-dressed. They match and come in groups. It is a trip. Also, there’s a unique culture that surrounds that park. If it was just the rides and attractions, it would still be amazing and number one on the list. But the fans and the people make it even better.
If you were tasked with creating a new theme park food, what would it be?
A 3D-printed hot dog that you could design into whatever shape or character you want.
You’re a walk-around character for a day; who do you choose?
Goofy. Because you can be goofy.
What types of attractions would you like to see more of and why?
More dark rides. They have the ability to transport people to different places, and they’re extremely memorable. They’re hard to do right, but those are the rides that make theme parks what they are.
Do you have any interesting pandemic stories?
We were working for Princess Cruises at the time when that happened. That was at the beginning, and we were one month away from installing restaurants on two ships. They shut everything down, and this was something I’d never experienced– when we boarded, nobody was on this ship. They’d parked it off the coast (of Florida), and there was only a skeleton crew to run the boat and 500 people in quarantine. But they let us on, and we had free rein of the ship.
We could go anywhere we wanted, so we would walk around and explore this brand-new cruise ship. But all the stores were empty. Everything was covered in plastic, even the roulette tables. It was like being on a ghost ship. It was weird.
When we first arrived, they came out in hazmat suits and sprayed us with disinfectant. We had to get tested and go to an infirmary and wait until it was confirmed we were okay. Then, we were just let loose on the ship. There was only the captain and his small crew keeping it running and 500 people in quarantine who couldn’t come out of their rooms. So there were like 10 of us on this massive ship. But we couldn’t get food anywhere. Meals were provided at certain times, but if you were late, you were out of luck. So we looked around the kitchens, and one night, we found some stale bread and peanut butter, which we had for dinner.
Can you talk about what you are working on these days?
We are really having a great time with the Mattel people. We are working on the Barbie Flying Ride for the Mattel Adventure Park in Glendale, Arizona. You’re going on a flying adventure with Barbie and her best friend, Brooklyn.
You’re in a magical flying machine, which was built by Barbie’s mom, who is an inventor. Barbie and Brooklyn, who don’t know how to fly it, will take us across the country to New York City, where they have a big concert in Times Square.
We’re working with the team there to design the Barbie Malibu Beach House, and we’re doing an attraction called Barbie’s Dream Closet, which will be really fun. It’s an interactive Barbie experience where you get to pick all Barbie’s clothes and accessories. Barbie is a hologram and talks to guests to help them pick out her wardrobe.
We also just finished the 360 Restaurants for Princess Cruises, which has been a big success for them. The restaurant is kind of like a holodeck–a round room with LED screens surrounding the dining room, and the tables are all interactive. It’s a big media experience with Brooke Shields as the narrator, and she takes us on a culinary adventure through the Mediterranean. It’s a very high-end dining experience, with only 20 guests per seating.
You are going to your favorite theme park; which industry people (dead or alive) are you taking with you?
I’d want to go to Disneyland with Walt Disney and have him give me a tour. I would let him do all the talking and just soak it in. I think that would be the dream for any theme park designer.
Writer Kendall Wolf is a long-time consultant in the themed entertainment industry. She has worked with designers, producers, and fabricators to help developers create unique and successful projects around the world. In 2017, she introduced Merlin Entertainments to a development group in Sichuan province for the first Legoland park in China. Kendall continues to consult for the developer to open more themed resorts in China.
