Attractions Expert Q&A: John Wood

By Kendall Wolf

Sally is largely credited with the birth of the interactive dark ride, including the recent award-winning attractions Justice League: Battle for Metropolis for Six Flags and Sesame Street: Street Mission at PortAventura in Spain. John has twice served as a director of IAAPA, receiving numerous awards, including being inducted into the IAAPA Hall of Fame in 2013. Currently, he is a member of the International Board of Directors of the Themed Entertainment Association (TEA), serving for three terms.

What theme park souvenir might we be surprised to find on your shelf? What’s the story behind it?

Jiminy Cricket. It’s a redwood carving made by Daniel’s Woodland that my daughter gave me for Christmas. I’ve always liked his motto, “Let your conscience be your guide.”

What theme park have you always wanted to visit but have never been to?

I’ve been very fortunate to have been on the Applause Award Board of Governors for over 25 years, so we’ve visited all the major parks in the world, but I haven’t been to Genting Highland, and I wouldn’t mind going there one day. I’ve always heard about it—it’s somewhat mysterious in Malaysia—and not easy to get to. I’m just curious to visit as there are some new dark rides I’d like to see.

One park not everyone has been to—Dollywood—I visited in our first year of business when it was still Silver Dollar City. I had “Elvis” in my car, taking him to Nashville for the International Council of Shopping Centers Show. I think it was the start of rumors that Elvis was still alive. It scared me every time I looked in the rearview mirror. I stopped at different parks along the way, including Silver Dollar City. Jack Herschend was there, and Ted Miller. Jack and his brother Peter were the real drivers for Silver Dollar City. And I set up Elvis in the gravel parking lot and ran his tape. Jack looked at me and asked, “Is this state-of-the-art for you guys?” and I said, “Yes sir.” He said, “Well, work on it a little bit longer, then come back and see me.” It was definitely formulative.

I had a good opportunity to see Fire in the Hole and The Flooded Mine ride that they had created, and I realized that even though their animation wasn’t very sophisticated, the show was great. I learned that it wasn’t technology that would make us good at what we were trying to do; it was fun. Seeing how the scenes were put together, how the gags worked, and how it got you involved emotionally—my first stop at Dollywood with Elvis in my back seat was a very informative and valuable time.

Was there a theme park, ride, or attraction that made you want to be in this industry? How did it inspire you?

My first exposure to animatronics was at the ’64 Worlds Fair. I was a 12-year-old kid with my jaw wide open. I couldn’t believe Carousel of Progress or Great Moments with Mr. Lincoln.

I never dreamed that later on, that would be as valuable to me as it was because I was expecting to be an eye doctor like my father. I had no intentions of getting into this industry until I decided to join two other Johns on this quest to build and sell robots.

The two Johns were inventor John Rob Holland, who came up with the first prototype characters and the techniques for recording their movements and sound onto tape, and the other John was a guy I worked with named John Fox. Together, we were the three Johns who formed a company called Sally. Then my life changed – and I was just a young 25-year-old.

What was your favorite ride/attraction as a child, and why?

Pirates of the Caribbean. When I went to Disneyland in California, I was blown away by the animatronics and the quality of the experience. I loved Mr. Toad’s Wild Ride, which was the epitome of the small traditional dark ride, but the original Pirates in California would have been the new high-water mark for me growing up.

Was there a ride, attraction, or character that frightened you as a child?

The Wild Mouse at the Jacksonville Beach Pier. When I was a little kid and came off that, my wrists were sore from gripping the bar so strongly, and I was scared to death that little vehicle would go right off the tracks!

What was the oddest or coolest job you’ve had in a theme park or your company?

Many years ago, I was working with the design firm HOK, and we did a few exhibits for the St. Louis Zoo. In the lead exhibit, Charles Darwin would stand up and point at a finch and talk about his species selection, but one of the exhibits was about how animals camouflage themselves, and we made this animal that was called Motley, which was part lemur, part raccoon, part reptile, part mammal. It was a motley character who would talk about how animals would camouflage themselves for protection or to show that they were angry or happy, and it was very unusual and effective.

One of our earliest projects was with Landmark Entertainment Group on the Baltimore Power Plant. That project was a great learning experience for a lot of us. We built the Magic Lantern Theater with 73 animated characters, five rotating stages, four animated flies, and a drop from the ceiling. It was quite the production. We had some issues (as everybody did in those early days), but we got through it all, it opened on time and on budget, and it was an extraordinary experience.

What ride or attraction do you think everyone needs to experience and why?

If possible, the new Pirates of the Caribbean ride at Disney Shanghai. It’s one-of-a-kind and very special. For a long time, I felt like we had created the best ride out there with Justice League: Battle for Metropolis until I rode Pirates and admitted I no longer think ours is the best. I had an opportunity to ride it three times on opening day.

If you were tasked with creating a new theme park food, what would it be?

I would do more grilling. Things like shish kababs and barbeque. Stuff that has a lot of aroma attached to it.

You’re a walkaround character for a day; who do you choose?

I’ve been a walkaround character for some of our animated musical shows. I’d be out there waving at cars and everything else with Daniel T-Bone’s costume on (Daniel was the leader of our Daniel and the Dixie Diggers animated musical Dixieland Band). We developed our own show with Dixieland music—Daniel and the Dixie Diggers were a hound dog band with Mark Twain as the host and Betty B. Birthday on the birthday stage. Then we had Bubba Bear and Badland Band, Billy Jo and the Bluegrass Bears, Ursula and the Oompapas, and Mr. Beaks and the Tropical Tweeters.

We had a bunch of different animated musical shows and did them in different countries, too. As a matter of fact, the last one we did was for Mr. Su at Chimelong. We did a couple of them. We created a White Tiger show for him probably fifteen years ago, a Penguins on Parade, and more recently, a panda show.

What types of attractions would you like to see more of and why?

With all this heat and bad weather, there’s no reason there aren’t many more dark rides out there. I’m still a big believer in the art form we’ve set our teeth in. Most of the parks have moved into the shoulder seasons—Winter, Christmas, and Halloween for sure—but the weather’s not always nice during those times of the year, so having something guests could enjoy indoors would certainly be better.

A dark ride adds to the personality of the park so much. Another coaster doesn’t do that, and another flat ride doesn’t do that, but a storytelling ride – especially one that’s uniquely yours – can certainly establish the character and the personality for most parks and the traditions people come back for.

Do you have any interesting theme park or FEC pandemic stories?

For us, it was pretty difficult. While we had a lot of work on the books, two jobs were canceled in the middle of the project, and when you’re building a custom project, it’s a tough thing to fill in that hole. I can tell you we worked hard during the pandemic; we didn’t let a stone go unturned.

We did one installation during the pandemic at Santa’s Village in New Hampshire called The Great Humbug Adventure. It’s a load of fun going into Scrooge’s home and helping him get rid of the infestation of humbugs with tickle machines. So, we made all the humbugs pleasant and Scrooge happy. It transformed that park in many ways.

Can you talk about what you are working on these days?

We’re working with Nickelodeon on SpongeBob’s Crazy Carnival Ride for Circus Circus in Las Vegas. We’ve also recently opened Treasure Hunt: The Ride in Monterey, and another new ride is the Haunted Hotel at Funtown Splashtown in Saco, Maine. It’s more of a traditional interactive ride that’s a custom top-to-bottom winner for them.

We also opened Unchartered, which was our first dark coaster for PortAventura in Spain. That was a real thrill for us. We’re actually now working with some of the coaster manufacturers on creating stories around their rides.

We had a THEA Award-winning success with the Sesame Street: Street Mission interactive dark ride that we installed in PortAventura in 2019, and to have a customer as prestigious as PortAventura call us back a couple of years later and say, “We want to do another themed attraction that’s not a dark ride; it’s a dark coaster. It will have an IP, and while we don’t know what the IP is yet, we do know we want to work with you.” – that, to me, was just over the top. We loved working with them again, and pulled off an incredible attraction.

You are going to your favorite theme park or attraction; which industry people (dead or alive) are you taking with you?

My kids. They love the rides as much as I do, and I love them to be with me at special parks and attractions. Disney World is, of course, the park we grew up around, and our kids love both Disney and Universal – and in our company, it’s an education to go to either of those parks, so I pay for any of our employees who want to go. It’s also an education for my kids since they both work with me.

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.