Attractions Expert Q&A: Paul Osterhout created the ‘Horn Duck’ for Disneyland’s Alice in Wonderland attraction

Paul’s work has allowed him to live in – and enjoy the cultures of – India, China, Canada, Paris, and Abu Dhabi. He now draws on his extensive experience to focus on speaking engagements and mentoring others.

What theme park souvenir might we be surprised to find on your shelf, and what’s its story?

On my shelf, I have two things. One is a sculpted animal I created for the Alice in Wonderland attraction at Disneyland – the Horn Duck. It’s a four-legged animal with a mouth that looks like a horn. I think I sculpted it around 1980. That’s how I got my start. I was hired by Imagineering in 1980 for Epcot and was a three-dimensional artisan, so I was a model maker, prop maker, whatever they needed.

The other one is from Muppet*Vision 3D at Disney’s Hollywood Studios. At the very beginning of the movie, Gonzo is holding a sign that says 3D, and he pushes it through the door. I have that.

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

I don’t think there are any, but I would like to go back to Tivoli Gardens. I was there twice, and both times, I felt like I needed to be there longer. It’s so big. I went at night when all the trees are lit up, and it’s very beautiful, especially during the summertime when it stays light very late.

Tivoli is a really special place, and there’s live music everywhere. I talk about that when I am executive producing a theme park; I tell people I want to put “park” back into “theme park.” So, we’re not just running from iron ride to iron ride; it’s a place to decompress, and that’s what I like about Tivoli. If you want the iron rides and that adrenaline rush, you can still have it, but all theme parks need places to decompress, so it’s not just attraction, attraction, attraction.

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

The Haunted Mansion. When I was younger, I really liked magic, being a magician, and performing. So, I liked the Haunted Mansion because of all of the illusions that were going on. Obviously, the storytelling is fun, but the illusions they did were incredible – and it just so happens that when I started working at Imagineering, I got to work with Disney Imagineer Yale Gracey, who came up with many of those special effects.

Yale was the master illusionist for the Haunted Mansion. People thought there were lasers and holograms, but it was just the simplest things. Yale was also working on the transportation pavilion for Epcot, and since I was hired for Epcot, I got to work with him a little bit.

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

I used to go to If You Had Wings at the Magic Kingdom in Orlando, but it’s no longer there. It was sponsored by Eastern Airlines, and it didn’t cost you any tickets out of your ticket book, so you could just ride it, and it was really fun. You got on an Omnimover, like an airplane taking off. It flew you to Mexico and then basically all over the world. I remember going to the Caribbean, The Bahamas, and New Orleans; it was very entertaining.

It was a mix of physical sets and projection screens with music and singing, with a lot of energy behind it. So, whenever I went to the Magic Kingdom, I went on If You Had Wings.

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

No, I don’t think so because when theme parks happened here in Orlando, it was 1971, and I was already 14. I had never been to a theme park until then, and I was a teenager, so I wouldn’t say that there were any that frightened me.

But now there are some roller coasters that I really don’t like. Even today, I won’t do some of the coasters, but I don’t remember being frightened by any attraction as a child.

What was the oddest or coolest job you’ve had in your career?

Hands down, the coolest job I ever had was at Imagineering. I worked there from 1980 to 1984 during Epcot and New Fantasyland at Disney’s Magic Kingdom and Tokyo Disneyland. I left for three years (from 1984 to 1987), but they asked if I would come back, and I remained there from 1987 to 2005.

The best time was the nineties. In the middle of the nineties, there was renewed energy after Michael Eisner and Frank Wells took over the company. They called it the Disney Decade and it felt like we were working on all the parks nonstop for ten years. And, of course, Euro Disneyland (now Disneyland Paris) opened, and I was the Executive Producer for Euro Disneyland’s second gate. I really enjoyed it.

I love traveling, meeting people, and experiencing new cultures. I’ve lived in India, China, Canada, Paris, Abu Dhabi, and Orlando. I’ve had the opportunity to live and work in some really cool places.

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

Pirates of the Caribbean at Shanghai Disneyland. It’s over the top with brilliant storytelling. The illusion is seamless. I think it’s the most immersive attraction ever developed.

That’s the Holy Grail of an attraction – you want it to be immersive, so you’re lost in the story and in the moment. As psychologists say, you’re in that “flow” moment where nothing can bother you because you’re so focused on what you’re experiencing.

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

I would come up with something handheld because many people don’t want to take the time to sit down and eat. I would try to make something healthy, like a wrap. A lot depends on where we are going to put this. What land will it be in? Is it going to be in Fantasyland or Tomorrowland? Because I would want to theme it to the land somehow. Or maybe to a specific IP.

You’re a walk-around character for a day; who do you choose?

I was one of the penguins from Mary Poppins, but I would probably want to be a character like Goofy, where you could just be silly. There are certain things that Mickey or Donald probably couldn’t do. They couldn’t be as silly as Goofy. Unless I could be a face character, like a prince. I would do that.

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

I would like to see fewer simulators and attractions where you watch a movie and stare at a screen. I think we need less screens. Going through physical sets is always fun because, as a storyteller, it’s more difficult to direct the audience that way. When you’re looking at a film, you have no choice but to stare at the screen, but when you’re moving the audience through physical sets, there’s so much more you can do. So, probably a moving, dark ride that’s interactive.

We used to say, sit back, relax, and enjoy the show – and I think there’s still some truth to that – but nowadays, people want to interact and be part of the experience and influence the outcome of the attraction. So, I think something like that, but I would want to do it with physical sets.

Was there any challenge or surprise in your career?

What was a surprise was when I was a producer on the Rock ‘n’ Roller Coaster at Disney’s Hollywood Studios. The surprise was how much fun it was working with Aerosmith and how much they wanted to be part of the theme park experience. They didn’t just take a check and say, “Tell us when the opening is.” They wanted to be hands-on and understand the entire process. They offered to re-record some of their music, they invited us up to their house to brainstorm, and they were absolutely lovely people and just so much fun.

They were also really interested in being involved. I expected them to say, “Give us our license fee and do what you need to do, and we’ll give you approval if we like it.” But that wasn’t them at all. And they were on tour, so we would fly into wherever they were playing, go backstage, meet with them, and hang out. It was about a year we did that.

When we were testing the ride, they came down and rode it dozens and dozens of times, making sure the mix was correct, and it was just amazing.

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

I just finished working in China for a company called Century Media who was hired to help Evergrande get their theme park business in order so, right now, I’m working on more speaking engagements.

I’m speaking at IAAPA this year (the second or third year I’ve spoken there). I’ve also given speeches at SXSW three times. The first year I went to SXSW, I didn’t know what it was. I thought it was a music festival (and it is), but it’s way more than that. I thought, what’s the one thing all these diverse people could all use? I came up with, everybody has to know how to pitch an idea, whether you’re pitching yourself to get a job or you’re pitching a product. I’ve always thought that one of my superpowers is how I can pitch to anyone. So, I put together a one-hour presentation and pitched it to SXSW, and they said, great, do it. And I’ve done it three years in a row. I’m also teaching how to pitch At IAAPA, but I have to do it in a 20-minute slot, so it will be interesting to see if I can take an hour-long presentation and distill it down to 20 minutes, which will be a good challenge for me.

I’m working on a TEDx talk that’s still to be arranged, and I’m trying to do a video almost every day (if anyone is interested, they can see them posted on my LinkedIn page). So far, there are 13 or 14.

If an interesting project comes along and they’d like me to join and help, I’m all for it, but I’m not actively looking for the next gig. I’ve focused more on speaking, mentoring, and one-on-one coaching.

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

I would take somebody like Tony Baxter or Joe Rohde, somebody I look up to, somebody I admire, to get their perspective of what we’re looking at and why, in their mind, something is working or not working. I’d like to get that perspective from some of these masters.

They’re both into storytelling and would have similar takes on everything, but Tony has more of a Disney-centric kind of thinking, whereas Joe is more art-driven, like an art historian’s take on things.

I know Joe very well – he was the best man at my wedding – and we’ve known each other for 100 years. Joe would take the art and the design kind of track, and Tony Baxter would talk about storytelling and why things are done a certain way. And so, if I could take both, I would do that.