Industry Insider
www.parkworld-online.com
Leading light
Sally Dark Rides is renowned across the world for many of the most successful dark rides ever created. It’s John Wood - chairman and one of the original founders of Sally - who has led the business on its dark ride journey for over 45 years. Park World finds out more in this Q&A.
“ I am
very proud of all of our creations
” 28
Charlotte Westwood: What brought you into this industry? John Wood: We started Sally with a business plan of marketing moving and talking mannequins to the retail display and museum industry, but within a year discovered IAAPA and found a home there! Since 1978 we haven’t missed one of the IAAPA exhibitions.
CW: Tell me about your role in founding Sally Dark Rides. JW: Two other gentlemen named John had the idea and built five prototypes in their garage, but they both had other careers and families, so they recruited me to be the rainmaker as head of sales and marketing. Soon after, we rented office space and began the business. The other two founders returned to their original careers within the first decade of the company.
CW: Has the business evolved in the way you expected over the years? JW: When we started, we were pioneering new ways to use animatronics. We sold Santa Claus’s to retail stores, Tooth Fairies to dentists and logo characters to major corporations, but around 1982, Chuck E. Cheese and Showbiz emerged in the marketplace and the demand for animated musical shows went through the roof! As a result we developed new control technologies that would enable us to manage multiple characters on multiple stages and were thrust into the entertainment side of animatronics. In the late ‘80’s Chuck E. Cheese went Chapter 11 and the market for animated musical shows dried up. At that juncture we set out to expand our efforts in the amusement park industry through dark ride development.
Due to the fact that we could produce the animatronic stars of the dark rides, we firmly believed that we could rejuvenate dark rides in the regional park and have spent the last 35 years in the industry doing just that.
CW: What are the proudest moments in your career to date? JW: We have had the good fortune to create some outstanding attractions however the three THEA Award dark rides are truly special: Challenge of Tutankhamon now in its 21st season at Walibi, Belgium, Justice League Battle for Metropolis at multiple Six Flags and Sesame St. Street Mission at PortAventura. Being there on opening day and seeing the visitor response was almost as great as receiving the recognition from our peers at the THEA Awards!
CW: In your opinion, what makes an exceptional dark ride? JW: Story is always the backbone of a good dark ride but creating gags that affect the visitors emotions to make them jump, laugh, scream or shriek helps to make it memorable. However, the pace of the ride with a great beginning, middle and end is what ties the experience up with a bow!
CW: With that being said, do you have a personal favourite? JW: I am very proud of all of our creations, however I would have to select Sesame Street: Street Mission as my personal favourite to date!
NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2023
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52 |
Page 53 |
Page 54 |
Page 55 |
Page 56 |
Page 57 |
Page 58 |
Page 59 |
Page 60
