What It’s Like to Be a Theme Park Designer主題公園設計師

凱特·斯普林格/文　三三/譯

Growing up in Orange County， California， near Disneyland and Knott’s Berry Farm， Taylor Jeffs visited some of the world’s best theme parks on a regular basis.

泰勒·杰夫斯在加利福尼亞州奧蘭治縣長大，那里離迪士尼樂園和諾氏百樂坊樂園很近，所以他經常去世界上最好的幾個主題公園玩。

A few decades later， he’s overseen some of the world’s most immersive rides and parks as the co-owner， president and chief creative officer of Legacy Entertainment， a leading entertainment design and production firm based in California. He shares what it’s like to create immersive worlds that bring families together.

幾十年后，作為業內領先的加州娛樂設計與制作公司Legacy Entertainment的共有人、總裁和首席創意官，杰夫斯已經監督打造了世界上最具沉浸感的幾個游樂項目和公園。對于創造出能讓家人聚在一起的沉浸式世界，他分享了自己的感受。

An early start

早早入行

Obsessed with Disneyland from a young age， Jeffs wanted to work there as soon as possible. At the time， you had to be at least 17 years old， but luckily， he found a loophole.

杰夫斯從小就迷戀迪士尼樂園，他希望盡快在那里工作。當時，要在迪士尼樂園工作必須年滿17歲，但杰夫斯幸運地找到了一個規則漏洞。

“Through California’s ROP1， I could earn high school credits instead of money， so at 15， I got a job at a restaurant in Frontierland，” he recalls. Later， he worked as a Disney tour guide and then conducted park surveys for the marketing team.

他回憶道：“通過加州的區域職業計劃，我能掙到高中學分，以此替代薪水，于是15歲那年，我在迪士尼樂園邊域世界的一個餐廳找到了一份工作。”后來，他做過迪士尼樂園的導游，還為其營銷團隊做過有關主題公園的問卷調查工作。

“Every day， I’d hear how much people loved the park’s scale and colors， landscapes and music，” recalls Jeffs. “Hearing that feedback on a daily basis， and learning how much they valued the experience was an important foundation for my career.”

“我每天都能聽到人們說自己多么喜歡迪士尼樂園的規模、色彩、景觀，還有音樂。”杰夫斯回憶道，“每天聽到這樣的反饋，了解游客對游樂體驗的重視程度，這為我的職業生涯搭建起重要基礎。”

His big break

重大突破

Jeffs worked at Disneyland for years before joining what was then the Goddard Group （now Legacy Entertainment） in 2002 as an intern.

杰夫斯在迪士尼樂園工作了幾年后，于2002年以實習生的身份加入戈達德集團（即現在的Legacy Entertainment）。

The group had recently laid off hundreds of employees due to a steep decline in tourism following the September 11 terrorist attacks in 2001.

當時，戈達德集團剛剛解雇了數百名員工，因為2001年9月11日的恐怖襲擊事件導致旅游業務量急劇下滑。

The resulting all-hands-on-deck2 atmosphere enabled Jeffs to work on high-profile projects， from Hershey’s Chocolate World to the Georgia Aquar-ium.

這種事態下產生的同舟共濟氛圍讓杰夫斯得以參與高知名度項目，比如好時巧克力世界和佐治亞水族館。

In 2008， then 24， Jeffs designed and produced his first attraction： “Glow in the Park，” a family-friendly night par-ade at Six Flags Mexico.

2008年，24歲的杰夫斯設計制作了他的第一個游樂項目“夜光鬼魅巡游”。這是墨西哥六面旗主題公園里一個適合全家一起參與的夜游活動。

He had a relatively small budget—“less than half of what Disney would spend on a single parade float at the time，” he estimates—but brought several big names on board， like Raul Rodriguez， who designed hundreds of floral floats for California’s Rose Parade3， and Beno?t Jutras， a principal Cirque du Soleil composer.

杰夫斯掌握的預算相對較少，他估計“還不夠迪士尼當時花在一輛花車上的一半”，但他還是請來了幾位大人物，比如為加州玫瑰花車游行設計了數百輛花車的勞爾·羅德里格斯，以及太陽劇團的主要作曲家伯努瓦·朱特拉斯。

With its illuminated floats， original soundtrack， dancers， drummers and cartoon characters， the parade was so successful Six Flags commissioned five more for other parks in the chain.

憑借彩燈閃爍的花車、原創的配樂、舞者、鼓手以及卡通人物，夜光鬼魅巡游取得了巨大成功，于是六面旗集團委托杰夫斯再為旗下其他幾個連鎖主題公園設計5個夜光鬼魅巡游項目。

Expanding in Asia

在亞洲擴張

After the Great Recession in 2008， the company shifted its focus to Asia. They’ve since built an impressive portfolio， from Studio City Macao in China to Chimelong Marine Science Park in China， Lotte Worlds in South Korea， Trans Studio parks in Indonesia， Shanghai Haichang Ocean Park in China and the Sea Shell Aquarium in Vietnam， to name a few.

2008年大衰退之后，戈達德集團將發展重心轉移到亞洲。此后，他們建造了一系列令人印象深刻的項目，比如中國澳門的新濠影匯酒店、中國珠海的長隆科學海洋樂園、韓國的樂天世界、印度尼西亞的多個跨工作室主題公園、中國上海的海昌海洋公園以及越南的貝殼水族館等，不一而足。

When it comes to designing theme parks， Jeffs says the process begins with a feasibility study， followed by a “blue-sky4” brainstorm in which the team throws out their wildest ideas.

談到主題公園的設計，杰夫斯說這個過程從可行性研究開始，緊接著是一系列“天馬行空”的頭腦風暴，其間團隊成員會提出他們最瘋狂的想法。

After receiving client feedback， they start sketching and diagramming the park’s layout and key features.

收到客戶反饋后，設計團隊開始繪制公園布局和主要特征的草圖和圖解。

Over several iterations， the park design becomes increasingly specific—down to the placement of light posts and the number of turnstiles—until it’s time to start construction.

經過幾輪修改，公園的設計變得越來越具體——細到路燈柱的位置和旋轉門的數量——直到開始施工。

“Often， design continues during construction，” he adds. “And then ideal-ly， we will have producers， managers， technical directors， art directors on the ground through the opening day.”

“通常情況下，施工過程中，設計仍在繼續。”杰夫斯補充道，“理想情況下，開幕當天，所有的制作人、經理、技術總監和藝術總監都必須全程在現場。”

Out-of-the-box ideas

突破常規

Every so often， one of those blue-sky ideas gets the green light.

時不時地，某個天馬行空的想法就會變成現實。

Jeffs points to the immersive “Pacific Rim： Shatterdome Strike” ride at Trans Studio Cibubur as an example.

杰夫斯指出，芝布布爾跨工作室主題公園的沉浸式項目“環太平洋之穹頂追擊”就是很好的例子。

In a conventional dark ride experience， a vehicle moves through a themed world with music， blacklights and special effects. But Jeffs and his team pitched a plot twist. What if the ride broke down and passengers would have to grab flashlights and continue on foot while a monster attacks， then reboard to fight the monster and escape？

在傳統的暗黑游樂項目中，車輛在音樂、黑光燈以及特效營造出的主題世界中穿行，但杰夫斯及他的團隊設計了一個反轉情節。如果游樂設施發生故障，游客必須拿起手電筒，頂著怪物的襲擊步行向前，接著重登戰車和怪獸戰斗，最后順利逃脫，這會是什么效果？

“We even had some of our own people saying， ‘That’s crazy. It won’t work.’ But we figured out a way—and now it’s one of the most successful dark rides in recent history，” says Jeffs.

杰夫斯說：“連我們團隊內部都有幾個人說，‘這個想法太瘋狂了，行不通的’。但是我們還是想到了實現的辦法，現在這個項目已經成為近年來最成功的暗黑游樂項目之一。”

In another instance， they reimagined the “pre-show” concept—typically， a video that plays before the ride begins. “The ride was all about escaping， so we thought： instead of a video， what if we lock you in a jail cell， and you have to solve a puzzle to break out of before you start the ride？”

在另外一個例子里，杰夫斯團隊重構了“預演”概念——通常，在游樂項目開始前要播放一段視頻。“這個游樂項目是關于逃脫的，所以我們就想：如果不播放視頻，而是直接將游客關在一個牢房里，游客必須解開一道謎題，游樂項目才能開始，這樣如何？”

And then there was the Golden Reel. In Macao， Jeffs helped design Studio City Macao， a Hollywood-themed hotel， and the Golden Reel—the world’s first figure-eight Ferris wheel—in the middle of the hotel’s facade.

接下來是“黃金卷軸”。在澳門，杰夫斯幫助設計了以好萊塢為主題的酒店新濠影匯，以及酒店外立面中央的全球第一個“8”字形摩天輪——黃金卷軸。

“We came up with the idea to build a Ferris wheel between the towers. But it was Lawrence Ho， the founder of Studio City， who wanted to do a figure-eight because eight is a lucky number in Chinese culture as a homonym for wealth，” says Jeffs.

杰夫斯說：“我們提出想在高層塔樓之間建一個摩天輪，于是新濠影匯的策劃人何猷龍先生就希望摩天輪是“8”字形的，因為8在中國文化里是幸運數字，跟發（財）同音。”

Art meets science

藝術和科學的碰撞

In most cases， wild and crazy ideas won’t fly5 unless they satisfy commercial needs. “It’s an art and a science—these two things have to meet，” says Jeffs. “Capacity drives everything， so we need to make sure that there’s plenty to do and people don’t spend their entire visit waiting in line.”

大多數情況下，瘋狂的想法不會成功，除非他們滿足商業的需要。“這既是藝術，也是科學——兩者缺一不可。”杰夫斯說，“樂園的接待能力決定一切，所以我們必須確保游客有大量項目可玩，而不是全程在排隊。”

Moreover， every member of the family should be able to have a good time. “It’s our job to make sure there is a variety—enough attractions without height requirements for parents with babies， thrill rides for teenagers， and par-ades and shows for everyone，” he adds.

此外，應該讓每個家庭成員都能玩得開心。杰夫斯補充道：“我們的工作就是確保游樂項目的多樣性——既有足夠多沒有身高要求的項目，適合帶嬰兒的父母；又有驚險刺激的項目，適合青少年；還有老少皆宜的花車游行和舞臺表演。”

That was his approach when designing Lotte World Adventure in Busan， South Korea， which opened in 2022. From family-friendly trains to flume rides， hair-raising roller coasters， par-ades and stage shows and immersive restaurants， there’s something for every age group.

他在設計2022年開園的韓國釜山樂天世界冒險樂園時，就采用了這個理念。有適合全家一起玩的主題列車，有水上項目“激流勇進”，有驚險刺激的過山車，還有花車游行、舞臺表演以及沉浸式餐廳，每個年齡段的人都能找到適合自己的游樂項目。

For a timeless feel， the team took cues from European gardens， incorporating lush green spaces， plazas and water features that will “only get more beautiful with time，” says Jeffs.

為了營造永恒的氛圍，杰夫斯團隊從歐洲花園中汲取靈感，將郁郁蔥蔥的綠化空間、露天廣場和水景融入園中。用杰夫斯的話說，“隨著時間推移，這一切只會越發迷人”。

“When I was growing up， theme park design was often dismissed as a rinky-dink6， second-class artistic discip-line simply because it was rarely well done.

“在我成長的過程中，主題公園設計經常被貶為無足輕重的二流藝術學科，僅僅因為做得好的很少。

“I’m happy to say that this is unquestionably no longer the case. Over the last 15 years， we’ve seen the fulfillment of what this medium can be when it’s firing on all cylinders7.”

“我很高興這種情況已經確定不復存在了。過去15年里，我們已經看到，只要全力以赴，這種藝術表達方式就能有所成就。”

1 = regional occupational program區域職業計劃。

2 all-hands-on-deck全員參與的；全體動員的。

3 玫瑰花車游行，美國規模最大、吸引觀眾最多的新年慶典之一。? 4 blue-sky（想法等）漫無邊際的；不能付諸實行的。

5 fly成功。

6 rinky-dink小規模的；不重要的。? 7 be firing on all cylinders〈習語〉竭盡全力；盡力干好；開足馬力。