What It’s Like to Be a Theme Park Designer主题公园设计师

凯特·斯普林格/文　三三/译

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·杰夫斯在加利福尼亚州奥兰治县长大，那里离迪士尼乐园和诺氏百乐坊乐园很近，所以他经常去世界上最好的几个主题公园玩。

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，作为业内领先的加州娱乐设计与制作公司Legacy Entertainment的共有人、总裁和首席创意官，杰夫斯已经监督打造了世界上最具沉浸感的几个游乐项目和公园。对于创造出能让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.

杰夫斯从小就迷恋迪士尼乐园，他希望尽快在那里工作。当时，要在迪士尼乐园工作必须年满17岁，但杰夫斯幸运地找到了一个规则漏洞。

“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.

他回忆道：“通过加州的区域职业计划，我能挣到高中学分，以此替代薪水，于是15岁那年，我在迪士尼乐园边域世界的一个餐厅找到了一份工作。”后来，他做过迪士尼乐园的导游，还为其营销团队做过有关主题公园的问卷调查工作。

“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.”

“我每天都能听到人们说自己多么喜欢迪士尼乐园的规模、色彩、景观，还有音乐。”杰夫斯回忆道，“每天听到这样的反馈，了解游客对游乐体验的重视程度，这为我的职业生涯搭建起重要基础。”

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.

杰夫斯在迪士尼乐园工作了几年后，于2002年以实习生的身份加入戈达德集团（即现在的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.

当时，戈达德集团刚刚解雇了数百名员工，因为2001年9月11日的恐怖袭击事件导致旅游业务量急剧下滑。

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.

这种事态下产生的同舟共济氛围让杰夫斯得以参与高知名度项目，比如好时巧克力世界和佐治亚水族馆。

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岁的杰夫斯设计制作了他的第一个游乐项目“夜光鬼魅巡游”。这是墨西哥六面旗主题公园里一个适合全家一起参与的夜游活动。

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 Benoît Jutras， a principal Cirque du Soleil composer.

杰夫斯掌握的预算相对较少，他估计“还不够迪士尼当时花在一辆花车上的一半”，但他还是请来了几位大人物，比如为加州玫瑰花车游行设计了数百辆花车的劳尔·罗德里格斯，以及太阳剧团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.

凭借彩灯闪烁的花车、原创的配乐、舞者、鼓手以及卡通人物，夜光鬼魅巡游取得了巨大成功，于是六面旗集团委托杰夫斯再为旗下其他几个连锁主题公园设计5个夜光鬼魅巡游项目。

Expanding in Asia

在亚洲扩张

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，戈达德集团将发展重心转移到亚洲。此后，他们建造了一系列令人印象深刻的项目，比如中国澳门的新濠影汇酒店、中国珠海的长隆科学海洋乐园、韩国的乐天世界、印度尼西亚的多个跨工作室主题公园、中国上海的海昌海洋公园以及越南的贝壳水族馆等，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.

談到主题公园的设计，杰夫斯说这个过程从可行性研究开始，紧接着是一系列“天马行空”的头脑风暴，其间团队成员会提出他们最疯狂的想法。

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

收到客户反馈后，设计团队开始绘制公园布局和主要特征的草图和图解。

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.

经过几轮修改，公园的设计变得越来越具体——细到路灯柱的位置和旋转门的数量——直到开始施工。

“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.”

“通常情况下，施工过程中，设计仍在继续。”杰夫斯补充道，“理想情况下，开幕当天，所有的制作人、经理、技术总监和艺术总监都必须全程在现场。”

Out-of-the-box ideas

突破常规

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

时不时地，某个天马行空的想法就会变成现实。

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题公园的沉浸式项目“环太平洋之穹顶追击”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？

在传统的暗黑游乐项目中，车辆在音乐、黑光灯以及特效营造出的主题世界中穿行，但杰夫斯及他的团队设计了一个反转情节。如果游乐设施发生故障，游客必须拿起手电筒，顶着怪物的袭击步行向前，接着重登战车和怪兽战斗，最后顺利逃脱，这会是什么效果？

“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.

杰夫斯说：“连我们团队内部都有几个人说，‘这个想法太疯狂了，行不通的’。但是我们还是想到了实现的办法，现在这个项目已经成为近年来最成功的暗黑游乐项目之一。”

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？”

在另外一个例子里，杰夫斯团队重构了“预演”概念——通常，在游乐项目开始前要播放一段视频。“这个游乐项目是关于逃脱的，所以我们就想：如果不播放视频，而是直接将游客关在一个牢房里，游客必须解开一道谜题，游乐项目才能开始，这样如何？”

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.

接下来是“黄金卷轴”。在澳门，杰夫斯帮助设计了以好莱坞为主题的酒店新濠影汇，以及酒店外立面中央的全球第一个“8”字形摩天轮——黄金卷轴。

“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.

杰夫斯说：“我们提出想在高层塔楼之间建一个摩天轮，于是新濠影汇的策划人何猷龙先生就希望摩天轮是“8”字形的，因为8在中国文化里是幸运数字，跟发（财）同音。”

Art meets science

艺术和科学的碰撞

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.”

大多数情况下，疯狂的想法不会成功，除非他们满足商业的需要。“这既是艺术，也是科学——两者缺一不可。”杰夫斯说，“乐园的接待能力决定一切，所以我们必须确保游客有大量项目可玩，而不是全程在排队。”

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，应该让每个家庭成员都能玩得开心。杰夫斯补充道：“我们的工作就是确保游乐项目的多样性——既有足够多没有身高要求的项目，适合带婴儿的父母；又有惊险刺激的项目，适合青少年；还有老少皆宜的花车游行和舞台表演。”

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.

他在设计2022年开园的韩国釜山乐天世界冒险乐园时，就采用了这个理念。有适合全家一起玩的主题列车，有水上项目“激流勇进”，有惊险刺激的过山车，还有花车游行、舞台表演以及沉浸式餐厅，每个年龄段的人都能找到适合自己的游乐项目。

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.

为了营造永恒的氛围，杰夫斯团队从欧洲花园中汲取灵感，将郁郁葱葱的绿化空间、露天广场和水景融入园中。用杰夫斯的话说，“随着时间推移，这一切只会越发迷人”。

“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.

“在我成长的过程中，主题公园设计经常被贬为无足轻重的二流艺术学科，仅仅因为做得好的很少。

“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.”

“我很高兴这种情况已经确定不复存在了。过去15年里，我们已经看到，只要全力以赴，这种艺术表达方式就能有所成就。”

1 = regional occupational program区域职业计划。

2 all-hands-on-deck全员参与的；全体动员的。

3 玫瑰花车游行，美国规模最大、吸引观众最多的新年庆典之一。  4 blue-sky（想法等）漫无边际的；不能付诸实行的。

5 fly成功。

6 rinky-dink小規模的；不重要的。  7 be firing on all cylinders〈习语〉竭尽全力；尽力干好；开足马力。