– By Mark Jarman, Designer The Physical and Mental Simulated World When a guest walks into a themed space like the iconic Main Street USA in Disneyland, the moment they pass through the portal and gaze at the mid-19th century architecture, they enter a simulated world. Main Street USA is a world that is artfully and… Continue reading.
– By Jeannette Cooperman, Ph.D., writer & Mike Konzen,CEO Just two years ago, global travel was at an all-time high. For anyone in the travel and tourism industry, the pandemic was a gut punch even if you stayed healthy. A single virus was about to wipe out the life’s work of millions of dedicated people, taking 5.9… Continue reading.
– Brad Wuest, Natural Bridge Caverns, President/CEO, interviewed by Jeannette Cooperman Since 1883, Brad Wuest’s family has run a ranch in San Antonio, Texas. Sixty years ago, four university students squeezed through a small opening in a sinkhole on the ranch and found a massive cave system, stalactites icing vast, high-ceilinged chambers. Now a… Continue reading.
– By Jeannette Cooperman, Ph.D., writer & Mike Konzen, CEO Virtual “live” music sustained us through lockdown, but as wonderful as those concerts were, the grids of musicians playing in their own homes felt a little hollow. What was missing was their ability to hear us; to know our response. No energy was bouncing back from the audience. When you work in travel and tourism, you know that energy. A good hotelier,… Continue reading.
– By Jeannette Cooperman, Ph.D., writer & Mike Konzen, CEO If you’re part of the travel and tourism industry, you’ve been reeling these past two months. What if people just shelter at home, more or less, for the rest of their lives? What if they’re too frightened to ever venture to an unfamiliar… Continue reading.
– By Jedd Pellerin, Project Architect My wife, kids, and colleagues will tell you that I (probably too often) extoll the benefits of early-bird dinners, never grocery shopping on the weekend, Sunday morning matinees, TSA Pre-check, and off-peak visits to resorts and attractions. I’ve always been a bit of a social distancer, somewhat… Continue reading.
– By Diane Lochner, Vice President The IAAPA Expo 2019 Museum Day Session on The Emotion-Based Museum Experience was an opportunity to reflect on a design process that comes naturally to us at PGAV Destinations. Our focus is the visitor and our designs engage the visitor in interesting, surprising, and compelling ways. There are three… Continue reading.
The last year of the decade was a thrilling one for PGAV, with grand openings for our clients, big changes in our studio, and new insights from attraction guests around the world. Scroll onward to revisit the stories that were on our designers’ minds throughout the year! Attraction Openings The brand-new, 120,000… Continue reading.
2019 was PGAV’s biggest blogging year yet, with new authors, new projects and programs to celebrate, and 25 posts throughout the year! We’re counting down the eight most popular posts of 2019 in this annual round-up to explore the biggest trends and headlines of our final year of the decade. 8. Inspiration Doesn’t… Continue reading.
– By Sarah Aman, Desginer Snowcation: [snoh-kay-shuh-n] noun A period of suspension of work, study, or other activity to visit someplace snowy. As designers of amazing destinations, it’s only logical that we seek inspiration by visiting amazing destinations ourselves. These trips are not only fun vacations – they are also tools in… Continue reading.