We Made a Time Machine in our Garage: Creative Principles for Attractions

What happens when you combine twin Creative Directors, a garage full of inherited tools, and a DIY obsession with Halloween? You get the foundation for some of the world's most awarded theme park attractions. In this session, Gavin and Jason Fox, Creative Directors at Framestore, reveal how their "maker culture" and raw passion for creating home grown experiences has grown into multiple award-winning, globally recognized attractions for the likes of Disney, Universal, and Merlin.

Through the lens of their DIY time machine project "Machine," presenters Gavin and Jason Fox break down their journey, experimental methodology and the core design philosophy that helped them bridge the gap between a home-grown escape room and a global dark ride. Attendees will explore how to prioritize narrative discovery over heavy-handed exposition and why sometimes you have to "lose the rules" and "not logic the fun out of it" to ensure a visceral guest experience. This session is a call to action for designers to return to their tinkering roots to create individual, shareable moments that turn first-time guests into lifelong fans.