ORLANDO, Fla. — A one-of-a-kind course at the University of Central Florida is providing instruction in ride design, production, guest experience and park operations.
Now in its third year, the Universal Creative Lab blends classroom learning with hands-on, behind-the-scenes experiences at Universal Orlando.
In partnership with Universal, it was created by professor Peter Weishar, the director of UCF’s Themed Experience programs.
Students spend about half of their time on-site in Universal’s design offices, on the rides themselves or backstage talking with engineers, creative directors and operations teams to get an immersive education in every phase of the creation of theme park experiences.
Students get to speak with the creative director about the vision behind an attraction, meet the engineers who designed the coaster, ride the experience and then head backstage to learn how it’s maintained, even diving into the financial and research history behind it.
Students learn concept and ride design, storytelling, guest operations and more, even playing a part in shaping of Epic Universe.
"Most of them have signed nondisclosure agreements and can’t tell me everything they did," Weishar said. “But I’ll be walking through the park with one of them, and they’ll point out and ay ,‘I worked on that, I worked on that.’"
So far, 40% of the students who’ve gone through the program have gone on to work at Universal.
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