Kathryn Woodcock, PhD CCPE ICAE PEng
Professor
This month, I had the magical opportunity to visit Universal Epic Universe, opening for guests in May. No photos were permitted, except for official photographers, so enjoy me casting an unknown spell using my Wand 2.0 in front of the Wizarding World: Ministry of Magic portal.
Do not even try to ask me my “favourite” land – they are all stunningly immersive! Please visit the official websites to see preview videos and photos.
This month (2025 March), I had the pleasure to join two classes at Wilfrid Laurier University for a guest lecture for students in courses in the User Experience Design program offered at WLU Brantford campus. Immersive Spaces (Prof. Hall) and Designing for EDI (Prof. Harris) were perfect courses to visit with two different presentations based on examples in theme parks.
Also delighted to return to visit Prof. Bill Childs for his course Recreation and Risk at Western New England University School of Law. In my visit, I talk about amusement parks’ competing expectations of safety and accessibility. Bill’s book would be of interest to anyone interested about the law applicable to recreational businesses, including amusement parks, water parks, haunted houses, and more.
I took advantage of these visits to also promote the Themed Experience and Attractions Academic Society to everyone! Hoping to see continued expansion of interest in the 2025 Symposium in November.
The announcement for the 2025 Toronto Metropolitan University Thrill Design Competition went out on 2025 February 25 to every club or school that had previously participated or requested information. 🎉
Continue reading “Thrill Design Competition 2025”An enjoyable walk down memory lane preceded my visit to the Thrill Club meeting on 2025 February 5, visiting campus from my sabbatical away. I presented about the history and past activities of the club since its precursor (student research assistants in the THRILL Lab) and establishment as a formal club, and had a chance to think about the great careers that have emerged from the club.
Continue reading “TMU Thrill Club history”Excited to be back to IAAPA again, and delighted to join another speaker panel. Looking forward to inaugural women’s lunch and the academic symposium on Friday, among many other plans.
Welcome to new teams and returning teams, making a record number of teams entered in the 2024 Open Qualifying challenge for TMTDC: Toronto Metropolitan University Thrill Design Competition. We’re currently reviewing the submissions and will send out invitations by the start of August. From there it is a whirlwind of preparation.
Continue reading “2024 Open Qualifying”The 2024 Toronto Met U Thrill Design Competition is underway with Open Qualifying challenge in the hands of new and returning teams. Teams interested to receive announcement for 2025 should contact us and we will be sure to send an announcement in early 2025.
Continue reading “Thrill Design Competition”Toronto Met Thrill Design Competition is now an established elite experience for students interested in theme park design. The TMU Thrill Club had a taste of the experience over the weekend of 22 – 26 March 2024, braving a big dump of snow to get to the challenge reveal. One attraction design challenge, and the luxury of FOUR days to tackle it! (The Invitational has a maximum of three, and as little as ONE day to design a challenge response!) As usual, all challenge details are top secret, so nothing more to say here. Teams presented to a fantastic professional jury comprised of Peter Marshall (FORREC), Joelle Javier (TSSA) and Jake Fulton (outgoing Club President and TMU 2024 grad joining Universal Destinations and Experiences).
At the start, I will say that other supervisors will feel differently. While this pertains to me, and I don’t think it is completely unusual, don’t assume faculty members are a monolith. However, 19 out of 20 grad-school applicant emails I receive can’t be considered, and many are mere spam that won’t even get an acknowledgment.
Continue reading “Approaching a grad school supervisor”Ergonomics (or human factors) is the scientific discipline concerned with the understanding of interactions among humans and other elements of a system, and the profession that applies theory, principles, data and methods to design in order to optimize human well-being and overall system performance.
Continue reading “Human factors in amusement rides and attractions”