Theme Park Design: From Short to Feature-Length Stories

Universal Epic Universe is the most anticipated theme park in the world right now due to its massive physical scope (110 acres) and storytelling ambition.

At a recent event discussing its May 2025 opening, Steve Tatham, Executive Creative Director for Universal Epic Universe andAMDP Class 24, noted that: 

“We’ve really gone from a short storytelling business into the feature-length storytelling business, and in Epic Universe, this is the first theme park in the entire world that is going to be comprised of exclusively these feature-length stories.”

Want to apply these epic storytelling techniques to your projects? 

In Story Building: Secrets of Narrative Placemaking and Design from Entertainment Architecture, Steve will show you how to apply theme park design secrets to bring your built projects to life. Real estate developers and all attendees will learn to reframe projects into an emotionally engaging story by adapting the practices of theme park design. 

In the video below, hear Steve’s motivation to create this program.