Visionary clients worldwide agree that Zeitgeist Design & Production has mastered the art of transforming IP, cultural myths and legends, and original stories and characters into bespoke immersive entertainment experiences. Finding inspiration in everything from pop culture and music, to art, fashion, science, and the human experience, Zeitgeist has established itself as the go-to turnkey creative team for UX-IRL – User eXperiences In Real Life.
Founded in 2011 by Ryan Harmon, Zeitgeist Design & Production was later joined by Disney icon Joe Lanzisero in 2018, following in the footsteps of celebrated fellow Imagineers Tom Morris and Chris Runco. Combining their individual strengths — along with an average of 40 years focused on the conception, design, and production of award-winning theme parks and attractions on multiple continents, the Zeitgeist “dream team” today is available to employ their Disney magic for projects of all shapes and sizes anywhere on the planet.
Harmon and Lanzisero, along with Zeitgeist studio director Beckie Kiefer, speak to blooloop about the company’s origins and its ethos. They also discuss current trends in the industry, and what they believe is key to creating timely yet timeless attractions.
Meet Ryan Harmon
Harmon is a producer, creative director, and writer. He understands the power of story, strategy, innovation, brand, and budget – and how to engage people emotionally through the mediums of environment, technology, and theatricality.
Beginning his career as one of Disney’s youngest Imagineers, Harmon has held senior creative positions at Universal, Warner Bros., BRC Imagination Arts, Landmark Entertainment Group, Story Dept., and Delaney-Harmon, Inc. He has also consulted for dozens of owners/operators, design firms, and developers worldwide. A member of the Producers Guild of America, the Themed Entertainment Association, and The Magic Castle, he recently served on two judging panels for multi-billion-dollar retail/entertainment/residential developments in Saudi Arabia.
He tells blooloop:
“In 1987, I was 20 years old, and I was hired by Walt Disney Imagineering to assist producer George Head on the Disney-MGM Studios theme park in Florida. It was an amazing era, as WED was still transitioning to WDI and many of the industry pioneers who designed and built Disneyland, the Magic Kingdom, and EPCOT Center were still walking the halls. I learned so much as a show designer and show writer and got very involved in the Disney culture.
“I was devastated when lay-offs occurred just before Disneyland Paris opened in 1992 – and I was one of the first to go.”
It was, he says, the saddest day of his life:
“I thought I had found my calling so early on, and that I’d be an Imagineer for life. I’d worked closely with Bob Weis, Tom Fitzgerald, Tony Baxter, Rick Rothschild, and Marty Sklar. As security was escorting me out of the building, I was wondering, ‘what’s wrong with the universe?’”
A career in the industry
Within three weeks, however, Harmon tripled his salary and was working for MCA Universal, as well as independent Los Angeles-based design firms like Iwerks, KBD Innovative Arts, Battaglia & Associates, Sequoia Creative, and Landmark Entertainment Group.
“There weren’t many options, back then, and there was no internet, so it was all cold calls and mailing my resume and portfolio. Over the years, I wound up in-house at Warner Bros., Universal, and BRC. My focus was concept design, show writing, creative directing, and producing. I wrote the ‘Manatees: The Last Generation?’ experience at Sea World Orlando, an attraction about young Jules Verne at La Ronde in Canada and wrote and creative directed the ‘Titanic Official Movie Tour’ – my first Thea Award.”
“I also did a ton of work in Las Vegas, a couple of sea lion and otter shows for Sea World San Diego and Six Flags Discovery Kingdom and endless concepts for entire parks, dark rides, and more.”
While serving as creative director for the “Hercules and Xena: Wizards of the Screen” attraction at Universal Studios Florida, Harmon met Brian Edwards and Roberta Perry, co-leaders of Edwards Technologies, Inc.
“This was around 1998. Brian Edwards asked me to form a company where I could design and produce all the creative and media for him to provide audio, video, and show control. I’d earned a BA in film/screenwriting from California State University, Northridge, so it was right up my alley. We called it Story Dept. – the creative design and production arm of ETI.”
Forming strong partnerships
Together, the “Brian and Ryan” team designed and installed media and interactive experiences, including The Opry Mills Experience in Nashville, Cerritos Library, and concepts for the International Spy Museum in Washington D.C. Then 9/11 happened and Story Dept. was no more.
“A few years after that,” he continues, “I started a second company called Delaney-Harmon, Inc. with friend and former Imagineer Tim Delaney. We developed the Incheon Robotland theme park in Korea and designed a Coca-Cola restaurant for Universal Studios Japan.”
The partners later went their separate ways, resulting in the founding of Zeitgeist in January 2011:
“With Delaney-Harmon, I realized that to be a legitimate studio, it needed to be more than just me,” Harmon explains. “Beckie [Kiefer, Zeitgeist studio director] and I had met about six years prior when I was working in-house for retail developer Rick Caruso. We became good friends and I saw in her these abilities that I simply don’t possess. I realized that she balances me perfectly. So, I began inviting her to industry events and client meetings to see what happened.”
“Once again, my intuition didn’t fail me. Beckie loved our business and everybody I introduced her to loved Beckie; in fact, many preferred to interact with her instead of me! I thought, ‘OK: we’re building a company here.’”
Harmon recruited former Disney colleagues Tom Morris and Chris Runco following their respective departures from “the mouse.” His former Mickey’s Toontown boss Joe Lanzisero joined Zeitgeist in 2018. The company has been going non-stop ever since.
“Rarely do more than a few days go by that we’re not crazy busy on a proposal or a deadline,” Harmon says. “Usually, we’re juggling between three and eight projects. Along with Tom, and Chris, and long-time colleagues like Terry Palmer, Thelma Muro-Dittes, and dozens of designers and artists and project managers, we’ve become one big happy family!”
Introducing Zeitgeist
Talking about the work that Zeitgeist does, Harmon explains:
“What we do is concept development, design, and production of immersive experiences. We start with the proverbial blank sheet of paper and work closely with our clients and/or their IPs to develop multisensory story-rich experiences that have not been seen before. We express our ideas through written narratives, master plans, spectacular artwork, concept architecture, models, image boards, and more.”
“Then when our client is ready, we take it to opening day, serving as creative director, art director and producer or client’s rep for all show elements throughout schematic design, detailed design, construction documents, production, installation, and programming. The real secret sauce is keeping the core creative team involved until opening day to ensure that the design intent is always maintained and that the right folks are making the day-to-day decisions throughout the proverbial twists and turns.”
“Between Joe, Tom, Chris, and myself, we believe we’ve built over $12 billion in very successful parks, lands, rides, shows, attractions, and events. Most of these guys were WDI vice presidents or higher. When our team members say they ‘worked on a project,’ they don’t mean they helped for a few months, they mean they were the sole creative leader/show producer from concept to opening day! No other company has a team like ours.”
What makes Zeitgeist different?
And what makes Zeitgeist’s designs different from the competition?
“We love architects and planning firms, and we’re entertained by scenic shops and project management firms that claim to do what we’ve been doing successfully for decades. The big difference is that we envision and create emotionally rich experiences that don’t depend on a building or what a ground plan looks like to a bird.”
“We know how to move people without a ride system – touching their hearts and minds and creating a timely yet timeless experience that, like a great film, is an emotional roller coaster they’ll want to ride again and again. Our tools are myriad and are unique to each client, each audience, each budget, and each schedule.
“There’s no project too big or too small because the same level of creativity is focused on every single one; the same questions are asked; and the same ingenuity, intuition and innovation is applied — accumulated from our collective decades of hits and misses on hundreds of projects worldwide.”
Creating something relevant
In terms of the company’s name:
“We talk a lot about things being ‘timely, yet timeless.’ We are called Zeitgeist because we’re always tapping into the spirit of the time. What is everybody into? What is trending? What’s going on? What’s next?”
“I travel a lot, Joe travels even more, and Beckie is currently in Las Vegas, so everything comes to her. We’re always benchmarking new experiences – be it an FEC, a retail store, a restaurant, a concert, a play, or a pop-up.”
“With all that stored data and shared knowledge – dating back to the mid-80s when we started at Disney, we can cherry-pick something that intrigued us and give it a Zeitgeist twist to create something very fresh and relevant, something that will go viral, something that people will talk about, but that is rooted in good old-fashioned human experience.
“Our technology is never guest-facing (unless dictated by the tale being told) — it’s always ‘magic.'”
Building a team
Beckie Kiefer does double duty as Zeitgeist’s in-house studio director and project coordinator, assisting the executive team with staffing and managing clients, vendors, and contracts. Her background is in live entertainment, having performed as a Radio City Rockette for five years, at Universal Studios Hollywood, and for many Los Angeles-based dance companies. Kiefer has also become the unofficial face of Zeitgeist.
“Being a Radio City Rockette was fun,” she says. “During that time, I also did a lot of TV, film, and commercials. I moved out to LA in 2004 and was auditioning and doing a whole bunch of entertainment work and events. I met Ryan in 2005 when I auditioned for the Top Hats, which was Rick Caruso’s West Coast version of the Rockettes at The Grove in LA.”
Harmon was a founder and producer on the show:
“We didn’t know each other at the time. I ended up being a Top Hat for about 10 years!”
“Ryan and I became close friends, and he invited me to learn more about his industry. And I’ve never looked back! These days, I run the company day to day and make sure that everything comes in on schedule and on budget. I also ensure that Ryan, Joe, and the team get to meetings and produce deliverables on time. Yes, it can be like herding cats, but I love it!”
“She’s basically the adult in the room,” Lanzisero laughs.
A Disney veteran arrives at Zeitgeist
After 35 years as a Disney Imagineer, responsible for over US$9 billion in built projects, including Mickey’s Toontown at Disneyland, Toy Story Land, Mystic Point and Grizzly Gulch at Hong Kong Disneyland, multiple attractions at Tokyo Disneyland and Tokyo DisneySea, and dozens of now-classic Disney experiences in the parks and aboard Disney Cruise Ships, Joe Lanzisero is a genuine celebrity of the industry.
He studied at Cal Arts’ first animation class alongside Tim Burton, John Lasseter, Brad Bird and other luminaries of animation and film. Then, he became a Disney animator in the early 1980s. Today, he is a designer, illustrator, art director, and creative director of the very highest calibre, garnering the respect of his peers and serving as an in-demand public speaker on the topics of user experience (UX) and experience design (XD).
He says:
“I grew up in Burbank, California loving Disney. My family home was not far from the Walt Disney Studios, and it was a time when Uncle Walt appeared on TV every Sunday night. A year before I was born, Disneyland opened, so as a kid, we made an annual trek. As far back as I can remember, I loved to draw. It was kind of predestined that I would become a Disney animator. I was very fortunate because, through a series of events, I got to go to Cal Arts with the next generation of animators who went on to lead Disney and Pixar.
“I was at Disney Animation for about eight years; working as a director towards the end. Through a series of circumstances, I had the opportunity to move to Imagineering, and had an amazing run there, getting to build so much of what I designed for nearly four decades.”
Understanding the key to storytelling
He was, he feels, very fortunate:
“I think I brought an understanding of Disney character, and what Ryan talked about earlier in terms of touching our guests – understanding how to use character, story, and situation to conjure emotion and connect people to the experience.”
“That’s the thread through everything I did. Mickey’s Toontown was my first big project. I was just a young waif at the time; I can’t believe they actually allowed me to do that!”
From there, he led a variety of beloved and successful projects:
“I worked on Tokyo DisneySea, did two Fantasia-themed miniature golf courses at Walt Disney World, and designed two new cruise ships. At one point I oversaw the whole Tokyo Disney Resort; Tokyo Disneyland and Tokyo DisneySea and led the design and production of several popular attractions there.”
The secrets of popular experiences
At this point, he took over for Tom Morris at Hong Kong Disneyland. He comments:
“After Tom built Hong Kong Disneyland, I was put in charge of expansion and was able to design and build probably my favourite attraction that I’ve ever done: the ‘Mystic Manor’ dark ride.”
It is, he explains, a good example of using that understanding of Disney characters and Disney storytelling:
“We had to create our own IP: our own characters, our whole situation for the characters to live in, and then communicate it all to our guests and immerse them in it. At Zeitgeist, we’re not averse to using IP, and often our clients will ask us to do that, but what Ryan and I and most of our team members enjoy most is coming up with original content based on the human experience.
“Disney was always known for taking you into outer space, on a tour of a haunted house, on a runaway mine train, deep into a jungle, or back in time with pirates. Those are the experiences that remain popular decades later. And those are the type of immersive experiences we love to create because they not only evoke emotion but bring people back again and again.”
Joe Lanzisero joins Zeitgeist
Returning to his career journey, he continues:
“Soon after I left WDI in 2016, I got the opportunity to work with Phil Hettema on a big project in Korea. I then went on to do a little work through Hettema on Universal’s Epic Universe. But I stayed in touch with Ryan. We always clicked, because our intuition is practically identical, we both understand the intricacies of good environmental storytelling, and we both like to work hard while having fun!”
This, he feels, is one of the hallmarks of Zeitgeist:
“Ryan, Beckie, and I — and everyone on our team —enjoy the process, itself; and our clients pick up on that. For us, it’s the journey, not the destination. We have produced hundreds of proposals, presentations, and concept packages. The reality of the business is that a lot of it never gets funded. I was spoiled at Disney because it was a big corporation with a lot of capital. I was able to see a lot of my dreams become reality.
“That’s not often the case here in the real world. So, we have learned to enjoy the journey, to make sure our clients enjoy the ride with us, and to produce the very best work that we can. If it gets built, great. If not, we have some fun stories to tell! In fact, we designed our Pasadena, California office like a time travel emporium – complete with a time machine. We also have a Zoltar fortune teller, an arcade game, and a well-stocked steampunk bar. It’s my happy place!”
Successes to date
Harmon talks about some of the projects Zeitgeist has done:
“We have been on retainer with China’s Chimelong Group for about three and a half years so far after developing a park and some attractions for them before that. So, every day for the last four years, we have been designing new lands, dark rides, coasters, animatronics shows, flying rides, parades, and walk-through attractions for Chimelong, probably the most successful owner-operator of parks and resorts in China and a pleasure to work with.”
COVID, inevitably, put some projects on hold:
“We’d begun schematic design of “City of the Dead: The New Orleans Cemetery Experience” in March 2019. After a year of design, the project was funded, and we began production. On March 19th, 2020, the lockdown started, and the client put the project on hold. Three years later, there’s still no sign of it coming back to life. Pun intended!”
“That said,” adds Lanzisero, “last September we opened three walk-through attractions at Hersheypark in Pennsylvania. We helped them envision their first truly scary Halloween experience in years. We’re currently assisting with their 2023 event.
“Also last year, we took an old Wet’n’Wild in Las Vegas and transformed it into Cowabunga Canyon, a sister park to the existing Cowabunga Bay, also in Vegas. That was a fun exercise in creating a glam cowboy experience. Over the last few years, we conceived and designed the Sea Dreams theme park for Qiddiya Coast in Saudi Arabia, and a new family music park in Europe based on an upcoming IP called ‘Miss Bellyfoo.’
“We also designed two parks for the BBC in China and an original park for MNC World Lido in Bogor, Indonesia.”
A zoomcast is born
During the pandemic, Zeitgeist added themed entertainment industry icon Roberta Perry to the Zeitgeist team as vice president of business development. Harmon and Perry got to know each other over the past quarter century at ETI and through their mutual volunteer work for the Themed Entertainment Association (TEA).
“We were thrilled that Roberta chose to join our family,” says Harmon. “She’s known and respected by literally everyone. It was truly an honour for her to think so highly of us and our work that she wanted to represent us.
“It was her idea for us to create our own calling card – maybe a podcast. But the pandemic resulted in everyone using the Zoom video conferencing platform, so I thought, why don’t we be unique and produce a live monthly “zoomcast” – and we can theme it like our studio to time travel! That’s when “The Spirit of the Time Zoomcast” was born!”
Recorded monthly, the popular production invites influential and accomplished industry people aboard the time machine for a journey through milestone moments in their life and career, while attempting to unravel the mystery of what makes a guest experience both timely and timeless. To date, some 23 episodes have been archived on the Zeitgeist website and YouTube channel. They have also been uploaded as audio-only podcasts to all major podcast outlets.
Guests have included such industry luminaries as Joe Rohde, Bob Rogers, Phil Hettema, Bob Ward, and three of the “Women of Imagineering.” The show begins its third year of production in May.
So, what’s the secret sauce?
According to Harmon, the secret to creating a successful immersive experience that engages people and makes them want to return again and again is pure and simple emotion.
“Look at the biggest movies of all time like Titanic and the first two Avatars. These are films where you’re emotionally invested. There are universal and human themes like love, loss, fear — and visuals that blow your mind.
“The secret is to create experiences that touch people – in a logical location and with appropriate content. Then it’s about having some big ‘wow’ moments through technology or theatricality that leave the audience’s jaws on the floor and their feet racing to get back in line.”
Lanzisero agrees:
“Without a doubt, that’s the secret sauce. It’s understanding the human condition, and how we’re all basically the same. That’s why the Disney product translates around the world. We all laugh, we all cry, and we all want to be happy. You can apply that to anything.
“In fact, we often talk about how there is story as narrative and story as subtext. Even when we were doing City of the Dead and coming up with ideas for food service and merchandise, it all had to have a thread through it. Often guests don’t recognize it, but as designers, we use subtext to help guide our design choices.”
Harmon offers an example of this:
“We all have an ex-boyfriend or ex-girlfriend that we’d love to get back at, right? For City of the Dead, one of our merchandise ideas was “Hex your Ex.” We had white voodoo dolls where you could print your former lover’s photo from your phone onto the doll’s face. It came with little swords, nooses, etc. and you could do as you pleased! Results were not guaranteed!”
Zeitgeist looks ahead
In terms of future plans, Harmon says:
“We are at a point now in our lives and careers where we’re considering taking steps towards creating our own immersive projects. We see so many great ideas die on the vine, and so many awful projects get built – and ultimately fail. So, we think we have a good shot using our ingenuity, intuition, and innovation.”
Returning to the name Zeitgeist, and the ethos it implies, of encapsulating the spirit of the moment, what is the next big thing in the sector likely to be? What, in short, is the zeitgeist?
Lanzisero says:
“What is that next big thing? I think in some ways Disney, and, to a lesser extent Universal, price a lot of people out. It has become so expensive to take a family to a major theme park. But there is a lot of other experiential stuff in the marketplace now. There’s Meow Wolf and immersive things like the incredible teamLab from Japan.
“People are out there trying to figure out what we at Zeitgeist call ‘that thing between Disneyland and Chuck E. Cheese.’ Whoever can crack that next-experience nut, well, it’s going to change the industry. That’s what we’re challenging ourselves with now. We’re always thinking about what that in-between product might be. And we may have just nailed it!”
Keeping a finger on the pulse
Harmon comments:
“My answer would be that what’s in the zeitgeist is also lengthier and more immersive experiences. We love the 10 and 15-minute attractions; Disney’s ‘Rise of the Resistance’ is the first in a long time. It’s the more immersive, role-playing experiences with agency that are going to succeed in the years to come.
“Why can we still not get the Hogwarts Express train to Hogwarts, get sorted by the Sorting Hat, be assigned a room, eat in the dining hall, take magic classes, and be part of a Harry Potter adventure over two to three days? Let’s offer immersive hotel rooms inside theme parks where we can spend the night in a Marvel adventure, in a haunted house, or on an Indiana Jones archaeological dig.”
“Nowadays, kids are growing up with video games. They’re used to having that level of cinematic immersion and agency. They want to be in these immersive worlds for a longer period, where they can explore and play and maybe be someone they’re not. That’s what we call UX-IRL: User eXperiences In Real Life.”
Harmon illustrates this with an anecdote:
“Beckie and I were on a call with a major hotel chain a few years ago. They had a resort in Jamaica that wasn’t doing well. They were thinking of doing something more experiential.
“I said, ‘You are in Jamaica, on the island where the real pirates of the Caribbean pillaged and plundered 600 years ago. You need to create the world’s first pirate resort! Build a full-size pirate ship and create special effects out in the water. Turn your hotel into an immersive pirate village, sell rum in a secret cave and have everybody dressed up and talking like pirates.’”
“They said, ‘No, people come here for the hotel brand and the spa.’”
“No imagination,” Kiefer laughs. “But then, what did we know?”
The A team at Zeitgeist
As a final word, Harmon adds:
“What also sets Zeitgeist apart is not just the fact that we have multiple high achieving Disney icons on our team, or that we tap into the human experience and rich emotion for all we do, but that we literally have no ‘B’ team. It’s the ‘A’ team who shows up to oversee every project’s creative development, every time.
“You actually get us; we brainstorm everything. I’m going to write it and Joe’s going to draw it. Chris or Tom or other long-time team members with killer resumes are going to design it. Unlike other teams in this business, we’ve been doing this for four decades and we’re going to be there at every meeting.”
“We have to take responsibility,” says Lanzisero. “We’re spending months or years of our own lives on these projects, and it’s our names on them. And in all seriousness, we love what we do. We have a passion for creating experiences where people can have fun and create lifelong memories.”
Harmon adds: “I would do this for free if I didn’t have a mortgage to pay and kids to feed!”
“Let’s not go that far,” jokes Lanzisero.
In short, Harmon concludes:
“No, really. It’s a very positive, enjoyable, and rewarding experience when you work with Zeitgeist. Our client’s success is their audience’s success, which is our success. And that’s the spirit of the time!”
Header image: Dark Nights at Hersheypark. All images kind courtesy of Zeitgeist Design & Production.
