{"id":150053,"date":"2025-12-01T10:37:44","date_gmt":"2025-12-01T15:37:44","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.ucf.edu\/news\/?p=150053"},"modified":"2026-03-27T21:31:47","modified_gmt":"2026-03-28T01:31:47","slug":"ucf-alum-theme-park-expert-returns-to-enhance-themed-experience-education","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.ucf.edu\/news\/ucf-alum-theme-park-expert-returns-to-enhance-themed-experience-education\/","title":{"rendered":"UCF Alum, Theme Park Expert Returns to Enhance Themed Experience Education"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><strong>Jason Surrell \u201995<\/strong> has spent decades shaping the stories behind some of the world\u2019s most iconic theme park attractions. His credits include the Thea Award-winning Jurassic World Adventure, Halloween Horror Nights and Universal Epic Universe. He\u2019s also contributed to Walt Disney World Resort\u2019s Star Tours: The Adventures Continue, Monsters Inc. Laugh Floor and enhancements to the Haunted Mansion.\u00a0Now, the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.ucf.edu\/degree\/interdisciplinary-studies-ba\/\">interdisciplinary studies<\/a> alum returned to UCF to share his storytelling expertise with students in the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.ucf.edu\/degree\/themed-experience-ms\/\">themed experience program<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>We sat down with Surrell to talk about what storytelling means today \u2014 not just for theme parks, but for anyone looking to make an impact. Here are five insights he believes every student should know.<\/p>\n<h3>1. Storytelling Is a Universal Skill<\/h3>\n<p>Whether you&#8217;re designing a ride, writing a research paper or helping a patient, storytelling matters. It is how we connect, communicate and create meaning.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cRegardless of your discipline &#8230;\u00a0 we&#8217;re all storytellers,\u201d Surrell says. And it is particularly important in today\u2019s entertainment options: \u201cThe thing that separates theme parks from amusement parks is stories.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>He encourages students to understand classic story structures, like the hero\u2019s journey, because they help us make sense of life.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI\u2019ve mapped my own personal and professional life to the hero\u2019s journey \u2014 and I\u2019ll be damned if it doesn\u2019t work,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n<h3>2. Curiosity Is Your Superpower<\/h3>\n<p>Surrell believes curiosity is essential, not just for creatives but for anyone who wants to innovate.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYou need to be a student of life. You need to be curious about everything, because you never know what&#8217;s going to come into play in this field.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>While working on Disney\u2019s Pal Mickey, Surrell had to learn about unfamiliar subjects to write dialogue for the interactive toy. It was a challenge that pushed him outside his comfort zone and led to the creation of a toy that entertained and educated guests at the parks, including Animal Kingdom.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cAll of a sudden I&#8217;m a zoologist\u00a0 &#8230; literally having to learn about ring-tailed lemurs,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n<h3>3. Comfort, Reassurance and Escape Are Human Needs<\/h3>\n<p>Theme parks aren\u2019t just entertainment \u2014 <a href=\"https:\/\/www.ucf.edu\/theme-park-experiences-and-customer-emotions\/\">they\u2019re emotional experiences<\/a>. Nostalgia plays a big role in this, especially in places like Disney\u2019s Magic Kingdom, Surrell says.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThere\u2019s something inherently reassuring about going to a place that &#8230; remains the way you remembered it as a kid,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n<p>He sees themed entertainment as a noble pursuit, one that supports mental and emotional well-being, which became very apparent during the COVID-19 pandemic.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cTheme parks are explicit about it,\u201d he says. \u201cIt&#8217;s comfort, reassurance and escape. There really is no more noble pursuit than to provide that for people. Our central product really is emotion.\u201d<\/p>\n<h3>4. Be Ready to Pivot<\/h3>\n<p>Surrell\u2019s career path \u2014 from performer to Imagineer to professor \u2014 shows the power of flexibility.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYou have to be ready to pivot and adapt to whatever life in the industry throws at you.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>He shares how a mentor once advised him to gain more experience before applying to Disney. That advice led him to Universal, and eventually back to Disney.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cFive years later, a job opened up &#8230; That was a deviation from the path I thought I was on.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Students should be prepared to adapt, take risks, and embrace opportunities outside their original plans.<\/p>\n<h3>5. Themed Experience Is a Growth Industry<\/h3>\n<p>The themed entertainment industry is booming, and that extends beyond the opening of \u00a0Epic Universe and Disney\u2019s expansions. Themed experience can be found everywhere now, including restaurants, hotels, libraries, cruise ships, hospitals, museums and retail. Surrell sees UCF as the ideal place to study this field.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIt only makes sense. We\u2019re in the theme park capital of the world &#8230; the go-to place for themed experience,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n<p>He compares UCF\u2019s program to film schools in the 1960s \u2014 a launchpad for a new generation of storytellers.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThis program offers young people a very clear and legitimate pathway into the industry.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Surrell\u2019s message to students is clear: Be curious, be adaptable and embrace storytelling \u2014 no matter your field.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cCharge forth now because you have everything on your side,\u201d he says. \u201cBe fearless, be courageous and go for it.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>With credits at Disney and Universal on his resume, <strong>Jason Surrell \u201995<\/strong> is helping educate the next generation of theme experience leaders.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":242,"featured_media":150054,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"lazy_load_responsive_images_disabled":false,"footnotes":"","_links_to":"","_links_to_target":"","_wp_rev_ctl_limit":""},"categories":[15992,5],"tags":[17023,54437,54287,202],"tu_author":[],"class_list":["post-150053","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-alumni","category-colleges","tag-college-of-arts-and-humanities","tag-theme-park","tag-themed-experience","tag-alumni"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO Premium plugin v22.3 (Yoast SEO v27.5) - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-premium-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>UCF Alum, Theme Park Expert Returns to Enhance Themed Experience Education | 海角直播 News<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"With credits at Disney and Universal on his resume, Jason 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