TPG and Premier Rides join forces to create EVAD™
By Keith Loria
The Producers Group (TPG) and Premier Rides, Inc. formally announced a new joint venture, Extraordinary Voyages Adventure Dining™ (EVAD™) and are setting up meetings to discuss the new product with potential partners at the 2016 IAAPA Attractions Expo in Orlando.
“This is a first for both companies, partnering together to design a new patented ride system and multifaceted guest experience,” said Edward Marks, TPG co-CEO and executive producer. Marks and Jim Seay, president and owner of Premier Rides, (Baltimore, MD) recently came up with the plan to collaborate and launch EVAD which is billed as a next-generation entertainment experience and immersive dining attraction.
“Working with Premier Rides, renowned innovators of some of the world’s most incredible rides, has given us the opportunity to create a truly unique immersive guest experience for the industry,” said Marks. “Extraordinary Voyages is designed to deliver the perfect mix of delectable dining, cinematic adventure, and theme park thrills for a memorable, family-friendly experience.”
According to Marks the experience will allow visitors to journey virtually to exotic locales where they will encounter colorful characters and “find themselves swept up in an unforgettable adventure as an exciting cinematic experience unfolds all around them.”
Seay said, “It will place guests at the heart of a blockbuster cinematic adventure through a mix of dynamic motion, immersive media, live actors and special effects.”
It will also respond to user input. “The immersive theme design extends into the EVAD venue itself, surrounding guests with an interactive experience they help create before their journey even begins,” said TPG producer Rob Palmer.
TPG’s extensive technical and production background complemented Premier’s ride engineering acumen to develop and deliver what Jim Seay terms “a distinctive and advanced technologically integrated experience, with an infinitely flexible platform. With the ability to add and change destinations, EVAD can be refreshed as desired to encourage repeat visitation and take advantage of new trends in entertainment and advances in technology.”
The flexible platform is seen as a key to longevity and versatility. “The capability to change and even customize experiences ensures that guests will have a variety of available journeys awaiting them at EVAD,” said Premier Rides project engineer Mark Stepanian.
Collaborations of one kind or another are often critical to meeting the demands of turn-key projects such as EVAD. Combining strengths of two firms allows ideas to flourish and more quickly come to fruition. “Jim Seay and I always said we needed to find a project to work together on because we are very like-minded folks,” Marks said. “We’re both very production-minded, we’re both very technical, and we just needed to find the right project.”
Continued Marks, “When we decided we were going to formally start pursuing experience design internally at our office and bring these projects here, we knew we would need to partner with a ride manufacturer that wanted to diversify. Premier understands the market. Our relationship allowed us to have that conversation and develop this project together.”
The Producers Group has two new patents deriving from their collaborative efforts, and negotiations are already underway to bring EVAD experiences to entertainment destinations in three countries – locations to be announced soon.
Visit both companies at the IAAPA Attractions Expo: The Producers Group (booth #675), Premier Rides Inc. (booth#5100). Websites: www.producers-group.com, www.premierrides.com
