Ever wondered who designs roller coasters? Meet Melody Matheny. – Daily Press

JAMES CITY — Melody Matheny first became interested in amusement rides as a teenager while working at Busch Gardens. Little did she know at the time that she would eventually become an amusement ride designer, working on various projects around the world.

The Lafayette High School alumna, who recently moved back to Williamsburg from Orlando, has worked for a variety of entertainment companies over the years, including Sea World, Ripley's Believe It or Not!, Nickelodeon, Disney, Universal Studios and others, as well as a few cruise lines. She describes her role as an attractions designer as a combination of architecture, graphic design, interior design and art.

“My job is to figure out how people should move through a space and what kind of story needs to be told,” says Matheny, who started his own firm in 2008. “I work with companies to help them communicate to people what they’re about to experience and how they want to tell the story. There’s a lot of psychology involved. It’s important that it’s not only visually appealing, but visually meaningful. You want people to walk away feeling connected to the experience.”

Locally, Matheny was the creative director of the InvadR roller coaster, which opened at Busch Gardens Williamsburg in spring 2017. She also helped create two roller coasters at Busch Gardens Tampa Bay, Tigris and Cobra's Curse, as well as The Incredible Hulk Coaster at Universal Studios.

Additionally, Matheny was part of the team that launched the roller coaster at IMG Worlds of Adventure in Dubai, the world's largest indoor theme park.

“I’ve helped design nine roller coasters and I’ve never ridden one,” she says with a laugh. “I’m terrified.”

One of her favorite projects to date has been designing four of the five cruise ports in Port Royal, Jamaica. Matheny researched the city’s history extensively to create a pirate-themed attraction. She worked with the Institute of Jamaica, a cultural center in Kingston, to learn more about the country’s history and presented the project to Jamaica’s Prime Minister.

“He approved it right away,” she said. “It was the biggest project I’ve ever done, a project that required a lot of creativity. It was very fulfilling and rewarding. I love anything historical because there are so many stories to tell and deciding which stories to tell is the fun part.”

In addition to being an attraction designer, Matheny also launched the nonprofit Slice Creative Network — slicecreativenetwork.com — to help entertainment companies connect with creative freelancers on projects. Slice has helped over 300 people in a variety of fields find jobs, including technical directors, illustrators, and photographers.

Her current projects include transforming an 18th-century prison on Grand Turk Island in Turks and Caicos into an escape room and redesigning a party barge in the U.S. Virgin Islands. She’s also working on a traveling interactive entertainment experience themed around “Rick and Morty,” as well as a “top secret project at Universal Studios that’s going to be huge,” she said.

This summer, Matheny is also overseeing the arts program during Busch Gardens' new “Summer of Wonder,” collaborating with local artists from the Williamsburg Arts Group to introduce guests to a variety of media.

“Busch Gardens still brings back all those childhood memories of growing up here,” she said. “I feel very connected to Busch Gardens and I’m proud to be working with them again.”

Learn more about Melody Matheny's work at melodymatheny.com.

Brandy Centolanza, [email protected]

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