Mel McGowan, AICP, DBIA, LEED is the Founder and Chief Creative Officer of the leading global experience design firm Storyland Studios. Storyland Studios was launched in 2001 to imagine, design & create stories that lift the spirit in 3 dimensions: Strategic, Spatial & Interactive. It has grown to a truly global team consisting of alumni from Walt Disney Imagineering, Universal Creative and the world’s leading architecture, landscape architecture, planning and design firms. Mel has been on The Blooloop 50 Theme Park Influencer List, serves on the boards of the Themed Entertainment Association (TEA) and the Entertainment & Hospitality Center at California State University and hosts The Themed Attraction Podcast. Mel’s three decades of global experience includes his very own “Disney Decade” in the 90s before going on to lead design and development of projects across the Americas, Europe, Asia, Africa and the Middle East, as well as cruise ships traversing the Seven Seas. He is currently leading creative development of the recently announced Nateland theme park in Nashville, Tennessee, the $30B LAX renewal, and the Wynn-anchored Marjan Bay in UAE.
Attractions Expert Q&A: Mel McGowan | Tap here to read.
Mel’s Projects
Poverty Encounter
GIVING VISITORS AN IMMERSIVE, FIRST-HAND GLIMPSE AT THE REALITY OF POVERTY
California nonprofit Children’s Hunger Fund (CHF) wanted to build an immersive and dimensional attraction experience that would introduce visitors to the sad realities of childhood poverty – Poverty Encounter.
Rejecting the predictably common charity video, they wanted to surprise volunteers with an eye-opening journey of insight, empathy, and action.
By telling the true stories of the suffering children through a realistic, walk-through attraction, CHF’s Poverty Encounter recreates the experience of visiting impoverished communities around the world.
Mel worked with the Storyland team to bring these stories and spaces to life, in a close to our hearts project that culminated in the winning of a THEA Award.
Libertyland USA
A MAJOR REGIONAL ENTERTAINMENT AND RESIDENTIAL DESTINATION IN THE HEART OF THE BLACK HILLS
The Pete Lien & Sons mining company has been a fixture in western South Dakota since 1944. Over the decades, the Liens have made significant contributions to their community. Founder Pete Lien’s nine children wanted to honor their father’s legacy by creating a live-work-play destination that would welcome both residents and visitors to their beloved Black Hills.
The Lien family turned to Mel and the Storyland Studios to master plan and design LIBERTYLAND USA, an all-American theme park, residential and entertainment destination that honors a wide variety of American Journeys (our Big Idea!) that anchors a broader mixed-use destination for travelers and residents to enjoy.
ADRENA, Red Sea Global
CRAFTING A STORY-DRIVEN ADVENTURE DESTINATION ON THE RED SEA
Storyland Studios partnered with Red Sea Global as landscape architect and experience designer for ADRENA, an integrated adventure destination on the Red Sea coast. Mel and the Storyland team worked across master planning, landscape design, water features, pools, hardscape, and specialist attraction components from concept design through IFC to shape a story-driven environment built around the themes of Mind, Body, and Spirit, calling guests to Curiosity, Action, and Connection.
From wave pool attractions and adventure courses to beach experiences and underwater exploration, Storyland designed a diverse collection of experiences that connect guests to the sea, the landscape, and each other. The team developed the project in Revit, modeling landscape, seawater processing systems, and underground utilities in BIM to coordinate design, engineering, and construction across the project. By combining narrative thinking, technical landscape design, and BIM coordination, Storyland helped translate an ambitious concept into a cohesive built destination that blends adventure, environment, and immersive storytelling.
GAMING & ESPORTS DISTRICT – QIDDIYA
A GLOBAL DESTINATION FOR ENTERTAINMENT, SPORTS AND CULTURE, BASED ON THE POWER OF PLAY.
Mel is leading the creative efforts with Storyland Studios on a number of projects on the within the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, including on projects within the world’s first mixed-use gaming and esports district.