Attractions Experts Q&A: Matt Proulx manages Hasbro brands like Transformers and Peppa Pig

Matt Proulx has also been responsible for formulating, constructing, and implementing long-term, global strategic plans for themed location-based entertainment, music, partnerships, and promotions that benefit Hasbro’s long-term brand building and enhance the company’s presence in theme parks, themed entertainment attractions, FECs, hotels and resorts, exhibits and live events. That strategic plan has led to long-term partnerships with Universal Theme Parks, Kingsmen, and Gamepath, as well as new innovative products such as Monopoly Lifesized, Transformers: The Ark Restaurant, Nerf Action Xperience, Peppa Pig Play Café, and others.

What theme park souvenir might we be surprised to find on your shelf, and what’s its story?

The most memorable one (that I always love) is from when my wife and I went to Universal Studios [Hollywood] and went on Jurassic Park: The Ride. We bought the photo they took of us, and her face is priceless. Absolutely priceless.

I look at that photo and remember the ride and her screaming her head off. Her eyes are closed, and her face is all distorted—it’s awesome. It’s what those photos are made for. The laughter we had after going on the ride and seeing the photo, and the laughter we still have today, 20 years later looking at that photo, it’s just one of those things that has a pricelessness to it and is the most memorable souvenir for me.

What theme park have you always wanted to visit but have never been to? 

I want to go to Universal Studios, Beijing. It opened during Covid, and I have not had an opportunity to go. The reason I’d love to go because there had been a story published about how Transformers could only be a ride, and the brand could never support a full theme park land. The narrative of the article was that you couldn’t create an immersive world around it, and it’s actually something I held as a personal challenge for a long time.

Our great partners at Universal Studios saw that it could be more than just a ride and an attraction. Collaborating with my team, we created an amazing experience that tells the story of Transformers and makes it relatable to the local community and the heritage of China, which is phenomenal.

I just think it’s a magical place where people have been able to say, what would a Transformers Base look like on planet Earth if it really existed? What would it be like to walk around amongst all these 20- and 30-foot-tall sentient beings? And so, it’s definitely one that I plan to get to soon—it’s one I’m really excited about.

Was there a theme park or attraction that made you want to be in this industry? How did it inspire you?

I don’t necessarily know if it inspired me to be in the industry, but two that stand out, which go back to my childhood, are Space Mountain and Pirates of the Caribbean. Growing up in the Northeast, there were local amusement parks and places you could go that aren’t even in existence anymore, like Rocky Point.

Rocky Point was our local amusement park in Rhode Island, and it was always a fun experience. It was like one of those local community parks with multiple rides and lots of roller coasters right on the coast. Really cool. It was the first time I was ever really introduced to the attractions world as a child, and it goes back many decades.

But really, the most impactful was when I was between 8 and 10 years old; I specifically remember how we visited Walt Disney World and how awesome Space Mountain was. The story arc, the excitement of blasting off, and then being in the dark and racing around in space.

And then, Pirates of the Caribbean. It was just one of those timeless rides that was almost like a rite of passage that you had to go on. It was a very gentle ride, but still had a little bit of thrill in it. And so, as a kid, you’re like, all right, it’s in the dark, you don’t really know what to expect, and all of a sudden, you’re plummeting into the water. Then, it turns into all the fun elements of the ride. Those are two very memorable moments from my childhood, just in terms of experiences that I got to have.

What was your favorite ride/attraction as a child, and why?

By far and away, Space Mountain was my favorite attraction as a kid. I like roller coasters. I’m not good with spinning rides, and even when I was a young kid, I didn’t like rides that went around in a circle, but I love the thrill of what Space Mountain was because it was this different type of experience of being on a roller coaster in the dark and not being able to anticipate what was next, not seeing what was coming around the corner, but still had some level of storytelling that went into it.

Was there a ride, attraction, or character that frightened you as a child?

Not necessarily a ride, but even today, I do not like to be scared. You will not see me in a haunted house. You will not see me doing that or anything like it, and here’s a funny story. When we were exploring our relationship with West Edmonton Mall and Galaxyland, they had an attraction similar to a walk-through haunted house. I wouldn’t go in there until they turned all the lights on. Even after the lights were turned on, I hustled right through that one.

Simply stated: I do not want to be scared, and I don’t like things that jump out.

Part of it actually goes back to when I was a kid. My dad was a stage actor through high school and college. He decided to go a different route as he got older and graduated college, but he loved to dress up and act, and he absolutely loved Halloween. So, he would always volunteer at these local haunted houses and play characters to scare people. He’d bring us as kids, so I was scared out of my mind more times than I can remember. And now I just don’t like it. Halloween and the fright segment are an amazing business—absolutely phenomenal—but I do not like the feeling of my heart about to jump out of my chest. No, thank you.

What was the oddest or coolest job you’ve had in your career?

The job I’m doing now is, by far and away, one of the coolest jobs anyone could ever ask for. If you told me when I started my professional career and after I went to business school, that this is what I’d end up doing, I would have had a good long laugh.

But being in the attractions industry has been an unbelievable experience, along with being able to create and distribute music and doing some of the visionary promotional work that we do as well. It is so amazing to see these things come to life. You have a vision; you have a belief in something that can happen and occur. Then, the ability to actually create that, build it, and see people enjoy it is the coolest and luckiest job one could ever have. Never mind being surrounded by my team, which is the most amazing collection of talented people in the industry.

In our business, a lot of stuff never happens. There are lots of conversations, but many of those conversations just never come to fruition. But we’ve been able to ideate, envision, and build so many attractions globally, and that’s been the fulfilling piece: we’re actually seeing these things come to life. They’re not just on a piece of paper, not just in someone’s mind. We’ve found amazing partners that share the same vision, see those projects built, and then watch them succeed.

I was in London several weeks ago, and we opened up two immersive retail stores at the Battersea Power Station, and one of them is a Peppa Pig store. There was a little girl there with her grandma, and I was watching her. I was actually doing a tour of the store, but I watched her run around and play and interact with stuff. And I could see the joy on the little girl’s face, and also on her grandma’s face. There was also a spot for her grandma to sit down, so that was nice. We gave her a Peppa Pig plush toy and saw the excitement that came over the little girl by creating a core memory that maybe one day she will recall when giving an interview! And that is what we do this for, right? Seeing the pure joy and bliss that was on her face was priceless.

The craziest job I ever had was in college—you know, when you need to make ends meet— and I had to clean sewer trucks. And by the way, when I say clean them, there were all aspects of cleaning a sewer truck. I can literally say I had a stinky job and in a very deliberate way. But it gives you a very good understanding of what some people have to do for work out there, and I’m very grateful for where I am in life.

What ride or attraction do you think everyone needs to experience, and why?

I would say it’s The Wizarding World of Harry Potter at Universal Studios Florida. First off, to me, it is an amazing, world-class brand, and the storylines are unbelievable. And it really transformed the expectations that guests have when they visit a park.

What has happened, though, is that the park experience has now trickled down into all location-based entertainment. From restaurants to family entertainment centers and retail. Some of this happened before—it wasn’t all of a sudden brand new—but the level of storytelling and immersiveness that you walk into has created an expectation amongst the guests that it’s something that they should have all the time wherever they go. Universal has elevated the bar.

I started thinking about our business and our world and how we can mirror that. We’re always trying to elevate ourselves, but at the end of the day, we want to deliver upon that core consumer insight because if you’re a fan of the brand, you want to immerse yourself in that world. Whether you’re 2 years old or 90, if you are invested in an IP story-driven brand, you want to be able to have that experience. So, I think that’s been one of the best attractions because it just changed the paradigm for what should be expected.

There are just so many details, and for those rabid fans who want more and more, there are Easter eggs all over the place. They can keep immersing themselves deeper and deeper into the story. I thought they just did a brilliant job with it. Not every project has that same amount of funding investment, but I think the goal or objective can still be delivered in certain ways.

If you were tasked with creating a new theme park food, what would it be?

One of the things I’d actually like to see more of in theme parks is shareables. Because you’re there as a group, with family or friends, and having these shared moments and memories, so why not be able to have a bunch of different options that can be shared versus each person having their own individual meal? I think that’s an element that’s missing from some of these locations.

You’re a walk-around character for a day; who do you choose?

I would be Megatron from the Transformers franchise. I think the way his personality comes to life at Universal is phenomenal— and granted, it comes from the actors—but he’s so snarky. He loves to have fun and play with the audience a little bit.

He does represent evil, but it’s not necessarily evil in the pure sense of world domination, it’s more about him believing he has to do certain things for the good of his group, however misguided that is. But I love how Megatron interacts with the guests; the interactions are absolutely memorable. So that’s who I would be.

What types of attractions would you like to see more of and why?

I think there is a growing trend to have more social competitive gaming experiences. There are a lot of really good experiences happening in London right now. There’s a company called Fair Game. Also, there’s Electric Shuffle. These are all types of concepts that are more adult-targeted because they also include adult beverages and shareable food. The idea is to come together with a group of friends but also have some level of competitiveness as you play against one another in different types of games and sports. It’s more of a mixed Food & Beverage experience versus a straight-up attraction.

And those are the types of experiences that people want to have more of, not to be isolated by themselves. I love roller coasters and many different rides and attractions, but most of those are individual experiences. You go on them with friends or family members, but it’s you as an individual having that moment in time, versus you having an experience all competing together or competing against one another. And those are where some great memories take place, with stories like, “I can’t believe you did that,” or “I can’t believe we lost,” or “Hey, we won!” Right. These different moments play upon different emotions, and I’d like to see that continue to expand.

Was there any challenge or surprise in your career?

Every day, there’s a surprise, and every day, there’s a challenge. Life is about solving problems every single moment of your life. You wake up, and the problem is, what am I going to wear? What am I going to eat? How is traffic today? Do I go a different route?

Then you get into the work world, and someone could throw an unexpected challenge at you, and suddenly, your day is not what you expected. And so, life and work are about tackling and solving small, medium, and large problems. How you move through those problems will dictate your day, week, month, and years ahead.

A real challenge I think everybody faces in this industry is how do we go faster. There is a certain element that is just slow because of regulations, permitting processes, funding, etc. Sometimes, it’s just finding the right person to work with who can see the vision come to life. And so, I think one of my challenges is how to actually increase the speed of those moments and times that can’t be controlled. Because the faster we go, the better off we are and the more attractions and experiences we can create. It’s just how to be quicker. Sometimes, those challenges have a pace of their own, and there’s nothing you can do to speed them up, so it just is what it is, but the challenge will always be, how can I move faster?

Lastly, if you don’t enjoy challenges, you shouldn’t be doing it—and you have to be comfortable with that. I honestly love the more challenging something is because the more difficult the project is, the more rewarding it is for me. I lean into those things, but I think it does take a certain type of personality to want to be able to take that stuff on because it can be very exhausting. But my energy comes from that. The more difficult and challenging a situation is, the more energy I get.

Can you talk about what you are working on these days?

We are working on a lot of things. We just opened another Peppa Pig theme park in Dallas, Texas, and the initial reaction has been phenomenal. We have a bunch of new concepts that will open this year, too, which we’re really looking forward to starting (and we can talk about them when the time’s appropriate), but what I will say, in terms of what we are working on, we’re continuing to take our brands in different directions and meet the consumers where they are, like starting to talk about some of these social competitive gaming experiences. We’re very interested in doing that.

We’re really excited about projects in the hotel and travel areas because we think our brands play very well there too. So, we’re going to keep bringing more of these experiences and showcases to life, making sure we’re creating concepts for the right demographics in the right place. Then, it’s just further rolling out the experiences we currently have all over the world. We have such a diverse portfolio of brands that talk to a wide variety of guests and demographics. It allows us to create tons of new things in areas that aren’t cannibalistic against one another. They basically create new opportunities and new businesses in different ways. So, we’ve been very lucky and blessed.

You are going to your favorite theme park; which industry people (dead or alive) are you taking with you?

From a business standpoint, I would go with Walt Disney and Dave Schmidt (former CEO of ProFun Management Group). Walt Disney because I’d love to listen to how he saw things, what the possibilities of those things could be, and how he got them to materialize. Just absorbing and taking it all in would be unbelievable.

And Dave Schmidt because he was my mentor as I got into this business. He became an incredible friend and business partner. He actually worked at Disney and then founded Management Resources and ProFun (he’s since retired). I honestly would not be where I am today if it wasn’t for Dave, so I would want to walk around and see things through his eyes and hear his stories. I love listening to stories because so much information and knowledge can be gained from them.

Writer Kendall Wolf is a long-time consultant in the themed entertainment industry. She has worked with designers, producers, and fabricators to help developers create unique and successful projects around the world. In 2017, she introduced Merlin Entertainments to a development group in Sichuan province for the first Legoland park in China. Kendall continues to consult for the developer to open more themed resorts in China.