# Thierry Coup

Thierry Jean-Andre Coup is the Chief Experiential Futurist at JOCOUP Creative. Coup began his career working in the film industry, performing set design and visual effects. He moved into theme park design in the early 1990s when Walt Disney Parks and Resorts offered him a position with Walt Disney Imagineering. In 1995, he transferred over to Universal Creative and led projects such as The Amazing Adventures of Spider-Man, Harry Potter and the Forbidden Journey, Transformers: The Ride, The Wizarding World of Harry Potter - Diagon Alley and Super Nintendo World.

## Career

Coup began his career working in the film and television industry. He provided set design, visual effects, and stop-motion animation for a variety of films and TV commercials. Coup is credited for working on Back to the Future, Flight of the Navigator, Total Recall, Dick Tracy, and Gremlins 2: The New Batch.
Walt Disney Parks and Resorts' research and development division, Walt Disney Imagineering, noticed Coup's work and subsequently offered him a job in the early 1990s. Although he wasn't looking to leave the film and television industry, Coup was intrigued by the challenges the new job would entail and accepted the position. Coup's first task with Disney was to redesign Tomorrowland at Disneyland. He then worked alongside others on the design of Discoveryland at Disneyland Paris, where Coup's particular focus was on Space Mountain: De la Terre à la Lune. Coup's final two projects for Disney were for Walt Disney Studios Park: Armageddon – Les Effets Speciaux and Moteurs... Action! Stunt Show Spectacular (the latter was duplicated for Disney's Hollywood Studios several years later).
In 1995, Coup began working for Universal Creative. Most of the division's focus at that time was on the development of Islands of Adventure in Orlando, Florida. Coup was tasked as the Production Designer for Marvel Super Hero Island. The flagship ride for the area was The Amazing Adventures of Spider-Man, a prototype dark ride which combined 3D imagery with a track-mounted motion simulator. Coup was both the Production Designer and film producer for the ride, and holds a patent for part of the ride's technology. The ride was later cloned for Universal Studios Japan.
After Islands of Adventure launched in 1999, Coup worked on developing 4D films for Universal parks across the globe. In the United States, Shrek 4-D was launched, while in Japan, Sesame Street 4-D Movie Magic was launched. The two films have since been shown at parks owned by SeaWorld Entertainment, Village Roadshow Theme Parks, and Parques Reunidos. Work on the Revenge of the Mummy enclosed roller coasters, and a refurbishment of Universal Studios Hollywood's Studio Tour, followed.
Coup's next major project was to be the creative director for The Wizarding World of Harry Potter at Islands of Adventure. Coup and his team made several trips to Scotland to meet with J.K. Rowling, the author of the Harry Potter series of books. The headline attraction for the area was Harry Potter and the Forbidden Journey, an attraction Coup served as both executive creative director and film director on. The overall themed area was a success with park attendance increasing by 36% following the launch. Other Wizarding Worlds followed at Universal Studios Hollywood and Universal Studios Japan.
In January 2011, Coup became Senior Vice President, Chief Creative Officer, Universal Creative of Universal Destinations & Experiences. The role would see him lead "creative development activities for upcoming attractions of all Universal theme parks world-wide". In 2013, Coup's focus was on the expansion of The Wizarding World of Harry Potter at Islands of Adventure into the adjacent Universal Studios Florida park with Diagon Alley which premiered in 2014 with the acclaimed Harry Potter and the Escape from Gringotts attraction.
Coup left Universal Creative in March 2023.

## Projects

| Attraction | Original location | Year opened | Role |
| Tomorrowland | Disneyland | 1998 | Production Designer |
| Space Mountain: De la Terre à la Lune | Disneyland Paris | 1995 | Production Designer |
| Armageddon – Les Effets Speciaux | Walt Disney Studios Park | 2002 | Creative Director |
| Moteurs... Action! Stunt Show Spectacular | Walt Disney Studios Park | 2002 | Creative Director |
| Marvel Super Hero Island | Islands of Adventure | 1999 | Creative Director |
| The Amazing Adventures of Spider-Man | Islands of Adventure / Universal Studios Japan | 1999 | Production Designer / Producer |
| Sesame Street 4-D Movie Magic | Universal Studios Japan | 2003 | Creative Director / Producer |
| Shrek 4-D | Universal Studios Florida / Universal Studios Hollywood | 2003 | Creative Director / Producer |
| Revenge of the Mummy | Universal Studios Florida / Universal Studios Hollywood | 2004 | Art Director |
| The Wizarding World of Harry Potter | Islands of Adventure / Universal Studios Hollywood / Universal Studios Japan | 2010 | Executive Creative Director |
| Harry Potter and the Forbidden Journey | Islands of Adventure / Universal Studios Hollywood / Universal Studios Japan | 2010 | Executive Creative Director / Film Director |
| King Kong: 360 3-D | Universal Studios Hollywood | 2010 | Executive Producer |
| Transformers: The Ride | Universal Studios Singapore | 2011 | Creative Director / Producer / Director |
| Despicable Me: Minion Mayhem | Universal Studios Florida / Universal Studios Japan | 2012 | Executive Producer |
| The Wizarding World of Harry Potter: Diagon Alley | Universal Studios Florida | 2014 | Creative Director / Executive Director |
| Harry Potter and the Escape from Gringotts | Universal Studios Florida | 2014 | Executive Creative Director / Film Director |
| Hogwarts Express (Universal Orlando Resort) | Islands of Adventure / Universal Studios Florida | 2014 | Executive Creative Director / Film Director |
| Fast & Furious: Supercharged | Universal Studios Hollywood | 2015 | Executive Creative Director / Film Director |
| Skull Island: Reign of Kong | Islands of Adventure | 2016 | Executive Creative Director / Film Director |
| Race Through New York Starring Jimmy Fallon | Universal Studios Florida | 2017 | Executive Creative Director / Film Director |
| Universal Volcano Bay Water Theme Park | Universal Orlando Resort | 2017 | Executive Creative Director |
| Minion Park | Universal Studios Japan | 2017 | Executive Creative Director |
| DreamWorks Theatre | Universal Studios Hollywood | 2018 | Executive Creative Director / Film Director |
| Hagrid’s Magical Creatures Motorbike Adventure | Islands of Adventure | 2019 | Executive Creative Director |
| Jurassic World: The Ride | Universal Studios Hollywood | 2019 | Executive Creative Director |
| Jurassic World VelociCoaster | Islands of Adventure | 2021 | Executive Creative Director |
| Universal Studios Beijing | Universal Studios Beijing | 2021 | Executive Creative Director |
| The Secret Life of Pets: Off the Leash | Universal Studios Hollywood | 2021 | Executive Creative Director |
| Super Nintendo World | Universal Studios Japan / Universal Studios Hollywood | 2021 | Executive Creative Director |
| Mario Kart: Bowser’s Challenge | Universal Studios Japan / Universal Studios Hollywood | 2021 | Executive Creative Director |
| KISS: A New Era | Madison Square Garden | 2023 | Executive Creative Director |