How Jay Stein Invented the Modern Theme Park — Lowdown on the Plus-Up Takes the Glamour Tram to a…
Kelly and Pete go deep into the life of the late Jay Stein, the genius behind Universal Theme Parks.
How Jay Stein Invented the Modern Theme Park — Lowdown on the Plus-Up Takes the Glamour Tram to a New Universal!
Universal Studios’ evolution from modest Tram Tour to the top challenger for the theme park throne was due to the fierce drive of one man: Jay Stein.
Intense, ambitious and sometimes frightening, Stein let his competitiveness and, later, his seething rage against the Walt Disney Company forge an entirely new path for theme parks. By the time he left the company in 1993, it was no longer the underdog, but an innovator that the rest of the industry — Disney included — had to keep up with.
From the last vestiges of old Hollywood, to the Tram Tour in Universal City, to a vicious feud with Disney, to the dream of something bigger — two major theme parks in Florida — Jay Stein is the constant that dragged Universal Studios Theme Parks, kicking and screaming, into the future.
It’s our tribute to the man that changed the theme park industry: Jay Stein (1937–2025).
There will never be another like him.
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Kelly McCubbin is a columnist for Boardwalk Times