Celebrating Falcon’s Creative Group’s 25 Years of Themed Entertainment Excellence
Falcon’s Beyond
Media Relations:
Kathleen Prihoda, Falcon’s Beyond
kprihoda@falconsbeyond.com
Investor Relations:
ir@falconsbeyond.com
Falcon’s Beyond Global, Inc. (Nasdaq: FBYD) (“Falcon’s Beyond”, “Falcon’s” or the “Company”), a visionary leader at the forefront of innovation in themed entertainment experiences, is about to embark on a year-long celebration to recognize the 25th anniversary of its Falcon’s Creative Group division.
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A homegrown Orlando company located in the theme park capital of the world, Falcon’s Creative Group has been an incubator for innovation since its inception in 2000, when it was founded as Falcon’s Treehouse by CEO Cecil D. Magpuri and his wife Marty. Drawing from Cecil’s extensive creative experience in themed entertainment and attractions development with Universal Creative and Iwerks Entertainment, the business evolved into Falcon’s Creative Group in 2014 to include design, digital media, and licensing divisions. Fast-forward to the present, Falcon’s Creative Group has successfully designed and delivered over $120 billion worth of themed experiences around the world in 27 countries.
“Back in the very early days of Falcon’s, there were only three of us and I had faith we were going to grow and land a handful of projects that would allow us to add a couple of dozen people to the team and perhaps move into a slightly bigger office space,” said Cecil D. Magpuri, CEO of Falcon’s Beyond. “When I reflect on where we are now, I am incredibly proud of how far we’ve come and grateful to our Falcon’s team, now more than 200 team members strong, who have had a hand in creating our ambitious projects.”
Known for its simply masterful work, Falcon’s Creative Group is a creative design firm that specializes in master planning, attraction & experiential design, project management, development of content, interactives, software, and technologies. Dedicated to being a trusted and highly collaborative creative partner, Falcon’s prides itself on delivering visually spectacular and iconic work that can be enjoyed in theme parks, zoos, aquariums, location-based entertainment venues, themed restaurants and shops, resorts and more.
Over the past 25 years, Falcon’s talented team of creative directors, writers, designers, illustrators, producers, and programmers have brought some of the most well-known intellectual properties in the world to life. Client and IP collaborators over the years include Walt Disney World, Universal Studios, SeaWorld Parks & Entertainment, Qiddiya Investment Company, Atlantis, Marvel, National Geographic, NASA, AT&T, Lego, Hard Rock, Formula 1, Lionsgate, Cartoon Network, Herschend Live, 343 Industries, and many more.
"As the first employee at Falcon's, I’ve had the incredible honor of growing with this company from its very beginning,” said Yvette Whittaker, Chief Corporate Officer of Falcon’s Beyond. “From helping launch a startup to taking our company public, it’s been an exhilarating journey and every challenge we’ve met along the way over the past 25 years has fueled my passion. I’m truly grateful to work alongside such a talented and dedicated team, whose commitment to excellence inspires me every day."
Falcon’s portfolio showcases spectacular range and a strong commitment to being one of the most innovative design studios in themed entertainment in the world. Some of these projects include:
- An extensive scope of work for the Qiddiya Investment Company focused on the master planning and designing of several first-of-its-kind immersive entertainment projects for Qiddiya City, the world’s first city built for play near Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. One of these projects, Aquarabia, Saudi Arabia’s first water theme park, is set to open later this year (date TBA).
- Heroes and Legends featuring the U.S. Astronaut Hall of Fame, an immersive storytelling experience at the Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex that focuses on the pioneers of NASA space exploration.
- Numerous exhibitions for National Geographic, including the award-winning Becoming Jane: The Evolution of Dr. Jane Goodall. This travelling exhibition includes multimedia experiences that bring Jane’s incredible journey to life.
- IMG Worlds of Adventure, the largest indoor theme park at the time of its opening in Dubai, where visitors can join superheroes like The Incredible Hulk, Iron Man, Thor, and others across several attractions. Falcon’s created the master plan and attractions for the 1.5 million-square-foot entertainment destination, complete with Cartoon Network and dinosaur-themed zones, as well as themed restaurants and retail outlets.
- Dragon’s Treasure, a trailblazing 360-degree dome theatre experience at City of Dreams resort and casino in Macau.
Great work leads to industry accolades. Falcon’s has been recognized with numerous awards from some of the most prestigious organizations in the entertainment industry, including the Visual Effects Society (VES), Themed Entertainment Association (TEA), and the International Association of Amusement Parks and Attractions (IAAPA).
Falcon’s Creative Group is in a time of unprecedented growth potential in the global theme park industry, which has inspired the Company to scale up its workforce to support creative projects worldwide. As part of this effort, Falcon’s moved into a new company corporate headquarters in February 2024, and in 2023, expanded its offices with the addition of Falcon’s Creative Philippines, located in the bustling capital city of Manila. The opening of the Philippines office marked a personal milestone for Magpuri, who shared at the time, “As someone of Filipino descent, it has been a lifelong dream of mine, as well as my father, to open a Falcon’s office in the Philippines. We’re excited to expand our company’s footprint globally and build a team of passionate storytellers and creatives to support our portfolio of high-profile, international, entertainment projects.”
The future shines bright for Falcon’s as the Company continues to elevate and build the future of the experience economy. To learn more about Falcon’s Creative Group and look back on its quarter of a century of projects, visit https://falconscreativegroup.com/projects/.
About Falcon’s Beyond
Falcon’s Beyond is a visionary innovator in immersive storytelling, sitting at the intersection of three potential high growth business opportunities: content, technology, and experiences. Falcon’s Beyond propels intellectual property (IP) activations concurrently across physical and digital experiences through three core business units:
- Falcon’s Creative Group (“FCG”) creates master plans, designs attractions and experiential entertainment, and produces content, interactives and software.
- Falcon’s Beyond Destinations (“FBD”) develops a diverse range of entertainment experiences using both Falcon’s Beyond owned and third party licensed intellectual property, spanning location-based entertainment, dining, and retail.
- Falcon’s Beyond Brands (“FBB”) endeavors to bring brands and intellectual property to life through animation, movies, licensing and merchandising, gaming as well as ride and technology sales.
Falcon’s Beyond also invents immersive rides, attractions and technologies for entertainment destinations around the world.
FALCON’S BEYOND and its related trademarks are owned by Falcon’s Beyond.
Falcon’s Beyond is headquartered in Orlando, Florida. Learn more at falconsbeyond.com.
Cautionary Note Regarding Forward-Looking Statements
This press release contains statements that are “forward-looking statements” within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Forward-looking statements are based on various assumptions, whether or not identified in this press release, and on the current expectations of Falcon’s Beyond’s management and are not predictions of actual performance. Forward-looking statements are not intended to serve as, and must not be relied upon as, a guarantee, an assurance, a prediction or a definitive statement of fact or probability. These forward-looking statements are subject to risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ from those expressed in or implied by the forward-looking statements. Some of the factors that could cause actual events or results to differ include but are not limited to the following: (1) Falcon’s Beyond’s ability to sustain its growth, effectively manage its anticipated future growth, and implement its business strategies to achieve the results it anticipates, (2) impairments of Falcon’s Beyond’s intangible assets and equity method investment in its joint ventures, (3) Falcon’s Beyond’s ability to raise additional capital, (4) the closure of Katmandu Park DR and the repositioning and rebranding of the FBD business, (5) the success of growth plans in FCG, (6) customer concentration in FCG, (7) the risk that contractual restrictions relating to the Strategic Investment by Qiddiya Investment Company may affect Falcon’s Beyond’s ability to access the public markets and expand its business, (8) the risks of doing business internationally, including in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, (9) Falcon’s Beyond’s indebtedness and reliance on related parties with respect to such indebtedness, (10) Falcon’s Beyond’s dependence on strategic relationships with local partners in order to offer and market its products and services in certain jurisdictions, (11) Falcon’s Beyond’s reliance on senior management and key employees, and its ability to hire, train, retain, and motivate qualified personnel, (12) cybersecurity-related risks, (13) the ability to protect Falcon’s Beyond’s intellectual property, (14) the ability to remediate identified material weaknesses in Falcon’s Beyond’s internal control over financial reporting, (15) the concentration of share ownership and the significant influence of the Demerau family and Cecil D. Magpuri, (16) the outcome of pending, threatened and future legal proceedings, (17) Falcon’s Beyond’s continued compliance with Nasdaq continued listing standards, (18) risks related to Falcon’s Beyond’s Up-C entity structure and the fact that Falcon’s Beyond may be required to make substantial payments to certain unitholders under the Tax Receivable Agreement, and (19) the risks disclosed under the caption “Risk Factors” in the Company’s Annual Report on Form 10-K, as filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission on April 29, 2024, and the Company’s other filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission. If any of these risks materialize or Falcon’s Beyond’s assumptions prove incorrect, actual results could differ materially from the results implied by these forward-looking statements. The risks and uncertainties above are not exhaustive, and there may be additional risks that Falcon’s Beyond does not presently know or that Falcon’s Beyond believes are immaterial that could also cause actual results to differ from those contained in the forward-looking statements. The forward-looking statements herein speak only as of the date of this press release, and the Company undertakes no obligation to publicly update or revise any forward-looking statement as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, except as otherwise required by law.
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