I should probably just make this a series.
Something I noticed during our most recent visit to Atlas9 was found in the Manager’s Office.
During our first visit in June 2026, we explored this “manager’s office” but did not make many connections with story – we had not learned the story yet.
As we visited a few more times, things in this room started to make more sense. For example, there are photos along the back wall. Some seem random. Why is there a photo of someone dressed a Dorothy from Wizard of Oz?
I did a quick Google Reverse Image search and did not find a match for that image, but I am sure there is some narrative reason why the office manager would have had this photo on her wall. Perhaps it is meant to be one of her childhood photos, showing how much she loved classic movies like Wizard of Oz? Or maybe it is a famous photo, and my search engine skills are just lacking. Either way, leave a comment if you have information.
On this most recent visit, I paid more attention to these photos. I believe they are using A.I. to generate them since they have this:
Since this attraction is perpetually stuck in 1995, the hair in this photo likely indicates it was “taken” in that era or before. Perhaps the woman on the left is meant to be the theater manager, Melissa Hartwell.
If so, do we know who she is with? If the hair style is more 1980s than 1990s, this may be meant to be an “old” photo in 1995. Could the person on the right a younger version of projectionist Frank? Frank also wears glasses and button up shirts. Here is what Frank looks like in the “current” 1995 time of Atlas9.
But I digress.
What actually caught my attention was the background of that photo. I did not make the connection until this visit: it looks like it was meant to have been taken in the nearby theater break room. Notice the round windows on the cabinet doors in the break room:
…and look at the ones in the “old” photo:
However, if this was the intent, there are some differences.
- The color is different, but rooms get repainted.
- The tiles are different, but rooms get remodeled.
- The cabinets that extend over the fridge (common in most kitchens I have been in) are missing in the actual location.
- There are vertical dividers in the photo as if to imply pull out drawers, which are missing in the real drawers.
But I would bet that this photo was meant to be the same break room from Atlas9 and the A.I. generated image (assumption) just got some details wrong.
Of course, there is the chance that this is a genuine old photo and it just happened to be taken in a break room similar to the one they built. There are endless libraries of stock photos.
Either way, it does seem like an intentional detail. These addition details add to the history and backstory of the Atlas9 theater.
My speculation could be completely wrong, of course, but I bet there is a story to that photo — and the others in the room. This place appears to have been designed with very intentional details.
Got thoughts? Comment away…