The album's recording sessions took place from May 2001 to March 2002 at Studio Litho and Studio X in Seattle, Washington. Studio Litho is owned by guitarist Stone Gossard. The recording of Welcome to Discovery Park saw contributions from Mike Berg, who had taken over as the touring bassist for Jeremy Toback.[2] Most of the album was produced by the band members themselves, although they also worked with producers Phil Nicolo and Skip Drinkwater. The album was mixed by Nicolo, Drinkwater, and Matt Bayles. The album's cover art was photographed by Bruce Tom. The album mixes the rawness of the band's debut, Shame, with the more polished, produced sound of the band's second album, Interiors. The album charted at number 46 on Billboard's Top Heatseekers chart. Bradley Torreano of Allmusic called it "another quality album that still leaves the listener hungry overall for some better songs."[1] Outtakes from the recording sessions for Welcome to Discovery Park were included on the 2005 compilation album, Brad vs Satchel.[3]