Andrew Sacher: THEME PARK 101a:

IMD students, faculty, and staff are invited to join me and the CTIN-555a class for a trip to the Disneyland Resort. The purpose of the excursion is to highlight the DESIGN PRINCIPLES & PROCESS of theme park development and discuss the CORRELATIONS & OPPORTUNITIES with interactive media. For those that are not aware, I’ve worked as an employee and consultant with Walt Disney Imagineering on projects for Disneyland Resort, EPCOT, Port Discovery, and Animal Kingdom.

Date/Time: October 9th 2005 @ 11:00 AM
Location: “Mickey’s Flower Bed”
(In front of Disneyland’s Train station and just inside the ticket turnstiles).
Duration: 4-5 hours
(you are welcome to stay longer and/or meet up with friends/family in the evening).
Please note that you will need to purchase a “Park Jumper” and/or two-park pass. Discounts are available @ the USC ticket office.

Here is an outline for the day:

Leaving Reality (Entry):
• Organize the flow of people and ideas and the Disneyland “X.”
• Interdisciplinary development and building a team to make something new.
• Inside/Outside the berm and its correlation to Zimmerman’s “magic circle.”

Familiar Places & Suspension of Disbelief (Main Street):
• Attraction posters, movie preview trailers, and transitional spaces.
• Avoid contradictions-create turn ons with complete sensory immersion.
• The cinematographer’s establishing shot - scale, perspective, colors, sounds, smells.

Choices and Connectors (Hub/Castle):
• Create a “weenie” (visual magnet) and a functional anchor point.
• Spokes of a wheel organization and thematic land organization.
• Game-level narrative parallels and the spatial consequences.

Dimensional Fables (Pirates of the Caribbean):
• Configuring 3D and/or scenic spaces to tell one story at a time.
• Universal design elements include spatial triggers, sequences, and continuity.
• Design mechanics: THRC, load/unload, capacity, vehicles, operators, etc.

Illusionary Tricks (Haunted Mansion):
• Creating surfaces and characters utilizing real projections or virtual bitmaps.
• Augmenting reality with pepper’s ghost, shadows, and onboard sound.
• Leota’s new head; keep it up (maintain it) with upgraded technology.

Movies to Attractions (Indiana Jones Adventure):
• Providing an “ounce of treatment and a ton of treat” in queue.
• Stone paths and diesel replaced by motion simulators and concrete.
• Redundant safety, sandbag tests, exiting requirements, and ADA.

Master planning (Sun Fountain):
• Different master plan; the meandering path vs. spokes of a wheel.
• The value of an overnight stay and the building of a resort destination.
• Fantasy vs. culture and the necessity to know your audience.

Immersive Cinema (Soarin’ Over California):
• Wear your guests’ shoes and dangle them in a vertical theater / ride.
• A little tilt goes a long way, with coordinated visuals and smells.
• Omnimax, Imax, and the challenges of large format projection.

Living Characters (Turtle Talk with Crush):
• Digital puppets and the effectiveness of a surfing turtle character.
• Communicate with visuals for clarity and suspension of disbelief.
• Interaction for few can be entertainment for many.

Gravity of an E-Ticket (Twilight Zone Tower of Terror):
• Anticipation and adrenaline amplify the experience.
• Avoid contradictions and maintain identity through the story & details.
• Scope and value engineering a “new classic” attraction.

Comments

Andrew -- I'd like to join this trip! You should also tag this post as an event.

Posted by: Tracy Fullerton | September 30, 2005 09:30 AM

ah! my favorite ride, although they cut my favorite part from it for the California version. (making the indiana jones ride my favorite DisneyLAND attraction) this ride is an excellent immersive version of one of my all-time favorite television shows. i'm so excitied! i have also yet to go on Soarin' over California, and i look forward to finally experiencing smell-o-vision.

Posted by: kellee | September 30, 2005 10:34 AM

Wow - this sounds like a great, fun opportunity. I went to one of Chris Swain's game design salons and heard these two game designer/DisneyLand enthusiasts discussing the park layout, and the terrific level design principles represented there.

So sign me up! I mean, I'll see you at the flower bed! Anyone want to ride down together?

Posted by: Justin Hall | September 30, 2005 11:06 AM

Well, I know I want to get there early and stay till late and ride everything as much as humanly possible. So anyone who wants to join me, I would love to carpool!

Posted by: kellee | September 30, 2005 02:28 PM

Let's carpool, Justin. I can two more people.

Posted by: Tracy Fullerton | September 30, 2005 03:15 PM

Ooh ooh me too! I live right near Justin.

Posted by: Jess | September 30, 2005 04:04 PM

Count me in... As we discussed earlier I can get at least two tickets comp'd

Posted by: Matt Korba | September 30, 2005 06:21 PM

I will be driving (from North Hollywood) and have room for three others.

Posted by: andrew | October 1, 2005 09:13 AM

Matt Korba - free passes? please explain.

Posted by: kellee | October 1, 2005 11:32 AM

Wow - this sounds like a party!

Andrew, do you have any suggested reading for us, before we go? I remember these blokes mentioning all these great Disney Blogs - I wonder if there's some standout blog posts or blogs on Disney that you know of, to prepare us for this day's experience?

Posted by: Justin Hall | October 1, 2005 11:50 AM

I am in (and can drive if needed)..

Posted by: A.Ko | October 2, 2005 02:14 AM

There are hundreds of websites and blogs, on the subject of Disney Theme Parks, that range from extreme pixie dust to bitter commentary. However, few get into the theory or design of theme parks themselves (that I know of). If you have the time and interest, there are a few good books on the subject including:

Designing Disney by John Hench
Building a Dream by Beth Dunlop
Designing Disney’s Theme Parks by Karla Marling

Posted by: andrew | October 2, 2005 10:46 AM

I'd love a ride. Who still has room?

Posted by: msteffen | October 2, 2005 12:02 PM

My wife & I may be in Anaheim that day anyway. If we are, we may stop by as we have Annual passes anyway.

Have fun,

Posted by: David J. Bondelevitch | October 3, 2005 04:41 PM

Andrew, this outline is great!!! Thanks so much for putting this together.

Jess, Justin, since we are all near each other let's drive together. We can take one more Westsider.

Posted by: Tracy Fullerton | October 3, 2005 06:27 PM

Holy smokes Andrew - this looks tremendous. Now I'm even more excited to go! Thanks for doing all this work. I'm not sure I have it in me to pre-order and read some books, but I'd love to find some good blogs on Disney location design.

You've put up a terrifically promising syllabus. If you see any cracks in the tremendous presentation facade, I'd love to hear about those too. Disney's designers are masterful - where are the edges of their competancy?

Posted by: Justin Hall | October 3, 2005 07:54 PM

Sweet. I'll be going!

Coming from Studio City area.

Posted by: Scott | October 4, 2005 01:01 AM

I'm a Westsider--I live right by Jess & Justin in Culver City. Could I jump on board?

Posted by: msteffen | October 4, 2005 01:04 AM

Walt Disney Imagineering is also conducting a playtest this month for a new interactive theme park experience. Please contact me (via email) if you would like to participate. Exact dates, times, and locations to follow...

Posted by: andrew | October 5, 2005 10:08 AM

I'm down with the disneyland.
Coming from Koreatown.

Posted by: Mike Stein | October 5, 2005 12:32 PM

All right, so I've been trying to hop in a carpool, but if there's a real need, I suppose I could drive.

In that event, I can take 4 besides myself. I live in Culver City.

Posted by: msteffen | October 5, 2005 01:37 PM

Hmm, another thought. Do people have differing ideas as to how long they want to stay? If I'm paying $60 or so to go, I'm probably gonna want to make a day out of it.

Do those kinds of concerns affect the car situation, or can people simply switch cars later depending on when they want to leave?

Posted by: msteffen | October 5, 2005 01:39 PM

Several people have asked if they can record our trip on Sunday. I spoke to Disney Press & Publicity to clarify their video/audio recording policy. Please note that Disney does not allow video/audio taping of any "scripted" and/or "pre-organized" content. This would include people recording me speaking to the group this weekend. That said, individuals are welcome to shoot/record the exterior environments and folks having a good time. However, I ask that you do not record when we are assembled as a group. Please also know that photographing interiors of any attraction is strictly forbidden and enforced (big brother mouse is watching).

Posted by: andrew | October 7, 2005 10:39 AM

I live on Alvarado Terrace (near Pico & Alvarado Street)... anyone nearby that is willing to pick me up? :D

Posted by: Mike Brazil | October 7, 2005 01:03 PM

FYI:

Disneyland park will be open until midnight on Sunday, and California Adventure will be open until 10pm. Unfortunately California Screamin' is shut down, so don't get your roller-coaster-luvin' hopes up. But the new Space Mountain is open!

It will be sunny, with a high of 76, and a low of 56! So bring layers!

Okay, mom is done now. ;-)

Posted by: kellee | October 7, 2005 07:22 PM

Haha - I just realized that this event is scheduled for Sunday. Somehow I read this and put it on my calendar for Wednesday. All this exciting travel planning in my inbox!

I will have to bow out, and hope there is some writeup afterwards on the blog, by some of the people who attend! How about annotated photographs? Tell us what you see there!

Posted by: Justin Hall | October 9, 2005 12:15 AM

Sorry I didn't make it. Your outline looks great, I wish we had been in town.

Posted by: David J. Bondelevitch | October 9, 2005 10:58 PM

Andrew Sacher

THEME PARK 101a:

Comments

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