Page 2 of 18. In this paper I hope to explain how the use of digital technology can have an. effect on the experience of
Digital Technology’s Effects on the Theme Park Experience Rachel Frend N503 Spring 2012
In this paper I hope to explain how the use of digital technology can have an effect on the experience of visiting a theme park. I will include not only the positive and negative effects on the theme park guest but also the theme park as a business and entertainment source.
What is a theme park? For the purpose of this paper when I refer to a “theme park” I am referring to places like Walt Disney World, Disneyland, EPCOT, Disney’s Hollywood Studios, Disney’s Animal Kingdom, Universal Studios (Orlando and California) and Sea World and not places like Cedar Point or Coney Island. To clarify this further I give the explanation by author Max Beaudry:
“Let's start by defining the term 'Amusement Park' first because amusement parks were the first to appear on the scene. By most definitions, the amusement park has been around for hundreds of years, since about the 16th century. It can be defined simply as a fixed location where multiple rides and attractions are assembled to entertain people.
While it's debatable when the 'theme park' was introduced, most experts believe that Walt Disney was its inventor. Disney was, however, highly influenced by Knott's Berry Farm and the amusement parks of Europe. So, you could make the claim that Knott's Berry Farm was the first theme park, but certainly Walt Disney took the theme park to a whole new level. So what makes a theme park different from an amusement park?
A true 'theme' park consists of different themed lands or regions. Great efforts are made to create the illusion of another world or culture using landscaping, architecture, music, food, employees, and attractions. In a theme park the rides often take second place to the environment they are placed in. The more a park is able to take its guests out of the 'real world' and into a world of fantasy, the truer the label 'theme' becomes. Because Walt Disney used film directors instead of architects for the design of his park, he was able to create a true escape from reality, as if the theme park were a movie on a screen.” (1) So with this definition in mind we will first go into why one would go to a theme park in the first place.
Why go to a theme park? Many people do not live near places like Disney World or Sea World and must travel, book a hotel and purchase tickets and it can be an expensive endeavor. For example: For a family of four (2 adults, 2 kids between the ages of 3 and 10) to go to Walt Disney World the first week of June for 8 days/7 nights including 7-day park tickets with the park hopper option, in a value resort room and the Quick Service dining plan would cost $3070.42 not including airfare (2). This can be a stretch for many the household budget, families can save for years to take that dream trip to Disney World. So why would someone spend all that money to go to a theme park in the first place? Usually it’s for the kids. Walt Disney originally came up with the idea for Disneyland when he was spending what he called “Daddy’s day” with his two daughters one Saturday afternoon in California. He was sitting on a bench in a park while his two daughters rode the carousel and it occurred to him that there should be a place where
parents and children can go and enjoy some sort of themed park together instead of the parents just watching (6). So he gathered together a team of designers including art directors from Twentieth Century-Fox, Richard Irvine and Marvin Davis; Disney animator Harper Goff; Disney studios artists John Hench, Ken Anderson, and Marc Davis (5)
. Up until this point Disney’s sole experience in designing entertainment had been in
film and television. So Walt decided to take the same approach when creating Disneyland. Since almost the beginning of his Hollywood career, Walt was revered for his child-friendly films. By the end of the 1930s alone, Disney had won several awards from Parents’ Magazine for his movies due to their family-friendly appropriateness, including a special medal for “outstanding service to children.” (8) Disney’s films full of princesses, fairies, flying elephants and talking wooden puppets were successful in a large part because children love fantasy and make-believe. Children are fascinated by visions and by magic, something that carries over into adulthood and effects how we respond to things like art, poetry, music and literature (9). So when Walt came up with the idea of Disneyland, he envisioned a place where they could showcase “Disney characters in their fantasy surroundings” (5), the films and characters that children had come to know and love come to life. Disneyland was immediately successful largely due to the large number of baby boomers (children born post World War II) coming of age during the 1950s when American society was embracing the culture of mass production and consumption due to a strong economic boom (10). Families had steady incomes and leisure time to spend, why not put the family in the car and go on a vacation to the new theme park? There were approximately 60,000 people in attendance for Disneyland’s opening day, within two
months of opening attendance reached 1 million guests and 5 million guests within 15 months of opening (11). So what does this have to do with technology and its uses in theme parks? With the opening of Disneyland, Walt Disney created a benchmark that future theme park designers would strive to achieve if they wished to be successful. However the guests that travel to theme parks today are drastically different than those who began going over 50 years ago. Children, especially the desirable tween (adolescents aged between 8 and 14) and teenage (ages 13 to 19) demographics, are much more technologically sophisticated than the previous generations. With the advent of digital technologies and the Internet, teens/youth prefer a more fluid, less structured way of accessing and consuming their entertainment. They are no longer using the established, traditional media formats or engaging with traditional media in the same way as their parents. A 2003 Yahoo! survey of teenagers aged between 13 and 18 revealed that 82% had computers, 62% owned video game consoles and 49% possessed cell phones (10). Smart phones with technical capabilities similar to most computers, more advanced and interactive video game systems like the Nintendo Wii and Xbox Kinect and other digital technologies are available to youth today. So it takes more than the traditional roller coaster or a boat ride past a bunch of singing animatronic characters to hold the attention of many kids…and some adults as well. While the tween and teen demographics are tied to specific age groups, in the past few decades the concept of “age” and “youth” have begun to relate less to “teenage” as an age bracket and more of a lifestyle. Youth has come of represent a range of idealized qualities such as vitality, excitement, vigor, promise and cutting-edge interests and are being embraced by all of society regardless of age. It is no longer how
young you are, but how young you think you are, or choose to be, that matters (10). Because of this culture shift and increasing technological sophistication of people in the modern area, theme parks have to create experiences that include the digital technologies that people come to expect in their daily lives.
Guests and technology So what does the guest think about the addition of technology to their theme park experience? After all, companies like Universal and Disney invest thousands if not millions of dollars into new technologies expecting the guests to react positively and embrace the additions. In 2010, the Disney Company unveiled one of their newest technologies, Talking Mickey (3). Several years before they had begun using characters in stage shows and parades with eyes that blinked and mouths that moved along with the playing soundtrack. While this made the formerly static “plastic headed” characters more lifelike, the characters available for meet-and-greets in the parks were still inarticulate and left all the talking to the guest. With the premier of similar technology, guests who encountered Mickey face-to-face were suddenly able to carry on a conversation with their favorite mouse. He could speak their name, comment on a child’s hat or shirt and made the moment truly interactive. Disney Imagineer and head of Advanced Development Scott Trowbridge said, “ We’re always looking for innovative ways to let guests interact with our beloved characters (4).” While the meet and greets with Talking Mickey have not become a permanent part of the Disney parks experience (it’s still in the testing phase), guest response has been overwhelmingly positive:
Jodie Kent Oh my goodness!! This is so great! My daughter has asked in the past why characters such as Mickey, Minnie, Donald and Goofy don’t ever talk to us. I have had to tell her it’s because they have a lot of shows to do all over the parks and they can’t risk losing their voice! So excited to actually talk to the Mouse himself now! GrumpyFan That is ABSOLUTELY AMAZING!!! Peter Wow, I’d love to see other characters like this! Awesome! (3) Fig. 1 Talking Mickey
But the use of digital technology is not just limited to attractions and character meet-and-greets. In one of the more popular counter-service (think fast food set-up like McDonalds) restaurants inside the Magic Kingdom, Pecos Bill’s Tall Tale Café, guests can skip waiting on a cashier to order their food and use an automated ordering system. Inside the restaurant there are several touch-screen kiosks that allow a guest to order their meal including entrée, sides, drink and dessert and pay using a credit card or if they are
on the dining plan their Key To The World card (if using cash you must still go to the cash registers to order and pay). The touch-screen interface is fairly easy to understand and allows you to customize your order as needed (want that burger medium-rare or welldone, no problem just select the option on the screen). Fig. 2 Pecos Bill’s Ordering Kiosk
Fig. 3 Pecos Bill’s Ordering Screen
Princess Figment Pecos Bill is one of the best quick service restaurants that I've eaten in at Disney. There's an automated system for ordering- it's a touch screen and you can completely customize what you want. Pretty great when you're tired and cranky and just want to eat and not wait on yet another line. r1lissa There are also convenient self-serve ordering kiosks here. If you know how to use your Dining Plan, these are a snap to use. Just input your order, get the receipt, and take it to the counter to get your food. (7) However sometimes the introduction of an interactive digital technology doesn’t always work as expected. In late 2010, Disney began a partnership with the locationbased web service Gowalla. Using their smart phone via the web or the Gowalla app, guests could “check-in” at their favorite locations within the Disney parks and resorts (this included all of the Walt Disney World resort in Florida and the Disneyland resort in California). Once guests checked-in they could earn digital passport stamps that could be collected and stored as a virtual scrapbook.
Fig. 4 Example of Gowalla’s Disney themed passport stamps
Beyond the ability to check in and then post via social networking sites like Facebook or Twitter (and thus sharing with your friends what you’re doing on vacation), the app also included maps, lists of popular places and trip “bundles” that included lists of attractions based on age or interest:
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“For the Little Ones (under 44 inches)” is a dream track fit for pint-sized parkgoers to Magic Kingdom in Florida. It includes “Mickey’s PhilharMagic,” Dumbo the Flying Elephant, Peter Pan’s Flight and more.
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“Characters in the Wild” treats Disney’s Animal Kingdom guests to a show track that includes “Festival of the Lion King,” “Finding Nemo-The Musical,” “Flights of Wonder” and more.
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Just in time for the holidays at the Disneyland park, “Santa’s Reindeer Roundup,” “Believe…in Holiday Magic” fireworks and Sleeping Beauty Winter Castle are on the menu for the “Seasons Greetings” Trip. (12)
Almost immediately the partnership was met with mixed reviews, many users familiar with Gowalla debated on whether Disney should have partnered with competitor Foursquare instead. Others commented that those without smart phones and those traveling from out of the United States (unless they paid for international service as Disney does not have Wi-Fi in their parks) would be left out. Barbara from MI It’s a cool idea…but not everyone has a smart phone. Not everyone has a cell phone. Your little extras that need the use of such things just make the have-nots feel more left out. Patrick I am not very happy…Data Plans when you are from Out of Country are ridiculously expensive. I think it is fair to say I will sit this one out. Marcel from ZH It would be nice, if Disney installed Wi-Fi through the parks, so foreigners would also be able to use these features. Michael from FL Wow, pretty surprised to see this, and also that you went with Gowalla over Foursquare considering the latter’s dominance in the market. (12) Despite the mixed reactions, Gowalla went from 600,000 users to 2 million by the following year (13). However it was never able to reach the same numbers as rival Foursquare and to save face in early 2012 were bought out by Facebook. The Facebook acquisition did not include Gowalla’s service or technology, just their design and engineering teams so Gowalla as a service shut down completely leaving users to find a new app and loosing their earned virtual badges (14).
Return on Investment While guest feedback is always a good measure on whether the introduction of a new digital experience has been a good investment, at the end of the day theme parks are still a business and that means getting paying bodies through the turnstiles. In 2008, Disney opened Toy Story Midway Mania (TSMM) in Disney’s Hollywood Studios at the Walt Disney World resort. TSMM is a 3D interactive attraction where guests use cannons mounted on their ride vehicle to play virtual carnival style games (popping balloons with darts, throwing pies at targets, ring tosses, etc.) themed to the Toy Story films. Along with the 3D images of their favorite Toy Story characters cheering them on, guests experience ride vehicle motion, wind and water spray (which are triggered via one of the many hidden “Easter eggs” throughout the games) making TSMM literally a life-size interactive video game (15). Fig. 4 TSMM Ride Vehicle
Fig. 5 TSMM Cannon instruction screen
At the end of all of the games each player’s score is tallied and virtual prizes are awarded and a sign that posts the high scores of the day and the month is constantly updated as guests play.
Fig. 6 TSMM Prize Screen
Fig. 7 TSMM High Score Board
TSMM was an $80 million investment for the Disney Company (16), however while it was an immediate success as far as number of guests riding the attraction, financially it didn’t initially pay off by bringing more guests through the turnstiles.. The following year Disney saw park attendance at Walt Disney World stay stagnant (neither rising or falling), per capita guest spending down 4% and hotel occupancy down 3% (17). In June of 2010, Universal Studios opened the long anticipated Wizarding World of Harry Potter (WWoHP) at their Island of Adventure Park in Orlando. The area in the park is themed to the highly successful series of books written by J.K. Rowling and the equally successful series of films based on the books. The area is filled with elaborately themed shops, restaurants and attractions all pulled out of the Harry Potter franchise.
Fig. 8 Entrance to Hogsmeade
Fig. 9 Hogwarts Castle
The two biggest draws for guests are Ollivander’s Wand Shop (located in Hogsmeade) and Harry Potter and the Forbidden Journey (located inside Hogwarts). At Ollivander’s, guests are taken in small groups and one guest (usually a child/teen) is chosen to go through the process of finding their own magic wand. In true Harry Potter fashion, the child doesn’t just pick a wand from the hundreds available but “the wand chooses the wizard.” The young witch or wizard is given several wands to try and with a flick of the wrist one of several special effects will occur letting them know if they have the correct wand or not. And if you have read the books or have seen the movies, you’ll know what happens when the right wand is chosen (but I’m not going to spoil it, you’ll have to find out for yourself) (19). Fig. 10 Inside Ollivander’s
Fig. 11 Actress Emma Watson (Hermione Granger) getting her wand
Inside Hogwarts Castle is Harry Potter and the Forbidden Journey (FJ), a multisensory dark ride that allows riders to experience a thrilling adventure with Harry, Ron and Hermione. From the moment guests (or as they are known in the Harry Potter universe, muggles as they are non-magical people) enter the castle they encounter magical artifacts including the talking and singing Sorting Hat, conversing and moving portraits (including those of the four founders of Hogwarts), several of the classrooms and Headmaster Albus Dumbledore’s office. Fig. 11 Dumbledore’s office
Once through the queue, guests board “magical benches” and enter into a 5minute thrilling adventure with Harry and his friends. Guests encounter images on projected on large wrap-around screens; “live” elements including a fire-breathing dragon, giant spiders and the Whomping Willow; and full-size sets with moving elements including walls that cave in (20). To say that the addition of Harry Potter to Islands of Adventure was positive move for Universal would be an understatement. The construction of WWoHP cost approximately $265 million (22), not counting what Universal paid for the rights to the
Harry Potter franchise which has been undisclosed. The year before Harry Potter opened, Universal posted a $36.4 million loss, the first quarter of 2011 (6 months after Harry Potter opened); Universal posted a $45.8 million profit. Ticket sales rose 85% to $159.3 million, food-and-beverage sales rose 104% to $33.6 million and merchandise sales rose a staggering 156% to $42.7 million (21). In December of 2011, just 18 months after the WWoHP originally opened, Universal announced the expansion of the WWoHP in their Florida park and the construction of a west coast copy in their park in Hollywood (23). Details have yet to be released on what exactly will be included in the Florida expansion, but chances are high that Universal will use the same expertise and attention to detail.
What’s Next? So where do theme parks go from here? As digital technology advances, theme park designers will certainly find a way to integrate it either into attractions or other forms to enhance the guests’ experience. Disney has recently been experimenting at EPCOT with RFID embedded tickets and “turn less” turnstiles that will, in theory, allow easier and faster guest admission and avoid the bottleneck that develops at the current turnstiles (24). This RFID technology is still in the testing phase so it is not yet known if it will implemented as a permanent technology at the parks.
Fig. 12 RFID Turnstile
Fig. 13 RFID Turnstile activated
In November of 2011, Sea World announced a multi-year construction expansion of their Orlando park. It will include an entire land themed to Antarctica (which will be home to what officials are calling the “coldest theme-park attraction in the world”); and TurtleTrek, which will include a first-of-its-kind, domed, 3D theatre (25). Fig. 14 Sea World Antarctica concept art
Fig. 15 TurtleTrek concept art
Or course these are only a couple of examples of what is possibly going to become part of the theme park experience in the future. Time and guests’ responses (both via feedback to the parks and with their wallets) to technological additions will be the litmus test on what becomes permanent fixtures and what goes the way of Gowalla. Either way, it’s a great time to be a theme park guest.
REFERENCES (1) “What is the difference between a theme park and an amusement park” http://www.themeparkpost.com/features/what-is-the-difference-between-a-theme-park-and-an-amusementpark(2) Source: Disneyworld.com (3) “Talking live Mickey Mouse character could mark beginning of new interactive Disney meet and greets” http://www.insidethemagic.net/2010/05/talking-live-mickey-mouse-character-could-markbeginning-of-new-interactive-disney-meet-and-greets/ (4) Disney releases official video of talking Mickey Mouse meet and greet http://www.insidethemagic.net/2010/05/disney-releases-official-video-of-talking-mickey-mouse-meet-andgreet/ (5) The Mouse Machine: Disney and Technology. JP Telotte (6) The Vault of Walt. Jim Korkis (7) http://reviews.wdwinfo.com/showproduct.php/item/727_Pecos-Bill-Tall-Tale-Inn-and-Cafe (8) Babes in Tomorrowland: Walt Disney and the Making of the American Child, 1930-‐1960. Nicholas Sammond (9) On Learning To Read. Bruno Bettelheim & Karen Zelan (10) Teen Media: Hollywood and the Youth Market In The Digital Age. Valerie Wee (11) http://www.scottware.com.au/theme/feature/atend_disparks.htm#Yearly (12) http://disneyparks.disney.go.com/blog/2010/11/check-in-at-disney-parks-with-gowalla/ (13) http://www.entrepreneur.com/article/220690 (14) http://techcrunch.com/2011/12/05/gowalla-acqhire/ (15) http://allears.net/tp/mgm/tsm.htm (16) http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Toy_Story_Midway_Mania! (17) http://amedia.disney.go.com/investorrelations/annual_reports/WDC-10kwrap-2009.pdf (18) http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Wizarding_World_of_Harry_Potter_(Islands_of_Adventure) (19) http://www.wizardingworldharrypotter.com/shows/ollivanders-wand-shop (20) http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Harry_Potter_and_the_Forbidden_Journey (21) http://articles.orlandosentinel.com/2011-05-13/business/os-universal-orlando-earnings20110513_1_universal-orlando-wizarding-world-guest-spending (22) http://www.nytimes.com/2009/09/16/business/media/16harry.html
(23) http://articles.orlandosentinel.com/2011-12-06/travel/os-wizarding-world-harry-potter-orlandoexpansion-20111206_1_wizarding-world-potter-elements-universal-orlando (24) http://disneyprojects.com/2011/11/13/first-look-rfid-entry-at-epcot/ (25) http://articles.orlandosentinel.com/2011-11-08/travel/os-seaworld-expansion-20111108_1_wizardingworld-theme-park-seaworld-orlando
IMAGE REFERENCES Fig. 1 http://thedisneyblog.com/2011/11/15/two-new-videos-of-talking-mickey/ Fig. 2 http://www.disneyfoodblog.com/2009/11/04/disney-food-technology-d-lol/ Fig. 3 http://land.allears.net/blogs/jackspence/2007/08/pecos_bill_magic_kingdom.html Fig. 4 http://allears.net/tp/mgm/tsmm27.jpg Fig. 5 http://allears.net/tp/mgm/tsmm18.jpg Fig. 6 http://allears.net/tp/mgm/tsmm19.jpg Fig. 7 http://www.themeparkreview.com Fig. 8 Author’s photo Fig. 9 Author’s photo Fig. 10 http://www.tampabay.com/features/events/best-insider-tips-for-the-wizarding-world-of-harrypotter/1102717 Fig. 11 Author’s photo Fig. 12 http://www.examiner.com/slideshow/disney-world-s-next-generation-technology-including-epcot-srfid-turnstiles-3#slide=39742991 Fig. 13 http://www.examiner.com/slideshow/disney-world-s-next-generation-technology-including-epcot-srfid-turnstiles-3#slide=39742976 Fig. 14 http://articles.latimes.com/2011/nov/11/news/la-trb-seaworld-orlando-antarctica-penguin-turtletrek11201110 Fig. 15 http://behindthethrills.com/2012/01/behind-the-scenes-the-making-of-turtle-trek-at-seaworldorlando/
