Disney Tests Talking Trio at DCA

[Deleted member 107043]

Oh, you're probably right.

But I liked my version of events where Minnie was hogging the limelight because she's just that way.

I want to see Minnie and Miss Piggy get into a wig snatching brawl. Wouldn't that be hilarious?!

 

[TP2000]

I want to see Minnie and Miss Piggy get into a wig snatching brawl. Wouldn't that be hilarious?!

The hilarious thing was that crossed my mind too. But I thought it was too early on a Sunday morning to mention it in polite conversation.

But I'm glad you said it.

 

[Deleted member 107043]

The hilarious thing was that crossed my mind too. But I thought it was too early on a Sunday morning to mention it in polite conversation.

But I'm glad you said it.

Hahaha!!

 

[Phroobar]

I wonder if this talking heads tech is similar to the Buzz Lightyear and Woody toys that talk to each other when you press a button on one of them. They send signals to each other to play certain lines when the other character says their lines.

 

[brb1006]

I didn't get that either. The guy walks up, they all say hi, and a split second later Minnie launches into this random story about seeing a "majestic pack of wild lions!". Uh, cool story Minnie, but can we just try and drag the spotlight off of you for one second?

This is obviously a test for Star Wars Land, where groups of droids and characters interact with you on pre-set plotlines and character arcs.

The original 2010 talking Mickey was way more interactive and memorable. It's been seven years since then and... nothing. Disneyland suits can't get a parking structure built in seven years, they can't move really cool talking character tech into the parks, and they keep rolling out turkey entertainment offerings like Summer of Heroes.

It feels like TDA needs a big shakeup and some fresh people to re-evaluate priorities and strategy here.

I still wish they stuck with the 2010 Talking Mickey.

 

[brb1006]

I wonder if this talking heads tech is similar to the Buzz Lightyear and Woody toys that talk to each other when you press a button on one of them. They send signals to each other to play certain lines when the other character says their lines.

I need to see a video of that.

 

[MisterPenguin]

Quotes from Talking Mickey Past...

I believe this is how it works:
https://www.google.com/patents/US20130226588

If you look at the 5th image (Figure 3B), the first greeting is "Hey Pal!". Sounds like someone I talked to recently...

-TPK

One day I said I was going to ride Space Mountain and he said "Space Mountain oh boy you're going to blast off into outer space"
The other time I saw him as I was about to go to Epcot and told him He said "I hope you have some amazing adventures out there!"

If you think about it...He's just a walking version of Pal Mickey.

There is an interestin article and patent design on how it works.
http://www.stitchkingdom.com/disney-talking-mickey-speech-tip-66422/

The talking mickeys used in the shows are just hand puppetry in sync with the pre recorded dialogue that is the same every time.

The Mickey in town square uses prerecorded phrases but is "live" in that he talks in response to actual things going on and can be spontaneous. This requires a camera feed, network connection, and a remote operator as well as a character performer.

The third type is completley spontaneous and has only been used a few times. I have no knowledge of how this works but expect it's similar to a combination of the above and turtle talk.

The pre-recorded “talking heads” are more reliable, easier to use, and can be installed almost anywhere with sufficient infrastructure. It’s tech that can be used with minor extra training and limited support staff. Plus they never have to worry about continuity from character experience to character experience.

The “live” heads are exponentially more difficult to deal with and require special training, more staff, and way more infrastructure to make the effect work. Right now it’s really only viable for special events. While the performance of the “live” heads is AMAZING, is not instantaneous nor is it as reliable as the pre-recorded ones.

Really the use of the pre-recorded vs “live” heads is more a cost-benefit analysis situation. If the tech as it stands now needs to have twice as much staff, twice as much training, twice as much equipment, and cost way more than twice the price for each instance ... and collectively your guests only gets 10%-15% more enjoyment out of it, it’s better to keep refining the process until it’s easier and cheaper to implement and people get more out of it.

D23 was a live actor. There were also a few live actor tests at MK, but those were rare from what I heard.

Everything else is canned.

 

[brb1006]

Quotes from Talking Mickey Past...

The spontaneous version sounded much more genuine and less awkward.

 

[asianway]

Quotes from Talking Mickey Past...

I'm not quite sure what's going on in DCA tbh