Eddie Sotto's take on the current state of the parks

[Eddie Sotto]

My only on-the-job experience with Imagineers was with Tony Baxter, Joe Rhode, and some other folks who I didn't recognize but were important enough to be with Joe Rhode and Tony Baxter when they went through the Haunted Mansion. They were nothing but friendly.

Sure. Many of us like Tony, we're CM's long before we were Imagineers so we identify with them and have a respect for how hard it is at times to be a good one. They can make or break a visit to the park and are the engine that drives the fun. One of my favorite things to do, was to work the holiday party as a cast member. There's nothing better than being up there in the Mark Twain wheelhouse blowing that whistle!

 

[Mansion Butler]

One of my favorite things to do, was to work the holiday party as a cast member. There's nothing better than being up there in the Mark Twain wheelhouse blowing that whistle!

As if you weren't already on my list of heroes!

:lol:

 

[Eddie Sotto]

Branching Rides

The excitement is building as the new 2.0 of Star Tours is about to open, and rightfully so. From what I hear, the show has more than 50 combinations of branching story "sequences" taking you to different planets, meeting different characters, etc. All good and an Imagineering dream come true.

Over the years, this "multi version" idea has been floated out there and other than the DL edition of Indiana Jones (choice rooms), has not caught on in a big way. When your budget has a limit, the notion of spending on many versions of a sequence at the expense of one great one usually kills that direction, or at least limits it to a small departure. Horizons and Spaceship Earth did feature these interactive or choice based endings, but they are not that essential to the show itself. They are tagged on. This seems like the first heavily invested effort (branches on branches) to really make the idea more than a novelty. I'm sure Lucas being personally involved had an effect on the investment from corporate and his company making the sequences was a part of that. Seeing Darth Vader or the Death Star is a pretty big incentive to go on again. To me, this will work best at DL, as the AP numbers are huge and they will appreciate the richness and repeatability. WDW should stress this aspect with their pre opening/post closing "early bird" programs so you can ride the versions without the wait.

Let's hope this "branching" idea is well received and in the light of selling so many AP's will catch on as a staple in the future. When integrated beyond being a novelty, seems to address the wearout factor to a degree.

 

[trs518]

I think it's great that they're offering Star Tours as a branching ride. I believe it will help drive repeat riding. I know that my son and I will be riding it many times on our next trip, so that we can see as many of the scenes as possible.

Eddie, what are your thoughts on designing interactive style rides, where the riders/players can interact and potentially change the outcome of the ride? Imagine riding a roller coaster where you have to "drive" and choose the route the coaster will take. Or maybe a Pirates of the Carribean spin off where people "sail" the Black Pearl.

 

[Pioneer Hall]

I think it's great that they're offering Star Tours as a branching ride. I believe it will help drive repeat riding. I know that my son and I will be riding it many times on our next trip, so that we can see as many of the scenes as possible.

Eddie, what are your thoughts on designing interactive style rides, where the riders/players can interact and potentially change the outcome of the ride? Imagine riding a roller coaster where you have to "drive" and choose the route the coaster will take. Or maybe a Pirates of the Carribean spin off where people "sail" the Black Pearl.

This is exactly what I was thinking, and I have a feeling that at some point you might see something like this. If the queues are becoming interactive now, then I can only believe that eventually an attraction will as well. However, I would have to assume that it would have to be limited to some sort of movie based attraction such as Star Tours, since multiple versions requiring different sets would cost a fortune.

 

[HMF]

This just in: For Disneyland Paris they will be inserting the final scene with Captain Jack Sparrow somewhere in the caverns thus completely destroying the reason the caves were put at the end in the first place.:fork: Now, excuse me, I think I am going to be ill.

 

[Eddie Sotto]

I think it's great that they're offering Star Tours as a branching ride. I believe it will help drive repeat riding. I know that my son and I will be riding it many times on our next trip, so that we can see as many of the scenes as possible.

Eddie, what are your thoughts on designing interactive style rides, where the riders/players can interact and potentially change the outcome of the ride? Imagine riding a roller coaster where you have to "drive" and choose the route the coaster will take. Or maybe a Pirates of the Carribean spin off where people "sail" the Black Pearl.

We worked on stuff like that 15 years ago, but to a degree it's premature. the truth is that mass customization ("you sail the black pearl") cannot come at the expense of the other guest's experiences. Mission:Space tries to do that do a degree with buttons to push, etc.

I never liked the build your own burger stands because greed made me ruin the thing. I like burgers designed by chefs who know moderation. I don't especially want other guests messing with my experience. Never loved seeing guests in the parade either.

 

[wedenterprises]

We worked on stuff like that 15 years ago, but to a degree it's premature. the truth is that mass customization ("you sail the black pearl") cannot come at the expense of the other guest's experiences. Mission:Space tries to do that do a degree with buttons to push, etc.

I never liked the build your own burger stands because greed made me ruin the thing. I like burgers designed by chefs who know moderation. I don't especially want other guests messing with my experience. Never loved seeing guests in the parade either.

My ImagiNations winning project tackled this problem somewhat. I withdrew the notion of interactivity and replaced it with reactivity. The characters in the world you inhabit react to the way that you choose to experience the ride (this part I can't divulge). You have a direct affect on the world and thus, your presence matters.

If you ask a vehicle of 12 unrelated people to choose a path, someone will be disappointed. Star Tours and ToT probably handles it well by not giving you a choice, but then you run the risk of never getting a certain ending or getting the same one a lot.

The notion of reactivity is the best of both worlds, it gives control to the guest and also allows for endless events to occur around you even if you choose to ride the attraction the same way every time.

 

[trs518]

I agree that rides where another guest could impact the ride of someone else would be bad and agree with your analogy of the chef. That being said, a well designed menu, like a well designed ride, can have many different options.

There would need to be a fine balance between rider input and imagineering guidance.

 

[Eddie Sotto]

i agree that rides where another guest could impact the ride of someone else would be bad and agree with your analogy of the chef. That being said, a well designed menu, like a well designed ride, can have many different options.

there would need to be a fine balance between rider input and imagineering guidance.

ding!

 

[The Empress Lilly]

We worked on stuff like that 15 years ago, but to a degree it's premature. the truth is that mass customization ("you sail the black pearl") cannot come at the expense of the other guest's experiences. Mission:Space tries to do that do a degree with buttons to push, etc.

I never liked the build your own burger stands because greed made me ruin the thing. I like burgers designed by chefs who know moderation. I don't especially want other guests messing with my experience. Never loved seeing guests in the parade either.

See, this why the parks need to be driven by imagineer creativity, and not by focus groups, guest comments, or us silly folk on the interwebs.

 

[EPCOTCenterLover]

^^ Exactly!

 

[Mansion Butler]

See, this why the parks need to be driven by imagineer creativity, and not by focus groups, guest comments, or us silly folk on the interwebs.

Seems like it would be a delicate balance. I fully believe people don't always know what they'll like, but obviously you have to trust your people to actually know what the audience will like.

 

[ParkMan73]

Seems like it would be a delicate balance. I fully believe people don't always know what they'll like, but obviously you have to trust your people to actually know what the audience will like.

I wonder how the simulator games of the last 30 (or so) years impact this.

Imagine a Star Tours 3.0 where you get strapped into an X Wing Fighter and you are then "launched into space". You as a rider can then fly your ship where ever you want, doing whatever you want.

Part of me thinks that's a really appealing idea. Another part of me thinks that you'll have a lot of guests who are just lost and are never able to figure out what to do.

 

[ChrisFL]

I wonder how the simulator games of the last 30 (or so) years impact this.

Imagine a Star Tours 3.0 where you get strapped into an X Wing Fighter and you are then "launched into space". You as a rider can then fly your ship where ever you want, doing whatever you want.

Part of me thinks that's a really appealing idea. Another part of me thinks that you'll have a lot of guests who are just lost and are never able to figure out what to do.

The thing about that, and something I've thought about before, is that I don't think we will ever see a major Disney attraction that's an individual experience, for a single rider. So with that in mind, it would be difficult to have that kind of experience.

Even the current attractions that have a similar idea are 2 passenger attractions.

And regarding people who have no idea what they're doing...I was riding MIB once with 2 people who didn't even pick up the guns or shoot at anything, they just sat there looking confused the entire ride.

 

[Eddie Sotto]

The thing about that, and something I've thought about before, is that I don't think we will ever see a major Disney attraction that's an individual experience, for a single rider. So with that in mind, it would be difficult to have that kind of experience.

Even the current attractions that have a similar idea are 2 passenger attractions.

And regarding people who have no idea what they're doing...I was riding MIB once with 2 people who didn't even pick up the guns or shoot at anything, they just sat there looking confused the entire ride.

One of the early goals for "Mission:Space", was to "partition" each rider and have them engage a single window. Later it opened up more to become 4 person team idea, but initially I wanted you to feel somewhat isolated and immersed in just the capsule itself, the tasks and space. The story evolved away from that after I left, but that was an initial goal. Part of the "spell" we cast is to not be distracted by the other guests and stay in the moment.

 

[lazyboy97o]

Eddie, what are your thoughts on designing interactive style rides, where the riders/players can interact and potentially change the outcome of the ride? Imagine riding a roller coaster where you have to "drive" and choose the route the coaster will take. Or maybe a Pirates of the Carribean spin off where people "sail" the Black Pearl.

I wrongly thought that Mission: SPACE was going to react in some way to your "training". Even just a good landing and a bad landing based on guest performance would have greatly enhanced the experience.

 

[ChrisFL]

I wrongly thought that Mission: SPACE was going to react in some way to your "training". Even just a good landing and a bad landing based on guest performance would have greatly enhanced the experience.

The difficulty of that is, the way the ride was designed, all 6 vehicles in the centrifuge need to have the same movement as far as I know, or else there would be balance problems.

Now that could be possible to have the same movements but with different scenery.

 

[lazyboy97o]

The difficulty of that is, the way the ride was designed, all 6 vehicles in the centrifuge need to have the same movement as far as I know, or else there would be balance problems.

Now that could be possible to have the same movements but with different scenery.

They could all be rough landings, just how far off you are from where you should land could have been different. Just something that tried to convince you that your actions actually mean something.

 

[RSoxNo1]

The difficulty of that is, the way the ride was designed, all 6 vehicles in the centrifuge need to have the same movement as far as I know, or else there would be balance problems.

Now that could be possible to have the same movements but with different scenery.

You are correct about all the vehicles having to have the same movements.