News 'Encanto' and 'Indiana Jones'-themed experiences at Animal Kingdom

RoysCabin

RoysCabin

Well-Known Member
DisneyHead123 said:
I just discovered Joe Rhode's Instagram page and he posts some great stuff about the psychology and history behind theme park design. Really enjoying all the info he has posted and it's made me really curious about the approach that will be taken with this newest addition. There's a lot there to make you think, about the psychology behind design and how it evolves over time.

It seems to me that one of the biggest changes in overall design in the internet era is a move towards not just immersion, but interactivity. The smartphone / tablet generation seems as if it really changed expectations from park guest as passive viewer, whose job is to take it all in, to interconnected participant who expects some kind of feedback loop with the surrounding environment. It seems like forays have been made into this area with things like Galaxy's Edge (and Super Nintendo World on the Universal side,) but it's kind of a new medium and people are still trying to figure it out. My guess is that Disney has to be thinking more about interactivity with these new additions (especially since they already have a traveling Encanto 'experience' for kids.) If Rohde is advising and they don't skimp on the budget (which I think they will be less inclined to do with Epic Universe opening,) I'll be really curious to see what new ideas they come up with for this land. I think they may end up doing something truly innovative (again, only because of competition from Universal, but I'll take it, lol.)
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I totally get where he's coming from, and you can tell people do enjoy stuff like that when it's done right...but man, I just can't help but feel like this is, in the long run, a losing battle.

I get that the artistic medium of themed attractions isn't quite as old or developed as others, but going from a basic design philosophy of "you are here to experience something, so enjoy taking it all in and getting lost in the place and setting created" to "you are an active participant" requires a restructuring of the entire concept of themed entertainment.

Like, most rides simply don't translate to interactivity beyond a few types (shooter rides, something like a Horizons "choose your ending" thing); the level of work, money, and resources involved in their construction don't allow for a particularly wide range of activities or variation that allows enormous amounts of interaction.

It's not fully impossible, again stuff like just allowing people to interact with some simple background elements ala Nintendo World blocks and enemies can work, but you basically have to rethink the whole medium into something more resembling a LARP at a certain stage, and I just don't think that's fully feasible to carry forward as the future, not unless we end up going full digital at some point...at which point we'd simply be playing video games.
 
bwr827

bwr827

Well-Known Member
Mr. Sullivan said:
They very, very easily could be made to include animals, though which I think is the point. No, on their own in isolation they don't seem like a perfect fit for the park. But they've chosen properties that would be quite simple to adapt to the park. The general overall land theme of Tropical Americas introduces a lot of opportunity to include animals not represented in the park yet, and the actual attractions don't have to line up with the films their based on perfectly narrative wise. It would take very little work to incorporate an animal theme into either property and create various animal exhibits to go with them.
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This perspective is too reasonable for the forum. I like it!
 
D

DisneyHead123

Well-Known Member
RoysCabin said:
I totally get where he's coming from, and you can tell people do enjoy stuff like that when it's done right...but man, I just can't help but feel like this is, in the long run, a losing battle.

I get that the artistic medium of themed attractions isn't quite as old or developed as others, but going from a basic design philosophy of "you are here to experience something, so enjoy taking it all in and getting lost in the place and setting created" to "you are an active participant" requires a restructuring of the entire concept of themed entertainment.

Like, most rides simply don't translate to interactivity beyond a few types (shooter rides, something like a Horizons "choose your ending" thing); the level of work, money, and resources involved in their construction don't allow for a particularly wide range of activities or variation that allows enormous amounts of interaction.

It's not fully impossible, again stuff like just allowing people to interact with some simple background elements ala Nintendo World blocks and enemies can work, but you basically have to rethink the whole medium into something more resembling a LARP at a certain stage, and I just don't think that's fully feasible to carry forward as the future, not unless we end up going full digital at some point...at which point we'd simply be playing video games.
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I think it could work if a more subtle, less tech-heavy version of “interaction” is used. So if you think about our psychology (reading Rhode’s Instagram has me in a philosophical headspace!), interaction with the environment is totally natural for humans. For most of history we lived in nature where if you stepped on leaves they crunched, if you climbed a rock and fell it hurt, if you ran towards birds and they flew away you heard a flutter of wings, and so on. That experience feels like it has been dialed back more and more as civilization has progressed, to the point that children now need designated, specialized play places just to get that kind of feedback and ability to explore the environment and how it works. The rest of the time, in public spaces and in school, they are encouraged to sit still and not touch anything, which is probably a strangely unnatural environment in a way. Technology, to some extent, bridges that gap, but I don’t think it’s the only thing that could bridge it. (Granted, I don’t know that what I’m describing could happen in a moving ride, it would have to be a walkthrough, and the problem with walkthroughs is that us Americans tend to break sh*t. But I don’t think that’s an insurmountable barrier.)
 
bwr827

bwr827

Well-Known Member
Interaction is a nice add-on, with the best example probably being wands and spells at Wizarding World. Adds kinetic energy and immersion, even if you’re not personally doing the spell.

Helps that the wand is a top souvenir choice for fans of the IP.

Whatever Disney brings, I hope it results in immersive kinetic energy vs some hidden buzzing on my magic band.
 
D

DisneyHead123

Well-Known Member
bwr827 said:
Interaction is a nice add-on, with the best example probably being wands and spells at Wizarding World. Adds kinetic energy and immersion, even if you’re not personally doing the spell.

Helps that the wand is a top souvenir choice for fans of the IP.

Whatever Disney brings, I hope it results in immersive kinetic energy vs some hidden buzzing on my magic band.
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Also think the idea of pointing with a wand feels a lot more natural than waving your wrist towards an object. If they’re going to have an interactivity tool, kinda wish they’d make a different one, like a small scepter or something.

Somewhat different take - I don’t know if interactive features add kinetic energy to an environment so much as they add calm. Maybe it depends on the viewer. For my son, who has sensory processing stuff going on, I think they actually add calm. Being strapped into a vehicle that moves in a novel way through dark rooms where colorful surprises pop out of the darkness is really a strangely intense experience, when I view it through his eyes. Moving through an environment where he has autonomy to explore in the way he chooses is much more calming. It’s why we hand him and his cousins a bunch of fidget toys when we want them to chill and be quiet (again, though, his processing style is not the typical one, so that may not be true for everyone.)
 
etc98

etc98

Well-Known Member
DisneyHead123 said:
Also think the idea of pointing with a wand feels a lot more natural than waving your wrist towards an object. If they’re going to have an interactivity tool, kinda wish they’d make a different one, like a small scepter or something.

Somewhat different take - I don’t know if interactive features add kinetic energy to an environment so much as they add calm. Maybe it depends on the viewer. For my son, who has sensory processing stuff going on, I think they actually add calm. Being strapped into a vehicle that moves in a novel way through dark rooms where colorful surprises pop out of the darkness is really a strangely intense experience, when I view it through his eyes. Moving through an environment where he has autonomy to explore in the way he chooses is much more calming. It’s why we hand him and his cousins a bunch of fidget toys when we want them to chill and be quiet (again, though, his processing style is not the typical one, so that may not be true for everyone.)
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Very interesting perspective. I don’t necessarily think kinetic energy and calm are inherently opposed either. A babbling brook or the waves of the ocean are kinetic energy, but definitely also have a calming effect.
 
bwr827

bwr827

Well-Known Member
Both interpretations can apply. I see the energy in the umbrella suddenly pouring out rain, or the objects magically moving in the store front.

But it makes sense at the same time that people can encounter those at their own pace (other than waiting in the informal lines that pop up to try spells).
 
RSoxNo1

RSoxNo1

Well-Known Member
Story beats for an Indiana Jones ride that ties with Animal Kingdom's themes aren't a very tall task. As others have said, all you need is a maguffin of sorts that could be protecting real, extinct or mythical animals.

Think Shiriki Utundu but instead of artifacts, it's nature.

Also, they need to do the boulder scene. The emphasis here is that they're not going to make the same mistake as Galaxy's Edge and that this would be Raiders of the Lost Ark Indy... there are some components that you shouldn't overthink. It's the most iconic scene and it absolutely should be a part of this ride, even if the rest of the story is different.
 
Starship824

Starship824

Well-Known Member
In the Parks
No
danlb_2000 said:
Another permit for trailer installation and the new backstage trailer complex...

1106 E Savannah Circle - Modular Building Systems International Llc - Installation of Trailers
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