Disneyology

Backstories: Oblivion at Alton Towers Part 1

2011-04-18T15:23:00.000+01:00

Here is a transcript of the queueline video which plays at Oblivion - the world's first vertical drop roller coaster, themed as a secretive government test facility in the X Sector land of Alton Towers. The video can be watched here on YouTube.

Oblivion

Welcome. You have been designated for Oblivion. The decision to come here was not your own. It was ours. The thought was implanted in your brain by auto-suggestion. What you are about to see will prepare you physically and psychologically for the most intense ride experience ever devised. If you wish to survive Oblivion, we advise you to observe the screens at all times.

This is the world’s first vertical drop rollercoaster. During the ride, you will freefall face first into blackness. A freefalling object is something which falls under the sole influence of gravity. Unfortunately, in this instance, that object will be you. Freefalling objects accelerate as they plummet downwards. This is a ticker tape trace of a ball falling taken at 0.1 second intervals. The fact that the distance the ball travels is increasing shows it is speeding up. Unfortunately, unlike the ball, people do not bounce. When there is air resistance, large objects fall faster than small ones and as you’ll be falling vertically on a ride car which weighs more than a large elephant, this could be some cause for concern. In fact, if Newton’s second law of gravity is applied to your predicament, this could mean you are about to be trashed.

During the drop into blackness, the gravitational pull may exert excessive force on body tissue. For instance, you may experience a reduction in skin moisture. Dehydration may lead to an evaporation of essential protective brain fluid. This may cause the brain to rattle around in the skull a bit. In stressful situations such as these, the body’s fight or flight response system is activated. Muscles tense. Heart rate increases. And there is an increase in body temperature. For those about to ride Oblivion, extreme anxiety may even cause spontaneous combustion. Make sure you are wearing flameproof underwear. At the same time, adrenalin levels also rise and the brain’s chemical messengers go into overdrive. Adrenalin junkies may O.D. on the excitement.

G-Force is another factor. Take a pilot for instance. The maximum G-Force a human being can withstand is plus or minus 9g. 9g means that a pilot is undergoing a force nine times that of Earth. If he weighs 200 pounds he will suddenly feel as if he weighs 1800 pounds. The force involved makes blood flow to the feet and the pilot will experience a grey out where he is unable to discern any colour, or even a temporary black out, or if the plane is upside down the increased blood flow to the brain may cause a red out, where his vision is replaced with a red screen. The maximum G-Force experienced on Oblivion is 4.5g. This is not drastic enough to experience a grey out, a black out or even a red out, but it may be enough for some people to experience what is known as - a cop out. This psychological state usually occurs when the moment of truth arrives and it’s their turn to drop into Oblivion. False bravado is replaced by weak excuses at the prospect of a sheer vertical drop into the abyss. If this happens to your friends it means they have zero g tolerance, or that they’re just soft.

Defining Story

2011-03-06T14:18:00.003Z

A quote by Marc Davis in Didier Ghez's book Walt's People Volume 10, “Walt knew that we were not telling stories. You know, he and I discussed it many times. He said very definitely ‘You can’t tell a story in this medium’” prompted me to write down some existing difficulties I've found with defining story in the theme park sense, and how it is variously used to describe different elements, even when used by a single company like Walt Disney Imagineering. This is certainly an area I feel I will expand on in some detail in the future, and I have already written a piece critiquing the common view that Pirates of the Caribbean has no story. The quote was posted by Edde Sotto in his excellent thread on the WDWMagic message boards.

I think the topic of Story in theme park attractions is difficult because the word can be used in so many different ways. I'd essentially break it down into three facets:

BACKSTORY - The fictional explanation of how an attraction came to be. Imagineering seems to use this definition when it discusses the 'story' behind Prince Charming Regal Carrousel (he had the contraption built to practice jousting) or attractions like California Screamin' which don't have anything actually happen on them narratively.

STORY PREMISE - I'd think this is the 'old school' definition of story within Imagineering. Essentially its a set-up: "what if you explored a haunted house", "what if you sailed with pirates in the Caribbean". No explicit narrative is communicated but an environment, theme and atmosphere is created, peppered with events, moments and vignettes that populate the world. A specific narrative is open to translation by the audience.

STORYLINE - This is the modern definition of story used by Imagineering, which seems to have come directly from Eisner's background in film. It's a movie style plot of explicitly connected building moments. Nothing is really open to interpretation because everything is communicated and linked cinematically. Every audience member receives the same experience. Generally these attractions can be slotted into a story structure, most popularly "...And Something Goes Wrong".

(I would certainly say that it's a sliding scale between the three. How many events needed to be added to / removed from Space Mountain for it to switch between backstory and premise for example).

The best example of two and three I think is the Haunted Mansion (DL/WDW) vs. Phantom Manor (DLP). In the first, we are the main character; it is about our experience as we tour this haunted house stumbling across events (the seance, the party, the hitchhiking ghosts) that impact on us, even remotely. In the Phantom Manor however, it's no longer our story but the story of Melanie, the bride. As we move through the house we are given pieces of the puzzle that reveal her story. We're not peeking at 'A' ghostly ball (which we can claim as OUR ghostly ball), it is HER ghostly ball. This switch from internal/implicit story to external/explicit story was particularly damned by Marc Davis.

Now I'm one of many who thinks the third has vastly dominated the second in the past two decades, but I do think the third has a place in the theme park even though so many fans berate it. Because of that I wouldn't jump on Walt's quote as proof of anything other than how open 'story' is to interpretation.

Maybe Walt meant story as in film and literature; the introduction of characters, their internal and external struggles, their dialoguing, their adventure and so on, which of course is vastly unsuited to the theme park. We know that Marc detested the third style, but I'm not convinced we can use 'Walt's authority' to write it off. Star Tours, Muppets and Splash are all examples of effective attractions that use the third definition of story, Splash particularly - we are ENTIRELY external to the story, passive observers following it along, the emotions we feel (other than the non-diegetic anticipation of the big drop) being essentially mimetic. Really - why on earth is this log we're floating in disconnectedly following the story of Brer Rabbit; do we feel part of the story other than sharing the plunge Brer Rabbit endures to escape; how much better is this than just watching the film*? But it's still popular.

* Assuming the DVD was released!

Follow-Up Note: Since writing this I've been quite seriously looking into story within theme parks and my ideas have grown quite significantly. I hope to post a (much larger) update to this sometime in the future.

World Creative Supply (Karma Creative)

2010-11-15T18:22:00.000Z

A number of months ago, I posted about Starlight Runner Entertainment, a company which has been hired by Disney, amongst other companies, to craft backstories to a number of Disney properties, including Pirates of the Caribbean, Prince of Persia, Disney Fairies and TRON.

Recently, thanks to Werner Weiss of Yesterland, I have learnt of another company hired by Disney in a similar role, only this with a direct impact upon the theme parks.

World Creative Supply, formerly called Karma Creative, describe themselves as follows: "we name products, create slogans, write tag lines, and proofread text." For Disney specifically, they came up with an impressive number of the puns found throughout Disney California Adventure, a phenomenon I have criticised before for taking up opportunities for incluing.

Attraction Names

Paradise Pier

Orange Stinger

S.S. rustworthy

Shore Shot Midway Game

San Joaquin Volley Midway Game

Restaurant & Store Names

Burger Invasion

Pizza Oom Mow Mow

Catch a Flave Ice Cream

Souvenir 66

Taste Pilots Grill

Corn Dog Castle

Treasures in Paradise

Side Show Shirts

Gag Signs

Phil M. Noir

Dial M For Muscle

Gone With the Chin

Ben Hair

Souvenir Itch

My first reaction upon discovering this (as part of my research into nomenclature and attraction naming) was surprise that Imagineering paid to out-source this work rather than come up with this in-house. I certainly realise attraction naming requires skill and a flair for language, but I would have expected Imagineering already possessed those skills.

World Creative Supply's naming speciality is obviously the pun, and the company was no doubt hired by Imagineering to churn out huge lists of these suggestions which then went to the park's project leaders for approval, in addition to their slogan writing, theme graffiti, copy writing, interior signs, public relations material, corporate presentations, employee reference guides and much more written material. Suggestions have been made that Imagineering was quite simply overburdened during the design process and needed to alleviate some of the work.

As the park's great make-over continues however, it is the puns that are disappearing fast, a change in tactics I think is certainly not disconnected with the place-making abilities of diegetic nomenclature.

The Art of Attraction Names - Part IV

2010-11-12T15:14:00.001Z

In this series of articles, I hope to deconstruct the theme park attraction name to understand what makes them effective, their role in the theme park experience and identify the numerous considerations and influences that can shape just a few small words.

Jump to: Part I - Part II - Part III - Part IV

Exploring Alternate Names

Perhaps one of the most fascinating uses of this break down of attraction names is exploring the impact on iconic attractions if only their name were different. Such an exercise immediately demonstrates how changes can be made to the experience, marketing and audience reception with a simple substitution of names.

To understand the plentiful possibilities for attraction names, consider the relatively simple Dumbo the Flying Elephant attraction, which has gone through a number of various names in its numerous design stages:

Dumbo the Flying Elephant

Pink Elephants on Parade

The Amazing Flying Dumbo

Dumbo - The Ninth Wonder of the World

Dumbo’s Circus

Haunted Mansion, an iconic name comprising a Subject (the haunting) and Building (the mansion), can also be identified as a grander evolution of the typical amusement park Haunted House. The simplistic name immediately communicates to guests what they will experience, as well as prompting story and setting expectations that begin the process of unnerving the guests.

Alternate names may have included:

Bloodmere Manor - An early working title used by Imagineer Ken Anderson.

Captain Blood’s Curse - A Character based name taken from an early main character design.

Doom Buggies - The Transportation method used in the attraction.

Ghost House - The traditional amusement park name for this Attraction Type.

Ghosts! - A Power Word, with many synonymic possibilities.

Gracey Manor - The diegetic name for the Building.

Grim Grinning Ghosts - A Quote taken from the attraction’s song.

The Ghost Ball - An Event name taken from a major attraction scene.

The Ghosts of New Orleans - A Pirates of the Caribbean style amalgamation of Subject and Location.

The Haunted Tour Company - An Organisation name.

The final name is almost certainly better, but it is only by exploring these alternative options that the best name is revealed – and a methodical approach may even uncover some possibilities that would never have revealed themselves.

Haunted Mansion can diegetically be taken as a description of the building, but is also diegetically used as the name of the building in the attraction’s script and signage, essentially working as a title bestowed upon the building by its inhabitants. Alternatively, the Haunted Mansion’s sibling attraction in Hong Kong Disneyland, Mystic Manor, directly uses the name of the building – it having been named by its owner, Lord Henry Mystic.

In the design process for Pirates of the Caribbean, one of the proposed names was the Blue Bayou Lagoon, a location-based name. Whilst it plays into the eerie and mysterious atmosphere of the attraction, the main focus on swashbuckling pirates is totally absent. Other possible attraction names include spotlighting the primary character draw for the attraction, renaming it Jack Sparrow’s Pirates of the Caribbean, but such a simple change impacts the simplicity and elegance of the original name. Possible attraction names include:

Battle of Isla Tesoro - An Event based name describing the looting of the village.

Blue Bayou Lagoon - A working title for attraction, named after the starting Location.

Cutthroats! - A Power Word.

Dead Men Tell No Tales - A Quote repeated throughout the attraction.

Jack Sparrow’s Pirates of the Caribbean - A possible change which could have seen Character content added to the title.

Sailing the Seven Seas - A Transportation and Location based name.

Voyage of the Wicked Wench - A name taken from the prominent pirate ship seen in the attraction.

Yo Ho! A Pirates Life for Me - A second Quote, taken from the lyrics sung throughout the attraction.

Case Studies

Finally, I want to draw attention to some attraction names I think are particularly noteworthy and examine their content, style and effectiveness in their role.

JOURNEY TO THE CENTER OF THE EARTH

This attraction is an EMV dark ride in the Mysterious Island land of Tokyo DisneySea. My fondness for this attraction’s name, and also for the 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea attraction nearby, comes from the designers confidence in retaining the original Source Material title rather than appending anything superfluous to it (as was done with the 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea Submarine Voyage at the Magic Kingdom, also this could be claimed as a franchised name from the original Submarine Voyage at Disneyland).

The content of the attraction name comprises an abstract Transportation, the rather conventional ‘Journey’ and Location, the ‘Center of the Earth’. It is this double-barrelled Location that gives the attraction name its significance, challenging the guest in an over-the-top, grand Victorian style, perfectly suited to the adventure story attraction.

The name can be understood diegetically, being the expedition Captain Nemo wishes the guests to embark upon. Nevertheless, the sign for the attraction is made up of glowing fissures coincidentally cracked in the shape of the title’s letters – an extra-diegetic approach. Whilst a diegetic sign was easily possible, the designers evidently chose to stretch the diegesis due to the wonderful novelty, opportunity and noticeability of this sign approach.

SPACE MOUNTAIN: DE LA TERRE A LA LUNE

Perhaps my all-time favourite attraction name, Space Mountain: De la Terre à la Lune was a roller coaster in Parc Disneyland’s Discoveryland, based around the idea of a giant Victorian cannon firing the guests to the moon in a style heavily influenced by Jules Verne’s novel and the 1902 film adaption Le Voyage dans la Lune.

The attraction uses a subtitle to differentiate it as a franchised attraction from its sibling Space Mountain attractions. This original attraction name is notable in its own right, a Subject/Location and Geographic Feature combination especially innovative in that the Geographic Feature is the abstract shape of the conical building. To those guests who have experienced one of the other Space Mountains, they immediately know the spirit of the attraction they will experience, whilst the subtitle and striking visual design convey that there will be a twist on what they know.

De la Terre à la Lune (From the Earth to the Moon) then adds a very abstract Transportation to the title, ‘From’, and a double-barrelled Location, ‘the Earth’ and ‘the Moon’. Together, the two parts forge a magnificent balance : the Space Mountain adds a weight and drama to the title, while De la Terre à la Lune adds an elegance and ambition, fostered by the dual language. Practically, the use of two languages enables comprehension by both English and French speakers; making the attraction diegetically appropriate for its location whilst retaining the notability of its franchise origin.

Within the story, the name is essentially diegetic: unlike the other Disney theme parks where Space Mountain refers to the structure as a spaceship which has landed, here Space Mountain refers to the massive metal structure supporting the giant Columbiad cannon, containing the Baltimore Gun Club, fuel tanks, the loading platform, an observatory walkway called the Stellar Way and other such things. De la Terre à la Lune then refers to the Club’s mission objective. In such manner, the sign can be easily be viewed diegetically.

THERE’S SOMETHING IN THE DUNG HEAP

This unusual attraction name is the title of a children’s playground in the Old MacDonald’s Farm land of Alton Towers Theme Park aimed at children and themed around the idea that the guests are the size of bugs, let loose in a farm’s dung heap, with a fence maze (‘Mr Mushroom’s Magic Maze), sponge play area (‘The Toxic Bog’), climbing frame (‘Cobweb Capers’) and audio-visual interactive installation (‘The Soil Albug Hall’).

Whilst the sub-attraction names aren’t particularly noteworthy, my appreciation for the overall attraction name is primarily due to its wonderfully unconventional word structure. Whereas typical playgrounds take names such as Ariel’s Playground, UFO Zone or even Tom Sawyer Island, this attraction is innovative it its use of a Quote as its name, particularly when the simpler The Dung Heap is a much more obvious title, but not nearly as effective. Secondarily, the name references the abstract Subject, the ‘Something’, and the Location, the ‘Dung Heap’. The vague subject is wonderfully enigmatic, perfectly appropriate for an attraction encouraging the guests to explore and discover all that there is to find. Perhaps the mysterious Something is a strange insect, odd animal, or the role the guest takes themselves. Additionally, despite the disconcerting choice of farmyard location, the attraction name is effective in evoking the style and associations of a piece of British children’s literature, akin to Stig of the Dump or Five Children and It.

The name is of course extra-diegetic, and the attraction sign, a relatively conventional sign with cartoon bugs, shares this – a move essentially child-friendly but perhaps open to a diegetic alternative in the form of a curious note left by Old MacDonald.

That concludes my essay series on attraction names. If you have any comments, please leave a comment or message me!

The Art of Attraction Names - Part III

2010-11-11T20:50:00.007Z

Jump to: Part I - Part II - Part III - Part IV

Styling

Equipped with the content of an attraction name, numerous stylistic techniques and practices have begun to establish themselves, tweaking the basic words into unique and unusual titles. This section will examine some of these trends, as well as considerations that need to be made towards names.

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ALLITERATION & RHYME

Examples: Jumpin’ Jellyfish, Goofy’s Bounce House, Dueling Dragons, The Cat in the Hat™, Coke Soak.

Both alliteration and rhyme are general writing techniques used to produce pleasing word structures and are commonly used in attraction names. Generally, rhyme is more suited to child-focused attractions where the name sounds playful, whilst alliterative names have been used for a wide range of attractions.

ALTERED SPELLING

Examples: Princess Fantasy Faire, Rustler Roundup Shootin' Gallery, Pooh’s Hunny Hunt, S.S. rustworthy, Soarin’ Over California.

A deviation from standard spelling can help a name fit more comfortably into the fictional setting: numerous fantasy and medieval attractions add additional ‘e’s, as in ‘olde’, for example. Research for this particular style is appropriate to avoid it becoming caricatured however: for the designed but never built Beastlie Kingdomme land at Disney’s Animal Kingdom, that particular spelling was chosen to be consistent with genuine styles.

Many times these alterations are done in a diegetic manner – written by the fictional characters of the setting in the style they would be used to – but can also be done extra-diegetically, for example using ‘hunny’ instead of ‘honey’ at Pooh’s Hunny Hunt – the spelling that the bear uses himself.

Altered spelling can also be done to alter the character of the attraction and add backstory: a water playground on a creaking ship at Disney California Adventure was called the S.S. rustworthy – a faded paint shadow reveals that the ‘T’ has fallen off ‘Trustworthy’.

FOREIGN LANGUAGES

Examples: El Rio del Tiempo, Impressions du France, Space Mountain: De la Terre à la Lune, Moteurs… Action! Stunt Show Spectacular, Phantom Manor.

The use of a language foreign to the host country’s language can be used to immerse the guests in a foreign setting, utilising the language of the fictional location. One of the most ambitious uses of this was planned but not executed at Parc Disneyland’s Fantasyland, where each storybook attraction would be named (and experienced) in the language of its origin (Peter Pan's Flight in English, Les Voyages de Pinocchio in Italian, Blanche-Neige et les Sept Nains in German, and so on). If a land is set in Spain, for example, it makes sense that much of the nomenclature would be in Spanish. However, the use of foreign language to add character generally only works when a majority of people know or can figure out the translation – otherwise designers risk alienating the guests with names they cannot understand.

The reception of foreign languages differs between countries. At American parks in Japan, English is used uncompromisingly used and well received by the Japanese guests who celebrate their theme park visits as mini-American vacations. At Disneyland Paris however, the strong sense of national cultural identity made many French people wary of cultural imposition, prompting Disney to use many French names for attractions, and retaining English only for what they termed franchises (typically attractions with well-known clones or siblings in other parks). A peculiar result of this is single attraction names spanning two languages, as with Space Mountain: De la Terre à la Lune and Moteurs… Action! Stunt Show Spectacular. In other cases, attraction names are specifically chosen due to their ease of translation: Haunted Mansion and its French translation Maison Hantée are equally unclear to those untrained in both languages, whilst Phantom Manor, the name they chose instead, is remarkably close to its French translation, Manoir Fantôme.

In parks which attract a large variation in nationalities, it can make sense to balance out numerous languages. The solution at to the English and French balance at Disneyland Paris was achieved by remaining diegetic to the setting: Main Street, U.S.A. and Frontierland, being set in America, use English primarily, whilst Adventureland, Fantasyland and Discoveryland, being set principally in French-speaking tropics, Europe and France, use French.

PLACEMENT

Examples: Roger Rabbit’s Car Toon Spin, Storybook Land Canal Boats, Buzz Lightyear Astro Blasters, The Great Movie Ride, Primeval Whirl.

Attraction name styles need to be appropriate to the land they are in: whilst Tomorrowland comprises ‘encounters’, ‘tours’, and ‘voyages’ which push the cinematic style to its fullest and most dynamic potential, this over-the-top approach wouldn’t be appropriate to Fantasyland where the attractions are more suited by simple storybook style titles. Names should suit their environment: intimate lands should typically have understated names, mysterious lands should typically have mysterious titles, friendly lands should typically have character based titles and so on.

PORTMANTEAUS

Examples: Autopia, CommuniCore, Innoventions, Muppet*Vision 3D, CineMagique.

Portmanteaus are the combination of two words into a single word, a practice used commonly in theme parks to create something unique and memorable. Autopia (Automobile Utopia) and CommuniCore (Community Core) both demonstrate how this is particular popular in futuristic settings where the style copies many contemporary consumer innovations.

POSSESSIVE NAMES

Examples: Mickey’s Fun Wheel, Flik’s Flyers, Mr. Toad’s Wild Ride, Mater’s Junkyard Jamboree, Buzz Lightyear’s Space Ranger Spin.

A common trend for theme park attraction names is to directly attach them to a character, manufacturing some ownership or directly link immediately familiar to the guest. When diegetic, such as Mickey’s House or Tarzan’s Treehouse, this approach seems logical – nevertheless, in recent times this approach has increasingly been used to link non-specific attractions to familiar characters, an approach criticised as a cheap and easy form of Associative theming. Consider Mickey’s Fun Wheel, an attraction with very little link to the Ferris wheel.

Narrative attractions more understandably take this approach, but these titles are often superfluous. Rather than Pinocchio’s Daring Journey, many guests would be just as happy to ride an attraction called Pinocchio (and many times call the attraction by this name alone), while many guests prefer the classic title of Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs over Snow White’s Scary Adventure. When the attraction is a quite direct adaption of the source material, as in the case of the storybook dark rides, and no unique name presents itself (as with Peter Pan’s Flight and Mr. Toad’s Wild Ride), it is often simpler and more effective to retain the original title.

Attraction Name	Film Name	Original Book Name
Alice in Wonderland	Alice in Wonderland	Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland
Le Passage Enchante d'Aladdin (Aladdin’s Enchanted Passage)	Aladdin	Aladdin (The Book of One Thousand and One Nights, or Arabian Nights)
Legend of the Lion King	The Lion King
Monsters, Inc. Mike and Sully to the Rescue		Monsters, Inc.
Mr. Toad’s Wild Ride	The Adventures of Ichabod and Mr. Toad	The Wind in the Willows
Peter Pan’s Flight	Peter Pan	Peter Pan
Pinocchio’s Daring Journey Les Voyages de Pinocchio (Pinocchio’s Voyage)	Pinocchio	The Adventures of Pinocchio
Snow White’s Adventures Snow White’s Scary Adventures Blanche-Neige et les Sept Nains (Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs)	Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs	Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs
The Little Mermaid: Ariel’s Adventure The Little Mermaid: Ariel’s Undersea Adventure Voyage of the Little Mermaid	The Little Mermaid	The Little Mermaid
The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh Pooh’s Hunny Hunt	The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh	When We Were Very Young Winnie-the-Pooh The House at Pooh Corner

This table contrasts the titles of attractions that retell a story with their original source titles.

Possessive titles may also be known as ‘Of’ titles as they can most often can be structured in the manner of ‘The [Noun] of [Character]’ as well as [Character’s] [Noun]. Examples include Voyage of the Little Mermaid, Legend of the Lion King, Adventures of Curious George and Revenge of the Mummy. Many times this structure cannot be avoided, but the designer should recognise that an overuse of this structure risks it becoming bland, qualifying its use only when the words are particularly unusual (as with Peter Pan’s Flight).

‘Of’ Titles: Adventures, Escape, Expedition, Exploits, Festival, Flight, Journey, Legend, Quest, Story, Tale, Tour, Travels, Trials, Trek, Trip, Venture, Voyage, etc.

Conversely, numerous guests add possession to names which avoid them, for example saying Sleeping Beauty’s Castle or King Arthur’s Carrousel despite their actual names being Sleeping Beauty Castle and King Arthur Carrousel. This peculiar phenomenon has no definite reason, but some may speculate it is because guests are simply used to the possessive structure from other attractions, or the guests want to forge their own link to a character (for example, believing that the castle really is where Cinderella lives).

The grammatical meaning of such a slight change can be subtle, but is nevertheless important. With the castles for example, Cinderella’s Castle is not actually a name, but is simply an ownership description. The lack of the ‘s might mean that the name is referring to the source material and not the character, as with Tom Sawyer Island. For the castles, this idea is supported by the choice of Sleeping Beauty Castle, which if referring to the character could have been Aurora Castle. However, as Sleeping Beauty is a familiar nickname this is not conclusive.

More likely for the castles, the lack of the ‘s identifies that it is named in honour of the character, just as many schools or historical buildings are – an approach which fosters reverence or elegance. This approach can also help diegetically: King Arthur’s Carrousel would suggest the sixth century king owns the Victorian funfair contraption, whilst King Arthur Carrousel suggests it is named in honour of the monarch.

Disney’s own etymology for these names is unknown, and in some cases even contradicts itself, as with the Mad Hatter’s Tea Cups in Parc Disneyland (suggesting ownership), and the Mad Hatter Tea Cups in Hong Kong Disneyland (confusingly suggesting reverence or officiality).

PUNS

Examples: Maliboomer, TriceraTop-Spin, Caro-Suess-el, Dino-Soarin', ExtraTERRORestrial Alien Encounter.

Puns are a popular choice of theme park designers, typically appropriate for playful and silly areas, although they can sacrifice and opportunity for incluing, and are almost never diegetic. Walt Disney Studios Paris uses a bilingual pun for it's Moteurs... Action! Stunt Show Spectacular, where 'Moteurs' will be read as 'Motors' by English speakers, appropriate for an automobile stunt show, but will additionally be understood to French speakers as part of the French equivalent of 'Lights, Camera, Action!' - 'Silence, Moteurs, Action!'

PUSHBUTTON WORDS

In some attraction names, generic words are used when another word would be much more specific and evocative. For example, the most common word for theme parks and their attractions (and arguably the most overused) is ‘Adventure’, used for Snow White’s Scary Adventures, MicroAdventure!, Shrek 4-D Adventure, The Little Mermaid: Ariel’s Undersea Adventure, Star Tours: The Adventures Continue, Disney’s Kim Possible World Showcase Adventure, The Star Trek Adventure, Jurassic Park River Adventure and many other examples. The word is generally easy to use, and has become a pushbutton word, appropriate to virtually any attraction name but effective in very few.

One example where ‘Adventure’ is perhaps justified is in Indiana Jones Adventure: Temple of the Forbidden Eye, where the well-known tagline “If adventure has a name, it must be Indiana Jones” supports its inclusion and the word retains its strength.

SUBTITLES

Examples: The Enchanted Tiki Room – Under New Management!, Terminator 2: 3D, Jurassic Park – The Ride, Doug: Live!, Who Wants to Be a Millionaire – Play It!.

Subtitles are significantly useful and versatile, but run the risk of making titles overly long. Commonly, subtitles they are used to explain vague but effective main titles, such as with Circle of Life: An Environmental Fable. Similarly, these subtitles might highlight the specific focus of the attraction, as with Armageddon - Les Effets Speciaux attraction at Walt Disney Studios Park, which, by mentioning the special effects, identifies its focus to the guests.

The type of attraction can be communicated more acceptably through a subtitle, a practice common with 3D movies, where ‘3D’, or in some cases ‘4D’ follows the show title, as with Muppet*Vision 3D, Shrek 4-D and King Kong 360 3-D. With the novelty of these experiences becoming increasingly commonplace however, more modern practice has been to drop this subtitle, as with Mickey’s PhilharMagic and It’s Tough to Be a Bug. Similarly, many shows use ‘- Live!’ to indicate that they are a live-action performance, an option which should be noted, along with the use of ‘-3D’, as being extra-diegetic.

Another common subtitle is ‘- The Ride’, a name neither diegetic nor particularly cinematic, and often risk being used as an easier substitute for a more evocative subtitle. Compare, for example, Star Tours to Star Wars: The Ride, Indiana Jones Adventure: Temple of the Forbidden Eye to Indiana Jones: The Ride, or Harry Potter and the Forbidden Journey to Harry Potter: The Ride.

‘- The Ride’ is most effectively used when the focus is specifically on the adapting of the source material from one medium to the other, an approach which is the speciality of the Universal Studios theme parks and where the common use of this subtitle has made it an effective park naming tradition. At other times, the subtitle is used to blatantly communicate the attraction is a ride and avoid guests mistaking it for a show, film or similar attraction, as with Alton Towers Theme Park’s Charlie and the Chocolate Factory – The Ride, a choice which has unfortunately significantly affected diegesis (the guest has been alerted that it is definitely a ride, losing much of their suspension of disbelief).

Subtitles can be used to differentiate franchised attractions and significantly changed refurbishments and remakes: effectively enabling the concept of the sequel to work in a theme park. Whilst Parc Disneyland’s Space Mountain is remarkably different from its overseas namesakes, the original working title Discovery Mountain was scrapped in favour of appending the subtitle ‘De la Terre à la Lune’ to Space Mountain as it was thought a large number of guests would be familiar and excited by the overseas versions whilst still acknowledging that this attraction was quite significantly different. The original Walt Disney’s Enchanted Tiki Room has led to both The Enchanted Tiki Room – Under New Management! and The Enchanted Tiki Room: Stitch Presents Aloha e Komo Mai!, each recognising that the original Enchanted Tiki Room name was well-remembered. The sequel to the original Star Tours also shares this approach, taking the name Star Tours: The Adventures Continue.

TRADITIONS

Individual parks may develop styles of their own, and name a series of attractions in similar styles and formats. At Disney, many of the big, intense attractions are based and named around mountains, including Space Mountain, Big Thunder Mountain, Splash Mountain and Expedition Everest – Legend of the Forbidden Mountain. A pattern such as this means a guest knows that if it is a ‘mountain’ attraction, it will be a major, E-ticket experience.

As discussed above, Universal Studios uses the subtitle ‘- The Ride’ after many of its attraction names, an approach which has made it diegetically acceptable and identifiable.

Similar names can also link different yet related attractions, as with the Autopia and Aquatopia attractions in the Disney parks, which both share the experience of riding in a unique vehicle – the first in land, the second in water. At Walt Disney Studios Park, two of the major shows, each housed in prominent matching showbuildings, are CineMagique and Animagique – the first portraying the magic of cinema, and the second portraying the magic of animation.

VOCABULARY

Attraction names are just one part of the theme park experience that can benefit from an unusual vocabulary and clever use of words so that the feelings of delight can be communicated through nomenclature alone. Aquatopia, 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea, Buzz Lightyear Astro Blasters, Dueling Dragons and Hex – The Legend of the Towers each include word choices which are unusual and something of a novelty to say, encouraging the idea that the theme park world is a delighting place of heightened reality.

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For the designer looking to name an attraction, potential lies in subverting the typical naming type of the attraction: as spinners are often named after the Transportation, roller coasters are often named after Power Words, and dark rides are often named after Characters, a unique identity can be crafted by avoiding or subverting these trends. Flying Carpets Over Agrabah stands out more as an attraction name than Jasmine’s Flying Carpets, for example, due to its more interesting structure and sense of place-setting, whilst If I Ran the Zoo is a much more intriguing name than those typical of playgrounds.

In Part IV, the final essay in the series, I shall explore the impact of alternate attraction names for a handful of classic attractions, and examine some attraction name case studies.

The Art of Attraction Names - Part II

2010-11-10T21:38:00.001Z

Jump to: Part I - Part II - Part III - Part IV

Construction

The process for creating an attraction name goes through a number of different stages. The very first names are often the working titles for projects, but in a number of cases these names end up as the final titles, either because they work so well, the designers have grown used to them, or the name is a driving factor in the development of the project. Because of this, it is valuable to have good titles from the very start of production.

Ultimately, the suggestion of nomenclature is the responsibility of the show writer, along with attraction scripts, signing, menus and any other written communication. Their suggestions may be supplemented by designers working on the project, with final decisions resting with the project lead or management depending on the project significance. Increasingly, the marketing department has influence on nomenclature as theme parks recognise the importance of clearly advertising new attractions outside the park.

Nomenclature needs to be cleared by the legal department before it can be used, and depending on the circumstances, sometimes needs to be checked for foreign language issues: names need to be able to be pronounced easily by guests speaking another language, and cannot translate into anything offensive.

Crucially, attraction names need to be usable by the guests, and are often shortened regardless of their length.

Content

In order to understand the possible sources and content of attraction names, I have analysed and broken down a number of attraction names into their constitute parts. From a theoretical perspective, identifying the content of attractions names can provide a peek at the direction the designer was taking their attraction, whilst from a practical perspective it may provide new naming possibilities for those working on their own project.

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ATTRACTION TYPES

Examples: Rock 'n' Roller Coaster Starring Aerosmith, King Arthur Carousel, Fievel's Playground, Frontierland Shootin' Arcade, Walt Disney’s Carousel of Progress.

These names specifically state what type of attraction they are, often in an extra-diegetic way. Generally, this approach is taken when it is explicitly obvious what type of attraction it is and a diegetic explanation is too farfetched, as with Castle Carousel at Tokyo Disneyland or Flounder’s Flying Fish Coaster in Tokyo DisneySea. Sometimes these names are used when the attractions are diegetically supposed to be the attractions they are, as with Gadget’s Go Coaster, specifically intended to be a roller coaster built by the mouse Gadget. Stating what type of attraction it is also helps inform the guest what to expect, as with the Star Toons Character Meet and Greet but can risk damaging the manufactured reality of the theme park environment.

BUILDINGS

Examples: Indiana Jones Adventure: Temple of the Forbidden Eye, Phantom Manor, Mickey’s House and Meet Mickey, Hyperion Theatre, Jurassic Park Discovery Center.

These attractions are named after the building that house them, often used when the focus is on exploring that particular constructed environment. Building attraction names can range from purely diegetic, as with Mystic Manor, to building nicknames, as with the Haunted Mansion (the backstory for the Haunted Mansion typically gives Gracey Manor as the house’s proper name), or more general names for the type of building, such as the Tower of Terror. Building names in this third style particularly work well for weenies and other unusual, unique building designs such as the Templo del fuego, La Pirámide del Terror or even Tarzan’s Treehouse. More general names, such as Haunted House, are sometimes used but perhaps miss an opportunity to develop story through incluing.

CHARACTERS

Examples: Mickey’s PhilharMagic, Shrunken Ned’s Junior Jungle Boats, Swiss Family Treehouse, Shrek 4-D, Incredible Hulk Coaster.

When a specific character is heavily featured in an attraction or has a diegetic ownership of the attraction, it becomes common to link that character to the attraction through its name. A recognisable name brings familiarity to an attraction: many guests may pass PhilharMagic, but will be much more accepting when Mickey Mouse is hosting, just as guests will have more response to Tarzan’s Treehouse than an anonymous tree house.

Characters are also appropriate when the attraction is retelling the story of a particular character, as with a number of the storybook dark rides like Alice in Wonderland and Snow White’s Scary Adventures.

DISTINGUISHING FEATURES

Examples: Splash Mountain, Doctor Doom’s Fearfall, California Screamin’, Roger Rabbit’s Car Toon Spin, Stitch Live!.

When there is a particular element that stands out with the attraction it can often inspire the name. Typically these names work best when the entire experience is building to that one specific moment, as with Splash Mountain and Doctor Doom’s Fearfall, which both build to their huge drops. Alternatively, it might be the feature that differentiates the attraction from other similar attractions: Mr. Toad’s Wild Ride and Roger Rabbit’s Car Toon Spin both identify what separates them from more typical dark rides (the first’s crazy, out of control nature, and the second’s ability to spin the car).

EVENTS

Examples: Stitch’s Great Escape, Kongfrontation, Countdown to Extinction, Monsters, Inc. Mike & Sulley to the Rescue!, The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh.

Some attraction names reference the actual story experience the guest will face or a similar variation such as the goal of the attraction’s story (whether the main characters or the guests). This approach does separate out the experience from the diegesis of the park quite drastically and is blatant in its scripted nature, but can nevertheless provide a dramatic name. Alternatively, some attractions, such as Riverbank Eye Spy or Treasure Hunters, state the activity guests can partake in on the attraction. More general events, such as parties, holidays and other celebrations are also commonly used to title entertainment offerings.

GEOGRAPHIC FEATURES

Examples: Big Thunder Mountain, Grizzly River Run, Mine Train Through Nature's Wonderland, Tom Sawyer Island, Space Mountain.

Similar to Buildings, attractions may also be named after the (supposedly) natural features they are situated amongst, particularly for weenies. Possibilities range from mountains and rivers to volcanoes, mines, deserts, caves, valleys, plateaus, forests, hills, islands, bays, bayous, waterfalls, glaciers and many other natural formations. Such terms can also be figurative, as in the case of Space Mountain, which whilst not intended as an organic mountain still retains the iconic shape and uses the term in a unique and memorable way.

LOCATIONS

Examples: Disneyland Railroad, Tomorrowland Speedway, Adventures Thru Inner Space, 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea, Mulholland Madness.

Some names will choose to link the attraction to its location. Extra-diegetic names of this style are often used when an attraction passes through multiple lands or themed areas, such as the Walt Disney World Railroad, or when the attraction is specifically linked to that park. Land names may also be used, either when clarity about location is required, as with train stations such as Toontown Depot, or when the land name has been established as the diegetic term for the location, as with the Tomorrowland Transit Authority (Tomorrowland is said to be the actual name of the futuristic spaceport) or Main Street Vehicles.

Names may also describe the attraction or experience in relation to a place: ‘over California’, ‘under the sea’, or even more abstract locations such as ‘through time’ or ‘to the future’.

ORGANISATIONS

Examples: Star Tours, Goofy’s Sky School, Big Thunder Mountain Railroad, Disney Channel Studio Tour, Ollivanders.

Often a useful origin for staying diegetic, attraction names can often borrow the titles of the organisations presented within the attractions story. These might range from organisations attempting serve the guests with new products or experiences (including tours), to organisations trying to acquire the guests as their newest recruits, as well as numerous other scenarios including imprisoning the guests, rescuing the guests, teaching the guests and so on. Organisations can also be real-life groups or companies – particularly when they are sponsors of the attraction, or are intricately linked to the experience offered, as with the Mission Tortilla Factory or Nickelodeon Studios.

PEOPLE

Examples: Walt Disney’s Enchanted Tiki Room, Rock 'n' Roller Coaster Starring Aerosmith, Sounds Dangerous with Drew Carey, Ellen’s Energy Adventure, Lights, Camera, Action™: Hosted by Steven Spielberg.

Attractions which have had significant involvement from a specific person well known to the public may have their name directly attached to the name - a real life version of the Characters grouping. These may be celebrities who are starring in the attraction, drawing guests to the experience through familiarity with the star, or, more rarely, a designer, director or similar contributor who has shaped the attraction without appearing it in. Walt Disney chose to attach his name to some of his most technologically advanced attractions or those that he personally funded, for example.

POWER WORDS

Examples: CineMagique, Fantasmic!, Hex – The Legend of the Towers, Magnus Collossus, TH13TEEN.

A trend of amusement parks, but also showing up in theme parks too, is the use of power words: short titles that sum up the experience in a quick, dramatic and often abstract way. These are very often used (and perhaps overused) on roller coasters and other intense attractions where powerful names such as Nemesis, Inferno, Dragon Khan and even Goofy’s Barnstormer evoke the wild nature of the attractions. The sources of these names vary from mythological creatures, predatory animals, dangerous natural phenomenon or any number of other similar origins.

A problem with Power Words names however is that they can become alarmingly generic, with each name losing its ability to specifically identify a particular attraction and instead becoming just another synonym of a similar one. Alton Towers Theme Park has been particularly innovative when it comes to avoiding this problem and reinventing the approach the retain the spotlight. Two of the parks roller coasters include Air, a significantly calmer, elegant name which stands out against the harsher roller coaster names dominating the industry, and the highly postmodern name Rita.

Power words can also be used to make ordinary titles more interesting and differentiate them from more ordinary versions beyond the park’s gate. CineMagique, Mickey’s PhilharMagic and Magical Oz-Go-Round each use the word magic to heighten the imagined experience. The risk is that an overuse of these words will devalue them into being pushbutton words.

QUOTES

Examples: “it’s a small world”, “Honey, I Shrunk the Audience", O Canada!, It’s Tough to Be a Bug, There’s Something in the Dung Heap.

Some attractions use spoken-style phrases as their names, variously taken from lines in the attraction, song lyrics or even well-known phrases. Statement titles are perhaps the most unique and can be highly personable, and, if taken from well-known writings, can be immediately familiar to the audience, although may have trouble fitting diegetically. In some cases, an altered spelling or pun will reference a familiar quote, as with the Disney California Adventure roller coaster California Screamin’, a play on the classic California Dreamin’ song.

SOURCE MATERIAL

Examples: Tom Sawyer Island, American Idol Experience, The Twilight Zone Tower of Terror, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory: The Ride, One Fish, Two Fish, Red Fish, Blue Fish.

In many cases, an attraction name is used to communicate the source material the attraction is based upon to the guests: if they like the source, they will be more likely to want to experience the attraction. An attraction called the Laugh Floor would probably not mean much to a guest, but as the Monsters, Inc. Laugh Floor it is much more recognisable. Although a land and not an attraction, rumours suggest that Cars Land in Disney California Adventure Park received that name over other possibilities such as Route 66 or Radiator Springs, specifically because of the ease in marketing it in commercials. Whilst Route 66 could be used by any theme park, and Radiator Springs (the name of the fictional town in the Cars film which has been recreated in the park) may be unfamiliar even to those who have seen the movie, Cars Land directly links the area to the popular film franchise.

Perhaps an unusual name from this perspective is that of Star Tours, which, despite being based on the hugely successful Star Wars film franchise, chooses not to mention this in its name, relying on taglines, a shared font, or simply assumed knowledge to link it to the films before a guest ventures inside – unlike another attraction which shares its source, the Star Wars: Jedi Training Academy.

SUBJECTS

Examples: Legacy of Walt Disney, Impressions de France, Journey Into Imagination, Dinosaur, Pirates of the Caribbean.

This approach specifically references what the attraction is about, an approach particularly strong when the subject is evocative and well-known in the wider public consciousness, and which avoids complicating the name with backstory specific references. One of the most direct examples of this is Pirates of the Caribbean; a name coined when Walt first approached his Imagineers and descriptively told them that he wanted “a pirate ride. You know, pirates of the Caribbean.”

This approach is also common with exhibit attractions or those with a similar approach, where the education about a specific and identifiable topic is the primary goal.

TRANSPORTATION

Examples: Walt Disney World Railroad, Peter Pan’s Flight, Soarin’ Over California, Mark Twain Riverboat, The Magic Carpets of Aladdin.

Transportation inspired names use the method a guest will move through the space as their source, an approach most appropriate when the experience is focused on a unique or unusual method of transportation (such as a monorail, antique motor car or a flying carpet), and not the environment it moves through. Additionally, this grouping covers not only what will move the audience, but how it will do it; cruising through the jungles, running river rapids or soaring through the air for example.

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In dissecting attraction names, it is important to recognise that many times a single word will fit into more than group: consider the Disneyland Railroad for example, where Disneyland is both the Location and an Organisation. Generally, attraction names are often two or more of these groups mixed up together - take for example Alice’s Curious Labyrinth which is made up of a Character (Alice), a Quote (“Curiouser and curiouser” is memorably spoken in the animated film), and the Building, in this case a hedge-maze labyrinth.

In Part III, I shall analyse the stylistic conventions of attraction names.

The Art of Attraction Names - Part I

2010-11-10T01:42:00.001Z

Jump to: Part I - Part II - Part III - Part IV

Sometime in the mid-eighties, Disney’s newly appointed CEO, Michael Eisner, was looking over some models of upcoming Disneyland attractions and decided to make a suggestion for the Zip-a-Dee River Run: the Imagineers should include an animatronic of Daryl Hannah as the mermaid from the 1984 Disney hit Splash! To Michael, the film held a special significance as the first major studio hit since he took on his new job, but to the Imagineers it was pretty apparent their new boss didn’t quite understand how Disney theme park attractions worked yet. Amongst the critters and creatures of a 19^th century Deep South, an eighties mermaid wouldn’t be the most natural fit. Michael was happy to take on board the correction when the Imagineers explained it to him, but wasn’t fully content with the name Zip-a-Dee River Run. Disneyland has a Space Mountain, a Matterhorn mountain and a Big Thunder Mountain, he thought, why not a Splash Mountain (a name infinitely more marketable to those familiar with Disney’s mountain range). Decades later, the Imagineers can’t think of any name that more perfectly suits the attraction.

Attraction names are incredibly important and must simultaneously accomplish a number of objectives, appealing to a wide range of people, and at the same time simply sound good. Those words on a park map or the name above a queue-line may be the only incentive for a guest to commit their park time to the unknown attraction within. Whether an attraction name sounds great is of course highly subjective, but what possibilities for names there are, and what constitutes a good name from a practical and communicative perspective is certainly something that can be analysed. Despite their apparent simplicity, good attraction names require an aptitude and flair for language to fulfil everything required from them.

Historically, attraction names were originally remarkably malleable, even in Disneyland. Attraction names would differ between the park maps, the park guides, the attraction sign or between employees, and in many cases included little thought at expression, being more description than an attempt at evoking an adventure as in the case of the Disneyland Mule Pack Ride. Through time, however, attraction names have come to be recognised as an important element in the overall show, as will hopefully be explained.

Purpose

Theme park attraction names need to fulfil a number of practical requirements, the most fundamental of which being to get the guests to want to experience the attraction and justify their waiting in line, a goal often accomplished by an intriguing, exciting or inviting name to draw people in. Each attraction name needs to be somewhat unique, not overly complicated and immediately identifiable with the attraction it refers to so incidents of mistaken identity are not common (a problem which might cause guests to search for a different attraction to the one they wish to experience).

Beyond this however, an attraction name can also be selective in order to specifically target the appropriate audience for that particular experience. It is of no value getting guests of all ages interested in an attraction designed only for a specific age bracket: consider the different audiences that Tower of Terror would appeal to when compared to Alice’s Tea Party. When Sindbad’s Seven Voyages opened at Tokyo DisneySea, it had trouble locating its audience - the scary elements made the ride unpleasant for young children, but the production design was too cartoony for older guests. The attraction was eventually given a make-over in which it was made to specifically target a younger demographic. The scarier scenes were toned down, a new, more childlike song was brought in, and as part of the process the attraction was renamed Sindbad's Storybook Voyage, making clear the attractions intention to be a children’s retelling of the Arabian stories. Certain words and phrases are more likely to appeal to children than adults, and this can be used to appeal to certain groups. More complicated attraction names aren’t appropriate to Fantasyland, which primarily caters to a younger crowd, for example.

As well as demographic selection, an attraction name should also give a general sense of what the attraction is, empowering the guests to be self-selective in choosing the attractions which will most appeal to them. Attractions such as the Mystic Manor, Spinball Whizzer and Doctor Doom’s Fearfall each give some suggestion to the experience (in these cases mysterious, dizzying or scary) so that guests know which attractions to seek out, and which to avoid.

Finally, the attraction name also takes a role in being one of the first elements in telling the story, equipping the guests with their first morsels of information about the experience to come. The name is generally the first piece of incluing guests receive, and can be used to prepare the guest who some expectations about the attraction. Indiana Jones Adventure: Temple of the Forbidden Eye immediately tells the guest that this temple is not a welcoming place, and perhaps somewhere they shouldn’t be, readying them for their dramatic escape later on. 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea gives quite direct exposition about the guests’ intended destination, but does in a dramatic and mysterious way, whilst Dragon Challenge challenges the guests to survive the experience that awaits them.

Diegesis

Expanding on attraction name’s position of introducing the story, we move beyond the practical requirements of an attraction name and begin to explore their role in the story experience and the fictional world. Attraction names divide into those which are diegetic and those which are extra-diegetic, the deciding question here being whether a fictional character in the presented environment would call the attraction by the same name as a guest. For example, a cowboy in Frontierland would be knowledgeable about the Big Thunder Mountain Railroad, but a spaceman in Tomorrowland would be expecting perhaps the Star Command Headquarters over a location called Buzz Lightyear Astro Blasters.

Diegetic Attraction Names: Main Street Cinema, Jungle Cruise, Tarzan’s Treehouse, Big Thunder Mountain Railroad, Matterhorn Bobsleds, Princess Fantasy Faire, Mickey’s House, Space Mountain, Star Tours, etc.

Extra-Diegetic Attraction Names: Great Moments with Mr. Lincoln, Pirates of the Caribbean, The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh, Peter Pan’s Flight, Roger Rabbit’s Car Toon Spin, Finding Nemo Submarine Voyage, Buzz Lightyear Astro Blasters, etc.

Assuming a goal of creating seamless fantasy environments in which an attraction is just a logical extension of what the characters in that world might get up to, the extra-diegetic attraction name seems somewhat problematic, isolating the attraction as a distinct entity. With the avoidance of attraction names being far too logistically problematic, the general solution has to been to accept the name as a manifestation of Theme Park Acknowledgement. Attraction names cannot always be diegetic (or even if they can be, may hold far more expression in a name which is extra-diegetic), and so designers have chosen to embrace this, devising names of wonderfully theatrical and cinematic proportions, such as the Haunted Mansion, Revenge of the Mummy or Space Mountain: De la Terre à la Lune.

Diegesis is generally favoured because it continues the illusion of the environment. Compare Big Thunder Mountain Railroad to Runaway Mine Train: the first maintains the premise of really being back in the wild American frontier, organically experiencing the same events that a cowboy might come across, whilst the second is discernibly fake and manufactured – if the fictional characters in the attraction’s world knew it would run away, they would have stopped it.

Attraction names don’t need to be diegetic, but the key to their suitability is recognising that the attraction sign will be visible in the land and ensuring that it does not impact on the overall environment. This problem is apparent in the Magic Kingdom’s Tomorrowland, where the attraction sign for Stitch’s Great Escape is far too dominant over its surroundings. Whilst the name may be suitable for the experiences, seeing the extra-diegetic signs breaks the illusion of being in a real futuristic city: if this really was the headquarters of the Intergalactic Council, why would they have a sign saying ‘Stitch’s Great Escape’ and a two-dimensional Stitch cut-out image at their entrance? A solution may have been to have a video billboard as the attraction entrance, broadcasting a fake news alert that Stitch has escaped, whilst the two-dimensional Stitch flat could have been a Stitch silhouette shaped cut-out through the metalwork, as though the destructive alien had ripped his way right through it (whilst the shape remained familiar to guest passers-by).

Diegesis can often lie in the presentation of the attraction name. Consider the Twilight Zone Tower of Terror, which is certainly extra-diegetic as a name. At Tokyo DisneySea, the Twilight Zone source material was dropped due to a lack of exposure in Japan and the attraction came to be known simply as Tower of Terror - a name which might very well have remained extra-diegetic. However, through a clever backstory, it is established that the New York City Preservation Society is offering tours of the mysterious building – the “Tower of Terror”, a local nickname for the crumbling hotel. The attraction sign is made to look like an advertisement for the tours. Similarly, whilst Space Mountain could have stayed as an abstract name for the conical structure, many years after opening the Disney Imagineers cleverly established the backstory that the building is really a Space Mountain-class Spaceship which has landed in Tomorrowland, backed up with nearby imagery of a cluster of Space Mountain-class Spaceships flying through space, or other Space Mountain-class Spaceships docked to a space station.

Even extra-diegetic names can be presented in a diegetic way. For example, the entrance to Slinky Dog Zigzag Spin at Walt Disney Studios Park is portrayed as the box the toy dog came in. On the side, the advertising slogan reads: “Collector’s edition Slinky Dog. See him Zigzag. See him Spin round ‘n’ round”, but because the bolded words are so much larger, guests who read it can clearly see it as the name of the attraction.

Generally, the ultimate aim is a name which is simultaneously both diegetic and cinematic.

In Part II, I shall begin to deconstruct attraction names used throughout Disney, Universal and Merlin theme parks to understand the common sources providing the content of attraction names.

Backstories: Hex - The Legend of the Towers at Alton Towers Theme Park

2010-11-04T18:38:00.002Z

Yet another backstory from a non-Disney park, this time for a haunted swing attraction called Hex, located inside the beautiful remains of Alton Towers. This is a transcript of the preshow movie which explains the story behind the attraction, and prompts the guests to enter the newly discovered secret vault... complete with cursed branch.

Hex - The Legend of the Towers

It was on a cold Autumn night in 1821, when the thunder of hooves signalled the return of the wealthy 15th Earl of Shrewsbury back to his home, Alton Towers. As the journey neared its end, a mysterious figure suddenly appeared in the road. The Earl impatiently demanded of the driver why the carriage had stopped. With palm outstretched, an old woman pleaded with the Earl for the charity of a coin. The Earl cruelly dismissed her, and instructed his driver to head back to the Towers. Scorned, the old woman screamed a curse... for every branch of the old oak tree that fell, a member of the Earl's family would die.

Later that very same night, a ferocious storm raged and with one mighty bolt of lightning severed a single branch from the old oak tree. And true to the old woman's prophecy, a member of the Earl's family suddenly, and mysteriously, died.

Shaken by this tragedy, the arrogant Earl ordered his servants that every remaining branch of the oak tree be chained up, in an attempt to prevent further misfortune.

But the story didn't end there. Legend has it, that the Earl became so obsessed with the fallen branch, that he dragged it from the woods to the Towers, and sealed it in a secret vault. There he became locked into a furious battle of science versus the supernatural, conducting bizarre experiments in a desperate attempt to finally banish the evil power of the curse... forever.

Interesting, the chained oak really exists near to the Alton Towers theme park, with the story told in the attraction based on a real local legend of the Witch's Oak Tree in Staffordshire. Rather than an old crone, the legend tells of an old man crashing the Earl's banquet and offering to tell fortunes, only to curse the Earl when he is rebuffed. A history of the legend can be read at the Alton Towers Heritage website.

Apparently, the real reason for the chaining of the oak was that these great trees were hugely prized, but with branches liable to collapse under their own weight.

Backstories: TH13TEEN at Alton Towers Theme Park

2010-11-04T03:32:00.000Z

Here's another backstory from a non-Disney park, that of the roller coaster TH13TEEN - marketed as the world's first 'psychocoaster'. Throughout the queue, tree roots and branches can be seen wrapped around statues, signs and even a truck. I STRONGLY recommend watching the great commercial I've posted below.

Also, 'the old Corkscrew site' refers to the Corkscrew roller coaster that was demolished to provide room for this new attraction.

TH13TEEN

Clearance and excavation works at the forest’s edge, on the old Corkscrew site, have unearthed an ancient burial ground and the ruins of a crypt. But amidst the disturbance, strange happenings have been reported… the forest is growing at an alarming rate, seemingly consuming everything in its path, stopping the exploration work in its tracks.

The excavation structures and equipment serve as a means of investigation for those that dare, but beware… the structure is far from stable. The forest has an overpowering force… it is taking control. Some believe it to be alive… attempting to reclaim lost souls back to the earth.

Backstories: Nemesis at Alton Towers Theme Park

2010-11-03T22:56:00.000Z

It's not only Disney which use backstories in their attractions. Here's my first non-Disney backstory for the collection, written for the Nemesis inverted roller coaster at Alton Towers Theme Park, England.

Nemesis

Nemesis comes from another dimension, a dimension beyond our imagination. There are theories, and then there is the legend... Beneath the ground at Alton Towers something strange and horrible lurked: a creature put on the Earth 2 million years ago. The creature was disturbed during maintenance work on one of the other rides in Forbidden Valley. The creature, angry at being discovered, caused havoc, ripping up trees and buildings sending them hurtling skyward. A security silence fell over Alton Towers as historians, archaeologists and the Ministry of Defence nervously began some serious investigations. What they discovered was Nemesis. It had to be controlled - 250 tonnes of steel and 200 men pinned down Nemesis. The steel holding down the monster was twisted and bent into unusual shapes - the steel was the roller coaster track thrill seekers ride today - Nemesis.

Disney Structure / Weenie Heights

2010-10-12T00:49:00.000+01:00

I've collated together the heights of over forty of Disney's most iconic structures from all of its parks (and waterparks) globally, and arranged them below in height order from largest to smallest.

Now some of this information seems off to me, but it's the best I've found. For example, the Cinderella Castles at the Magic Kingdom and Tokyo Disneyland are apparently the same, and places also say that the castle at Tokyo Disneyland and Mount Prometheus at Tokyo DisneySea are both the same height, but whilst Florida's castle is 189 feet, sources say Mount Prometheus is 168 feet - so the Tokyo castle's height is disputed. If anyone can offer some clarification that would be much appreciated!

Disneyland Paris's Big Thunder Mountain is listed as 197 feet, and other sources say it's 200ft, but I very much doubt this - it is much more probably around 104 feet, roughly equal to the other versions. I also do not know the heights of either Indiana Jones et le Temple du Peril or Raging Spirits (although the track height is around 16m/52ft).

Update

I did some research and it seems the main reason for the height discrepency is that Florida's castle height includes the layer of utilidors beneath it. Effectively, its height from the castle base is only 167-170 feet (the artificial ground level), not 189 feet (which is from the original ground level), matching Mount Prometheus. Interestingly to me, this means that Florida's castle is practically the same height as Disneyland Paris's (167 feet), despite the common thought that it's bigger.

Attraction	Park	Meters	Feet
Forbidden Mountain (Everest)	Disney's Animal Kingdom	60.8	199.5
Twilight Zone Tower of Terror	Disney's Hollywood Studios	60.7	199
Big Thunder Mountain	Disneyland Paris	59.7	197
Tower of Terror	Tokyo DisneySea	59	194.7
Cinderella Castle (& Utilidor)	Magic Kingdom	57.3	189
Twilight Zone Tower of Terror	Walt Disney Studios Paris	56	183
Space Mountain	Magic Kingdom	55.5	183
Twilight Zone Tower of Terror	Disney California Adventure	55.5	183
Spaceship Earth	Epcot	54.9	180
MaliBOOMer!	Disney California Adventure	54.5	180
Big Thunder Mountain	Magic Kingdom	54.2	179
Mount Prometheus	Tokyo DisneySea	51	168.3
Cinderella Castle	Tokyo Disneyland	51	168.3
Le Chateau de la Belle au Bois Dormant	Disneyland Paris	50.9	167
Mickey's Fun Wheel	Disney California Adventure	48.8	160
Space Mountain	Disneyland Paris	47	155.1
Matterhorn	Disneyland	44.8	147
Tree of Life	Disney's Animal Kingdom	44	145
Earful Tower	Disney's Hollywood Studios	39.4	130
Earfell Tower	Walt Disney Studios Paris	39.4	130
Space Mountain	Disneyland	39	128
Radiator Springs Racers	Disney California Adventure	37.9	125
Sorcerer Mickey Hat	Disney's Hollywood Studios	37	122
Mount Splashmore	Disney's Blizzard Beach	36.4	120
California Screamin'	Disney California Adventure	36.4	120
Space Mountain	Hong Kong Disneyland	35.8	118
Space Mountain	Tokyo Disneyland	35.8	118
Grizzly Peak	Disney California Adventure	33.3	110
Big Thunder Mountain	Tokyo Disneyland	33	108.9
Big Thunder Mountain	Disneyland	31.7	104
Splash Mountain	Tokyo Disneyland	30.3	100
Mount Mayday	Disney's Typhoon Lagoon	28.8	95
Splash Mountain	Disneyland	26.4	87
Splash Mountain	Magic Kingdom	26.4	87
Temple of the Crystal Skull	Tokyo DisneySea	25	82.5
Sleeping Beauty Castle	Disneyland	23.3	77
Sleeping Beauty Castle	Hong Kong Disneyland	23.3	77
Tarzan's Treehouse	Disneyland	21.2	70
La Cabane des Robinson	Disneyland Paris	21	69.3
Swiss Family Treehouse	Tokyo Disneyland	19	62.7
Tarzan's Treehouse	Hong Kong Disneyland	19	62.7
StarJets	Tokyo Disneyland	18.5	61.1
Swiss Family Treehouse	Magic Kingdom	18.2	60

Phantom Manor Transcripts

2010-10-06T16:27:00.001+01:00

Join now the spirits in nuptial doom,
A ravaging bride… A vanishing groom.

When it opened, the hauntingly mesmerizing Phantom Manor at Disneyland Paris was narrated spectacularly by the late Vincent Price - who else could be better than the master of horror to guide our visit through the crumbling house. Unfortunately, too many of the French visitors understandably felt left out of the story and the narration was redone in French, never to be heard in the attraction again. Fortunately, Disney has provided the soundtrack on some of its CD releases, and I have found myself being captured by its melodic, chilling style.

For those that do not know, the Phantom Manor contains the much more explicit story of Melanie, a heartbroken bride, and the Phantom, a villainous creature who will never allow the young bride to be with her true love. This change from the implicit story of the classic Haunted Mansion, very much up to the guest as to how it is read, has often divided opinion - including prompting severe criticism from the original Imagineers that created the Disneyland original.

What I have found very interesting is the new script that was written for the attraction. I have transcribed it below, do give it a read. What is fascinating is how the script writer has reinvented and reimagined the lines most Disneyland fans know by heard in new ways. Do you sense a 'disquieting metamorphosis'? Well now it will be examining the changing portraits in the gallery before boarding your doombuggy, not in the stretching room.

Phantom Manor
Ghost Host Introduction Transcript
Transcribed by Cole Younger

THE FOYER

Where hinges creak in doorless chambers, where strange and frightening sounds echo through the halls, where candlelights flicker though the air is deathly still… This is Phantom Manor.

Welcome curious friends. You may not believe it, but beauty once lived in this house. And beauty lives here still... Show yourself! Lovely, isn’t she? Come, I have more beauty to show you.

THE STRETCHING ROOM

Our tour begins here in this gallery where you gaze upon the sweet innocence of youth. Ah, but things are not always as they seem. Can it be this room is actually stretching? And notice this: this chamber has no windows and no doors, which offers you this chilling challenge… to find a way out. Of course, there’s always my way.

THE HALLWAY

Oh I didn’t mean to frighten you. Come, let us continue our tour. There is much to see, so look alive, and stay together. I’d hate to lose you… so soon. As you travel past these priceless works of art, perhaps you sense a disquieting metamorphosis? Of course, it’s only a trick of the light. The real beauty of this house awaits us farther on. There’s a party in your honour, and she’ll just die if we’re late. And now curious souls, a carriage approaches to take you to the party and beyond. I’ll leave you now, but I’ll be waiting for you on the other side. Have a frightfully good time.

- - - - -

As well as this, Leota makes a return but her rhymes are now different, and alternate between English and French. David G. Ravenswood, of Ravenswood Manor, wonderfully provides a translated script of her lines.

Phantom Manor
Madame Leota Transcript
Transcribed by David G. Ravenswood

Goblins and ghoulies, creatures of fright...
We summon you now, to dance through the night.

Esprits et fantômes sur vos fièrs destriers,
Escortez dans la nuit la belle fiancée.

(Spirits and ghosts on your proud stallions,
Escort the beautiful bride through the night.)

Warlocks and witches, answer this call,
Your presence is wanted at this ghostly ball.

Des douze coups de minuit aux matines sonnantes,
Nous valserons ensemble, macabre débutante.

(As the bells strike the twelve knolls of midnight,
We shall waltz together, gruesome debutante.)

Join now the spirits in nuptial doom...
A ravishing bride... A vanishing groom.

- - - - -

Finally, Little Leota returns once more, beckoning the guests to return soon.

Phantom Manor
Little Leota Transcript
Transcribed by David G. Ravenswood

Revenez, revenez! Vous venez à peine d'arriver, et je me meurs de solitude.

(Come back, come back! You've just arrived, and I'm dying of loneliness.)

Hurry back! Hurry back! Be sure to bring your death certificate. We're just dying to have you.

- - - - -

To some, the Phantom Manor is an inferior, dictatorial version of the classic Mansion. We are no longer experiencing our story, we are experiencing Melanie's. But for me, I applaud Imagineering's attempt at reimagining a cherished attraction instead of duplicating what has already been done. Some may like Mansion, some may like Manor, but thanks to the Imagineers' bravery in imprinting the new generation's signature on their work, at least we now have that choice. Phantom Manor does some things spectacularly successful, and truely is hauntingly beautiful in many places.

And with Mystic Manor soon reinventing the classic even more dramatically, it will be interesting to see what nods to the original Lord Henry Mystic's house will hold.

Main Street USA: Color Schemes and Declining by Degrees

2010-09-16T00:09:00.001+01:00

This was posted in a very interesting thread on MiceChat: On Main Street's Current Color Scheme, discussing the inauthentic paint colors used throughout Main Street USA at Disneyland and the invasion of contemporary merchandising in place of period appropriate store windows.

I find it so so interesting that some people just don't see the importance of these seamingly minor details, or see them as obsessive or nitpicky. It's precisely a mastery of these elements that make Disneyland the best at what it does. Would Frontierland be okay painted 'Cowboy Woody Brown'?

In the past people have been talking about the decline by degrees of Main Street wondering when the tipping point would be reached that it loses its magic, and I think threads like this ring alarm bells. I think to many people, Main Street has just become a lost cause subconsciously, no longer held to the same standard that the other lands are. People who fume about light up spinning Stitch's in Frontierland don't seem to mind if its on a supposedly turn-of-the-century Main Street, but I think that's because the thought is "Well, all theme parks have merchandise shops at the entrance, I guess Disney needs them too." Cartoon color schemes, anachronistic merchandising, contempory advertising, Vacation Club carts, levelled out curbs, parade lighting rigs, overtaking retail space and other jarring elements really threaten Main Street's ability to transport.

What some people seem to not realise is that Main Street USA should be just as much as an immersive land as any of the others. What makes this one even more special is that it was real, and has a masterful design that wonderfully targets nostalgia, patriotism and Americana - but which is being dulled by overly invasive retailing and design decisions centred around the bottom line.

I recently visited a tourist attraction in England which come across to me as the British version of Main Street (trip report here). There were no piles of plush toys or pin stations, it was magnificently transporting, as wonderful as a city of the future or lost jungle, and stirred some amazing feelings that Main Street apparently no longer generates in the people rushing to the E-tickets. To those who have visited the Henry Ford's Greenfield Village or Colonial Williamsburg, it is that connection and pride with the past that Walt intended and was directly influenced by.

Yes economics (and our own desires to get some Mickey goodies!) mean that shops should be there, but they should be end result of a fantastic voyage back through a century, not the centerpiece of Strip Mall USA. Hold Main Street USA to a high standard! An Imagineer (someone will know who I'm sure) once said that if it apparently makes no difference doing it accurately or not, why not go for accurate? To those who do realise, it will be that bit more impressive.

I may sound doom-and-gloom reading this over, but it's best to strive for more. Main Street is still an amazing place to be... there's even more amazement it could have. All of Main Street's compromises (the color scheme, Vacation Club, parade lighting rigs, etc.) are problems which I think should be addressed, even if they seem insignificant individually.

These small problems lose the magic.

Specifically for the colorscheme - if you're going to do it, do it authentically. There's a value in people saying "Did you know, Disney uses real antique street lamps on Main Street!" or "Did you know, Disney has real antique mining equipment in Frontierland!" when talking about the park. No one will mention "Disney uses a bunch of oversaturated colors for its Main Street", but "Disney uses the real colors Walt remembered from his childhood" just may get a mention.

These small details create the magic.

Britain's Main Street USA: An Analytical Tour of Beamish Open Air Museum Part 5

2010-09-08T20:18:00.002+01:00

Re-enactors are employed or invited by Beamish Museum to wander the grounds, leading to the wonderfully immersive sight of seeing a Victorian lady shopping from store to store with a basket under her arm, or turning a corner in the Pit Village the come across three Victorian children racing each other on their bikes. That's right - children! After dressing up in period clothing, they are seemingly given bicycles and toys with which to play with throughout the museum. To them, it must be a spectacular playground; to the guests they add an unparalleled realism.

Other events throughout the year invite various specialised groups to Beamish. When I was there, they were holding the Beamish Great North Steam Fair which allowed me the opportunity to see dozens of traction engines and steam rollers (and I mean real steam), roaming the museum driven by their private owners.

Other events include;

Beamish Agricultural Show with demonstrations of ploughing, country crafts, agricultural machinery and livestock classes
Easter Celebrations with egg painting, scavenger hunts and religious services
A Georgian Fair with travelling fairground rides and attractions
Harvest Festival
Sports Competitions including cricket, football (soccer) and quoits
Regular choir and band visits
Topic focuses such as toys, machinery or cookery
And of course a traditional Victorian Christmas season

Perhaps the most Hollywood influence I came across was apparent in their upcoming Halloween offering: the plan to turn Beamish into the 'UNliving Museum of the North', complete with demon dentist, fortune teller, ghost stories and encouragement to don costumes, more akin to Knott's Scary Farm than a museum - but which will no doubt prove to be a success.

Food is available at the entrance 'Coffee Shop', Town 'Tea Rooms' and 'The Sun Inn', Home Farm 'The Cart Shed', and Village's 'Pitman's Pantry', candies at the Town's 'Jubilee Sweet Shop', while souvenirs are sold only at the entrance gift shop and Town 'Stationer's Shop'. Smoking is not permitted indoors, and while dogs are allowed inside the museum grounds they are not allowed inside the buildings (with exception to assistance dogs). Induction loop systems are installed at a large number of exhibits for those hard of hearing.

I cannot overstate how impressed I was with Beamish Museum. In a country in which service pales in comparison to its American equivalent and themed entertainment, immersion and storytelling is largely dismissed in favour of thrills, Beamish stands out with its Disney-quality operation, so much that I wonder whether a Beamish executive has consciously emulated Disney's practices to great effect. Every employee I came across was infallibly polite, friendly and warm, offering up information about the surroundings and their role, and always saying hello as you entered the room they were in. Outside, a number of employees would wave as the packed trams and busses as they passed by, just as the conductors aboard Disney's railroad do.

Despite a relatively small number of trash cans, I did not spot one piece of trash in the common areas of Beamish Museum. More thorough searching did uncover some trash in out of the way corners such as within the holes of dormant machinery, but this is no worse than similar findings at Disney parks. I never actually saw an employee pick up litter which makes me wonder why Beamish is so lucky in this regard when British theme parks are often deluged with discarded wrappers and paper cups. Perhaps it is the older audience; without thrills, the serene museum does not attract many teenagers or young adults (some would say most likely to litter). But beyond this, I think that the locals of the area feel a significant emotional connection and pride in Beamish: just as Disneyland locals will pick up trash that litters 'their park', many Beamish visitors do the same.

Nevertheless, there were a few differences to Disney. Attention to Show was predominantly very impressive, all the more heightened by its valley location surrounded by forested countryside miraculously devoid even of power lines and the genuine buildings meaning fire exit signs aren't required, but exceptions did exist. Whilst a boiler or some other modern contraption was hidden behind a fence, a modern van was parked next to it. The toy filled rear garden of a nearby house could be glimpsed at the edge of the Georgian landscape, and at one point (at the Farm) a public road actually passed right through the museum, although it was seldom used. Remarkably, this meant somebody could very easily enter Beamish without paying (there were no ticket checks here), and even a number of public footpaths passed through the grounds - unthinkable at a Disney park.

Even the occasional signposts are appropriate to the setting. This style of sign would be commonly seen along canal waterways.

Being a museum, Beamish hopes to educate and inform, so whilst the environment and costumes were accurate, when the employees opened their mouths it was most often from a 21st century perspective, and no taboo existed in discussing the outside world, discussing what an employee was up to when they finished work that night, or even answering my questions about the behind the scenes operations that went into running Beamish. There were however occasional exceptions to this. The printer would not hand a newly printed flyer to a young boy but would to a young girl, explaining with his tongue in his cheek that little girls look with their eyes, little boys look with their fingers and ink would end up all over. The dentist compliment a guest on her teeth, surmising that they must be porcelain and her assumed husband must be very well to do in being able to afford those for her. A faux miner asked me if I'd had a good shift when I handed in my helmet after descending the mine.

One significant tonal change did manifest itself compared to Main Street USA: while Main Street USA presented a rose-tinted, candy coated view of America's past, where everyone is a friend, each business booms and realities of unemployment, crime and hardship are exorcised, Beamish takes no shame in presenting a seemingly sensationalised (although no doubt accurate) view of the past, focusing on the dangers, peculiarities and titillating taboos of the era. A ride aboard the Pockerly Waggonway was accompanied by the tale of tenant miner who, after failing to mine the required amount of coal for his landlord, would be fired, lose his house, resort to thievery, arrested and then executed and displayed as a warning. The dentist freely divulged tales of gruesome dental practices, and recounted how false teeth would be inherited down the family - so that if someone of the time said you had your mother's smile, it might very well be literal. Stories in the mine made no secrets of the difficult working conditions, resulting health problems and numerous accidents and collapses. More than once I came across parents or grandparents telling young children "we didn't have computers when we were your age, we were put to work" or some similar comment about freezing tin baths, outdoor toilets or the school cane.

My only criticism of the museum was the occasionally bad guest control (many similar criticisms are levelled against Disney). Queues for the transportation or mines were often unregulated, and whilst the guests generally organised the queues themselves (they are British after all!), confusion occasionally arose. At the dentist, one elderly couple found themselves fumbling against the direction of the crowd after understandably missing the awkwardly placed 'Exit Only, Entrance Next Door' plaque beneath the door they came in through (I suspect its positioning was to minimize its impact on the immersion).

The museum has a number of plans for expansion. Already under construction when I visited was a backstreet, coal-fired fish and chip shop in the Pit Village, whilst a Photographic Studio in the town had recently been trialled and was set to return. Other plans include a bakery, shopping arcade, dispensing chemist, fire station, police station, gasworks and early cinema, as well as more cottages, pubs, rail stock and so on.

There are a number of reasons I liken what is presented at Beamish to a British Main Street. The most obvious of course is the time period: just as Main Street USA diverts a couple of decades each side of its 1901 setting, so too does Beamish average at a turn of the century date amongst its timeline which stretches from 1825 to 1913. Second is what is represented: many of the shops, houses and businesses included correlate directly with those on Disneyland's introductory land. Goofy's Candy would be sold in a corner sweet shop, guest dining at the Plaza Inn would be transplanted into the Pub serving traditional rural dishes, and guests would shop for souvenirs within the Co-Op. But third, and most importantly, is the feeling of the place: I have never lived in a town or village like Beamish, but I imagine I could have. Despite the sensationalized information peppered throughout the museum, Beamish is without a doubt a place you think you would like to live amongst. Beamish has created a nationally ideal community that I would suspect resonates within any Brit, where mentions of Queen, Country and Empire tug at the heartstrings and infuse each subject with a glow of patriotic pride - even, bizarrely, within an Americophile, British-republican like myself.

If Disneyland had ever been built in the United Kingdom, it is this that we would see: cobblestone streets laced with tram tracks and trafficked by penny-farthings, omnibuses and puttering motorcars. Where instead of every day being the Fourth of July, every day is Queen Victoria's Diamond Jubilee - June 20th 1897 - as revealed by the banners of Union Jacks strung between the lamp posts. A red telephone box on the corner leads to the sweet shop, the newspaper office, the bank, the garage, the Co-Op, the tea shop, and the local pub. The brass band would play 'God Save the Queen' from the iron bandstand surrounded by a bed of roses, poppies and poseys, gazing up the Victorian street to the stronghold of King Arthur Castle: a fortress hiding St. George's Dragon within its dungeons, and which is perched upon pure, shining white cliffs reminiscent of Dover's.

All of these thoughts and considerations revolve around one key question: with Disneyland being so quintessentially American, just what would Disneyland have been like if Walt Disney was born somewhere else - disregarding the many complications and imagining the same capitalist opportunities and industry developments had prompted Walt's pleasure park to be constructed within another nation's boundaries and based on another nation's culture? I imagine a British Main Street not in expectation of it ever becoming a reality (though every British theme park must be crazy for not building this already), but to prove that such a localised reinterpretation of Disney's Main Street USA must be possible in most, if not all, countries. I am not so arrogant as to think Britain's history is the richest - it is just the one I am most familiar with. Any other country must provide a wealth of material to replicate this conversion, and provide to locals of internationally located parks the same feelings of homecoming as Main Street USA provides to Americans.

What would a Main Street Japan, Main Street France, Main Street Hong Kong or Main Street China really look like? I would love to hear from other international Disney fans what a Main Street would be like for their country; Beamish is certainly a great example of what a Main Street Great Britain could be.

Beamish Museum's website can be found at http://www.beamishmuseum.org.uk

Britain's Main Street USA: An Analytical Tour of Beamish Open Air Museum
Jump to: Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, Part 4, Part 5.

Britain's Main Street USA: An Analytical Tour of Beamish Open Air Museum Part 4

2010-09-08T20:18:00.001+01:00

The Town

The Town at Beamish represents a typical North Eastern market town in the years leading up to the First World War. Beneath what would be brand new street lighting, guests can find terraced houses containing a music teacher, dentist and solicitor, a traditional pub, a printers, a transportation depot, a toilet block, a bank, a Masonic Hall, a motor garage, a clothing store, Co-Op, general store and tea rooms. Nearby is the municipal park, and beyond that a Victorian fairground and railway station.

Just like Disneyland, the post box really does get collected.

The building on the right is a restroom block, known locally at the time as a 'netty'.

Inside the terraces are the family homes, dentist, music school and solicitors. Most rooms inside the building allow you to enter the room, but rope barriers stop you exploring more than around six feet.

The inclusion of a music teacher and dentist are particularly interesting: these same two businesses are the sources of background noises from upstairs windows along many of the Main Street USAs.

Behind the high street is a transportation depot, containing a barn full of motor vehicles and carriages, and stables next door.

Period signs and advertisements are everywhere - Beamish often has so much stuff that it borders on cluttered. In a dedication to period more extreme than Disney would ever dare go (quite rightfully), cartoon advertisements containing 'Golliwogs' are still displayed, a blackface minstrel character now considered racist.

The Beamish Motor & Cycle Works displays new and second-hand cars, motorcycles and bicycles, along with headlamps, horns, and two-gallon cans of petrol.

An old motorcycle is parked outside the garage, with a gentleman motorist in period costume conversing with passersby.

The Beamish Branch Office would serve as a newspaper distribution point and a printers upstairs. Now it additionally contains a small boutique selling postcards, stationary and books.

The display board posters give a sense of the major news stories of the time.

The highlight of Beamish for many children is undoubtedly the old fashioned sweet shop (candy store). With sugar and cocoa flooding in from the Empire, shops such as this sprang up packing shelves with glass jars of sugared almonds, toffees, sour plums, chocolates and other treats.

The shop sells everything on display, including many sweets adults last saw in their childhood.

But what makes the shop stand out is what's in the back: guests can watch hourly demonstrations of candies being made the old fashioned way.

Sugar is boiled up on the fire to the left, mixed with flavorings, then poured onto the center table.

When it has cooled somewhat it becomes pliable and can be kneaded like bread to get rid of air bubbles.

It is cut into chunks and fed through a press which shapes the mixture into traditional sweet shapes.

The result is strips of candies which when fully cooled and hardened can be simply dropped onto hard table surface, shattering the strips into the individual sweets. The brass contraption at the back is called a polisher, and rolls the sweets like a cement mixer to dull the sharp edges.

Numerous stamps are available to shape the sweets:

Further down the street is the bank, an 1896 Barclay and Company bank with a Swedish 'Imperial Red' granite front.

Downstairs, guests can see the vaults and storerooms ... including the rats!

Next door is a Masonic Temple, a common site across North Eastern towns.

In the main hall hangs an impressive portrait of Queen Victoria.

The commercial hub of the town begins with the Co-Op (Co-operative), comprising of grocery, drapery and hardware departments.

The grocery department bares a distinct resemblance to Disneyland's Market House.

The drapery department displays fashions of the time...

... and even allows guests to try on some of what's on display.

The "If you offer it we will collect it" policy was especially apparent in the photo above: the shawl once belonged to my great-grandmother Hannah Smith.

The hardware department supplies mangles, polishes, paints, pots and pans, lamps, shovels, tools and candles - especially important when pitmen had to provide their own gear.

A highlight of the Co-Op is the overhead Lamson-Paragon Cash System - a 'cash railway'. Not yet trusting counter employees with money, payments and change were placed in wooden balls which were hoisted up the ceiling with a pulley then allowed to roll along tracks to a secure cash office. Here, change was counted, then returned with a second chute.

Interestingly, Disneyland Paris's Emporium actually has a working cash railway, although it is a distinctly decorative element.

The overhead cash railway still works, and is often demonstrated to guests.

At the edge of town is the municipal park centered around ornamental flower beds and a Walter MacFarlane & Co. bandstand. The horticulture easily keeps a standard of quality on parallel with Disney.

Just around the corner is a favorite for young and old: a 'Gallopers', or steam roundabout - more commonly known as a carrousel - which is powered by a genuine traction engine. Nearby are some hand powered boat swings and a coconut shy. I remember coming here more than a decade ago when there was also a helter skelter (spiral slide) and mirror maze, but I don't know where these have now gone.

At the very outskirts of town is Rowley Station, a typical northern station of around 1910 - never lit by gas electricty, always relying on oil. Accessed across a wrought-iron footbridge or level crossing, guests are able to take short shuttle trips aboard the train.

"Your attention please... the Disneyland Great Britain Railway now boarding for a one-way trip around the Magic Kingdom. All aboard!"

The station is very much a mirror of Disneylands, with luggage ready to be loaded up and posters advertising tourist destinations throughout country.

Even the signal box can be explored.

Beyond the station is the Goods Shed and coal office.

In the final part, I will conclude the photo tour and present a more comprehensive analysis of the parks strengths and weaknesses.

Britain's Main Street USA: An Analytical Tour of Beamish Open Air Museum
Jump to: Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, Part 4, Part 5.

Britain's Main Street USA: An Analytical Tour of Beamish Open Air Museum Part 3

2010-09-08T20:18:00.000+01:00

Pockerly and Home Farm

Pockerly and Home Farm are actually two distinct areas at opposite sides of the museum, but I combine them here due to their similarity. Pockerly is an area representing the Georgian landscape, with Pockerly Waggonway and Pockerly Old Hall, as well as a number of fields.

Pockerly Waggonway allows guests the chance to be pulled by a replica of the Steam Elephant, one of the world's earliest steam locomotives.

Home Farm recreates a traditional rural establishment in the early 1870s. One of Beamish's best qualities are the free food tasters they provide to guests. On the day of my visit, a friendly lady in Pockerly Old Hall was baking oat biscuits all day, while in the farm a jovial man was cooking fruit cake.

Cows, sheep, horses, ponies, donkeys, pigs, chickens, geese and ducks are all present.

On my visit, some newly born chicks were on display, as well as ducklings next door.

The genuine vegetable garden looked like something out of Beatrix Potter.

In the next part, I continue my photographic tour to the Town.

Britain's Main Street USA: An Analytical Tour of Beamish Open Air Museum
Jump to: Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, Part 4, Part 5.

Britain's Main Street USA: An Analytical Tour of Beamish Open Air Museum Part 2

2010-09-08T20:12:00.000+01:00

The Pit Village

The Pit Village recreates a company owned village as it would appear in the early 1900s. It contains pit cottages, a school, a church and the mine. Further on is the impressive colliery.

The school is a genuine Victorian school, painstakingly dismantled and rebuilt from its original location a few miles away. It even has 'Boys' and 'Girls' entrances.

Guests are able to try their hand at writing on slate, or with pens requiring the nib to be dipped in an inkwell. The schoolmaster employee walked the desks replacing the blotting paper after it was used - keeping the place tidy and critiquing guests' handwriting as he did it.

Victorian children were taught the 'three Rs' (Reading, wRiting and 'Rithmethic) through primarily repetition. Education of the time was intended to create law-abiding citizens who knew their place and showed respect for their 'betters'.

Outside, guests are able to try out traditional schoolyard games of the time, including hopscotch, singing games, skipping games and boolers - the metal rings and sticks.

Across the street are some of the miner's cottages, with allotment gardens.

Their are hints at the popular pigeon and whippet racing pasttimes enjoyed by the miners.

Inside, demonstrations were given about quiltmaking; both patchwork quilts and Durham quilts.

But it is perhaps the mine that is the star of the village. Guests are able to don helmets and follow a tour 100ft inside the formally miles-long genuine coal mine.

As well as explanations about the development of miners lamps, guests are told about the process of mining coal by hand, and the disasters that could occur in the harsh working conditions.

The ceiling gets as low as 4ft at points.

The dominant structure at the village is the colliery; a tremendous jewel of Victorian engineering used to mine coal from deep beneath the earth's surface.

This would be Disneyland Great Britain's Big Thunder Mountain; a mine cart ride amongst whirring steam powered machinery, dynamite explosions, mountainous coal piles and roaring furnaces.

The photo above demonstrates the genuine history of the colliery: the handle used to be thick its entire length, now it is worn down from more than a century of constant use.

In the next part, I will continue the photo tour to Pockerly and the Home Farm.

Britain's Main Street USA: An Analytical Tour of Beamish Open Air Museum
Jump to: Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, Part 4, Part 5.

Britain's Main Street USA: An Analytical Tour of Beamish Open Air Museum Part 1

2010-09-08T15:35:00.000+01:00

“Here, age relives fond memories of the past...”

I have a big interest in the internationalization of Disney theme parks, from the balance struck between the local language and English, the presence of the host culture, and the changing focus, and even outright exclusion, of certain aspects to tailor them to the country. As early as Disney’s first step outside the United States with Tokyo Disneyland, there were concerns whether Main Street USA, a land fuelled by Americana, would resonate with foreign guests. The result was World Bazaar, a combination of the traditional Main Street with Epcot's World Showcase and a touch of Victorian exhibition - an outcome which worked, but not at the level of the turn of the century American town.

At Disneyland Paris the concerns returned once more, and an alternate Main Street USA was pushed by Imagineer Eddie Sotto, who designed an entrance land set in the 1920s, an era more familiar to the European audience through its depictions in classic Hollywood cinema. But amongst the elevated New York tramways, Charlie Chaplin silent cinemas and immigrant establishments, the gangsters, speakeasies and Keystone Kops worried Michael Eisner that this new direction would betray the innocence Main Street USA should project. Main Street USA returned to its default, modified only by some small pushes forward in the timeline, adding a motor garage, city billboards and similar touches.

But it was Hong Kong that would make Disney realise that Main Street USA really wouldn't work for a non-Westernized audience. For the large number of Chinese guests travelling into Hong Kong to visit the magic kingdom, no emotional connection was felt towards the alien Victorian town. At an aesthetic level the town was still charming, pinstriped and storybook, but any attempt at pinning down the historical importance of the setting, let alone conjure up an emotional investment, was futile. Whilst the American guests in Anaheim would enter the park to discover their ideal home town, welcoming, heart-warming and nostalgic, the Chinese guests had nothing.

Art Copyright Tim Delaney

Available designs for Shanghai Disneyland suggest that the traditional Main Street setting is about to be scrapped. Drawings by Imagineer Tim Delaney show three possible alternatives: a Hollywood Main Street, with Chinese Theater, Brown Derby and Walt Disney Studios gates, a Forest Village, with windmill, tree houses and fairy style tree dwellings, and a 'Whimsy' Main Street, with a highly audacious, Downtown Disney style approach.

Nevertheless, I notice that none of these suggestions attempt to fulfil the role Main Street played in Walt Disney's mind; a place for the aged to relive fond memories of the past - where children could see how their grandparents lived, and stories of golden memories of the past could be remembered and passed down. Being uninformed about Chinese history, I began to ponder what a Main Street USA would be like if built in the country I am most familiar with, the United Kingdom.

The attraction I visited just a few days ago revealed it: Beamish Open Air Museum, a 300 acre realization of everything a Main Street Great Britain (perhaps Royal Street?) would draw from.

Beamish Museum, 'The Living Museum of the North', is an attraction in County Durham, England which, since its opening in 1970, aims to capture the spirit of North East Georgian, Victorian and Edwardian England and recreate various once-common sights of the area at the climax of industrialisation in the early 20th century. It is not a theme park, but neither is it a typical museum: the displays are not hidden behind glass cabinets or even rationed amongst faux-interactive displays - the more than 300,000 artefacts, from the smallest ring to the imposing coal colliery, are out and available amongst period appropriate locations, explained by staff dressed in period appropriate dress: this is a place built to retain a memory of the regions disappearing past.

Whilst Disney and Beamish's end goals may be different, the former to make money and the latter to educate, they both set out to achieve them in the same way: by transporting guests to another time and place, and entertain them whilst doing so. Beamish receives around 350,000 visitors annually (roughly 1,000 daily), and requires a yearly budget of £4,000,000 to operate.

Beamish Museum is divided into roughly four areas (although on one occasion I found these referred to as zones):

the Pit Village, containing the mining village, mines and colliery,
Pockerly, containing Pockerly Old Hall, Pockerly Waggonway, and the Georgian landscape,
Home Farm, also including the nearby machinery barn, and
the Town, containing numerous shops, the park, the fun fair, and the train station.

Being spread out across 300 acres, each of the sections are linked not only by pathways but also by tramlines and genuine roads, travelled by electric trams, horse-drawn trams, omnibuses, vans and numerous other forms of appropriate transportation.

The ingenius way this horse-drawn tram turns around was demonstrated...

It's able to rotate!

The layout interested me for a particular reason; at the end of the day I, nor any of the people I asked, had been struck by 'museum feet' - the ache plaguing theme parks that results from guests walking more than they can comfortably manage and which Walt Disney specifically sought to solve through his hub and spoke park layout. Beamish effectively uses a large loop layout, but this alone is not what solves the problem - in fact, the areas are a significant walking distance apart from one another. Rather, it is the isolated pocket layout which encourages the guests to explore each area completely (wherein everything is easily manageable walking) before moving on to the next area unlikely to return due to the time dedication it requires to move between areas. Imagine a Disneyland where it took ten minutes to travel between Adventureland and Frontierland: at Beamish, this helps the overall experience.

It is perhaps inappropriate to call what Beamish has creating 'theming', as a vast majority of it is genuine. Beamish has very often painstakingly deconstructed historic buildings from around the county and rebuilt them within the museum, or in other cases recreated buildings with rigid conformity to the original plans. The pieces on display are again genuine, very often donated by locals prompting by Beamish's 'you offer it to us and we will collect it' policy. Nevertheless, it is the collation and presentation of the pieces and constructions that has taken Beamish to the next level that parallels it with themed entertainments. Sign posts are minimized, products are sold in now abandoned Imperial measurements, and every effort is made to ensure authenticity in every scene. The terminology may be different, but Show is very much a priority here.

In the next part, I will begin a photo tour with the Pit Village.

Britain's Main Street USA: An Analytical Tour of Beamish Open Air Museum
Jump to: Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, Part 4, Part 5.

Imagineering Costs Adjusted for Inflation

2010-08-17T02:05:00.000+01:00

Here's some data I brought together to examine the costs of Disney attractions over time adjusted for inflation - at least the projects which have some information about their costs. Obviously it's not a perfect comparison, but it gives some rough ideas. The costs are in millions, and have been ordered according to adjusted cost.

Update: If the table does not show up in your browser or cuts off any data, the full table can be found at http://www.theneverlandfiles.com/misc/costtable.html.

Attraction	Date	Initial Cost	Adjusted Cost
Swiss Family Treehouse	1962	0.25	1.8
Grand Canyon Diorama	1958	0.375	2.85
Monorail	1959	1	7.47
Matterhorn Bobsleds	1959	1.5	11.21
Nature's Wonderland	1960	2.5	18.36
Submarine Voyage	1959	2.5	18.68
Rocket Rods (Disneyland)	1998	20	26.78
America Sings (Disneyland)	1974	6	28.05
Captain EO (Disneyland)	1986	17	33.59
Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh (Disneyland)	2003	30	35.81
Buzz Lightyear Astro Blasters (Disneyland)	2005	32.5	36.88
Bear Country	1972	8	42.03
Big Thunder Mountain Railroad	1979	16	51.04
Walt Disney's Carousel of Progress (Disneyland)	1967	8	52.5
Star Tours (Disneyland)	1987	30	58.63
New Tomorrowland (90s) (Disneyland)	1998	50	66.94
Space Mountain (Disneyland)	1977	20	74.21
Finding Nemo Submarine Voyage	2007	70	74.91
Tower of Terror (Disney California Adventure)	2004	75	87.88
New Orleans Square	1966	15	101.86
Haunted Mansion (Disneyland)	1969	17	103.41
Expedition Everest (Disney's Animal Kingdom)	2006	100	109.73
Pirates of the Caribbean (Disneyland)	1967	17	111.58
Mission: SPACE (Epcot)	2003	108	128.92
Disneyland	1955	17	137.5
New Tomorrowland (60s) (Disneyland)	1967	22	144.4
Splash Mountain (Disneyland)	1989	85	152.33
Tower of Terror (Tokyo DisneySea)	2006	160	175.57
Indiana Jones Adventure (Disneyland)	1995	125	180.32
Pooh's Hunny Hunt (Tokyo Disneyland)	2000	150	192.47
Tower of Terror (Disneyland Paris)	2007	180	192.62
Tower of Terror (Disney's Hollywood Studios)	1994	140	207.36
Journey to the Center of the Earth (Tokyo DisneySea)	2001	200	248.22
Walt Disney Studios Paris	2002	500	611
Disney California Adventure	2001	700	868.76
Disney's Animal Kingdom	1998	800	1071
Disney California Adventure Overhaul	2007	1100	1177
Disneyland Resort Expansion	2001	1400	1737.5
Disneyland Paris Park	1992	2000	3132
Tokyo DisneySea	2001	3000	3723
Disneyland Paris Resort	1992	4000	6264

Incluing

2010-08-13T14:16:00.001+01:00

Incluing is a type of exposition used in world building which creates the idea of a larger world backstory beyond what guests are able to access. Consider the scene in the original Star Wars film in which Obi-Wan Kenobi tells Luke Skywalker about his father;

LUKE: No, my father didn't fight in the wars. He was a navigator on a spice freighter.
BEN: That's what your uncle told you. He didn't hold with your father's ideals. Thought he should have stayed here and not gotten involved.
LUKE: You fought in the Clone Wars?

In just a few lines of dialogue, a few throwaway comments have created a flurry of information and questions about this created world. What are star freighters and where are they carrying spice to? What is spice and where does it come from? What were his father’s ideals? How did he get involved? What were the Clone Wars? Where did they take place? Who was fighting and who won?

These never get answered within the film, and that’s the very point – they needn’t, and even shouldn’t, be answered. For one, they strengthen the idea that these are real people, talking about real things, with real shared knowledge. Awkward exposition is not crammed in just to inform the audience: these two characters already know about what’s gone on because they’re living amongst it, or so it seems.

And yet this is generally just good writing and style – a second function of incluing does much more. Incluing is one of the critical elements of experience based attractions like the Haunted Mansion and Pirates of the Caribbean, as it provides the starting points and hooks for the guests imagination to create their own story around them. We’re not given an explanation why the Ghost Host hung himself from the rafters in the gallery. We aren’t told who the mysterious bride is. It isn’t revealed to us where the dozens of doors in the corridors lead to, why the party is going on or who the many ghosts and ghouls were in their mortal state: the guest is allowed to let their imagination run wild and fill in these details on their own. Perhaps the bride was a black widow murderess, or perhaps she was a heartbroken fiancée jilted at the altar. By crafting these stories themselves, the guests have even more of an emotional connection to the material.

All the unexplained puzzle pieces create a sense of wonder and mystery about the location, as if we are only glimpsing into an entire world. The upstairs windows of Main Street and drifting noises of dentist visits and music lessons bring the place to life even if we know none of the details – we can imagine an entire community bustling in and out of the buildings around us.

One of the criticisms of the 2006 update of Pirates of the Caribbean, which added Captain Jack Sparrow and other elements of the popular film series into the classic attraction, was that it took away the mysteries that had hooked guests for decades. Instead of speculating at who this rowdy crew was, why they were seeking out the treasure, what the mysterious curse was and many other questions, everything was provided on a plate; they were seeking Jack Sparrow, and the curse was from the Chest of Cortez. Dead men tell no tales … but there were no questions left to ask.

One of the big problems with the original version of Disney’s California Adventure Park was the massive overuse of puns in places where incluing would have massively added to the park’s story. Rather than truly represent the richness of California with appropriate attractions and activities, the Imagineers had paid lip service to the golden state through a barrage of cheap puns.

Disney California Adventure Puns

A Sweet Shop Named Desire, Award Wieners, Baker's Field Bakery, Ben Hair, Bur-r-r Bank Ice Cream, California Screamin', Catch A Flave, Dial M For Muscle, Earborne Popcorn, Engine Ears Toys, Excess Braggage, Floral Canyon, Gone With the Chin, La Brea Carpets, Laod Bhang's Pin Traders, MaliBOOMer, Man Hat n' Beach, New Haul Fishery, Phil M. Noir Private Detective, Philip A. Couch Casting Agency, Pizza Oom Mow Mow, Schmoozies, Souvenir Itch, Taste Pilot's Grill
The result was that instead of transporting guests to fantastic locations across California, from the national parks, to the wine valleys, to a seaside amusement park to Hollywood by immersing themselves like a film in a created reality, the guests were bombarded with joke after joke so that rather than feel like a real place, they highlighted the artificiality of the place: no-one lives and works in that upstairs detective agency… it was just a joke. The opportunity to hint at a phantom sleuth diligently working at cracking the case of the stolen Hollywood jewels was lost.

Of course there’s a balance; too much incluing and the guests become lost in a world they don’t understand, constantly feeling out of the loop amongst references to places and events they’ve never heard of. Similarly this does not mean a pun should not appear amongst signage and storefronts; they are a key part of Imagineering’s intellectually silly humour, but are much better when balanced into the atmosphere of its location and sprinkled about the park in moderation.

Home Videos: My First Trip to Disneyland Paris, Collection 1

2010-07-14T16:54:00.002+01:00

Here's something a little fun. These home videos show my very first visit to Disneyland Paris (and to any Disney park) and have some really nice glimpses at the park in its first year of operation.

Monsieur Mickey: An investigation into French cultural policy circa 1990, and state involvement in Euro Disneyland

2010-07-08T17:00:00.000+01:00

Following on from my dissertation, here is another essay I wrote on Disney whilst studying for my BA. Written for a class on Cultural Policy, it considers Euro Disney as a permanent Worlds Fair style mega-event after a failed bid for the 1992 Olympic Games, undertaken for a range of economic reasons, but which uniquely compromised French national identity through state-funded American cultural imperialism. It was awarded a First.

Monsieur Mickey
An investigation into French cultural policy circa 1990,
and state involvement in Euro Disneyland
Click to download
An extract:

This essay will explore French cultural policies in the late 1980s and early 1990s in regards to the difficult economic situation the country was struggling with. It will investigate how a failed bid to host the Olympics led to a vigorous campaign to play home to the first European Disney resort and secure the economic guarantees it would bring. Yet in a country where America-fuelled cultural protectionism was significant, and where worries about cultural dilution were widespread, it will explore the cultural policies enacted by the French government to secure domestic culture. These events present a fascinating scenario in which a nationally protective cultural policy had to be compromised for economic security through the construction of a contemporary World’s Fair style project; where a mega-event was not reinforcing national culture, but compromising it.

Throughout the 1980s, France’s economic situation was grim. Suffering through a Europe-wide depression, unemployment rates had been hovering at around 10% throughout the decade , foreign exchange revenues were low as the value of the Franc stagnated , and France was simultaneously battling to ensure its economic and political significance in an emerging European collective. In 1982, socialist Francois Mitterrand assumed the French presidency and advocated a neo-liberal approach to the economy - the corporatization of French industry, encouraging private business to fix the French economy, and renouncing the practice of dirigisme – strong governmental economic control, a transnational trend Raymond Williams identifies as the product of the globalization of capitalism and the threat of a renewed Cold War.

The French government recognised that the cultural and nationalistic value of a mega-event would boost the economy and alleviate the country’s problems, and began an ardent campaign to host the 1992 Olympic Games. Preceding Games had shown the economic and social benefits of hosting, but it was announced in 1985 that the country had come second to Barcelona. At the same time, the Walt Disney Company announced its intention to build a European theme park resort, narrowing the potential location down to either France or Spain. Here was a unique opportunity to replicate the economic advantages of the Olympics; jobs, tourist dollars, purpose for massive infrastructure programmes, and even the prestige of Europe’s premier vacation resort would be afforded to France, reinforcing France’s position as a major European player and destination for tourists throughout the continent and its notion of grandeur – French cultural value. The project would gain international attention not just for a year as with the Olympics, but for decades to come. The total cost of EuroDisney would be estimated at $7.5 billion – almost double the price of the 1992 Barcelona Olympics.

The government organised a determined campaign to ensure the Disney resort came to France, just as they had done for their failed Olympic bid. France was presented as being the heart of Europe, both geographically and culturally and convinced Disney to go ahead in France. Yet there was a crucial difference; the Olympics were used by their host country as a demonstration of that country’s culture and international prestige. Since the 1960 Rome Olympics, the Games were recognised for their influence on the city , a motivation for civic improvement projects and an advertisement internationally for the host. Disney was American, and in a country fiercely protective against encroaching Americanization, it was a compromised solution.

To read the whole piece, please click here to download it. Comments very welcome!

A Disney World: Globalization and the Walt Disney Company

2010-07-07T20:30:00.000+01:00

Following on from my dissertation, here is another essay I wrote on Disney whilst studying for my BA. Written for a class on Globalization, it uses Disney to explain some of the concepts of a 'shrinking world', with specific focus on tourism. It was awarded a First.

A Disney World
Globalization and the Walt Disney Company
Click to download
An extract:

Global tourism is perhaps the most obvious manifestation of a shrinking world to the western citizen, allowing short term travel to almost any part of the world; ostensibly an avenue for greater social and cultural awareness and understanding. No longer the domain of the ultra-wealthy with increasingly cheaper flights, vacations may now last only a couple of days, rather than the month long tours of past centuries. Disposable income and increased leisure time have empowered the western citizen to travel beyond national borders cheaply and easily. Disney operates the world’s largest vacation resort: Walt Disney World in Orlando, Florida, as well as operating the top eight most visited theme parks worldwide (TEA, 2010), dominating the leisure tourism market. It is significant to recognise that of all the world’s offerings, so many choose to vacation at Disney resorts, perhaps betraying the cultural ambassadorship ideals of global travel. More dramatically, tourism is very often a luxury unaffordable to the majority, even in richer countries – especially regular international travel. Consequently, the few major trips people undertake, such as the religious pilgrimage, often solely reinforces one’s own culture. For some commentators, the ‘once-in-a-lifetime’ vacation to Disney is “the major middle-class pilgrimage centre in the United States” (Fjellman, 1992, p.10) - the contemporary religious experience, reinforcing Western ideals of capitalism, consumerism and the nuclear family.

The withering of the nation-state, and the growth of the transnational manifests itself through globalization. Disney’s power is dramatic, able to pressure governments of even major countries. When Disney first decided to build a central Asian resort, the company negotiated sites in China, South Korea, Singapore and India before settling on Hong Kong (TNF, 2010). Disney was able to play off countries against one-another in order to secure the greatest financial benefit for Disney, a strategy previously exercised in Europe (primarily between France and Spain) for EuroDisney (Lainsbury, 2000), and before that in California between the city councils of Anaheim and Long Beach for their second California park (Blue Sky Disney, 2007). In Hong Kong, Disney was able to secure a 43% stake in the resort, despite contributing less than 20% of the constructing costs (Balfour, 2009) due to the enormous tourist boost Disney would guarantee (Hong Kong, 1999).

McDisneyization is the term directed at the proliferation of Disney resorts, each of which largely conform to the same design, share attractions and are rarely adapted for local culture . Disney’s exportation of it’s classically Americana parks have had varying reactions around the world, yet are coupled with regular financial success. Disneyland’s first international iteration, Tokyo Disneyland, began its concept design as something tailored specifically for the Japanese audience, only for this to be rejected by the Japanese client who, motivated by the Japanese fascination with America, wanted a distinctly American park (Fjellman, 1992). In the end, only one attraction, Meet the World, would be based on Japan. The second international resort however, EuroDisneyland, was subject to a number of directives given by the French government, fiercely protective of their French identity yet desperately requiring the economic boost Disney would provide. All language would be in French first; one attraction would be exclusively about France; and French influence would be seen throughout the design (for example a Statue of Liberty diorama portraying the historic links between France and America) (Littaye & Ghez, 2006). Nevertheless, America was dominant, seen through the inclusion of ‘Main Street USA’ and the Wild West based ‘Frontierland’. Hong Kong Disneyland received token influence from Chinese customs, such as the involvement of a feng shui practitioner advising design (Holson, 2005), yet no Asian influence can be seen in the product.

To read the whole piece, please click here to download it. Comments very welcome!

Disneyland Aesthetics: The Co-development of Disney Theme Parks and Film; and Analysis of Theme Parks through Film Theory, a Dissertation

2010-07-06T14:53:00.000+01:00

As part of my final year of university study, I was required to write a dissertation on a subject of my choice; for which I chose Disneyland. I am proud to be able to say that after many months of hard work, my 11,000 word paper, with 7,000 more words of additional content, earned me First Class Honours (the highest UK award) and contributed towards me graduating as Valedictorian. I can now share my work with those that may find it of interest.

Disneyland Aesthetics
The Co-development of Disney Theme Parks and Film;
and Analysis of Theme Parks through Film Theory
Click to download
The abstract:

This dissertation examines the creative and aesthetic links between Hollywood cinema and contemporary theme parks, with specific focus on Disneyland. By examining the history of the industries, I identify the impacts each has had upon the other, with particular focus on synergy, and then use this to support the assertion that film theory can be used to creatively analyse theme parks and their attractions, supported by a case study example of the Pirates of the Caribbean attraction at Disneyland. Data has been collected from literature concerning both film theory and theme parks, field research, quantitative analysis of Disneyland’s attractions, newspapers, articles and an interview conducted by myself with Eddie Sotto, former Vice President of Concept Development at Walt Disney Imagineering. The dissertation recognises the creative, cultural, economic and technological impacts of Disney theme parks, justifying them as credible creative texts, and then finds success in applying key film theory, including the frame, mise-en-scene and the three act structure, to Disneyland, additionally identifying new criteria of analysis specific to the medium. I then conclude by highlighting the trends which are currently leading the theme park industry away from film, increasingly incorporating techniques of video gaming to differentiate from the rise of immersive 3D cinema.

I will also include an extract from the third chapter, 'Dissecting Disneyland':

Criteria of Analysis

With the grounding in film, and the exportation of film techniques such as studio backlot design, the notion of perspective, and the notion of immersion, it stands to reason that ways of analysing the creative qualities of film may be applied to Disneyland attractions. I wish to focus on two; mise-en-scene, and the three act structure.

Mise-en-scene is perhaps the more obvious of the two concepts. Following from its identification in the theatre, theme park show scenes can be quite obviously seen as sets, populated by audio-animatronic actors, and analysed as such. Many of Disneyland’s larger attractions are quite literally housed in soundstages .

Sets

Most of Disney’s sets are built under scale, in the style of storybook realism – they are realistic, but a representation of what we would optimistically remember, hope or imagine a place to be like, not as how they actually are or were. Classic movie tricks such as forced perspective, trompe l’oeil and matte painting are utilised - a layering which has come to be known as ‘stratification’ – a “method of stacking elements of design so that they appear to recede endlessly into space” . This is demonstrated for example in New Orleans Square, where the under-scale masts of a sailing ship are visible peeking above a rooftop, giving the illusion that a full sized port lies just beyond the building .

Imagineer Marc Davis emphasised movement in the sets, which he called animation, to bring the scene to life and push it beyond a static diorama, perhaps appropriating the effects used in Victorian panoramas and myrioramas to give the illusion of life. Restaging notes for the cave scenes in Tokyo’s Pirates of the Caribbean demonstrate this;

Necklace … should be made out of very light material. […] Beads should swing with air movement. Light scene so jewels sparkle (fibre-optics, mirrored ball – or any other way to give the scene animation).
Practically, the sets are almost interchangeable with movie sets – wooden, fibreglass or concrete constructions dressed only on one side to look like their intended surface; rock face, brick wall and so on. Imagineering includes two specific disciplines for this, ‘character plaster’ and ‘character paint’ (referring to giving character to a construction), which produce “the hard finishes in the park that mimic other materials”, including aging .

Actors

The idea of the actor and the character becomes uniquely blurred when applied to an attraction. First are the Cast Members, who, as explained in the section on performative labour, are expected to support the theme – for example, greeters at the cowboy Big Thunder Mountain will welcome guests with a “Howdy, pardner!”

Once on the attractions themselves, the actor role is often taken by the animatronics – lifelike robots designed as caricatured figures synchronised with audio dialogue so as to seem realistic. Justifying their assignation as actors, I would refer to the similar motion-capture technology used for films such as Disney’s A Christmas Carol , in that an Imagineer will record the movements that the figure will later repeat . As such, there is a human performance, both physically and from the voice-over artist.

The third possible category, more character than actor, but which should not be overlooked, is the guests themselves – as they are clearly people viewable within the three-dimensional frame of each other guest’s experience. Just as seeing a contemporary family walk along the riverbanks of the 1951 African Queen would massively impact the emotional and storytelling aesthetic of the film, Imagineering goes to huge lengths to create realistic fantasy worlds only to have people in Mickey Mouse clothing walk through them. The effect is that perhaps the environments can never be truly convincing. When tasked with designing a Space Pavilion for Epcot, Eddie Sotto deliberately avoided creating a space station environment as he felt the presence of guests and fire exits would dominate the illusion. This handicap to convince is not necessarily bad however, as Disney is not intending true realism and emphasises the fantasy of its worlds, creating an arguably stylised mix of environment and crowd which helps define the Disney experience (which I will explore later). The guests in fact add hugely to the dynamism, kinetics and mood of the park - apparent to the few that have wandered a deserted Disneyland, frequently describing the absence of other people as ‘spooky’.

Costumes & Props

Variations exist between the costumes of the Cast Members and the animatronics. On a ride like Pirates of the Caribbean, for example, the animatronics are dressed in realistic pirate costume; appropriate to the setting, with accurate fabrics and colours, including dirt and rips as appropriate. Their intention is to imply a world of real pirates. Props, such as treasure maps in Pirates of the Caribbean, instruments in the Haunted Mansion or traps in Splash Mountain are also included, often stylised to match their setting.

Cast Members however wear much more simplistic pirate costumes, generally with no more than three or four variations amongst the entire staff working the attraction. Whilst this is no doubt an effect of the laundry and uniform requirements of the park, the costumes are nevertheless made up of more childlike, primary colours and all Cast Members are required to wear a name badge. The result of this is a stylized costume transition between the amalgamative fancifulness of Disneyland, and the Hollywood realism of the attraction.

Disney is so strict with the story effect of Cast Member costumes that Cast Members dressed in the costume of one land are not allowed to walk through another land, barring exceptions for parade and firework control . Walt Disney World took this even further by constructing underground tunnels, called Utilidors, beneath the park to allow Cast Members to move about without disrupting the above theme.

If you are interested, please click here to download it. Any comments would be very much appreciated!

The Kingdom Forgotten By Time!

2010-07-04T16:37:00.001+01:00

Deep in the jungles of South America, 1935.

Explorers and adventurers are returning with tales of a land time forgot and where dinosaurs still walk the earth! Undisturbed by humankind, these monsters of the past live in peace on a huge volcanic plateau heretofore inaccessible.

But now, the Primeval World Ballooning Co. is offering mere tourists the chance to glimpse at these magnificent monsters from the basket of a hot air balloon. In a jungle clearing at the base of the dinosaur plateau, guests find the Primeval World Ballooning Co. has set up shop, titillating guests with posters, fossils and drawings of the creatures they will soon discover in 'The Kingdom Forgotten By Time!'.

The guests board their hot air balloons and rapidly ascend inside a fissure in the mountainside. As they emerge, a wondrous site beholds them; a magnificent panoramic vista across the dinosaur kingdom! Their balloon floats amongst the sights; dinosaurs at a watering hole, herds of beasts running across the plains, and a primeval landscape beyond of virgin jungles, volcanoes and mountains.

But wait! The earth shakes violently and black smoke billows from the volcano! It’s erupting, and violent winds toss and turn the balloon through the darkening sky! In the storm of falling rock, the balloon is hit, severing the guests from their transportation and sending their basket careening into the jungle!

Falling through the trees, the basket finally lands on thick branches high up in the canopy, the burst balloon now hanging in tatters across the leaves. A family of pterodactyl is fiercely guarding its nest full of eggs from a marauding T-Rex right in front of them! The T-Rex is startled by the guests and roars angrily, the sound alone knocking the basket from the canopy and sending it tobogganing down the mountainside – the ferocious T-Rex footsteps chasing behind!

The basket skids into another clearing, where a huge stegosaurus is feeding! It swings its enormous tail, hitting the basket and catapulting the guests out of the jungle, where they land precariously on the edge of a ravine! On the rock face in front of the guests, they can see the T-Rex shadow emerging from the forest and violently knocking down trees in its hunt for the guests! One of those trees lands in front of the guests, tipping the basket and sending it sliding across the ravine – until the tree snaps and the basket falls into the gushing river!

The basket bobs amongst the rapids, sailing into a lagoon of brontosaurus then a garden of gigantic insects and carnivorous plants along the riverbank, snapping at the guests! The basket sails into dark cave and finds itself in an ice cavern; sabre-toothed tigers watching the guests intently. But that’s not all there is to worry about! The T-Rex can be seen through the transparent ice walls, trying to break through and shattering the rocks all around!

As the cave begins to collapse, the basket floats into a steamy minefield of violent geysers, spewing boiling water high into the air! The guests soon find out what’s causing them as they are blown into the air by a giant waterspout and land on a piece of rock floating in a river of lava! The guests are inside the volcano!

Jostled and bumped on the glowing torrent of molten rock, the guests float beneath a giant ribcage from some perished behemoth, their first sign they are in … a dinosaur graveyard! There are skeletons and bones all around them, scavenged by raptors! But the worst is yet to come, at the centre of the cavern, now seen in full for the first time, is the T-Rex! It towers above them, thrashing and lashing out with its claws and teeth - a beast at the centre of a hellish volcanic inferno!

But wait – a pterodactyl swoops at the T-Rex, startling it! And another! And another! It is the pterodactyl family the guests saved from the T-Rex. With the T-Rex distracted, one pterodactyl lands on the basket itself, picking it up with its claws and carrying it out of the volcano and out of the reaches of the vicious T-Rex!

Soaring above the primeval landscape once more, the guests take one last look at a world unable to be tamed by man, crisscrossed with rivers of water and lava. The basket is carried back to safety at the base of the plateau, where the pterodactyl drops the basket and flies off. The guests have survived their encounter with dinosaurs!

The Kingdom Forgotten By Time! uses state of the art Kuka arm technology to take guests into an exciting pulp adventure to a land of dinosaurs. Brand new innovations include the use of Soarin' style screens to create the illusion of soaring over the primeval world and the use of vehicle elevators to add height and simulate falls within the attraction, but the attraction must surely be recognised for its changing ride vehicles:

Guests begin their journey with a fake balloon canopy above their heads, which disappears out of view on a retractable arm. Later, when the pterodactyl picks up the guests, a simple animatronic is spun around so guests can see themselves actually being carried.

With its blending of pulp adventure, new technology and fantastically immersive environments, this attraction is sure to cause a ROAR!

Dissecting Disney's Lands - Complete Series

2010-06-13T00:28:00.000+01:00

I have now completed my Dissecting Disney's Lands series, an exploration of the themes and subthemes that populate Disney Magic Kingdom-style parks worldwide that has reached over 10,000 words - I certainly didn’t expect it to become this expansive!

Dissecting Disney's Lands Part 1: Adventureland

Dissecting Disney's Lands Part 2: Frontierland

Dissecting Disney's Lands Part 3: Fantasyland

Dissecting Disney's Lands Part 4: Tomorrowland

Dissecting Disney's Lands Part 5: Main Street USA

I hope it has been a worthwhile read, and I want to send my thanks to those that have taken the time to email me and share their thoughts and compliments. I sincerely appreciated each one - they really helped motivate me to continue this. I also want to thank Jan Vincent for her wonderful Jan’s World Disney website – specifically for the list of land attractions, which has been wonderfully useful in compiling this. I have no doubt I will return to this in time, so if you have any comments and suggestions, please contact me!

Dissecting Disney's Lands: Main Street USA

2010-06-13T00:22:00.000+01:00

Dissecting Disney's Lands: Tomorrowland

2010-06-04T22:21:00.000+01:00

On the opening of Disneyland back in 1955, Walt was able to introduce each of his fantastic lands in just a few sentences each. But as they’ve grown, and even when they first opened, their component themes are incredibly wide ranging; an eclectic collage of ideas and settings grouped loosely by their land’s title. In this series, I hope to break down these sub-themes (their settings both in location and in time) to better understand how to lands come together as a cohesive whole.

"A vista into a world of wondrous ideas, signifying man's achievement. A step into the future with predictions of constructive things to come. Tomorrow offers new frontiers in science, adventure, and ideals, the atomic age, the challenge of outer space and the hope for a peaceful and unified world."

“Now it is time for a preview of the World of Tomorrow. We step into the future and find fantastic atomic-powered machines working for us. The world is unified and peaceful. Outer space is the new frontier. We walk for a time among the strange mechanical wonders of tomorrow, and then blast off on a rocket to the Moon."

Disneyland

At it’s opening, Tomorrowland contained twelve attractions – the most of all the lands – but had the least amount of money spent on it. Instead, Walt made the show space available to outside companies willing to receive exposure in the park instead. This heavy involvement of corporations including American Motors, Monsanto, Dutch Boy Paint and Richfield Oil, and the appropriate favourable light that was consequently shone upon them, established the first theme of Disney’s Tomorrowland; Corporate Benevolence – the American economic system and the benevolence of the corporation (a benevolence the public would lose trust in as corporate scandals appeared in the succeeding decades).

But these corporate pavilions were specifically chosen to further the message of Tomorrowland. The Aluminium Hall of Fame, Dutch Boy Color Gallery and The World Beneath Us each demonstrated the wonders of invention, whilst the Monsanto Hall of Chemistry explained the inner workings of the physical world. The theme demonstrated was that of Science & Technology.

One of the most popular of the Tomorrowland attractions, the Autopia, intended to introduce the wonders of the highway system to guests of all ages – a prototype of the weaving motorways that would soon crisscross America. Combined with the short lived Phantom Boats, and even the hands on miniatures of Hobbyland and the Flight Circle, the next theme is revealed; Transportation, and the strides made in opening up the entire world to its population - discovering quicker, safer and more luxurious ways to traverse continents, or even solving the infrastructure problems of every home city.

Perhaps at the farthest end of this theme lies Tomorrowland’s centrepiece theme. Fuelled by the rocketry advances of the previous decade, eyes were set on the stars above and Disneyland was going to make that possible. While Frontierland represented the frontiers of the past, Tomorrowland would represent the frontiers still to be conquered; none more evident than Space. Rocket to the Moon and Space Station X-1 (the Satellite View of America) would quench this curiosity years before mankind would escape Earth’s atmosphere.

Another attraction was 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea; a walk through the sets and props of the popular live action Disney motion picture. While the events of the film were used to dramatic effect, the emphasis was not upon convincing guests they were transported to Nemo’s nautical realm – it was on the special effects and skills involved in movie production. This theme was Film, not in the Hollywoodland sense of glitz and illusion that would be represented in Disney’s studio theme parks, but of the hard processes and technological underpinnings of the medium. Another attraction, Circarama (later known as Circle-Vision 360) would further this theme; emphasising the brand new technology that makes surround cinema possible.

As well as this, there was the display running through the heart of Tomorrowland – the Court of Flags, a display of all 48 American state flags, with the stars and stripes for the United States as a whole. Just as in Frontierland and Main Street USA, Tomorrowland too took the theme of Patriotism.

But of all Tomorrowland, there was one overarching theme; utopianism – the idea that everything will be better in the future through technology and understanding, providing us with the safety, efficiency and increased recreation time that tomorrow will bring. Tomorrowland is the physical manifestation of the futurist cartoon shorts of the time such as Magic Highways USA and Destination Earth.

As Tomorrowland expanded, so to would its existing themes. The Corporation would be reinforced with the fashion pavilions of Monsanto, and the Crane Company’s Bathroom of Tomorrow would push forward the theme of Science & Technology, later including the wonderful Adventures Thru Inner Space. Film would be represented with the Art of Animation; Transportation with the Skyway and Viewliner, and Space with the Astro Jets and, introducing a more whimsical view of outer space, the Flying Saucers.

It was 1959 brought Tomorrowland’s first major additions. The Matterhorn (later moved to Fantasyland), the Submarine Voyage and the Monorail were all opened within a short duration of one-another. Whilst the Monorail clearly pushed the Transportation theme, the Matterhorn emphasised the idea of new Frontiers; this time the unconquerable extremes of Earth’s mountains. The Submarine Voyage, both a unique transportation itself, but also an exploration of the mysteries of the deep oceans, sat somewhere in between.

But it would be Transportation that would hold the most significant sway over Walt’s future Tomorrowland. As his interest in city planning grew (culminating in the Epcot project), Walt began to investigate new forms of transportation that would feature in Disneyland. As well as the Monorail, the Junior Autopia, Skyway, Viewliner, and PeopleMover were all added since opening – each presented as possible solutions to future transportation problems. Transportations representation was so important that the New Tomorrowland would be dubbed ‘the World on the Move’.

This direction would last until the mid 1970s, marked by the departure of the Carousel of Progress to Walt Disney World. With the opening of Space Mountain, Mission to Mars and the opening of the Starcade and Space Stage, the new dominant theme of Tomorrowland would be Space. Patriotism would be reaffirmed with America Sings, despite much criticism it was out of theme with the land.s As the second generation Imagineers came forward however, they realised Disney was lacking in source material for this new direction. Led by Tony Baxter, Disney joined forces with director George Lucas to bring the perhaps now iconic theme of Tomorrowland to the park; Sci-fi. In time, this theme would expand more and more; with Captain EO, “Honey, I Shrunk the Audience” and the Jedi Training Academy to come, amongst others. At times, some of the original themes would return; the American Space Experience would return the wonders of Space; Innoventions would rekindle Science & Technology in a new way more in line with trades expos.

Through the 1990s, Tomorrowland had an identity problem. Inspired by the success of Disneyland Paris’s Discoveryland, attempts were made to move Disneyland to a retro, bronze and copper design with a fusion of neo-agrarian ideas as well.. Not steampunk, but not recognisably anything else either, the retheme seems to have stumbled to a lack of funds, and just a few shorts years later was almost entirely undone.

The latest unique theme, however, would belong to Pixar. Compelled by the studio’s
popularity to have representation in the park, but out of place in any of the other lands, Pixar took root in Tomorrowland – at first with the retro sci-fi of Buzz Lightyear Astro Blasters, which (if the toy theme is downplayed) could fit in Tomorrowland’s sci-fi range of attractions, and then with Finding Nemo Submarine Voyage. It’s contemporary setting and immersive cartoon world seems out of place with Tomorrowland’s past, but its transition placement between Fantasyland and Tomorrowland, and pure enjoyability give it a pass for most people.

Magic Kingdom

In Florida, the Tomorrowland stayed in close step with its west coast sister park. Opening in 1971, the Tomorrowland took the dominant theme of the time and ran with it; Space. The themes of the Corporation, Science & Technology, Film and Transportation were almost entirely gone, barring the eventual inclusion of the WEDWay PeopleMover. The new Space theme, seemingly inspired by the film 2001: A Space Odyssey released a few years before, used huge, clean, white expanses. It was a place of monolithic towers, spires and scientific realism; a view of what a space-age society might live like, but in a distinctly Hollywood way.

Tomorrowland’s major revision came in 1994, when the land was entirely transformed into an intergalactic spaceport. This new headquarters for the League of Planets is science-fiction as seen through 1940’s comic strips: Pulp - a place of Buck Rogers, Flash Gordon, robots and flying saucer aliens where “robots perform household chores, ice cream comes from the Milky Way, and a trip through time is as common as a spin around the solar system.” One of the most unique attractions of this new Tomorrowland was the ExtraTERRORestrial Alien Encounter, one of the projects supervised by George Lucas. Uncharacteristically scary, this attraction was criticised by some as un-Disney. In sharp contrast to Tomorrowland’s origins, combined with Captain EO’s equally barren world, the theme of the Dystopia became part of Tomorrowland – at least in a Hollywood sense.

Pixarification too would influence Tomorrowland. Pixar’s Monsters Inc. would be the source for the Monsters Inc. Laugh Floor Comedy Club. The Imagineers were clever in the way they included this attraction; the Tomorrowland technology supposedly transports you to the world of monsters.

Tokyo Disneyland

Tokyo Disneyland took a distinctly more urban direction when designing its Tomorrowland, but is otherwise very similar to Walt Disney World’s. As a one off, Tokyo’s Tomorrowland included Meet the World, a Carousel of Progress style attraction chronicling the history of Japan – for its market, this was a unique take on Patriotism.

Disneyland Paris

Disneyland Paris has the most unique of all the Tomorrowlands. Now called Discoveryland, it takes as its inspiration some of the past’s greatest visionaries of the future; from Leonardo da Vinci to George Lucas, and most heavily Jules Verne. The result is a type of science fiction known as steampunk; how the world would look if Victorian era technology was used to power airships, rocketships, computers and various other modern and future technology. From launching to the Moon in a giant ballistic cannon, to the giant zeppelin suspended over the land, and Nemo’s submarine emerging above the waters, Discoveryland has a wonderful blending of the past and future.

Hong Kong Disneyland

Hong Kong Disneyland’s Tomorrowland, while small, has a cohesive theme throughout. Here, the retro science fiction clichés are presented in a childlike and whimsical away, recognising the parks inability to compete with the truly futuristic city of Hong Kong just minutes away.

Conclusion

Before I conclude, I want to point out just how much of Tomorrowland is taken from the past, perhaps to the degree that Time Travel should be included as its own theme. From the Carousel of Progress’s overview of the past century, to time travel rides like De Temps en Temps, Tomorrowland uses examples of the past to demonstrate where the future might take us.

Tomorrowland has perhaps the busiest history of all of the main lands; a past weaving through no less than three radical overhauls and consistently putting pressure on the Imagineer designers to always keep a grip on the ‘Tomorrowland Problem’ – how do you represent Tomorrow when it’s always catching up with you? Tomorrowland’s origins can be pinpointed quite directly: Tomorrowland is Walt’s interpretation of the popular World’s Fairs of the time which inspired and enthused him, and which he too himself played a hand in, contributing four attractions to the later 1964 World’s Fair in New York. Tomorrowland would be a demonstration to guests of the wonders of the future; but various things – funding requirements, pop culture fads, cost prohibitive upkeep and more – would influence and bend the original motivation into something entirely unique. To some, Tomorrowland is a demonstration ground for next generation technology, city planning solutions and optimistic futurism. To others, it is the exciting world of science fiction – a place of aliens, robots, Buck Rogers and Luke Skywalker. And still to others there are problems of ‘Pixarfication’, or worst still the dilution of Tomorrowland into ‘the land of attractions that don’t fit anywhere else’. Its true location is somewhere in the middle of all that - a strange blending of abstract concepts like corporate benevolance and utopianism with real future technology and pure science fiction and fantasy. Increasingly, it is the third category that is taking over, concentrating on the sci-fi escapism that Hollywood loves. Breaking it down, Tomorrowland is made up of;

- Science & Technology
- Corporate Benevolence
- Transportation
- Utopianism
- Frontiers (Oceans and Mountains)
- Patriotism
- Film
- Space
- Sci-fi
          - Pulp
          - Epic Fantasy
          - Dystopianism
          - Steampunk
- Pixar
- Time Travel

The Future

Appropriate to the land, here are some ideas of where future lines of opportunity could lie for Tomorrowland;

- Could other problems in need of solutions be explored? Natural disasters, global warming, oil spills and similar?
- How about a dedicated presence for computers, the Internet and video games on a deeper level than just an arcade?
- Are Superheroes appropriate for Tomorrowland? Too contemporary or fantasy to some, Disney’s acquisition of Marvel seems this may well be a reality in the future.
- What about other frontiers yet to be tamed? The deserts, the arctic poles or beneath the Earth’s surface?
- What about contemporary culture - modern art, postmodernism and similar trends of recent decades in relation to art, architecture and media.
- How about other knowledge; not just Science & Technology, but geography, maths or even music?
- Merging this with Patriotism, would Politics and Democracy work in Tomorrowland – enthusing guests with the democratic system, its strengths and the importance of involvement - or is this more suited to Main Street USA or Liberty Square, or even too controversial for a recreational park?
- Sci-fi literature suggests the genre of Alternative Histories. Similar to steampunk, this could explore what the world would be like if history had gone in a different direction; if the Roman Empire had never collapsed, if Lincoln was never assassinated or if a fantastic future technology became a reality.

Thanks for reading, and I hope you found this interesting. The final part should come soon and complete the series; Main Street USA.

The Incredibles: Omnidroid Attack!

2010-06-04T09:37:00.000+01:00

WARNING!! A rampaging robot has been seen in downtown Metroville leaving damage and destruction throughout the city! Experts have identified it as one of defeated supervillain Syndrome's evil OMNIDROIDS! Can anything stop this artificially intelligent machine? Calling all Supers! Metroville needs you!!

The Incredibles: Omnidroid Attack! is designed as a unique twist on the classic Dumbo spinner; this will be a solid C-ticket attraction with a contemporary theme and a brand new ride experience. Essentially, the ride takes the mechanism of a classic spinner, but attaches a Mad Tea Party style teacup to each of the arms. From this, guests will not only have control vertically of their vehicle, they can also rotate their vehicle on its axis.

The ride is themed to the Omnidroid machine from The Incredibles film. Guests will first see the contraption standing menacingly over rubble and debris, and can then enter the queue made up of yellow police caution tape. Through flash news reports on nearby televisions and a news van in the middle of the queue, guests will be presented with the back-story: this AI controlled machine is one of the many prototype robots Syndrome built as part of Operation Kronos. Despite the supervillain’s death, the creation has escaped and still plans on completing its programmed mission; to destroy Metroville and all Supers!

Mr Incredible has decided the best way to disable the creature: all the guests, as superheroes themselves, will need to climb aboard one of the robots arms (each themed as a different component – sensors, weapons, etc.) and use its controls to shake the construction apart. Rising up out of the ground once the guests are safely seated, the rousing theme of The Incredibles will play as the Omnidroid begins to spin. Using the spin wheel in front of them or the Up and Down control buttons, the guests will begin their task of shutting down the evil machine! Hearing words of encouragement and direction from Mr Incredible himself over their vehicle communicator, the Omnidroid will grow increasingly out of control! For the first time in a spinner attraction, the machine will reverse its revolution direction - spinning backwards! - as its hisses and beeps in frustration. Lasers, smoke and frying circuitry all across its surface will light up until eventually the guests efforts immobilise it and it collapses back to the ground, ready for the guests to exit.

Being more of a thrill ride, this will the first spinner to push beyond the very young target demographic of other spinners and make it something unique. Its theme will be particularly popular with young boys, but the physical thrills and exciting storyline will ensure it will provide enjoyment to guests of all ages.

The attraction will have 16 arms each holding 4 persons for a capacity of 64 people per cycle. With a ride time of just under 90 seconds, this creates a THRC of 2560 people. Each vehicle will be pivoted at the end of its arm to eliminate the leaning of similar spinner attractions – especially important with the Tea Party style lateral forces, and ensuring the safety of the guests. Seatbelts will of course be required. The cost of the attraction should equal the cost of similar spinners; the under construction Jasmine’s Flying Carpets, for example, should cost around $22 million.

The ride could fit in a number of locations in Disney parks worldwide;

- Pixar Place at Disney’s Hollywood Studios could use this attraction to give representation to The Incredibles and add a quick and fun C-ticket attraction to the park which it currently lacks.

- Various other Hollywood themed sections, such as Hollywoodland at Disney California Adventure Park or Walt Disney Studios Paris could include this, emphasising the animation origins.

- The robot concept could even justify it’s placement in a Tomorrowland, either as a replacement or compliment to the existing Rocket Jets style attractions.

- Or it could be included in a brand new superhero themed land, alongside Marvel characters or as an Incredibles themed miniland.

Using a brand new twist on an existing classic, cost effective and with a wildly popular contemporary theme, The Incredibles: Omnidroid Attack! is sure be a BAM! KAPOW! hit.

Backstories: Prince Charming Regal Carrousel

2010-05-26T22:27:00.000+01:00

Here is the cute backstory for the Walt Disney World carousel (one r or two?), which will soon have its name changed from Cinderella's Golden Carrousel.

Prince Charming Regal Carrousel

Following their fairy-tale romance and happily-ever-after wedding, Cinderella and Prince Charming took up residence in Cinderella's Castle. With peace throughout the kingdom, Prince Charming had time to practice for jousting tournaments. In the countryside near the castle, he built a training device of carved horses, on which he could practice the art of ring-spearing, a tournament event in which a knight rides his horse full speed, lance in hand, toward a small ring hanging from a tree limb, with the object of spearing the ring. This event was known by various names throughout the lands, but generally came to be called "carrousel."

The carrousel device drew the attention of the villagers, who wanted to take a turn on this amazing spinning contraption. So Prince Charming had a second carrousel constructed closer to the Castle, where everyone could take a spin on this wondrous invention. Instead of a working knight's training device, however, this new carrousel is more befitting its regal location in the Castle Courtyard - its rustic training horses replaced with ornately decorated prancing steeds adorned with golden helmets and shields, flower garlands, feathers and other festoons. Prince Charming invites one and all to test their horsemanship skills and to enjoy their own happy ending.

Port Disney and DisneySea

2010-05-26T00:34:00.000+01:00

Here are two big updates for The Neverland Files; Port Disney, the ocean themed resort for Long Beach, California and DisneySea, the theme park that would have headlined it.

Theme, Setting and Subject

2010-05-24T17:09:00.000+01:00

I've recently been tackling an interesting issue in theme park theory - the very notion of theme itself. Theme is what separates the theme park from the amusement park, and yet there are a number of issues surrounding it.

Most people think of theme as place and time; so Frontierland's theme is the Wild West, in the mid 19th century, whilst Fantasyland's theme is fairytale Europe, during medieval times. And yet Disney Imagineer Joe Rohde takes the viewpoint that Theme shares a definition with the literary idea of theme - the unifying subject or idea of a work, timeless and unifying ideas such as 'man versus nature', 'moral ambiguity' or 'perseverance'.

And yet despite Joe's arguement that you cannot 'theme' something (it isn't a verb), the popular consciousness has taken it very much that way. If someone holds a 'theme party', you're unlikely to spot costumes representing 'ambition', 'loyalty' or 'suffering' in favor of Superman, Fred Flintstone and a Jedi Knight.

So what word should be used to describe what is currently called theming? Perhaps setting? Main Street is set in a turn of the century American small town, rather than themed to it?

Does that mean it should be called a Setting Park?

Backstories: Condor Flats

2010-05-16T02:20:00.000+01:00

Condor Flats was once a Mecca for pilots and aeronautical innovators. The area brought the California aerospace industry from the beginning of the Age of Aviation to the beginning of the Space Age. Rumor has it the Lockheed Company built some of its top-secret fighters here before moving to Skunkworks and Jack Northrop did the prototype testing of the Flying Wing here.

From the mid-40s to the late 60s the area became the hub of rocket research and jet testing. As the aviation industry moved into more sophisticated jet, rocket and radar research, it moved into more sophisticated headquarters, but the old hanger remained. Slowly, pilots and aviation enthusiasts began to move back to this Mecca of flying. One of the retired experimental pilots from the Flight Test Center's heyday returned and set up Condor Flats Scenic Air Tours in the old motor pool.

And then a group of younger aviation enthusiasts found out that the old test site was still around. The hangar is now home to a new generation of fliers, and their logo stands out among all the faded images of years gone by. This group of dedicated aviators developed a sort of "flying theater", a simulator in which everyone can experience the exhilaration of flying. It was designed by the best young aeronautical minds, and then installed in the revered Condor Flats hangar.

Disneyland Sourcing and Activity 2

2010-05-14T12:17:00.000+01:00

Someone suggested a chart would be a good way of showing the trends apparent through the data, so I created these two diagrams;

There's a big jump in sourced and active attractions in the early 1990s. That's due to the addition of Mickey's Toontown, where almost every attraction is both sourced and active (I think the only exception being the Jolly Trolley). Still, it shows the basing attractions on films is predominantly a 90s phenomenon - it was only two years ago that the number of sourced attractions overtook original ones.

Disneyland Sourcing and Activity

2010-05-13T21:35:00.000+01:00

It seems to me that two of the major issues for ardent Disney fans are the balance between original attractions versus sourced attractions (ie. based on a film or other media property), and increasingly the amount of interactivity (or rather activity versus passivity) in attractions. So what I thought I'd do is create a table of Disney attractions since opening to check out the ratios through Disneyland's history.

The table, which can be found here, includes, I think, every Disneyland attraction - not including shows and fireworks. Some attractions which are different in name only (Big Thunder Ranch Petting Zoo and Little Patch of Heaven Petting Zoo) have been consolidated as one. Active I've defined incredibly broadly as any attraction that involves input from the guest - so yes Buzz Lightyear is active, but so is Dumbo (you pull a lever) and Autopia and so on.

So what does the data tell us?

Sourcing

In Disneyland's history, 69% of attractions have been original and not based on an established media property.

During opening year 1955, 68.6% of attractions were original.

Of all the attractions that came and went during Walt's life, 76.7% were original.

At present, 46.2% of Disneyland's current attractions are original.

Interactivity

In Disneyland's history, 24.8% of attractions have been active.

At opening, 14.3% of attractions were active.

Of all attractions existing until Walt's death, 18.4% were active.

At present, 38.5% of Disneyland's attractions are active.

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So there we go - some data to back-up (or refute!) people's claims. We can see here 'What Walt Did' as well as trends across time. I'm not intending to make any statement here (I'm not meaning to agree or disagree with any 'sourced attractions are bad' or 'interactivity is bad' points of view, or vice versa), I just wanted to contribute something to the debate!

The Disney Decade at Disneyland

2010-05-13T14:10:00.001+01:00

The Disney Decade is one of the most legendary of Imagineering's project. Coming of the success of the Disney-MGM Studios, Michael Eisner announced a bold, ten year plan to boost the Disney park attractions around the world. Unfortunately, the financial difficulties at Disneyland Paris gave the executives cold feet, and despite the huge promotion, the idea was just left to fade away. With my interest in the never built plans of Imagineering, I thought I'd present a runthrough of the Disneyland plans:

1991

Indiana Jones would come to the park, just not in a ride. Instead, young Indy would star in the Young Indiana Jones Adventure Spectacular. Located at the Festival of Fools arena, the entire show would have been performed inside a circus tent with - get this! - the Disneyland Railroad actually running through the tent! Remember the locomotive chase from the beginning of Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade? Disney planned to perform exactly that right inside the tent ... unfortunately, Operations said it would interfere with the Disneyland Railroad passengers too much.

The Muppets would have begun their in-park presense (Disney was expecting to buy them at the time, although Jim Henson's death would delay the purchase by a decade) in Here Come the Muppets, a clone of the show at Disney-MGM Studios which would have been performed in the Videopolis theater.

Only one announced attraction - the Dick Tracy Musical Revue: Diamond Double Cross - would get the greenlight.

1993

The Muppets would continue their park invasion with Kermit the Frog Presents Muppet Vision 3D (note that it's not Jim Henson Presents at this time). Unbelievably, this clone of the Disney-MGM Studios attraction was considered to have been located in the Main Street Opera House, replacing Great Moments With Mr Lincoln. Barring that, the attraction was also planned to have been located in a new land:

Mickey's 65th Birthday would have been celebrated in a year long celebration, including the opening of Mickey's Starland - which we all know as Mickey's Toontown. As well as possibly holding Muppet Vision 3D in its downtown area, Mickey's Starland would additionally have included The Little Mermaid, a clone of the dark ride planned for Disneyland Paris.

1994

The next year would have seen the opening of the legendary Tomorrowland 2055 (named after the 1955 opening date of Disneyland. Overseen by George Lucas, the land would have included Alien Encounter - the same attraction that would open at Walt Disney World, and The Timekeeper, a clone of 'De Temps en Temps' from Disneyland Paris.

Brand new would be Plectu's Fantastic Intergalactic Revue, located in the Carousel of Progress theater, with Battle Droids upstairs.

1996

Dick Tracy's Crimestoppers, a high-speed car chase attraction, would combine "state of the art technology with a classic story from the past".

1999

1999 would expand the Crimestoppers locale into a whole new land - Hollywoodland, headlined with a clone of Disney-MGM Studios' The Great Movie Ride.

Roger Rabbit's Toontown would have been present with the Toontown Trolley simulator attraction and Baby Herman's Runaway Baby Buggy ride, a wild dark ride that probably evolved into Roger Rabbit's Car-Toon Spin. Superstar Television, a green-screen show, would have completed the land.

To conclude this post, here's a video segment featuring some of the mentioned attractions taken from 'The Disneyland Story: 35 Years of Magic':

Disneyland Aesthetics

2010-05-01T15:51:00.001+01:00

Sorry for the lack of updates recently, that would be due to my university course coming to and end, and having to work to meet all my final deadlines. However, these same deadlines should provide some new content in the coming weeks.

Just yesterday I handed in my dissertation project, 'Disneyland Aesthetics', an 11,000 word piece examining whether film aesthetic theory can be applied to the Disney parks. On Wednesday I shall be handing in 'A Disney World', an exploration of globalization and the Walt Disney Company, and shortly after that will be handing in a project examining the cultural impacts of Disneyland Paris. All of these will eventually make their way to this blog, so stay with me!

As for The Neverland Files, I have a lot of new content still to upload (including very, very rare concept art) so stay tuned!

Astronomers Club

2010-04-15T15:08:00.000+01:00

A new update to the Neverland Files - the Astronomers Club, a restaurant seperately planned for the Magic Kingdom and Disneyland Paris, allowing guests to dine in a Victorian observatory with famous astronomers throughout history.

Backstories: Tomorrowland (Magic Kingdom)

2010-04-14T21:11:00.000+01:00

This piece, circa 1993, gives the background story of one of the many Tomorrowland variations. You can tell it's trying hard to tie together the futurism Walt intended and the sci-fi influence that developed. On the subject of Tomorrowland, my Dissecting Disney's Lands piece on it shouldn't be too long away.

Tomorrowland - Headquarters for the League of Planets

At the Walt Disney World Magic Kingdom, Tomorrowland is a community where everyday living is made better through science, invention and inter-galactic influence. Inhabited by robots, space aliens and a few humans, this amazing Earth community is so world-renowned, it was selected as the universal headquarters for the League of Planets.

In Tomorrowland, robots perform household chores, ice cream comes from the Milky Way, and a trip through time is as common as a spin around the solar system. Tomorrowlanders keep up with the latest on and off-world wonders and technologies by visiting the exhibits presented at their neighbourhood Interplanetary Convention and Science Centers.

Those who work and play in and around Rockettower Plaza, the bustling heart of the community, live outside of town in the hoverburbs. They cummute via the Tomorrowland Transit Authority's Superskyway Blueline Express. Locals get all the news before it even happens by subscribing to the Tomorrowland Times.

Today, in this fantasy community of Tomorrow, the future that never was is alive and well.