Imagineering Theory: You're Just Projecting

I am not a big fan of digital projections and similar technology in theme parks.

It's not that it's not cool stuff in itself. I can definitely appreciate the accomplishments of computing and optics required for it to work, and some of its applications are downright stunning. It's thanks to digital projection that we can actually look into the eyes of Mara:

The Buzz Lightyear animatronic in the queue of his ride is pretty sharp, and his mobile face is achieved via LED screen technology:

So this family of technologies definitely has its place. What I dislike about it is the way it seems to be...taking over. Nearly every new attraction being built these days uses screens and/or digital projections in some way, and they have been added to several attractions that didn't previously use them. This would be fine enough if it were a reliable way of improving an attraction, but in practice the results are quite mixed, ranging all the way from “Wow, awesome!” to “Okay, um, why?” and hitting pretty much every point inbetween.

The thing is, there isn't just one reason why these types of effects can be underwhelming. It's actually a tricky realm to navigate, and I hope Imagineering treads carefully in the future so as to avoid the pitfalls and show off their new toy at its best.

As for what those pitfalls are? Read on...

After-Action Report: Mickey's Soundsational Parade

Good evening! Can everyone in the back hear me okay?

Welcome to the first annual presentation of the Marchie Awards! Our purpose tonight is to honor excellence in the art of theme park parades. By an outlandish coincidence, all of our nominees for this ceremony are units in the same parade: Mickey's Soundsational Parade at Disneyland Park, Anaheim, California! Let's meet them! In order of appearance:

See Ya Real Soon: Fantasmic!

Here at the Disneyland Dilettante, I like to categorize my posts. Among numerous others, I have After-Action Reports for discussing currently available attractions and Sentimental Paleontology for my reminiscences about extinct ones. And now, with the Jungle Cruise closed for refurbishment and the Star Wars area under construction, which in turn is causing an 18+ month shutdown of the Rivers of America and the Disneyland Railroad, it seems like a good time to introduce See Ya Real Soon, for all those attractions and features that—for one reason or another—aren't open this week, but will be in the foreseeable future. And what better first example than the prize we got for our patience the last time the river underwent massive changes...the fabulous, the fearsome, the phantasmagorical Fantasmic!?

Buckle up, readers, because it's about to get...personal...

Armchair Imagineering: Bambi’s

(This piece was originally written in 2009 as my entry for an amateur Imagineering contest on deviantART. I've done my best to update it to reflect the current state of California Adventure, but if anything seems awkward...that's why.)

Disneyland Resort offers its guests a broad variety of lunch and dining options, from the fine cuisine and full table service of the Blue Bayou and Ariel’s Grotto to the everyday fare at the Village Haus and Flo's Diner. However, one thing that is so far lacking is a vegetarian restaurant. Vegetarian options exist at most resort eateries, but why should guests who don’t eat meat have to scour every menu in order to find something to their tastes? How can a park resort located in California, and catering primarily to local visitors, lack something as basic to California culture as a vegetarian restaurant?

To fill this gap, I propose Bambi’s, an outdoor, meat-free eatery that not only provides vegetarian guests a place where every menu item is “safe,” but charms its patrons with immersive theming evoking one of Disney’s beloved classic films that, strangely enough, has never been prominently featured in the parks. In short, it fills two gaps at once.