Imagineering Theory: Thinking Beyond “Rides”

This is probably going to be a controversial opinion, but I think theme park fans get too hung up on rides.

No, not attractions. It's not a theme park—or any kind of leisure destination—without attractions. I do mean rides. I think many theme park fans obsess too much over, specifically, the sorts of attractions that physically move you around, to the point where the other sorts are rarely even discussed in the context of worthwhile things to do during a visit. Sometimes it goes further, to a veiled assertion that the more extreme the movement, the objectively “better” the ride is, but for now I'll stick to the simple dichotomy of ride vs. non-ride.

Isn't that nuts? To care only about rides and not about the many other kinds of attractions boasted at Disney theme parks? These places are known for so much more, but when was the last time you saw an Armchair Imagineer (besides me) attempt to design a parade or a show or even just a nice little nook to rest your feet?

Is it just that the potential variety of rides is more obvious? Do people have a hard time thinking up new twists to put on the other categories of attractions? Well, what kind of Dilettante would I be if I didn't have some ideas in that regard?

Parades and Nighttime Shows

I lump these two together because a) they often overlap (Main Street Electrical Parade, anyone?) and b) they do actually tend to get credit for, you know, existing. Plenty of people consider their Disneyland trip incomplete without a parade viewing or the fireworks or perhaps Fantasmic! Oddly enough, however, you still don't see many fanmade concepts for shows of these types. It's pretty easy to understand why no one wants to attempt the likes of Fantasmic! or even World of Color, but why not parades and fireworks? Those are pretty straightforward, especially since something like 90% of them follow a template best summed up as “Here are some movies and/or characters we want to promote right now.”

So maybe the thing to do, then, is try to boost that remaining 10%? Try to invent a parade or fireworks show that's about something. Limit yourself to one broad concept and then pick songs and images that illustrate said concept, arranged in a logical progression. It doesn't have to be in-depth or esoteric—think on the level of Mickey's Soundsational! or “Remember...Dreams Come True.” These shows have been big successes not only because of their overall quality, but because they are focused. Watching them—or even just listening to the soundtracks—is satisfying in a way that watching a more run-of-the-mill show that just throws hip IPs at the wall to see what sticks, might not be.

Characters

Be honest—do you normally think of the costumed characters as a type of attraction? In fact, they're one of the more heavily promoted ones, because they're exclusive brands that no competing theme parks can offer, and because when producing video footage for commercials, it's easier to get good shots of a small child running up to hug Mickey Mouse than of a roller coaster or dark ride in motion.

Love of characters is not limited to small children, of course. When I visit Disneyland I see plenty of adults waiting in line to see them with no one under the age of 15 attached to their party. I'll be honest—it's not something I'm really able to get into for my own enjoyment. I know those are just college students in costumes, and they know I know, so for whose benefit is it if I play along with the fantasy? The children in the queue? I tend to think they'd be happier if I didn't even get in line, so they got to have their magical meet-up that much sooner.

This is not to say that I don't appreciate the characters for what they are. They are the “citizens” of Disneyland, as it were, and after so many years they're part of the gig. Disney theme parks gotta have Disney characters. I do, however, think there is a lot of untapped potential in the concept. What if—hear me out here—what if they paid people to dress up as things other than instantly recognizable movie characters? What if we had some evidence of not just celebrities but actual “citizens,” making the themed lands seem realer and more lived-in? Pirates slinking around New Orleans Square, space explorers resupplying in Tomorrowland, a “college of wizards” who wander around Fantasyland loudly debating magical theories...and try to recruit Merlin to one side or the other if he happens to be about. Let talented improvisers make a name for themselves...for their characters, that is. Even the rank-and-file retail Cast Members could be encouraged to develop personae to go with the land they work in.

How much fun would that be? Granted, they already do this to some extent, mostly in the context of...

Live Entertainment

Credit where credit is due: the lands of Disneyland are populated with appropriately themed performers, from the Dapper Dans on Main Street to the nighttime bands that play at Tomorrowland Terrace, from the Bootstrappers near Pirates of the Caribbean to the Pearly Band, cycling between Main Street and Fantasyland like Mary Poppins jumping in and out of a chalk drawing. Across the Esplanade, Buena Vista Street alone has two highly themed musical acts: the Red Car Newsboys and Five And Dime...to say nothing of the multicultural groups that show up for the Food and Wine Festival!

My only real suggestion for improvement here is to increase the variety. Bring the Steel Drum Band back to Adventureland, have the French Market's jazz band trade off with one specializing in zydeco, maybe book a novelty act for Tomorrowland that pretends to be “the band of the future” or whatever. Give Fantasyland a roaming minstrel and Toontown a troupe of slapstick comedians. Mix things up a little, day to day and month to month.

Audio-Animatronic Shows

Prospects are getting dimmer here. Attractions where you sit down and watch robots perform are a dying breed, and those that remain have few friends left among theme park aficionados. Many people have a hard time, it seems, understanding the point of an attraction where the main draw is a type of technology that is no longer cutting-edge, and which isn't “even” a ride. That such shows have given us some of the most endearing characters to be invented for the parks doesn't seem to matter in an era when movie characters are always front and center. It's hard to think of ways to revitalize this artform for contemporary audiences, but here are some potential ideas:

• For something like the Country Bears, randomize the performances. Program the figures with several possible sets, or to make things even more interesting, give each character a repertoire of three to five songs, selected randomly when it gets to their point in the show. It seems to work for Star Tours...
• Do a show like the Enchanted Tiki Room, but in a large-ish auditorium or even an outdoor theatre, and have some of the figures actually be drones that fly out over the audience at some points. Disney is already starting to adopt drones for certain special performances, and the technology is only going to get cheaper.
• Work in interactivity somehow. How, specifically? Search me; I'm just tossing out ideas. If you figure it out, post it on your own blog and let me know!

Exploration

This sort of attraction may be the hardest sell of all: an environment that just exists and invites you to explore it. If audio-animatronic shows have fallen on hard times, this kind of thing has all but vanished; I think Disneyland has Tarzan's Treehouse and California Adventure has Redwood Creek Challenge Trail and that's about it. Guests aren't crazy about them because you have to do all the work of engaging with the attraction yourself. Management isn't crazy about them because they're hard to monitor and there's no good way to enforce consistent guest throughput.*

This is worse than sad. This is downright tragic. What could be more central to the mission of a theme park than simply presenting guests with a well-crafted space and setting them free to explore and interact with it? As a guest, what could be more enthralling than the opportunity to craft your own adventure in such a world? It's true that some Disney attractions which were initially conceived as walkthroughs but evolved into rides during development are much better for the evolution, but surely, surely there's still room for a more freeform sort of experience?

Tarzan's Treehouse and Redwood Creek Challenge Trail are both rooted in a more-or-less realistic view of the natural world. The former has its random magic mirror and the latter its mystical cave (unless they took that out when they changed the overlay from Brother Bear to Up), but...what if they designed something along the same scale as Redwood Creek where it was all mysterious and fantastic? An Enchanted Forest or something? With current technology, such an environment could be populated with goblins, talking trees, walking mushrooms, faerie lights, “spirits” that play echo-games when you talk to them...the list goes on and on. I picture such an attraction with multiple branching paths, including one-way gates at certain points so that guests can't backtrack into each other's way and you need to go in multiple times in order to find everything. The Imagineers could try to arrange the wonders so as to create a logical narrative—be the hero of your own fairy tale!—or just let people work their way through.

I'm sure you can imagine other potential themes for such a concept.

See? There's way more to a Disney theme park than just rides. When your mind starts to wander and you begin to design your personally perfect Disneyland, don't forget to include some of these alternate experiences.

* Although if you think about it, the first problem kind of solves the second—if not many people are using the attraction, there's less to monitor and less concern that it will get backed up.