In the late 1940s, Walt Disney found himself struck by inspiration. What if, he thought, there was a kind of amusement park that immersed guests in a world of fantasy. What if he could create a situation whereby visitors could interact with pirates, see exotic wildlife, or experience American life as it appeared in the gauzy-eyed 1900s? What if he could build a world like that which existed in his films, but which could be inhabited by actual people?
Walt always felt tours of his movie studio were lacking, ultimately, because the production of a movie is never quite as magical as the final product. And so, he decided to make a world that was.
Thus, on July 17, 1955, Walt Disney opened the doors of Disneyland, saying “To all who come to this happy place: Welcome.”
But the amazing thing about the Disneyland story is not just that a filmmaker managed to launch what has become one of the most iconic vacation destinations in the world. That’s amazing, yes, but what’s even more unbelievable is that he did it with a group of people who knew nothing about amusement parks.
The first imagineers were filmmakers – recruits from Walt’s many other projects who, in their spare time, were asked to help out in the planning of this new kind of recreation. They did so quite admirably, and their work has been viewed by hundreds of millions of people since its creation.
But because they were filmmakers first, the attractions they created weren’t simply the roller coasters and Ferris wheels you’d find at other amusement parks. They told stories and immersed guests in new and unique experiences. That legacy of themed attractions has stuck with Walt Disney Imagineering ever since, and the techniques they borrowed from film have become trademarks of Disney Parks.
And so, when we look at Disney attractions, it’s helpful to compare them to their closest counterparts: Movies.
Here are just a few ways the attractions at Disney parks across the globe really are like movies:
1. They have posters
Attraction Posters at the Walt Disney Family Museum
Image: normevangelista, Flickr (license)
When you arrive at a movie theater, one of the very first things you’ll see are posters advertising the films newly released to cinemas and some that are soon to come to the multiplex.
Those posters are there to get you excited not only for the film you’re about to see, but for other films you might want to see in the future. In fact, movie posters have taken on a kind of subculture of their own, with film buffs often designing their own for the movies they love.
This idea is echoed in the design of Disney’s parks – specifically the Disneyland/Magic Kingdom style parks around the world. When you walk through the Main Street train station, you’ll see posters for the park’s attractions lining the walls – and those posters are done in the classic movie style.
The classic poster for Tropical Serenade
Image: Sam Howzit, Flickr (license)
They’ve become such an iconic part of the Disney attraction experience that fans have even started making their own versions of these – following in the footsteps of their cinephile counterparts.
Like movie posters, the attraction posters often convey the mood and atmosphere of a ride far more than the actual story, but ultimately, those are the feelings that get you to ride the rides.
They’re promotional tools, yes, but they’re tools taken from the world of film – making you feel like you’re really living in a movie.
2. They feature cinematography, editing, and direction
Imagineers replaced the camera with an Omnimover
Image: Cory Doctorow, Flickr (license)
One of the key innovations in film was the idea that you could use the camera to draw the audience’s attention to a specific moment, character, or object. For example, if you wanted the audience to focus on, say, the knife in a villain’s hand, you could simply take a closeup of it. If you wanted to imply the passage of time, you could use an edit.
Because Imagineers wanted to tell visual stories with their attractions, they knew they’d need to adopt those same techniques in their design. They’d need to figure out how to force guests’ attention to specific places at specific times, and they’d need to know how to make a story progress linearly while the audience was sitting inside of it.
Arguably, the most important innovation in this front was the omnimover – a ride system that fit the Disney aesthetic so well, they still use it in attractions today. The beauty of the omnimover was that it moved at a constant pace and imagineers had control over which way each car faced. That meant they could turn the cars to face certain scenes at certain times, thereby creating a story. The most famous implementation of this idea is the Haunted Mansion, where the Doombuggies are programmed to show you each room of the mansion.
Controlling your line of sight is a critical element of film, and it’s something Imagineers perfected in their own attractions.
3. You’ll hear background music
When you close your eyes and imagine Indiana Jones, what do you think of? When you picture Darth Vader in your mind, what do you hear? When someone says the word “Jaws”, what two musical notes come to mind?
All of those films are synonymous with their music, and rightly so. But it’s not just the iconic soundtracks that add atmosphere and tension to their films. Nearly every movie has background music. Why? Because there are feelings and ideas a director might want to impart to the audience that they cannot with images and words alone.
Disney’s attractions are no different. Some have the music front and center, as with It’s a Small World. Others contain it to the background, such as Spaceship Earth. But wherever there is music at a Disney park, it is there for a reason: To convey mood and feeling that cannot be conveyed through sets and animatronics alone. Just like film, Disney attractions use music to give the audience a complete emotional experience throughout the story.
4. They’re replayable
You can see the Zip-a-Dee Lady as many times as you want
Image: CL Photographs, Flickr (license)
Some forms of art, like plays or improv comedy, are kind of ethereal. They happen, and they can be amazing, but they’re rarely lasting. Plays open and close, or change casts. Improv shows happen once and then they’re gone forever. Even other kinds of art like cuisine or live music are the kinds of things that can be replicated but never duplicated.
Movies, on the other hand, are forever. If you own The Lion King, you can watch it as many times as you like. It will never change. It will never alter. It will be the same movie the first time you watch it as it is the 400th time you watch it.
The same is true of theme park attractions – especially those at Walt Disney World and Disneyland.
If you love Pirates of the Caribbean, you can ride it as many times as you like. If you ride it five times in a day, it will be materially the same every time you ride it. While film actors have their performances burned into celluloid, the performers in theme park attractions are Audio-Animatronics – performers who are programmed to do the same thing every single time.
And while some attractions do get makeovers on occasion, movies can also be subject to the same treatment. Just ask George Lucas.
5. They’re ultimately about telling stories
You’re the star of the Jungle Cruise’s story
Image: Loren Javier, Flickr (license)
The impulse that drives most film directors is the desire to tell a story. Some tell stories about their own life and experiences. Some want to tell the tales they find most entertaining. Some investigate the events they want to better understand. But at the heart of most directors is that same desire to communicate a story to an audience.
That idea, more than anything else, is what separates Disney’s attractions from your typical amusement park diversions. Imagineers have that exact same impulse – that exact same internal desire. They want to show guests an amazing story that will capture their imagination.
Those stories can be anything from the dangers of a haunted hotel to the beauty of the natural world. They can be scary, emotional, thrilling, or even just simple fun. But that’s true of the offerings at your local multiplex, too. Those movies can range from thoughtful meditations on the human experience to adrenaline pumped action movies based around spectacle.
And, perhaps, that’s the greatest similarity of all between the two art forms: No matter what kind of story it is that you want to experience, both movies and Disney attractions have the ability to deliver it to you. And if you love it, you’ll be able to experience it again and again.
