How to Design a Theme Park (To Take Tons of Your Money)

this is harry potter and the forbidden journey it's a dark ride that opened in 2010 at universal studios islands of adventure it seats four to a bench it lasts approximately four minutes six seconds and it changed theme parks forever functionally the ride didn't reinvent the wheel rather than technological invention it relied on innovative amalgamation unlike any before it the ride married tracks robotic arms wrap around screens and film shot exclusively for the attraction to create a deeply intimate individualized tour through a universe previously inaccessible outside of imagination guests loved it they just couldn't explain it from tv interviews to enthusiast blogs the consensus was that you just have to experience it yourself this sentiment extended beyond the ride from the wizarding world entrance where designers manipulated sight lines to foster a false sense of expanse to the food beverage and merchandise be it a pint of butter beer or a wool sweater straight out of the movies the 20-acre plot didn't just look like harry potter it felt like harry potter for a few hours disbelief went suspended as visitors rode rides snapped pictures with in-character actors and got size for wands happily spending money all the while the expansion became the park's crown jewel in the year following its opening park attendance jumped a staggering 66 tourists snatched up harry potter sweaters in the florida heat and stuffed 55 dollar wands into carry-ons through bold innovation universal had effectively beat disney at its own game visitors were now planning trips around universal studios and if they had the time would check out disney world 2. the thing about disney though is that when they lose they don't stay down for long for disney the insane success of universal's harry potter park was a massive what if more accurately in hindsight it was a massive mistake because their rights to a harry potter theme park had nearly been theirs jk rowling and warner brothers had signed a letter of intent to build out a harry potter world with disney in 2004 then according to insiders disney got cold feet over concerns on rowling's creative control and because the project seemed too expensive a deeply immersive and experiential park design was just too much for disney to stomach so rowling went to universal who for their part harbored reservations as well what this 49-page document makes clear is that jk rowling had little interest in settling for the status quo rather the licensing agreement between universal and warner brothers ensured that the park would mirror rowling's vision and ambition with everything from the property's artwork structures and design to the food merchandise and ads the author had final approval rights anything with visible third-party branding on the other hand was subject to disapproval by the author while third-party logos require the author's prior written consent and not only would the park be authentic it would be standard setting as the agreement stipulated that universal would invest in maintaining a quote first-class world-class level themed area unsurpassed by any other developing unique unbranded food beverage and merchandise while partnered with manufacturers and soda companies proved tricky such novelty simply hadn't been employed before and universal chafed under rowling's requirements stacks of harry potter books were ever-present and off-referenced in creative meetings while alan gilmour an art director for the films went ahead and moved to the u.s to consult on the park's developments in the past directors like steven spielberg and james cameron had come on at universal in disney to advise but this was different their themed additions served coke and pepsi not butterbeer rowling's centrality and authority was simply unprecedented and for universal it proved a frustrating process but as with the books rowling's vision was on point and the parks popped not in spite of the constraints but because of them meanwhile while universal set attendance records disney reopened an upgraded attraction of their own in 2011. star tours a star wars ride that had been stuffing guests onto half million dollar flight simulators and flying them through movie scenes since 1987 now boasted an expanded list of plot lines to celebrate the conclusion of the prequel trilogy the revamped ride hardly made waves but it gave disney ceo bob iger a chance to speak with george lucas months later disney announced the 4 billion purchase of lucasfilm among other things the massive move signaled that disney was positioning itself to take on universal's game-changing theme land as eiger explained to stockholders quote our lucasfilm valuation is almost entirely driven by the star wars franchise and that he expected to quote utilize star wars in other businesses including parks and resorts in games and in our television business what disney had learned with the lukewarm launch of cars land in 2012 was that if they were to make a wizarding world size splash they needed a fictional world that people wanted to get lost in with star wars they finally had it after some decade of planning years of construction and a billion dollars in bills the star wars universe's newest expansion was finally ready to open for business fans flew in from far far away to a massive disney's gates in the early hours of may 31 2019. come 8 am the most committed early risers were escorted through the park to the entrance of black spire outpost what they found on the other side was one of the most complex most expensive and most ambitious theme park expansions ever star wars galaxy edge is unlike anything ever built before with one notable exception taking a page out of universal's playbook and building on the success of the wizarding world of harry potter this wasn't a land inspired by jungles or fairy tales or jules verne's vision of the future this was the physical embodiment of star wars seeing the success of bringing hogsmeade and diagon alley into the real world this was a trading outpost on the frontier planet batu a fully fledged element of star wars canon brought into reality thanks to the deepest level of theming ever seen at a disney park each of the 1600 employees or cast members working within the land from the actors and stormtrooper costumes to the cashiers at the merchandise shops has a unique backstory that thanks to improvisation classes included in their training reflects in how they interact with guests they use unique themed terminology cell phones are data pads water fountains are hydrators bathrooms are refreshers and bright suns means good morning the food smoked kadu ribs blue milk mustafari and lava rolls and plenty more all reflect what star wars characters might eat during a refuelling stop on batu drinks are sold in special themed containers with coke sprite and dasani written in the fictional urabesh alphabet from star wars functional areas like bathrooms are fully themed too with a design that looks nothing like the earthly equivalents even the receipts from the various shops reflect the fact that they're from black spire outpost rather than disney world or land disney kept the outside world out to a greater extent than any of its lands had ever before mirrored only by universal's wizarding world of harry potter while universal's case might have been spurred forward by the author's deep creative control both parks ingeniously shifted their strategies to capitalize on one of the most dramatic shifts in the way consumers consume ever in short young people aren't buying things they're buying experiences year-over-year spending growth on spectator sports amusement parks live entertainment and travel has far outpaced overall spending growth while the average baby boomer devotes 134 to experiences in a given month millennials a far less wealthy cohort spend 164. while the reasons behind the shifts go far beyond a single factor no small part can be attributed to the rise of social media younger people want to live a life that portrays well online and that mimics the purportedly idyllic lies portrayed by others on social media disney was a foundational element of the experience economy before this term was even defined but not in a way that fits the 21st century conception of it airbnb for example grew off of individuals desire to stay somewhere unique rather than a cookie-cutter hotel room supreme became a hot commodity by making the buying experience one where a select number of people felt privileged for having completed it experiences have to be unique to be considered true experiences and being one of tens of thousands to pass through space mountain on a given day isn't unique therefore every element of galaxy's edge from big to small was designed around providing each guest a unique experience to start the winding streets restrict eyeline so that one can only see so far ahead that nudges guests to explore and once they reach the core of the land they find a complex maze of streets theme parks are specifically designed so that guests get just a little bit lost this helps promote a sense of exploration as they move around and obfuscating people's mental maps typically defaults them to perceiving a place as larger than it actually is another concept that differs in galaxy's edge relative to other lands is that of the payoff payoff is what designers use to refer to anything cool fun or unique that a guest will enjoy finding in more traditional theme park design the payoffs are big but don't always live up to their promise in its early years sleeping beauty's castle was a major payoff for entering the park but guests were often disappointed to learn that they couldn't enter the structure disney eventually fixed this by adding an interior but is perpetually weighed towards overselling and under delivering with its major exterior elements until galaxies etch the entrances of the land do very little to sell it while most lanes typically open to a big expansive impressive view galaxy's edge's entrances push in towards fairly tight unimpressive areas then smaller payoffs like ships droids and characters are scattered throughout rewarding exploration and finally the biggest payoff the millennium falcon is only found after a guest adequately navigates the streets of black spire outpost in the process of exploration guests find the design elements that further promote individualized experiences the typical problem with individualized offerings is that they're almost impossible to scale and theme parks profitability is all based on offering entertainment at scale galaxy's edge fixes this paradox by directly monetizing the individual unscalable experiences with the land themed as a trading outpost disney is able to incorporate retail without straying from the plot guests wait through long lines for the privilege of spending 219.99 to enter a workshop where cast members guide customers through a highly themed experience of assembling a custom lightsaber similar lines regularly stretch outside of a shop where galactic consumers can assemble their own droid or outside the entrance of the purportedly notorious oguz cantina where visitors can enjoy some of the universe's famed drinks guests can even exchange their dollars for the local batuian spyra which is a legal tender throughout the land through this the park encourages all to spend more and is also able to effectively sell worthless pieces of metal considering many will take some spyra home essentially disney has created a land where to live like a star wars character to get the individualized experience everyone wants guests have to shop like a star wars character but of course for galaxy's edge to exist as a theme park land it must have some theme park rides but continuing to capitalize on the changing business environment disney was able to build an attraction unlike anything ever attempted before it's called star wars rise of the resistance and uniquely it's not one that can be succinctly summarized by describing it as a roller coaster or a simulator or a drop tower the need for highly marketable attractions has long worked in opposition to designers desire to create the best experiences that's in large part because marketing teams continuously push designers to create world firsts but doing something new only rarely translates into doing something better for example england's alton towers theme park has long featured the galactica coaster which is regularly ranked as one of the world's 50 best in 2016 after the park's winter closure the ride reopened refurbished as the world's first virtual reality roller coaster guests would don headsets to simulate a ride through space which earned the park coverage by engadget cnet wire the la times and more media outlets ultimately though guests hated it the need to fit everyone with headsets increased wait times dramatically and people didn't feel like the vr experience made that way to worthwhile therefore after three seasons the headsets were removed and galactica was reverted into a regular coaster disney meanwhile has recognized that rise no longer must be marketed through traditional means using a phrase as simple as the world's first vr roller coaster and so the imagineers behind rise of the resistance embraced the value of complexity the ride starts with guests entering a briefing room where a hologram sets up what's to come riders are told that there are new recruits fighting for resistance and are soon ushered onto a transport ship bound for the planet's bacara these ships are essentially simulator pods that provide light motion that matches what's seen through the windows however the plot progresses with the ship being captured by an enemy first order star destroyer meaning guests must exit into an area different from where they entered to achieve this there are actually three simulator pods positioned on a giant turntable once the doors are closed the turntable spins about a third timed up with the movement of the ship rotating upon takeoff then it makes its second movement as the ship is getting pulled in by a tractor beam so guests don't feel like the motion is out of place and exit from the door through which they entered into an entirely new space a massive cavernous room filled with dozens of stormtroopers next cast members quickly order guests into an interrogation room where door is eventually cut into the side by resistance fighters and the captive recruits are quickly shepherded onto two ride vehicles now for this attraction disney opted for trackless ride vehicles which are a newer innovation among theme parks previously similar attractions relied on tracked vehicles but this restricted possibilities movement on tracks has to be more or less linear and it's typically quite predictable as guests can see where the tracks go next trackless ride vehicles meanwhile can move in any horizontal direction and circle back on their path as much as desired in rise of the resistance the vehicles wirelessly charge their batteries through pads on the floor as they wait for guests to load then use a combination of rfid transponders in the floor a local positioning system and a wi-fi network to communicate and navigate through the attraction after racing through the twists and turns of the star destroyer the vehicle loads into an elevator to a second floor of the ride building the plot continues as the guests encounter more and more animatronic and actor-portrayed characters attempting to thwart their escape and the vehicle eventually enters what is presented as an escape pod the ride vehicle is automatically locked into place using attachments in the floor as what the escape pod actually is is another full motion simulator except this time the simulator isn't mounted on a turntable it's mounted inside a drop tower guests therefore experience the unmistakable sensation of freefall as the escape pod ejects from the ship and rotate left right back and forth as the pod flies through outer space finally the ride vehicle exits the simulator and navigates to the site of its crash landing to the attraction's exit now the convolution of rise of the resistance makes it terrible for traditional marketing one can't succinctly describe what it is and even video doesn't do it justice the multi-step multi-system ride is designed all around the wow factor making those leaving it feel like they've just experienced one of the best theme park attractions in the world why that works well nowadays but less so in decades before is because word of mouth is more powerful than ever by providing guests a showy best in the world experience people want to brag about it on social media in the same way that people flaunt going to coachella or the super bowl people flaunt having experienced such a unique ride but creating a once-in-a-lifetime ride is only half the battle one of the biggest factors in a ride's value to a theme park is the degree of rewrite ability after writing once how much do people want to do it again disney wants people to be able to enjoy repeat visits as getting guests to come back is far cheaper than marketing to attract new guests rise of the resistance incorporates many of the design elements that increase rewrite ability starting with just having a ton going on walt disney described this as the cocktail party effect much like a good cocktail party a good disney ride should have so much going on that one can't possibly focus on it all at once well you can't go to a given cocktail party again you can pay a couple hundred dollars to come back to disney next year to ride rise of the resistance again like other disney rides rise of the resistance also avoids using jokes in the plot as humor is typically only entertaining once instead it leans heavily on dramatic movements like the drop tower free fall that are fun to experience every time in it some disney's galaxy edge represents the full might of disney's business and imagineering teams combined with a billion dollars in construction costs at each of its locations the company couldn't simply create something entertaining that wasn't good enough to justify the investment they needed something that capitalizes on the latest consumer demands down to the deepest level they needed something that would pull people away from the wizarding world of harry potter people no longer want to just watch stories they want to experience them consumers are willing to invest huge sums of money to create memories in a way that for one reason or another they would not decades ago the future of entertainment is experiential and so wherever entertainment companies can find a way of scaling perceived uniqueness they're also bound to find huge sums of young money the force behind disney's acquisition of star wars and the development of galaxy's edge was the company's much lauded long-time ceo bob iger in his time he grew the company's market capitalization five times over and is regularly credited for much of the company's modern success as iger prepared to retire he sat down and wrote a memoir the right of a lifetime retelling his rise from a production assistant all the way to ceo of one of the world's largest companies i listened to this memoir on audible and found it to be incredibly captivating especially considering it includes some narration by the man himself i'd encourage all of you to give it a listen especially considering our deal with audible allows you to listen for free you see audible is the destination for audio entertainment they have audiobooks podcasts guided wellness programs comedy routines and more personally i love reading but rarely find the time to actually sit down with a print book audible meanwhile can be injected into any moment your ears are free it makes doing the dishes commuting to work going grocery shopping and more far more fun and meaningful a subscription gets you access to a huge catalog but for anything that's not on there you get a credit a month to download any other audiobook for free but by using our link available by clicking the button on screen texting wendover to 500-500 or heading to audible.comwendover you'll get a 30-day free trial meaning you get a free credit to download an audiobook that you'll keep forever including a ride of a lifetime or anything else you'll also be supporting wendover while you're at it so head over to audible.comwendover and sign up today

Channel: Wendover Productions

Views: 1,706,254

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Id: oESoI6XxZTg

Length: 19min 0sec (1140 seconds)

Published: Wed May 18 2022

Reddit Comments

[u/comped]

As someone with a degree in theme park management, and who knows people heavily involved in both the HP design effort and GE, there are so many things - big and little - that boil my blood with this video! It's annoying because Sam and his team are usually quite good about how they source their info, but it seems like they went down the wrong rabbit holes (or failed to talk to the right people) this time.

[u/ozrainmaker]

Well made You already made my day better