Introduction
The Dream
If you had asked Walt Disney back in 1923 if he thought Cinderella’s castle would be one of the greatest landmarks of childhood imagination, he’d probably say “Who is Cinderella?”. In fact, he didn’t even know if his dream of producing cartoons would come to fruition. After filing for bankruptcy in 1923, Walt moved to Los Angeles to get another shot at entertainment, this time through his brother, Roy Disney. Walt’s second venture, Disney Brothers Cartoon Studio, was founded in October of that same year. By 1926, the studio would get its true name forever: Walt Disney Studios.
The legend of Walt Disney Studios, however, was still in the works. Different trials hit the company like various contractural disputes and staff leaving for other studios. Between all these fires, Walt and one of his favorite animators, Ub Iwerks, came up with their first hit: Mickey Mouse. Mickey Mouse wasn’t just a fun character. He was a live character because of how Walt and Ub adopted new techonology. In 1928, the short Steamboat Willie became the first short that utilized a synchronized soundtrack, effects, music, and dialogue.
Other technical advancements in Disney’s approach to animation helped position it as a disruptor in the industry. Things like Technicolor, multiplane cameras, and a host of other tech adoptions set Disney up to release its first feature film, Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, in 1937. While some were skeptical of it, the film turned out to be a huge hit, providing the studio with the capital necessary to upgrade its facilities and hit the ground running on more potential hits.
Disney would continue to run into trouble (like WWII) but would continue to persevere, releasing classics like Pinocchio among others. All of these and other creative hits would launch Disney into the prime position to bring the world of imagination from the big screen to real life.
The Big Screen needs a Big Park
While Walt was pleased with the success of the big screen, he knew it was only part of the experience. People didn’t just like watching movies… They wanted to be a part of them! To accomplish this, Walt knew just where to start.
Amusement parks during this time were… sub par to say the least. They were known for being dirty and mechanical. No theme, no flow, just rides and food. While the atmosphere certaintly was still fun, Walt knew that the park could be magical.
In 1948, Walt began outlining plans for Mickey Mouse Park. The initial location for the park was chosen to be in front of their Burbank studios. However, Walt felt the park needed to be much bigger. With the help of Stanford, he found a large area of land in Anaheim to construct his park. Going all in on the park through loans, personal funds, and other means, Walt’s dream of the newly named park, Disneyland, came true in 1955.
While Disneyland hasn’t always been perfect, parents and kids alike have loved being able to immerse themselves in the magic of the movies they love. From Star Wars: Galaxy Edge, to Cinderella’s castle, to a host of other themes, Disneyland continues to set the tone on for theme park experiences.
The Magic behind the Magic: Designing the Flow of the Park
It is estimated that approximately 28 million people visit Disneyland per year. This number is not spread evenly across the year (obviously). Holidays, weather, and other factors play a big role in park attendance. While the park is and will always be about immersing people in the magic of Disney fun, it is not fun to be in an disorganized and chaotic mess. For that reason, the need for proper design of park attractions and placement of park experiencs are crucial in maximizing guest experiences
Let’s for a moment take a look at the park map (we’ll focus on the main Disneyland campus for now).
The park is organized in various zones that deal with a common theme. To traverse the park, you need to pass through different zones to get to different attractions (obviously again). Everyone must enter through Main Street and exit from there as well. When attempting to optimize guest experience from this perspective, we need to understand a few important things. To start, how to people usually traverse the park? By understanding “travel” patterns among guests, we can better prepare zones for guest arrivals or properly place entertainment throughout busy routes to “slow traffic”. In short, we want to understand these patterns to have better control on park outcomes. To model this mathematically, we can utilize a graph to visualize this flow.