Designing for immersive experiences has been well-documented over the years—fundamental concepts such as story, theme, and suspending disbelief are solidly grounded in the practice of building such things. Too often, however, we might take short-notice, if any notice at all, of how all this connects with the factor that matters most of all—the guest. Oh sure, they’re discussed along the way, in a wide variety of ways, but do we really think about the end result of all these efforts? What makes them become superfans, who want to return time and again to enjoy these experiences?
James Warda, superfan, and Theron Skees, former senior creative executive with Walt Disney Imagineering, have spent the past few years thinking about this. After a transformative experience on Flight of Passage at Disney’s Animal Kingdom, James walked away in sort of a daze, completely captivated by the wonder of what he just witnessed. How does Disney make one feel like that? And so he embarked on a three-year quest to find out, early on connecting with Theron who was able to answer much of this from the designers’ point of view.
It is about the guest, of course, but it’s crucial to understand what that means exactly. Will they enjoy it? Ok, sure. But does it transform them? Make them feel a sense of wonder? Turn them into a superfan? Does this really matter?
It certainly does, for any aspect of the global economy. Every business wants to develop a relationship with their customers, clients, or guests. You want people to think of you in such a positive way that they return time and again. You want them to look at you in the same way that superfans love Disney.
And so James talked with former executives, Imagineers, and cast members from Disney along with the (fanatical?) devotees who just can’t get enough of the Mouse in their lives. The stories they shared are at times familiar, other times heart-warming (and wrenching). Along with his own family’s infatuation with Disney, he shares these with the overall goal of understanding why it matters. Along the way, Theron sprinkles in pearls of wisdom that connect how designers approach a project with how it ultimately affects people.
And that’s the important point for designers and students to fully realize—you can’t stop at just building a beautiful experience that checks all the design boxes. You must make the connection from the beginning all the way through to those guests who you want to fall in love with it, to return time and again, to see it become embedded into their hearts.
How Does Disney Do That? is the first in a series that examines these issues, offering clues and emotional reasons why you need to think this way. So, read John Hench’s Designing Disney, Marling’s Designing Disney’s Theme Parks: The Architecture of Reassurance, and the Imagineers’ own The Imagineering Way: Ideas to Ignite Your Creativity, but then spend a little time with James and Theron to complete the picture to the very end.
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