Disney's Tomorrows Turning to Technology - LA Times 5/1/05

[BigPigletFan]

Disney's Tomorrows Turning to Technology - May 1, 2005
LA Times
http://www.latimes.com/business/la-a...home-headlines

The article explains how The Walt Disney Co. realizes that it can't draw in park visitors on Mickey alone and how the new technology or internet generation needs something more before they spend their money on tickets.

Increasingly aware that children today are "born with a mouse in their hands," as one expert puts it, Disney scientists and designers are working overtime to appeal to the Internet generation. The goal: to make the park's next half-century as profitable as its last.

"It's all about trying to keep our entertainment relevant to the way kids are growing up today," said Marty Sklar, principal creative executive of Walt Disney Imagineering, the company's in-house think tank. "We don't want to get left behind."

The interactive part of Buzz Lightyear's Astro Blasters will start in June. The software Imagineers created links the attraction to the Internet. When home players hits a target a light will go off at Disneyland giving the players the chance to score extra points on that target.

Disney's park performance is struggling along with its competition of Six Flags, Universal Studios, etc. Disney's parks were having attendance issues before the terrorist attacks and since Sept. 11, 2001 attendance has been slightly rising. Attendance of international visitors remains low despite currency exchange in their favor.

Chief executive-elect Robert Iger was recently at Walt Disney World where he was raving about the new "Turtle Talk With Crush" where Crush talks with guests at Epcot's Living Seas pavilion.

'Bob is challenging us ... to continue that tradition that Walt really started,' said Tom Fitzgerald, Imagineering executive vice president, referring to the park's founder.

The article also confirms the Nemo overlay of Submarine Voyage with a computer animated fish that would swim around the lagoon.

As the Imagineers see it, Walt Disney was the original gamer. When he created Disneyland in 1955, he wanted it to transcend the carnival-type rides already familiar to consumers. Instead, he sought to marry technology and storytelling to take children, and their parents too, into virtual worlds.

There is also mention of the "Virtual Magic Kingdom" that allows users to create their own characters and navigate through a Disneyland and Walt Disney World park. In this game there will be certain tasks to complete such a multi-level ship-to-ship battle in Pirates of the Caribbean.

How do you feel about linking the attractions with computer games? Will this do what Disney thinks-- bring kids into the park or will it just allow them to remain at home, playing a different game? How do you feel about a computer animated Nemo fish in the lagoon over an animatronics? Do you think that Bob Iger is challenging Imagineers and following "what Walt wanted" for the company?

[MiceMan]

I think it is actually a good idea but it has to be enacted in a way that will also draw more people to the park and get off their in front of their computer screen. (Kind of like me right now )

[Tom Chaney]

..How do you feel about linking the attractions with computer games? Will this do what Disney thinks-- bring kids into the park or will it just allow them to remain at home, playing a different game? How do you feel about a computer animated Nemo fish in the lagoon over an animatronics? Do you think that Bob Iger is challenging Imagineers and following "what Walt wanted" for the company?

It's a great big beautiful tomorrow! I think the imagineers are using their noggins by recognizing the changing world around them and making the effort to stay relevent within it. The computer Nemo might be an awesome effect. Perhaps CGI stuff will be the AA's of the 21st Century.

[Ortizmo2000]

Well, times must change and the people with it.

Personally, the Zoo Tycoon version of Disneyland sounds like a pretty neat idea. Having been a former game maker myself and an ex-onling gaming addict, I think they're heading in the right direction.