What I Learned About Attraction Design by Working at Disneyland

I never planned to work at Disneyland. 

I arrived in Southern California, fresh out of film school and ready to take Hollywood by storm. Cut to a few years later and I was broke, unable to land a role in the motion picture business (they don't go over that in film school) and desperate for a "steady" job. 

That "steady" job became The Happiest Place on Earth.  

I found myself at three of my favorite Disneyland attractions - The Enchanted Tiki Room, Pirates of the Caribbean and the World Famous Jungle Cruise. I was a skipper. A SKIPPER!?! My family's semi-constant vacations to Walt Disney World sparked a love of this attraction. Now here I was, working on one of the attractions that Walt Disney himself personally oversaw. I was telling jokes, shooting hippos and making less than $8 an hour. 

It was life-changing. It's my favorite job ever. I still miss it. 

As much as I loved it, I never thought of my time in the park as anything more than temporary. I knew of Walt Disney Imagineering but I didn't see myself in a role there. It was motion pictures or bust. 

It wasn't until years later when I started pursuing a role in themed entertainment, that I saw my time at Disneyland in an entirely new light. As I read and studied about how attractions were built, and the reasoning behind why those particular design decisions were made, I got the sense that I had learned all of this before. Subconsciously - after hundreds of hours working on those attractions - I had picked up tips, tools and best practices on how to design an attraction. 

Over time I connected with other theme park professionals that spent time in the parks - as fellow Jungle Cruise skippers, Splash Mountain and Haunted Manson hosts and tour guides on the Studio Tour at Universal Studios Hollywood. 

We'd often talk about how our operations experience influenced and overlapped with our themed entertainment design/creation experience. No matter the park, attraction or company, we all found similar threads of thought. Our experience was… Universal (pun). 

Here's my attempt to weave together those thought threads (phew) into what I learned about attraction design by working at Disneyland.

Show, don't tell

The Jungle Cruise is known for its jokes. Guests climb aboard for a 7 1/2-minute journey with a witty skipper at the helm. As much as the jokes are woven into the fabric of the attraction, they are not the main storytelling device. 

This fact was driven home during those times when I'd pilot a boat that was full of non-English speaking guests. They didn't get my jokes or puns! Yet, they had a great time. The Jungle Cruise - specifically Marc Davis' genius show scenes - relies on the adage Show, Don't Tell to provide a memorable experience. Yes, even without the skipper's wit. 

The show scenes on the Jungle Cruise are visual marvels - able to convey humor, delight or fright without the need for explanation. You understand the delightful joy of seeing elephants effortlessly bathing by just seeing their grins and playful trunk shenanigans. In the lost safari scene, you don't have words to reinforce the humor of the four travelers climbing a pole to escape a rhino. The constructed visual scene conveys that the guy on the bottom is going to get the point. In the end. (Punny)

Sight gags scenes are some of the best ways to convey the story. Haunted Mansion, Splash Mountain and Pirates of the Caribbean use them exceptionally well. Visually conveying actions or events allows you to "trim the fat" off the story and create a tighter experience. 

Be Concise With Dialogue

Before my fellow Skippers rally against me for my remarks about the attraction's narration, let me state that dialogue IS an essential part of attraction design. The words of familiar characters or unseen hosts add a layer of audio that fills out a scene and drives the story forward. I'm sure you can hear particular lines of attraction dialogue in your head right now. Bonus points if it's a line from Body Wars. 

Pirates of the Caribbean is full of dialogue that adds a layer of explanation to the scene you're seeing visually. They're drowning the mayor! They're trying to get the key from the dog! These scenes would still work without lines, but the dialogue adds another layer of story. It's also CONCISE. Think back to the mayor dunking scene. It's five or six total sentences, spaced out over time. You get the context, what's at stake and how it's going for Carlos (hint… not well).

Attractions with any kind of ride system require you to trim dialogue to its bare essentials. No time for Great Moments for Mr. Lincoln-esque monologues here. Use the dialogue to convey a story point, a reaction, or an expression of congratulations. Make it short.

Spacing Show Scenes

One of my favorite bits on the Jungle Cruise doesn't take place in front of a show scene. It's the area between the Gorilla Camp and Schweitzer Falls that's nothing but dense jungle bamboo. 

"Now I'd like to point out some of my favorite species of plants"

(Points at a plant)

"There's one."

(Points to another plant)

"There's another one. 

Sure, it's a bit of a place to show off. Yet the main purpose of this space is to act as a resting place for the guest's attention and emotions. There's noting glitzy or spectacular to see. No reason to get out the camera (unless well…. you found me good-looking and worth remembering). There are a few places like this along the Jungle Cruise, and they serve to prepare you for the next wave of excitement. 

Attraction show scenes need room to breathe. Create space in between the action that lets guests adjust, refocus and re-engage. Think back to The Haunted Mansion or Pirates. There are similar spots that don't demand your attention. While decorated or themed, they're "empty" of story. This is intentional and necessary. Constantly bombarding your scenes doesn't invite surprise, joy, fear or other jolts you get when you experience a show scene. 

Even modern attractions such as Kong: Skull Island or Star Wars: Rise of the Resistance have spots you ride through without anything happening. Those transition spots - even brief ones - let you exhale and reset for what's next. 

Move A LOT of People

Work one shift at Pirates and you'll understand how necessary it is to build attractions that efficiently move TONS of people. 

The most stressful spot on Pirates is the grouper position. This is the person that asks you "how many are in your party?" and sends you along to the proper loading area. The idea is to send out as close to a "full boat" as possible during each dispatch. The grouper has 22 seats to fill in each boat. It's easy to get even numbered parties to fill a boat. It's the groups of 5, 7 and 11 that throw off your groove. 

Boats with 22 people = Shorter lines. Happier guests. 

Boats with less than 22 people = Longer lines. Livid guests.  

Attraction design requires you to look at all elements and figure out how to move the most people through the experience. You may need to remove a show scene, design a bigger ride vehicle, trim some media or make the queue bigger. 

This isn't just true of attractions. In my escape room writing, I've had to kill sections of dialogue to make the pre-show shorter. Quick turnover in escape rooms means you can have more games (which makes more money and it's all about money).

Design for BOH and Evacs

Pirates of the Caribbean is a wondrous attraction to walk through. I spent a good amount of time getting up close with the iconic audio-animatronics. And as cool as that attraction is to see up close, it doesn't compare to seeing behind the curtain.

The backstage (Back of House) of Pirates of the Caribbean is a twisted maze of concrete and plywood. Climb down this ladder, duck your head here and boom… you're on the deck of the Wicked Wench, watching cannons "fire" across the water. Why were Cast Members like myself allowed to wander into these spots? They were the most accessible routes to our Evac positions. 

Evac (short for Evacuation) is the process of getting guests off of the attraction if there is a breakdown or stoppage. On some attractions, like dark rides, Cast Members simply open your vehicle doors and walk you out. On Pirates - WHERE YOU ARE SURROUNDED BY WATER - it was a much more complicated situation. Many times, it involved Cast Members getting in the water (in large water wanders) and PUSHING boats towards or back to a landing where they could be safely evacuated. 

Knowing that guests will need to be evacuated from your attraction is important. As designers and show producers, how can our design process create seamlessly efficient evacuation routes? Can you design a BOH that can be easily maneuverable by operations and maintenance?  

Designing BOH and Evac routes isn't glamorous. Yet, the people that operate your attraction will appreciate routes that will get people out safely and efficiently. 

Interactions with Operations 

Eventually, attractions are handed over to the operations team. It's their role to effectively and safely operate your creation while adding their personal touch of safety and guest service. Operations "populates" the world that you've built. 

My operations experience at Disneyland has influenced my work on the creative side of themed entertainment. The most recent example I can give was when I visited the escape rooms I worked on. I spent time with the attractions hosts, asking what they thought of the rooms, what the guests thought, what needed improvement for their Back of House experiences and such. We talked about capacity and efficiency. It was eye-opening and informative - stuff I'll use on my next escape room project. 

Take time to know the day-to-day people that operate your attraction. Speak their language of safety and efficiency. If they play a "role" - like a Skipper - offer suggestions on their performance and provide feedback. They inhabit your world, help them.  

Bring it Home

My experience at Disneyland was insightful and unique, giving me a perspective many in the themed entertainment world have never had. I feel that it makes me a valuable part of any team designing themed experiences. Yet, projects that pull in people with diverse backgrounds and skill sets have the opportunity to break new ground and be really special

Hire people with theme park operations experience. Hire people with NO theme park operations experience. Champion a culture of diversity, where many different visions and experiences play in the sandbox.

NOTE - If you hire a former Jungle Cruise skipper, do not expect them to be funny "on the spot". The Backside of Water joke doesn't land as well when done in front of a kitchen faucet. 

I know. I've tried.