Theme Park Notes

Driven and constrained by:

• Target market research
• Guest Needs
• New IP Acquisition
• New Technology
• Budget
• Park Space
• Brand Strategies
• Design perspectives
• Industries trends and paradigms

Aspirational Design - plus an area that already exists

Popular Design - how can we add a popular movie to this area

Medium Design - what can theme parks do better than anywhere else

Collaborative Design:

• Charrette process - collective and interdisciplinary
• Hundred of people of different disciplines - design, construction, engineering, accounting…
• What’s the high concept, show bible (stuff you need to know about the world), backstories, story treatments, show script, storyboard, and physical models

Common source material:

• Fairy tales
• Cultural legends
• IPs like film, novels, or video games
• Science and technology
• Original Narratives

10 most commonly used narrative devices:

• Allusion
• Character
• Conflict
• Narrator
• Plot
• Scenes
• Setting
• Symbolism
• Theme
• Visual Storytelling

Storytelling Choices:

• Explicit Storytelling - verbal or written
• Implicit Storytelling
• Interpretive Storytelling

Overall Advise:

• Start with a good story
• Keep it simple
• Preserve harmony with text, visuals, senses, spaces
• Use medium affordances
• Avoid fatigue with variety in attraction mix, genre mix, effect mix

Challenges

• $$$
• Collaborative Tensions
• Technology overwhelming story
• Cultural Relevance
• Guests do not all want the same experiences

Wakanda Project Suggestions

• Start with the high concept including park, story, core themes, and values
• Consider underlying ethics of the park and how that should impact story
• Fill in details once you have some ideas about structure and space
• Determine member strengths
• When combining teams, merge good bits
• Keep size and space constraints in mind
• There should be multiple food and beverage locations
• Have a variety of merchandise offering (cost and style)
• Include interactive, participatory experiences and immersive elements
• If doing a hotel ensure it maintains the ethos and narrative of the park
• Hero's journey in rides - more of a non western narrative - community gets better

Accessibility! Keep Family Together

Make things specific

Location is important, most parks close in the fall and winter, but if it is domed then you can stay open all year



Improve Concepts and overall stuff for next class