A Glimpse of (Theme Park) Tomorrow
What Kind of Technology Can We Really Expect In Theme Parks?
While technology is going to be an important component of the future of theme parks, let’s not forget the key to it all: The story is always the most important part.
Here we are, in 2018, trying to improve upon the theme park experience with the latest technology. Theme park enthusiasts and employees alike are making the new EPCOT. Solving the current problems that people have with theme park worlds with technology that doesn’t even exist yet.
However, for Walt (that’s Disney in case you had any doubt), it all starts with a good story.
For real.
If you don’t have the back story to complement the technology then the park will not be successful. Walt’s original philosophy was to “leave the outside world and spend time together with loved ones,” and that hasn’t changed (Duncan Wardle). Walt didn’t “presume to know all the answers” back then, and I don’t presume to know all the answers now. Technology is fleeting because it’s always changing, but it’s also ever-present and increasingly more engrained in our lives.
In this blog post, you’ll hear me talk future technologies that will enhance our theme park experiences.
But don’t forget… it all starts with a good story, and it always will.
In the book How To Be Like Walt, the authors, Pat Williams and Jim Denney, detail Walt’s path for success. First begin by recognizing that change is inevitable. Today we are in a time when change is happening every day, particularly in technology. In order to seize the future as Walt did we must embrace the change and identify trends and ideas that produce beneficial change.
The key technologies I explore inside the book include (among others):
- Virtual Reality
- Augmented Reality
- Park Personalization through Customization
- Artificial Intelligence to Create Tour-Guide Experiences
- Self Driving Vehicles for Traversing the Park
- Robotics
But don’t forget… it’s the story and the experience that the technology enhances, not the other way around. Right Usher & Ellen?
Within the next five years, we can expect some amazing things from theme parks. In my last blogs, you’ve learned that theme parks are here to stay and technology is actually friend, not foe. So now the question becomes, what kind of technology is on the horizon for theme parks?
In my book, I discuss a number of different technologies that will impact theme parks in the future. The big ones that are “dominating the conversation right now are virtual and augmented reality,” as one former Disney executive remarked. Search for anything having to do with theme parks and you are surely to get articles about VR and AR. However, I don’t think the obsession with the latest technologies will stop there. I even talk about artificial intelligence robots, Google glasses, and self-driving cars as having an impact in the future.
First, VR and AR are already affecting the theme park industry. Everything from new attractions to entirely new theme parks are being changed because of this technology. For example, Chen Jianli is creating a new theme park in China entirely dedicated to virtual reality, meaning every ride is a VR ride. On a smaller scale, companies like Disney are investing huge amounts in to this technology. They’re even opening an intriguing VR attraction in Downtown Disney in California.
The company Disney is using to put on this attraction is, in my opinion, the best in the field. The Void’s experience is certainly the most advanced in VR. Its hyper-reality experiences transport the user into any situation, place, or time. In Downtown Disney, one becomes immersed suddenly in the life of a storm trooper. You can feel the heat from the lasers being shot at you, and you can even feel the metal walls that surround you. One participant recalls from a different Void attraction, “I’m entranced, and the dozen pounds of electronics weighing me down seem to melt away.” The dozen pounds of equipment the user is referring to is the portable backpack you have to carry during the experience. However, because virtual reality is still in its infant phases, I believe that in a few years, we won’t have to worry about the heavy equipment.
But many thought leaders today are putting their money into augmented reality instead. In fact, Facebook recently shut down its VR division to focus more on augmented reality. Furthermore, CEO of Apple Tim Cook sees the future of augmented reality in headsets. Augmented reality isn’t just interesting the techies of Silicon Valley; AR has also been intriguing theme park employees. According to the Los Angeles Times, Disney CEO Bob Iger, when “speaking at a USC Marshall and Annenberg event in Santa Monica on Thursday … talked up the possibility of launching high-tech augmented reality attractions. Those will still probably involve headgear, but the devices will blend the real and digital worlds.”
Where augmented and virtual reality are currently on the forefront of the industry’s mind, I also note some less obvious technologies that will come into play like self-driving cars, Google glasses, and artificial intelligence robotics.
Self-driving cars can be a major help for locals getting to and from the theme parks in their area. Imagine living in LA and not having to drive to and from Anaheim to go to Disneyland for the day. So convenient. In fact, Disney is already trying out something similar. As it stands. there are options for the locals to get to the parks via shuttle busses. However, you have to take multiple different busses to get to the park. Wouldn’t it be more efficient and less confusing if you just had one bus? Well, if you live in Florida, your prayers just might be answered. According to the LA Times, Disney is testing a fleet of self-driving cars first for its employees in their Orlando location, and if that is a successful venture, it will expand its operations to include guests. However, Disney has not stated whether this will include their Anaheim location. This could potentially be because Florida has lower restrictions on driverless vehicles than does California. Nonetheless, I believe that in the future, driverless cars will become the normal mode of transportation in general.
Google-esque glasses could also become a norm in every day life! But not until they start to look more “normal.” Like most of the technology I discuss in my book, Google glasses are a few years away from being perfect. However, I believe that in the theme park industry, as augmented reality turns into a headset-only experience, the combination with the smart wear technology could be a game changer. At the sound of your voice, your glasses could book your place in line for a ride, make a lunch reservation, and even show you secrets about the park that only a seasoned tour guide would know!
These virtual tour guides that would be inside your glasses at the park are functional thanks to artificial intelligence. 85 percent of theme park visitors from the United States, United Kingdom, China, Japan, and Malaysia want artificial intelligence in their theme parks. Facial recognition, fingerprinting technology, and palm reading technology for ID verification is favored to make visits as trouble-free as possible. Universal Studios is already using fingerprinting technology as ticket verification. But, with AI the possibilities are endless. Disney is also looking to use AI robots to replace the characters that we all know and love. This was particularly hinted at in regards to the new Star Wars hotel (stay tuned for more info on that!). Rumor has it, that the Star Wars hotel is going to be a completely immersive experience, live with droids like C3PO that will operate using AI! The use of AI to replace the characters we see now in felt suits only makes sense. We want to interact and communicate with the characters from our favorite stories, and I believe it’s only a few years until that becomes reality.
And please do buy the book at Amazon.com and if you’d like a signed copy, simply message me at mkelley2@wellesley.edu and I’d be happy to sign and mail the first fifty people who ask a signed copy.
