I went to Disneyland Paris last week and walked away with more than tired legs. I came back thinking about the future of theme parks because the technology powering these rides is wild. It’s not just about speed, drops, or loopings anymore, which I love btw, it’s about immersion, interaction, and storytelling in new dimensions.
The future is now
Spider-Man W.E.B. Adventure
In this ride, you put on 3d glasses and use your hands to shoot web projectiles. Cameras in your cart detect your movements, and the shots are displayed on a giant screen in front of you, taking out enemies or interacting with elements in the scene.
You can take out spider bots, pull levers, and grab barrels to throw them at the opponents, It’s a level of interaction I was not expecting at all! This felt more like an arcade game than a theme park ride. It’s taking you through multiple stages, with your 8-person pods moving between screens. You get a score based on how many enemies you eliminated and how well you accomplished the objectives of the stages (usually by interacting with specific terrain elements).
I know I must be late to the party, but it was a true “Wow” moment when I realized how the ride worked. A pair of glasses and you’re dropped inside a moving video game?
I was shocked again once I got into the shop, when I saw that they were selling gadgets that you can put on your arm to improve your capabilities on the ride! On one hand, fuck capitalism, this is crap. On the other hand, omg this is genius? You’re giving me gear that changes the way the roller coaster interacts with me? This is like gaining a new item in an RPG or leveling up? Wait, no. This is like an IRL DLC to the ride! The possibilities are endless!
This is definitely not a classic ride, but the technology used is so impressive, I can’t wait to see what else will be made with it.
I saw a glimpse of what could happen in a not so far away future in this video, which is an augmented reality theme park in a random street in Los Angeles. Put on a VR headset and here you are, in this street, interacting with objects, maybe trying to set a high-score in a challenge, it’s a video game, in your street. The video is still somewhat basic, but after seeing what was done in the Spider-Man ride, I can’t resist imagining how far you could take things?
It also reminded me in a way of the video game South Park: The Fractured but Whole, which I played not that long ago. In it, the kids aren’t really superheroes. They are roleplaying in their neighborhood using apps and social networks to set their stuff and track their quests. How far are we from being able to create something similar IRL? I’d say we’re pretty darn close!
This Spider-man adventure was clearly the one that started this whole process in my mind, but others are also worth mentioning because they include parts of this shift:
From passive to Interactive
In Buzz Lightyear Laser Blast, no speed or 3d glasses. But you get a blaster, which is a sort of laser pointer, and plenty of targets to shoot at! While your cart advances, you shoot the maximum number of targets. Hitting a target can trigger a blink, a voice line, or move out of the way for a few seconds. You can also control the direction your cart is facing to have a better angle. At the end of the ride, the number and kind of targets you shot are computed into a score that you can compare with your friends or your high score.
Again, this is a super interesting ride because it is so different from the other ones. You compete in an arena against the game, but also against all the other players!
Immersion Through Sounds and Screens
In Star Wars Hyperspace Mountain and Avengers Assemble: Flight Force, you’re launched at high speed in space and end up in a sort of dogfight with sharp turns, drops, or spins. During the ride, in the darkness of the far future (oops wrong universe) the attraction, huge screens and speakers are used to give contextual clues to what’s happening in the ride.
For example, you’ll hear a voice telling “There is another one, behind you! Evasive maneuver” right before your cart does a sharp turn with a spin, and a screen will display the explosion while you pass under it.
The first time you do both of these rides, it’s amazing. You didn’t just go on a thrilling ride, you participated in a gun fight in hyperspace. If you do them again, it loses a bit of the effect, but it’s still fun to go that fast. The audio and visuals can’t replace exciting ride design, but they can enhance it. And I’m really glad there are still this kind of roller coasters, amusement parks would not be the same without big thrill stuff!
Storytelling Over Speed
Star Tours : The adventure continues is another 3D glasses ride. There is not as much interaction in this one, it’s like going to a movie, but the theater shakes a lot. The Disney website claims over 60 possibilities for this roller coaster, using clever cuts (during hyperspace jumps, I’d guess) to change scenes. Really enjoyable.
In Ratatouille, there are plenty of giant screens, you roll around in your cart and are moved across rooms to stop in front of a big screen to watch the next sequence. There are some good effects that give you some sense of speed, heat, or slides, but you’re basically watching a movie with the transitions being played while your cart moves. This is one ride I’d probably not do again, but I recommend doing it once, tho, because it’s really well made!
I can’t wait
All that just to say that I can’t wait to see the next steps. I’m still a huge fan of big, fast rides with loops and 360 spins like in Parc Asterix and EuropaPark, but this trip to Disney really made me realize the potential of tech-powered rides.
I recently watched this video about how theme parks are designed. I used to think it was mostly about the layout, scenery, and shops of the park. But now I see how both the rides and the park can be impacted to create really unique experiences.
Theme parks won’t be just adding gadget tech to their rides, they’ll rethink how the park itself works. Blending digital codes with real life, and blurring the lines where the fun begins and ends.
This is something I want to play around with at some point, bringing some video game magic into the IRL world.
That’s not just exciting, that’s thrilling.