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Seriously. Everyone probably knows the famous use of forced perspective at Disney. [0] Or the famous story how on the soft-launch days, Walt would hand childr

Seriously. Everyone probably knows the famous use of forced perspective at Disney. [0] Or the famous story how on the soft-launch days, Walt would hand children candy at the entrance, then watch how far they walked before they threw the wrapper on the ground. That's where they would place the garbage cans. (Yeah, sounds fanciful enough to be a fable, and perhaps it is. Even if the story is embellished, it definitely reflects the truth of the attention to detail at the Disney parks) But did you know they do similar "real world UX" magic with music as well? The different "themed" areas of the parks play different music to match the theme. As you walk from one themed area to another, the "transition areas" play the treble from the area you are leaving, and the bass for the area you are entering. Since all the music is in the same key and tempo, it produces a "fading in/out" effect as you travel, and never sounds dissonant or clashes, even though the themes in the different areas are totally different otherwise. They also do crazy things with smell. In certain areas they emit (very subtle) scents to evoke certain sensations. This is something you may never notice, but once it's mentioned, you'll definitely notice it. Here's an interesting article that describes some of this: https://factsandfigment.com/2020/05/01/the-illusion-of-fantasy-part-four-sounds-and-smells/ https://factsandfigment.com/2020/05/01/the-illusion-of-fanta... (that article describes the use of projected/highly directional sound, but not the "fade in/out" technique... I'm trying to find a source for it, maybe someone else can confirm) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Forced_perspective https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Forced_perspective

bingidingi 5y ago
yeah it’s a little bleak tbh, the scents are an attempt to influence your memory and make you hungry, and things like magic bands are meant to make you spend as much money as possible by making money more opaque
WalterBright 5y ago
> watch how far they walked before they threw the wrapper on the ground I'd throw those kids out of the park. Probably why I could never be Walt Disney :-)
easton 5y ago
The two fun facts I’ve always liked about this are: - They change the texture of the ground in between lands/park areas so when you walk over it you realize something’s different and look around. - they “invented” a color, Go-Away Green, which emulates the color of grass, and the fire hydrants and other structural stuff are painted with it. Look in a flower bed next time you are there and you’ll see them if you’re careful, but you don’t realize them until you know. https://insidethemagic.net/2021/04/disney-go-away-green-lp1/ https://insidethemagic.net/2021/04/disney-go-away-green-lp1/
- leviathant 5y ago
  Disney is amazing at marketing, but hundreds of years before Disney called it go-away green and their workers were proclaimed it as something they invented, "Invisible Green" was all the rage in Georgian England, to the point where it even appeared in poetry of the era https://janeaustensworld.com/2010/07/26/invisible-green-a-favorite-colour-for-georgian-landscape-buildings-and-garden-fences/ https://janeaustensworld.com/2010/07/26/invisible-green-a-fa...
laurent92 5y ago
How much of it is fandom (=people admire Disney for it just because it sounds logical and because they like the Disney identity), how much of it is actually making a difference in the children’s mind. Maybe it’s only additional details to keep adults busy with something to notice. Maybe “whatever” would suffice. We need A/B testing to check whether it increase sales ;) Have they tried positioning the park West-East vs North-South to check the conversion rates!?
- chrisseaton 5y ago
  > Have they tried positioning the park West-East vs North-South to check the conversion rates!? How would they practically do this?
  - nwiswell 5y ago
    This is what we in the business call a "joke"
  - dhosek 5y ago
    > How would they practically do this? https://www.google.com/amp/s/amp.indystar.com/amp/4354705 https://www.google.com/amp/s/amp.indystar.com/amp/4354705
    - checker 5y ago
      AMP-free link https://www.indystar.com/story/news/history/retroindy/2014/01/07/indiana-bell/4354705/ https://www.indystar.com/story/news/history/retroindy/2014/0...
  - codycraven 5y ago
    I think it was a joke, I actually thought it was pretty funny
panda88888 5y ago
This is really interesting! Thank you for sharing the article. Looking forward to reading it this evening and learn something new.
beerandt 5y ago
Disney World (Florida) was built on what's basically the top floor of a parking garage, so that all infrastructure and access could be "underground" and out of sight. Which is an interesting enough topic on its own, but one thing this allowed was for trash cans to "bottomless": the trash dropped through to conveyor belts below. No one has to see trash carts or be grossed out watching a trash can be emptied. It also prevented stinky trash drippings from falling on the hardscapes. Along came the recycling movement, and Disney was quick to implement single stream trash collection and recycling, sorting all trash for recycling after it was collected. But people were angry that Disney didn't have visible recycling bins next to garbage cans. They would interrupt employees and give them their recyclables. Employees, knowing it all got sorted anyway, would throw it away. Which made people angrier, even if they were told that everything would be sorted for recycling. So angry, that Disney had to spend a huge amount of money installing "dummy" recycling cans next to the existing trash cans. Cutting holes through reinforced concrete slabs. Major construction. These also emptied onto the same single stream garbage collection system, but visitors were pacified.
- Tempest1981 5y ago
  The Disney channel has a 6-part documentary. Parts 1 and 2 cover some of this. (But not the recycle bins.) Some cool engineering, um, I mean imagineering. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Imagineering_Story https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Imagineering_Story https://www.justwatch.com/us/tv-show/the-imagineering-story https://www.justwatch.com/us/tv-show/the-imagineering-story
  - beerandt 5y ago
    Yeah the really interesting stuff is what they don't like to advertise. In Florida, Disney actually has corporate control of two municipal incorporations aka actual cities. They get to control who the half dozen or so residents are, and therefore control who the voters are. Which besides complete zoning and land-use control, also gives them an amount of police and judicial power. https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lake_Buena_Vista,_Florida https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lake_Buena_Vista,_Florida https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bay_Lake,_Florida https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bay_Lake,_Florida https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Reedy_Creek_Improvement_District https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Reedy_Creek_Improvement_Dist...
jimmaswell 5y ago
Wow, the Banjo Kazooie music effect in real life.
11thEarlOfMar 5y ago
"A clean environment is a pleasure to the senses." I remember seeing this on a plaque on a porch on Main Street. It had an attribution, which I have forgotten, but could never track down who said it. In any case, that simple concept permeates the parks and created a benchmark that no other theme park has matched (to my knowledge).
- throwawayboise 5y ago
  A lot of cities could take this lesson. Sweeping the streets, picking up litter, keeping weeds trimmed would make a lot of urban areas look a lot nicer.
adrianmonk 5y ago
> As you walk from one themed area to another, the "transition areas" play the treble from the area you are leaving, and the bass for the area you are entering. That gives new meaning to the term "crossover".

bingidingi 5y ago

yeah it’s a little bleak tbh, the scents are an attempt to influence your memory and make you hungry, and things like magic bands are meant to make you spend as much money as possible by making money more opaque

WalterBright 5y ago

> watch how far they walked before they threw the wrapper on the ground I'd throw those kids out of the park. Probably why I could never be Walt Disney :-)

easton 5y ago

The two fun facts I’ve always liked about this are: - They change the texture of the ground in between lands/park areas so when you walk over it you realize something’s different and look around. - they “invented” a color, Go-Away Green, which emulates the color of grass, and the fire hydrants and other structural stuff are painted with it. Look in a flower bed next time you are there and you’ll see them if you’re careful, but you don’t realize them until you know. https://insidethemagic.net/2021/04/disney-go-away-green-lp1/ https://insidethemagic.net/2021/04/disney-go-away-green-lp1/

leviathant 5y ago
Disney is amazing at marketing, but hundreds of years before Disney called it go-away green and their workers were proclaimed it as something they invented, "Invisible Green" was all the rage in Georgian England, to the point where it even appeared in poetry of the era https://janeaustensworld.com/2010/07/26/invisible-green-a-favorite-colour-for-georgian-landscape-buildings-and-garden-fences/ https://janeaustensworld.com/2010/07/26/invisible-green-a-fa...

laurent92 5y ago

How much of it is fandom (=people admire Disney for it just because it sounds logical and because they like the Disney identity), how much of it is actually making a difference in the children’s mind. Maybe it’s only additional details to keep adults busy with something to notice. Maybe “whatever” would suffice. We need A/B testing to check whether it increase sales ;) Have they tried positioning the park West-East vs North-South to check the conversion rates!?

chrisseaton 5y ago
> Have they tried positioning the park West-East vs North-South to check the conversion rates!? How would they practically do this?
- nwiswell 5y ago
  This is what we in the business call a "joke"
- dhosek 5y ago
  > How would they practically do this? https://www.google.com/amp/s/amp.indystar.com/amp/4354705 https://www.google.com/amp/s/amp.indystar.com/amp/4354705
  - checker 5y ago
    AMP-free link https://www.indystar.com/story/news/history/retroindy/2014/01/07/indiana-bell/4354705/ https://www.indystar.com/story/news/history/retroindy/2014/0...
- codycraven 5y ago
  I think it was a joke, I actually thought it was pretty funny

panda88888 5y ago

This is really interesting! Thank you for sharing the article. Looking forward to reading it this evening and learn something new.

beerandt 5y ago

Disney World (Florida) was built on what's basically the top floor of a parking garage, so that all infrastructure and access could be "underground" and out of sight. Which is an interesting enough topic on its own, but one thing this allowed was for trash cans to "bottomless": the trash dropped through to conveyor belts below. No one has to see trash carts or be grossed out watching a trash can be emptied. It also prevented stinky trash drippings from falling on the hardscapes. Along came the recycling movement, and Disney was quick to implement single stream trash collection and recycling, sorting all trash for recycling after it was collected. But people were angry that Disney didn't have visible recycling bins next to garbage cans. They would interrupt employees and give them their recyclables. Employees, knowing it all got sorted anyway, would throw it away. Which made people angrier, even if they were told that everything would be sorted for recycling. So angry, that Disney had to spend a huge amount of money installing "dummy" recycling cans next to the existing trash cans. Cutting holes through reinforced concrete slabs. Major construction. These also emptied onto the same single stream garbage collection system, but visitors were pacified.

Tempest1981 5y ago
The Disney channel has a 6-part documentary. Parts 1 and 2 cover some of this. (But not the recycle bins.) Some cool engineering, um, I mean imagineering. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Imagineering_Story https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Imagineering_Story https://www.justwatch.com/us/tv-show/the-imagineering-story https://www.justwatch.com/us/tv-show/the-imagineering-story
- beerandt 5y ago
  Yeah the really interesting stuff is what they don't like to advertise. In Florida, Disney actually has corporate control of two municipal incorporations aka actual cities. They get to control who the half dozen or so residents are, and therefore control who the voters are. Which besides complete zoning and land-use control, also gives them an amount of police and judicial power. https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lake_Buena_Vista,_Florida https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lake_Buena_Vista,_Florida https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bay_Lake,_Florida https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bay_Lake,_Florida https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Reedy_Creek_Improvement_District https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Reedy_Creek_Improvement_Dist...

jimmaswell 5y ago

Wow, the Banjo Kazooie music effect in real life.

11thEarlOfMar 5y ago

"A clean environment is a pleasure to the senses." I remember seeing this on a plaque on a porch on Main Street. It had an attribution, which I have forgotten, but could never track down who said it. In any case, that simple concept permeates the parks and created a benchmark that no other theme park has matched (to my knowledge).

throwawayboise 5y ago
A lot of cities could take this lesson. Sweeping the streets, picking up litter, keeping weeds trimmed would make a lot of urban areas look a lot nicer.

adrianmonk 5y ago

> As you walk from one themed area to another, the "transition areas" play the treble from the area you are leaving, and the bass for the area you are entering. That gives new meaning to the term "crossover".