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"Star Tours" at Disneyland doubled down on this uselessness factor. When it opened in 1987 I was fascinated, as a teen, and there were several demonstrations of

"Star Tours" at Disneyland doubled down on this uselessness factor. When it opened in 1987 I was fascinated, as a teen, and there were several demonstrations of the technology they were using, and principles they exploited, to make a roller-coaster ride out of a "room" that never traveled anywhere! It was a large-scale flight simulator, in fact; you cram people into the fuselage, shut the doors, and then toss them around with hydraulic actuators while showing them a film, and the combined sensations really convince people that they're in motion, flying through space, and being buffeted by battles and explosions. The waiting in line part was even made fun by all the branded Star Wars animatronics. There was never a dull moment, even if it was two hours before you actually boarded the "ride". But it was all completely fake, pseudo-futuristic, and based on a fictional universe of characters who don't exist, yet with all those layers of simulation, people paid good money and invested an entire day at the park to be hoodwinked and thereby entertained, and indeed, inspired to bond with friends, family, and significant others.

sandworm101 2y ago
>> inspired to bond with friends, family, and significant others. That is what I remember from decades past, but parks seem different now. With all the complex ticketing and line-bypassing schemes, it now seems more about social signaling than enjoying the ride. Those Disney lines were fun but now it seems that standing in a line is only a signal that you aren't subscribed to whatever scheme allows one to bypass the line on a given day. Airlines are the same. Once upon a time everyone just got onto the plane. Now we all line up and compare each other according to which order we are allowed to board. Disney worked to make the line entertaining. Now they want to upsell and I worry that, like airlines, they now want to make the line experience worse in order to better sell the bypass option. (Starting in the late 90s, Disney actively tried to reduce lines so that people would spend more time shopping/spending, which is why the parks suddenly felt far more crowded.)
- dartos 2y ago
  Just like airline boarding groups, the fast lines are supposed to make you feel 2nd class to encourage you to buy fast passes. Selling solutions to problems you create is the essence of gamification
  - AStonesThrow 2y ago
    It's not like this is a new thing at Disneyland or anywhere. When they opened, they sold your tickets in tiers, and that's when we coined the expression "E-ticket Ride" because they'd deem the most desirable, most exciting attractions as top-tier premium packages, and families on a budget would settle for less. It was the abolition of these distinctions and the flattening of the price of admission that took a step forward. Since Disneyland's reputation had been established, they were more willing to let the patrons and fans decide which rides were the best and coolest, and inform future iterations of Imagineering. By the way, to speak to the article itself, I've been reviewing "classic" Disney films and found significant occultism, a lot of "magick" and such ("Sorceror's Apprentice", "Pinocchio"); everyone knows the fairies and supernatural elements; some say that Disney has changed and Disney has lost moral character and is no longer suitable for children, but I suggest that Walt Disney's morality hasn't altered course since its foundation, when "Alice in Wonderland" was a drug-fueled sex romp written by an ephebophile; when Steamboat Willie was an arrogant bigot who violently pounded other animals into submission...

sandworm101 2y ago

>> inspired to bond with friends, family, and significant others. That is what I remember from decades past, but parks seem different now. With all the complex ticketing and line-bypassing schemes, it now seems more about social signaling than enjoying the ride. Those Disney lines were fun but now it seems that standing in a line is only a signal that you aren't subscribed to whatever scheme allows one to bypass the line on a given day. Airlines are the same. Once upon a time everyone just got onto the plane. Now we all line up and compare each other according to which order we are allowed to board. Disney worked to make the line entertaining. Now they want to upsell and I worry that, like airlines, they now want to make the line experience worse in order to better sell the bypass option. (Starting in the late 90s, Disney actively tried to reduce lines so that people would spend more time shopping/spending, which is why the parks suddenly felt far more crowded.)

dartos 2y ago
Just like airline boarding groups, the fast lines are supposed to make you feel 2nd class to encourage you to buy fast passes. Selling solutions to problems you create is the essence of gamification
- AStonesThrow 2y ago
  It's not like this is a new thing at Disneyland or anywhere. When they opened, they sold your tickets in tiers, and that's when we coined the expression "E-ticket Ride" because they'd deem the most desirable, most exciting attractions as top-tier premium packages, and families on a budget would settle for less. It was the abolition of these distinctions and the flattening of the price of admission that took a step forward. Since Disneyland's reputation had been established, they were more willing to let the patrons and fans decide which rides were the best and coolest, and inform future iterations of Imagineering. By the way, to speak to the article itself, I've been reviewing "classic" Disney films and found significant occultism, a lot of "magick" and such ("Sorceror's Apprentice", "Pinocchio"); everyone knows the fairies and supernatural elements; some say that Disney has changed and Disney has lost moral character and is no longer suitable for children, but I suggest that Walt Disney's morality hasn't altered course since its foundation, when "Alice in Wonderland" was a drug-fueled sex romp written by an ephebophile; when Steamboat Willie was an arrogant bigot who violently pounded other animals into submission...