When walking the corridors of Hogwarts Castle, however, becoming immersed in the architectural detail and the bickering of the talking portraits and the gentle swell of John Williams’s score, a slow, small realization began working its way through me, gnawing at my periphery before gradually blossoming as something of an epiphany right in front of my mind’s eye: not nearly enough had changed.
There has been a remarkable trend towards heightening immersion – and, in a close corollary, reinforcing narrative – at literally every turn in an attraction, specifically, and in its home park, generally. Coupled with the technical acumen of imagineers in the form of, say, making enchanted benches fly, themed rides have become quite adept at painting a pervasive experience… except, of course, for those scattered, subtle elements that don’t help add towards a sum that is greater than its whole. As the general evolutionary tug has pulled more and more details into one overarching atmosphere (the physical topography of the abstract story), think of these items as anachronistic remnants of a narrative prehistory.
The biggest and most flagrant of these incongruities? Railings. They are, of course, a necessity in terms of crowd control, but no other single element jarred me out of the experience of truly believing I had been transported to Hogsmeade (or Jurassic Park or wherever it is that Marvel Super Hero Island is supposed to be located) more. If such great pains had been taken to include nearly every last detail in, say, the Defense against the Dark Arts classroom, if (nearly) no expense had been spared to incorporate the films’ actors into the set, then why not go the last two or three inches it takes to cross the finish line and find an organic way of building line boundaries into the environment? Especially considering the incredibly easy out that being in a wizarding world provides – Professors Dumbledore or McGonagall could easily have conjured the railings for the express purpose of corralling all those noisy, messy Muggles – the lack of an explanation is mystifying, to say the least.
(An even better example: the Poseidon’s Fury queue area contains beautifully painted murals and quite atmospheric torch lighting, but the effect is greatly undermined by the presence of Universal security cameras. Establishing that the excavation team has set these up to monitor the dig site and stay in contact with one another would require very little in the way of extra set dressing or [less ideally] exposition in dialogue; another, fake camera could be positioned next to one of the doors, or a television screen showing one or two archaeologists going about their business in a different chamber.)
Smaller but no less ruinous is the presence of other, legally-mandated items, such as exit signs, fire extinguishers, or modern lighting. (Looking up in the Gryffindor common room and seeing giant light bulbs shining down upon you somehow does not make for a magical, immersive moment – nor does seeing a semi-hidden exit sign right in the middle of the Forbidden Forest.) Incorporating these naturally into the themed environment is substantially more difficult, particularly as it relates to all relevant state or federal laws, but it is no less important to the cohesion or integrity of the illusion. If all elements don’t help reinforce the others to create a seamless world, to truly recreate Hogwarts Castle, then the theme is just a cheap and tacked-on veneer. It is the difference between a theme park and Cracker Barrel.
Then there’s the final frontier of theming, the one sensory boundary that has yet to be breached: touch. Harry Potter and the Forbidden Journey may have high-definition video projectors filled with flashy visual effects, precision-controlled ride movements, and Williams’s beautiful music, but when you touch one of Hogwarts’s walls, it still feels like warm plaster instead of the cold stone that the imagineers worked so assiduously at making you think it was. It’s an admittedly tiny detail, but it is, arguably, one of the most important – the day that either Disney or Universal can make you think you’re several miles under the ocean’s surface or several thousand miles up in the stratosphere or in a millennium-old magical castle by just a casual brush against a wall or a table is the day they have complete mastery over their audiences. Every sensory input will be sending one consistent message instead of providing contradictory messages, thus further allaying the suspension of disbelief.
Put altogether, Hogwarts Castle would still function nearly identically to the version that Universal Creative has provided, but the scant differences are dramatically and remarkably telling. Imagine a queue through the castle that featured ornately carved stone barriers – cold and hard to the touch – that channeled visitors down the correct path. Once outside, in the greenhouse, excited conversations between students and staff could be overheard about the imminent arrival of the Muggles and how Dumbledore has had to install special new (and quite temporary) precautions for their visit, such as something called “guardrails.” Once in the castle’s upper reaches, flickering torches and suspended candles between all of the talking portraits provide plenty of illumination, and a “Muggle exit” sign that continually writes itself, with just the right flourish, in a magical script floats off in the corner.
There is not one element out of place, not one detail overlooked, not one item incongruous with all of the others.
This is what the next generation of theme parks will look like.
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Huh? That's it? Even more attention to detail by way of exit signs. That's nothing more than a wish list of more money to be spent on inconsequential stuff.
Funny that you mentioned cold, hard stone castle walls because my first thought was the Explorer's fortress in Mediterranean Harbour, with its winding stone passage staircase. Hopefully one day you will get to see a truely immersive Disney theme park that blows away even the BEST parks in the US.
Everyone knows WDW is marketed towards those east of the Mississippi and, like government, the yokels, rednecks and bubbas get the theme parks they deserve. At least in the case of Disney, it's watered down experiences, more princess meet 'n' greets, bad show in Splash Mountain with most of the AAs not working and "thrill" rides replacing the grand, sweeping omnimover people eaters of 1980's Epcot Centre.
The theme parks for true connoisseurs are in Japan.
The ride and the theming are what you make of them. If small details ruin the entire experience for you, then a theme park is only going to be able to disappoint. Like you said, due to laws and regulations, certain safety precautions have to be taken. I like the themed exit signs, but if you theme them too well, they might be mistaken for ride elements and not an actual exit.
I agree that it would be nice to be able to explain away or hide certain elements, but it doesn't take away from the overall experience for me!
There are tricks that can help with things such as exit signs, too. Just put a dogleg or twist in the queue so that guests are facing away from an exit sign, for one. (And when the guests instinctively turn around, toward the entrance, during an evacuation, then they'll see the exit signs.) But that's a first-gen trick. I think it's worth questioning whether it can be done better.
When was talked with Sam Gennawey about theme park design late last year, materials were a big issue - how the use of high-quality materials helps establish a theme. But for as well as Disney does this, and Universal with Harry Potter, parks could do even better. How then, to make that affordable enough to be implemented? That's a challenge for designers of the next generation of themed environments to address, too.
I love the issues this post brings up. There's much here for fans who love detail to debate. Thanks for posting.
The way I see it, while the ride is in motion there really is no need for exit signs. If the ride stops for whatever reason then the signs should become illuminated. It's not like we need them while we are securely strapped into the vehicle. And if the ride is operating then no park personnel should be in the ride area anyway.
I was starring at Rip Ride Rockit the other day and I realized how awfully intrusive and ugly the stairs and platform at the top of the lift are. I think something needs to be done about those bad boys, and other coasters. For example, removing those ultra wide stairs on Wild Eagle could enhance the sense of freedom and flight while ascending the lift. Sheikra and Griffons extra wide cars could also benefit greatly from removing all the stairs, walkways and railings that surround the upper turnaround of the lift. Not to mention all those unsightly electrical boxes that get in the way of the view.
I applaud Intamin for having smaller, less obtrusive stairs and railings on their lifts. On top of that Intamin only does the stairs on one side of the lift, except on Skyrush.
Wouldn't life be grand without all the little things getting in the way!!
As cool as SOME parts of the queue are, I'm not a huge fan of it like everyone else. However, it's because of other gross oversights than exit signs.
I'm with Robert, Pirates probably has the best styled queue to convince guest that they are somewhere else (minus the icky and low black ceiling). Anytime a line is split, I think that help. The winding halls with small chambers with curious objects works well. Heavy chains seem to fit nicely and if the kids are bored (and I don't recommend this) they can touch and climb around the giant barrels.
Another Queue, perhaps because of it's simplicity, works well is the Tower of Terror queue. The Garden section with the music, while not crazily detailed really works well, and flows well into the very well themed interior.
My final queue shout out is the Everest queue. As authentic looking as other queues may be, this one is authentic. 98% of the items, including the hand maid Yeti temple, are from Asia. The queue has no ropes or chains. It never really has a switchback. It has interesting buildings that look real that subtly build up the story and educate you. I'm not judging based on what it's based (I'm indifferent to HP) but by the thoroughness, and I'd have to say Everest may be that next generation queue, and hardly anyone notices.
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