DAY 3 – THE MAGIC KINGDOM!
Today’s schedule (as currently planned):
- 8:30 – Depart for the Ticketing & Transportation Center
- Ride Ferry / Monorail to Magic Kingdom
- 2:00 – Board Bus to return to hotel.
- Remember – you have to ride a ferry or monorail to the bus. Plan accordingly.
- We will meet in the conference room as soon as we get back. Grab something to eat if you like and meets there for discussion.
- 5:00 – Board bus to return to Ticketing & Transportation Center
- 11:00-ish – Immediately after the fireworks, make your way across the lake to the bus.
- If you don’t mind missing the fireworks, leave before the crowd.
Notes for Today:
- Lots of things to discuss today. Explore the park as you like, but here are a few of my favorites.
- The Haunted Mansion. This has some of the best practical effects in the park. Some of these are quite old, such as the effect called Pepper’s Ghost, but they are still used in films today.
- Belle’s story time is for kids but, similar to Turtle time with Crush, it has a very interesting integration between puppetry and electronic effects.
- The Magic Kingdom has some of the best examples of forced perspective. As you walk down Main Street, notice that they have made two story buildings look taller. The first floor is about 90% as tall as it should be, the second floor is about 70% as tall as it should be, and upper floors even smaller. This tricks your mind into thinking they are taller than they are.
- Similarly, the castle uses the same forced perspective to make it seem taller. The upper sections of the castle are smaller in scale than the lower sections, which makes the castle look even taller.
- More so, the buildings toward the castle are of a progressively smaller scale than the ones towards the entrance. This makes the castle seem even taller because your eyes use the buildings as a reference point.
- Pay attention to lighting and costumes in many settings, particularly the dark shows and rides.
- Almost trivia, but also a possibility for theater. They actually pump smells into the Main Street area. Popcorn, candy, and so on. Why would they do this and how my we use that in theater?
- Disney actually uses a paint color that they refer to as “Go Away.” See if you can find it. Why might that be useful?
- Look for things I might not have mentioned. Always be asking yourself “how can this be used in theater?”
DAY 2 – EPCOT!
Enjoy EPCOT at your own pace. We will NOT meet this afternoon for discussion (but we will have tons to talk about in tomorrow’s discussion time for Magic Kingdom).
Here are a few random EPCOT notes to consider:
- We will talk about forced perspective tomorrow. See if you can find where it is used in EPCOT (It’s not a quiz. You don’t need to Google it.)
- Turtle Talk with Crush is a kids’ show, but is technologically very cool. It has some interesting applications, especially when you think about Shrek’s Magic Mirror.
- I really like Soarin’, but I’m not sure it has applications for theatre.
Welcome to DAY 1 – Disney’s Hollywood Studios!
Feel free to do what you want, when you want, but here are the things I would like to experience at some point today (in no particular order):
- Toy Story Mania
- Pay attention to the way faces and animation are projected on figures. How could something similar be used in the theatre? How would you accomplish this?
- Muppet Vision 3D
- Look around during the show. What do the “in-the-round” elements add to the experience?
- Pay close attention to the walls. Lots of scrim and lighting effects to convert the walls from clean to damaged.
- Mickey & Minnie’s Runaway Railway
- Again, lots of digital projections combined with practical (real / physical) elements. How could you use projections in a drama production?
- Take a look at individual lighting elements. How are they created?
- Beauty and The Beast Live On Stage
- Take note of changes made :
- from the film to the park
- to address Covid-related health and safety issues
- Pay attention to the costumes – consider their cultural / historical significance.
- Take note of changes made :
- Star Wars – Galaxy’s Edge
- In this area, pay close attention to the character development, casting, and costuming of the cast members.
- Is it appropriate? Why?
- In this area, pay close attention to the character development, casting, and costuming of the cast members.
If you want to try for some of the popular attractions like Rise of The Resistance, feel free to try.