June 15th is the end of an era… the DCA era that is. Disney’s California Adventure will have its official grand opening on this day, ending the DCA that (very few) fans grew to know and love. I have decided to take on the role… Read More »DCA History Lesson – Part 1 – Sunshine Plaza
This article should really be titled ‘Walt Disney Imagineering builds Star Trek Holodeck and refuses to share it with anybody.’ For a few years now WDI has used a Digital Immersive Showroom (aka The DISH) to assist in developing attractions, buildings, and even whole lands to make sure all the story details are right even before the first coat of paint is applied.
The DISH involves ultra high definition display walls combined with high precision motion capture systems and a system of goggles you wear to give you an overlay effect on the environment. Haptic feedback, markup and notation is also possible.
If you listen carefully, you can hear Imagineer Dr. Mark Mine mention that The DISH uses CAVE technology. That is the same technology that 12+ years ago Tony Baxter was rumored to be developing a new type of theme park with a virtual reality holodeck at its core. Alas, the technology wasn’t quite there yet at the turn of the millennium. I wonder if WDI considers it there now. It looks like it as Mine is now the head of the Creative Technology Group, charged with creating more uses for these technologies.
If you look at this video you can see the practical applications for simulation testing. Indeed WDI works with a number of military scale simulation technologies similar to The DISH and Central Florida is the center of the simulation industry. Can you conceive of an attraction that would use this technology to tell a story and complete the ride experience?
Anyone who wants to work for Walt Disney Imagineering could do worse that follow Mark Mine’s path. In 1997 he published a dissertation on what it means to work in a virtual world. “Exploiting Proprioception in Virtual-Environment Interaction” is not lite reading, to say the least, but it is a fascinating look at the state of the art 15 years ago.
More about Mark Mine:
Read More »Virtual Reality, just one of Imagineering’s many story telling tools
In what is perhaps the biggest “What took them so long?” moment of the decade, Disney has decided to position a version of its 8-part a capella group “Voices of Liberty” at Disneyland. This prestigious group calls the rotunda of EPCOT’s American Pavilion home and… Read More »Voice of Liberty soon to ring out at Disneyland
Carnations Plaza Gardens is an area of Disneyland that is close to its heart. It is literally adjacent to the hub and figuratively one of the places that was blessed by Walt and personally enjoyed him and Lillian Disney. Many of the couples who danced… Read More »Disneyland to Close Carnation Gardens Plaza, Relocate Swing Dancing Out of Park
As you might expect Disney is searching overseas for a few red-haired Scottish lasses to play Princess Merida from the upcoming Pixar animated film Brave. According to a story in the Daily Record, the ideal candidate would be someone who is bilingual (Gaelic and English),… Read More »Disney Searches for Scot to Play Merida in Parks
Despite creating the genre and 57 years of experience in the theme park industry, The Walt Disney Company has not hit every attraction out of the park. In fact, some were complete strikeouts. Here are a few of my nominees for the worst Disney Attraction… Read More »Worst Disney Attraction Ever
Inside the Grand Californian, and just a few feet away from Disney California Adventure, sits one of California’s best wine country restaurants. Chef Andrew Sutton keeps a careful eye on the seasonal menu and the kitchen at the award winning Napa Rose restaurant. He’s assembled… Read More »Meet the latest Napa Rose Pastries and Desserts
My family and I visited the Disneyland Resort this past weekend and the crowds were study, but not overwhelming (relatively speaking, I mean it was pretty busy). There are some new t-shirts that I’ll feature in a later post, and the construction at DCA and Downtown Disney is coming along swimmingly.
In Disneyland the construction is mainly along Main Street and around the Matterhorn. The Jolly Holiday is open for business — and business is good (so is the food). Read More »Disneyland Matterhorn and Jolly Holiday Updates