The Mentality of Reliance — An Analysis of Lighting in the Disney Parks
“It looks better at night.”
This is most likely a phrase you’ve heard before. Something said that really holds true when analyzing parks at the Disney Resorts. One of the most integral sights to a Disney Parks guest is the vision of a lit-up castle, right down the center of Main Street, as guests file down the crowded street in an attempt to return to their hotels. Constant motion matched with well lit buildings truly encapsulates the Disney experience. Following this trail, against the flow of traffic, leads to a majestic castle shrouded in darkness, lit only with a looming blue glow that gives the castle a warmth like no other icon.
Depending on the park, the surroundings of the castle differ but only slightly. In Walt Disney World for example, guests are treated to the futuristic lighting from Tomorrowland, enticing guests to make a voyage into the distant future. In fact, the PeopleMover is arguably a better experience when it is no longer light out. Guests are transported over a nearly empty tomorrow, free to analyze and feel immersed within the land without the heat or noise to distract them (Author’s Note: Watching the kinetic energy as guests move across Tomorrowland during the day can be fun too). Guests can also look towards Adventureland, where lighting is provided by fire lit torches, developing the mystery of the jungle. The night allows WDI to play visual tricks on the guests, whether it is used in ways to entice exploration or to further develop theming that could not be developed fully in the daylight.
This dependence on nighttime theming has become something of an important factor in modern day Imagineering though. When Cars Land was developed, one of the most common talking points surrounded the area of the park at night. In fact, the first thing I heard about the newly developed addition to California Adventure was the immersion guests felt when entering the park at night time, surrounded by neon lights and classical fifties motifs of design. The rockwork was definitely something to marvel at, but the energy of the film captured at night truly redefined theming in the Disney Parks, let alone theme parks as a whole. On Radiator Springs Racers, guests were treated to a scenic route surrounding Radiator Springs, but pairing this attraction with the environment developed when the nighttime lighting began truly acted as a marvel of design.
Now, this development should have been nothing more than a simple thematic choice that developed the independence of this addition and frankly nothing more. An interesting idea at first, this dependence of nighttime experience has grown to be somewhat of an addiction for future Disney Parks additions. Its obvious that nighttime viewing has been a crucial part of the Disney Parks since the beginning, but as of late it has become apparent that the forefront of design is how the park can be bettered during the night.
Pandora: The World of Avatar is a strong example of this dependence. During the day, guests can explore the jungles of Pandora and develop a connection to the flora and fauna that only this extraterrestrial planet can sustain. Transported to a new world, it should be obvious to assume that guests expect to be surrounded in a completely different environment from the world they currently inhabit. Within promotional material, Disney hasn’t done much to identify this difference other than the addition of floating rocks, which while interesting still look like rocks. Again, Disney relied on the forced perspectives during the night to cement the specialties of Pandora. For example, the ground in the park will illuminate blue to mimic the planet, as well as the jungle flora that lines the pathways. Small organisms are believed to be projected during the night will further develop the animal life in Avatar and theming.
It does leave something to be wanted though. A focus on the nighttime when designing leaves the daytime immersion behind. It is quite important to garner interest during the day, and a strict focus on nighttime detail will likely yield positive results but can be quite risky. Focusing on a certain time of the day leaves thought out of the design process.
This point is truly a difficult one to prove. To demonstrate the validity of the claim would require an example that both identifies the issues with WDI while defining some of the best design in the theme park industry. It must be shown that a certain area of one of the Disney Parks can look absolutely bland during the day while managing to pop during the night, solidifying the difference between day and night, and the problems that can arise when one is favored over the other.
Take my opinion with a grain of salt if you must, but I’d argue that the Paradise Pier area of California Adventure provides as an example of this exact scenario.
When looking at Paradise Pier during the day, it’s little more than a roller coaster and small buildings. Matching the aesthetic of the Boardwalk in California, the area does little more than serve as a theming area for California Screamin’. Truly, it’s not something to marvel at.
But at night, the area becomes a colorful and bright landscape of color and sound. Juxtaposing the neon lighting of the Mickey Fun Wheel with the extensive track of California Screamin’ captures the energy of boardwalks better than the attempt made during the day. The bright lights certainly do light up the night, partially because of their necessity in the World of Color show. Paradise Pier shifts from a bland reminder of the poor architecture found at cheap amusement parks to a redesigned look at the possibilities regarding boardwalk attractions.
It’s quite apparent that the use of lighting can define an area in a way that nearly nothing can. New Orleans Square at night, lined with stringed lights and porch lanterns identifies the southern character behind the area, but the architecture does so first and foremost. The issue lies when the park becomes dependent on such lighting effects at night, and the architectural basis cannot stand on its own during the day. It’s important that WDI not lose its line of sight, for when they lose control of their actions, the imagination and magic will soon be lost. Dependence on motifs such as lighting or projected effects seems lazy for the exact reason why moving from audio-animatronics to screens shines a dark light on the company’s past.
It’s a tad cynical to reflect upon small specifics of immersive design, but the slippery slope regarding further themed “lands”, and the dependence on nighttime lighting hopefully will not lead to simpler architecture. The fear is a day in which wall designs are replaced with projected windows, or wording across the wall that only shows itself during the night. The idea of a theme park that transforms based on the time of day is surely an interesting one, but would neglect respect to the specifics of what makes a themed area truly memorable.
Architecture is a cornerstone of Walt Disney Imagineering, but with current technological innovations it has become easier to forgo intelligent design over laziness. While an inherently bias statement, it’s hard to compare the architecture of EPCOT to a screen based attraction that cuts corners rather than broadens the reach of Disney Parks. The Audio Animatronic for Abraham Lincoln still stands strong, whereas the CGI video that exists within Journey into Imagination with Figment already looks bland and dated. It is possible that one day we shall see decisions such as these plaguing the architecture of the parks, indicating the demise of theming, but before such actions can be committed, the community must take a strong stance against such mentalities to prevent the loss of the integrity that WDI has garnered over the past 60 years.
Lighting can be the best friend of a designer, but reliance on a singular motif can easily lead to over-saturation, and in the end a general lack of effort.
Ryan Dorman is a Columnist for the Boardwalk Times.
