Eric Lynch

ENC 1102

Professor Thames

11/22/2020

Theme Parks for the New World: Exploring the Role and Use of Technology Within

Attractions at the Amusement/Theme Parks

Introduction

What effect does technology have on attraction development within the amusement/theme park

industry? The amusement/theme park industry is constantly growing and innovating each and

every year(pandemics aside). With this growth, the demand for bigger and better rides that are up

to today's current standards are increasing as well as amusement/theme parks have to find ways

to bring a higher level of enjoyment to more and more guests each year. With new uses of

technology being invented and utilized every single day, it is a good thing to look at what

technologies are being used in attraction development(for example, the use of a trackless ride

system like in Antarctica: Empire of the Penguin at SeaWorld Orlando), in what ways they are

excelling in making the theme park experience even more enjoyable, and at what ways they are

lacking and could use improvement. For example, it is already generally well known that many

theme parks have been utilizing projection technology for years in order to convey stories in

their attractions, with Star Tours at Disneyland being one of the most notable uses of this

technology early on in 1987. However, with the continuous use and sometimes overuse of this

technology, it may affect guests' reactions and new technologies may have to be used instead to
continue pleasing guests. While the thrills associated with rides(especially rollercoasters) are

well discussed among park guests and those who know a lot about the amusement/theme park

industry, the technological aspects of attractions are often not discussed or not discussed

enough(one reason could be is that the technology is designed to be hidden from guests to

increase immersion). Having the newest and best uses of technology with attractions at

amusement/theme parks may make an attraction significantly better than those that don’t. Or we

may find that guests tend to like and favor other aspects of a ride instead, like the amount of

thrills that a ride has, or how much physical theming a ride has. 

In some way or another, every single source that I have read and annotated has a connection to

technology use within attraction development in the amusement/theme park industry and all

support the narrative that the use of more technology in attractions is the best course of action for

amusement/theme parks. While some sources may be more direct than others, they all tackle and

help to grasp the fundamental concepts and ideas involved in attraction technology. For example,

the article “Navigating Genres” by Kerry Dirk does not mention theme parks or attractions at all

without the text, but it talks about the roles of genres, which theme park attractions fall into. The

use of technology in different ways in order to push and narrative and garner a reaction is critical

in making an attraction fall under a certain genre and therefore potentially improve guest

satisfaction as well. Another article, “Application of supervisory control theory of theme park

vehicles” by van de Mortel-Fronczak, is an extremely detailed example of an analysis of

different kinds of technology that are currently already in use in attractions at theme parks today.

With this article, you can compare current ride technology to technology used in the past and

technology that can be utilized in the future in order to get a board view of the current progress

of the application of technology in theme park attractions. Another article, “Theme Park
Selection” by Gordon W. Mcclung, researches and discusses the type of genres and themes that

current theme park patrons are most interested in. Being able to know what the best theme for an

attraction is would certainly help someone who is designing an attraction know what elements

they should include into the attraction. For example, if the future is a theme that guests are most

interested in, then it would definitely be a good idea to utilize and display a good variety of new

and upcoming technologies. If the most popular theme was history, then it would be a good idea

to use new technology in a way that would help to immerse guests into an historic environment.

The article “Pre-Writing the Stage of Discovery in the Writing Process” by Gordon D Rohman,

talks about the importance of prewriting when it comes to writing a good piece of literature. The

same ideology and mindset can be put into designing attractions for amusement/theme parks.

Designing an attraction requires blueprints, surveys, and many people in order to make sure the

building and execution of a ride is done successfully. Relating the strategies used to produce

good pre-writing can be transferred to the design phase of attractions. The article “Reducing

Perceived Waiting Time in Theme Park Queues via an Augmented Reality Game” by Zambetta,

Fabio, et al, directly related to technology in the amusement/theme park industry as there is an

actual experiment in the article about the introduction of technology in theme parks. The results

of the experiment involving utilizing video game technology within queue lines can be used as

an indicator of how park guests will respond to the ever-increasing use of technology within

rides and attractions. Even the article, “An Unexpected Consequence of a Roller Coaster Ride” by

Lascelles, K., Hewes D, Ganesan V shows us how the use of technology might be better than the use of

more thrills as it shows that the use of more thrills might lead to more injuries among riders, which is less

likely to happen on a less forceful rollercoaster or ride.

 
Methodology

In order to find out what technology is currently being used within the theme park industry, how

it can be improved, and how guests react to the technology being used within attractions, it is

imperative that different methods are used in order to collect data related to the topic. The first

method I used for data collection is a YouTube video (SoCal Attractions 360) of Rise of the

Resistance at Disney’s Hollywood Studios. I specifically used footage of this attraction as it is

regarded as one of the best and most technologically advanced attractions currently available in

the entire industry. Another method I used for data collection is a YouTube video (Universal

Orlando Resort) of the Bourne Stuntacular at Universal Studios Florida. Like Rise of the

Resistance, this show has opened less than a year ago and is one of the pinnacles of technology

use within an attraction at a theme park. Luckily, Universal Orlando Resort has recently a behind

the scenes video for this attraction which allows us to get an even more in-depth look at the

attraction, from a perspective that we would not be able to see as guests. With the technical

aspects being covered, another method of data collection I will use involves an interview with a

person working for the Walt Disney Company who is involved with attraction development

within theme parks and see how it is really like to build an attraction. While this one may be

harder to accomplish due to the pandemic that is currently going on(the International Association

of Amusement Parks and Attractions convention, which had leaders of the industry coming

together all in one place, was cancelled this year) it will provide valuable insight as I would get

to ask what goes into creating an attraction and what challenges arise during the design process,

instead of just observing the end result. The way that I have satisfied this goal is by referencing

an interview from the opening of Rise of the Resistance at Disney’s Hollywood Studios (Theme

Park Insider) between Robert Niles from Theme Park Insider and John(no last name was given)
from Walt Disney Imagineering. Also, another method of data collection that I have done is

conduct a survey. By surveying people that have just or have recently experienced an attraction, I

received an unbiased view of how people have felt about the attraction and which elements of the

attraction that they enjoyed the most. With the data from the survey, it could be determined if all

the technology that was shown in the videos and discussed during interviews were worth it in the

end and if it is what the guests really want.

Results

For my survey, I had collected responses to questions (which are listed in the appendix section)

to obtain a consensus about how people feel about the use of the technology within theme park

attractions. All data was collected so that the identities of the people taking the survey were not

revealed and therefore all responses are anonymous. The attraction particular in which some of

the questions were about was Star Wars: Rise of the Resistance as it is, in my opinion, the most

technologically advanced attraction that can be found within the industry as of now. Of the 21

responses, 10 had ridden Star Wars: Rise of the Resistance. Of the people that had ridden the

attraction, the response was overwhelmingly positive. When asked “How did Star Wars: Rise of

the Resistance make you feel?” There were no negative responses. Some of the responses

included:

-“I was in awe of it, because it was a very innovative ride”

-“Amazing!!!! I felt like I was a child again. I felt wonder and like what I was seeing couldn’t be

real. It was one of the best experiences I’ve ever had in a theme park. I was giddy for the entire

experience.”

-“ As a star wars fan, I was absolutely awe-struck. The detail, storyline, and immersion was

beyond incredible. I loved feeling like I was a character in a star wars movie flighting alongside

the resistence. It's a 10/10 for me!”

Furthermore, out of all 21 people(the attraction was heavily advertised on television and social

media so even people who didn’t ride the attraction could possibly answer yes to this question),

only 1 claimed that they knew how all of the effects in the ride were done. With 11 claiming they

knew how some of the effects were done and 9 claiming that they didn’t know how any of the

effects were done.

Out of 21 people, when asked “What do you want most when you are riding an attraction?” Only

2 people responded by saying that technology was what they wanted most in an attraction. With

10 people saying they would want thrill the most and 6 saying they wanted theming the most. 3

people responded with “other.”

 What do you want most when you are riding an attraction?
Other
14%

Technology
10%
Thrill
48%

Theming
29%

Thrill Theming Technology Other

For the video aspect of my methodology, I can utilize a table and see how each video that I

analyze satisfies every category, while this table is not complete and is subject to change, it does

give a template that I can use to compare each video with one another

Name of Theme of Type of Amount of Guest

video attraction technology used technology reaction/reaction
used from video

“The Bourne Stunt/action Show Action Technology is There are no

Stuntacular Equipment, LED the main focus guests, but the
Behind the panels, LED of this people shown in
Scenes | projection attraction, with the video are super
Universal technology, fog live action enthusiastic about
Studios effects, fans, water stunts being the level of effort,
Florida” sprayers, flame the second technology, and
throwers, “man main part. stunts are in the
lifts”, “sniffers”, attraction.
lift mechanisms,
motorized rail/rope
system.

“The Making Action/Adventure N/A N/A Video is an in-

 of Star Wars: depth interview
Rise of the about Rise of the
Resistance” Resistance at
Disney’s
Hollywood
Studios. The video
goes into detail
about the story and
the technology.

“[4K] Star Action/Adventure Animatronics, Most of the No audible

Wars Ride: trackless ride ride is focused reaction, but many
Rise of the vehicles, LED on the guests shown in the
Resistance projections, technological video looked to be
Ride (2 trackless show aspects with either taking
Different action equipment, helps to video/photo of the
Tracks POV) moving wall perpetuate the ride or were
– panels, strobe storyline. intrigued by their
Disneyland” lights, elevator lift surroundings.
system, LED
screens/panels,
drop track,
turntable, peppers-
ghost effect.

Discussion

Based on the data collected in the results from the previous section, it can be seen that

technology is still not the main focus of the general public when it comes to what they want in an

attraction. But from the videos and interview, it is well-established that ride developers are

focused on putting the best and greatest technology into their attractions in order to provide

better immersion for their guests. Although technology wasn’t the highest priority for most of the

people that were surveyed, it appears that this is the case because most guests are not aware of

the amount of technology that is already being used in the latest attractions that are designed so

that they are not noticed by the guests and instead add to the level of immersion. This hypothesis
can be made by the fact that most people surveyed could not identify all the technology that was

used within Star Wars: Rise of the Resistance and that the people surveyed had a general

consensus that the attraction had left them in a sense of wonder and awe.

With that being said, it appears that the ride developers are currently excelling at using new

technology and realize its ever increasing and important roles within attractions. The interview

(Theme park Insider) shows us that the people making the rides are putting an emphasis on

technology with attractions, the behind the scenes video (Universal Orlando Resort) shows us the

complexity of the of the technology involved with new and upcoming attractions and the ride-

through video of Rise of the Resistance (SoCal Attractions 360) shows us the result of the hard

work and high level of technology used in new attractions.

Conclusion

To conclude, looking at the results shows us that technology is already an integral part of new

ride development and that ride developers realize this and are striving to make the technology

within attractions even better than they already are.

Works Cited 
[4K] Star Wars Ride: Rise of the Resistance Ride (2 Different Tracks POV) – Disneyland [Video file]

(2019, December 13). Retrieved November 4. 2020, from https://www.youtube.com/watch?

v=T9kzsGTlzKg

Dirk, Kerry. “Navigating Genres.” Writing Spaces: Readings on Writing, Volume 1, Parlor Press, 2010, pp. 249–

262.

Forschelen, S.T.J., van de Mortel-Fronczak, J.M., Su, R. et al. Application of supervisory control theory to theme

park vehicles. Discrete Event Dyn Syst 22, 511–540 (2012). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10626-012-0130-6

Lascelles, K., Hewes D, Ganesan V. “An Unexpected Consequence of a Roller Coaster Ride.” Journal of

Neurology, Neurosurgery & Psychiatry, vol. 71, no. 5, 2001, pp. 704–705., doi:10.1136/jnnp.71.5.704.

Mcclung, Gordon W. “Theme Park Selection.” Tourism Management, vol. 12, no. 2, 1991, pp. 132–140.,

doi:10.1016/0261-5177(91)90068-5. Accessed 2002.

Rohman, D. Gordon. “Pre-Writing the Stage of Discovery in the Writing Process.” College Composition and

Communication, vol. 16, no. 2, 1965, pp. 106–112. JSTOR, www.jstor.org/stable/354885. Accessed 18

Sept. 2020.

The Bourne Stuntacular Behind the Scenes | Universal Studios Florida [Video file]. (2020, September

7). Retrieved October 23, 2020, from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RoYdSkSq-zc

The Making of Star Wars: Rise of the Resistance [Video file] (December 4, 2019) Retrieved November

4, 2020, from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CZ49evbBb4g

Zambetta, Fabio, et al. “Reducing Perceived Waiting Time in Theme Park Queues via an Augmented Reality

Game.” ACM Transactions on Computer-Human Interaction, vol. 27, no. 1, 2020, pp. 1–30.,

doi:10.1145/3361524.
 Appendix

Appendix: Informed Consent Form template

If an interview were conducted by myself, this consent form would have been utilized by the

person who I would be interviewing. However, since I had conducted a survey, I had transferred

a version of the consent form into SurveyMonkey and modified it to better align with surveys

and to allow the people getting surveyed to maintain their anonymity.

 
 

Appendix: Survey Questions and responses

No one will be surveyed unless they have given informed consent. Since we are in the middle of

a pandemic, surveys would be completed virtually through SurveyMonkey.com (or some other

specialized survey site, if a better one presents itself). The list of survey questions that were

asked are below.

-Have you ridden Star Wars: Rise of the Resistance

Yes:10

No:11

-How did Star Wars: Rise of the resistance make you feel?
-Would you ride it again? (everyone was allowed to answer this question so it is assumed some

people may have answered this question as a hypothetical)

Yes: 9

No: 0

Maybe: 2

Other:
-Do you prefer new attractions or classic attractions?

New: 6

Classic: 7

Other: 8
-Do you know how the effects in the ride were accomplished?

Yes: 1

I know how some of the effect were accomplished: 11

No: 9

Other: 0

-What do you want most when you ride an attraction? (thrill/theme/technology)

Thrill:10

Theme: 6

Technology: 2

Other:3

-Why did you choose to experience this attraction as opposed to others?

 
 Appendix: CITI Training Certificate

(Some information is blocked out as it is personal info(NID))