Talking Mickey Mouse?

Videos of the talking Mickey Mouse have been popping up on the Internet for some time now. Testing began at Disneyland a while back, and recently Mickey Mouse was talking at the D23 Expo this summer. 


It's clear that Imagineering is doing some great work with this technology. Mickey is doing a much better job answering Guests' questions and creating fun interactions with younger Guests, but there are still awkward moments. Mickey doesn't seem to like to answer strict 'yes' or 'no' questions. Guests often ask Mickey a question and he doesn't know how to respond. He thinks about it, and offers "Gee, I don't know" as his response. 


Having spent over four months working as a character performer, I understand how difficult it can be to answer certain Guest questions without being able to simply say 'yes' or 'no.' Guests ask some pretty outlandish questions to their favorite Disney characters! "Belle, where is the bathroom?" "Goofy, what is Cinderella doing?" "What did you have for breakfast today?" "Is it hot in there?".... (the answer to that question is always "In where???") I understand WDI is always trying to top themselves. To be the biggest and best, and offer the highest-quality entertainment "on this world or any other." But as a fan of character meet-and-greets, I don't think talking characters is a step in the right direction. 


Just thinking about the logistics of this technology gives me a headache. I can see from the many videos that the technology is improving, and these meet-and-greets with a talking Mickey can be accomplished. But when the technology becomes advanced enough and is able to be brought into the parks, will it be for Mickey only? The Fab Five only? What will younger Guests think if they can talk with Mickey but they can't talk with The Incredibles or Buzz and Woody? Guests aren't always the smartest, but they get it. They get that the Princesses and other face characters are the only characters who can interact verbally. But to offer this new technology to the Guests, I feel that WDI would need to integrate it into every character meet-and-greet for the sake of character integrity.


Character meet-and-greets work so well the way they are! A non-talking character leaves everything up to the Guest and their imagination! There's a great quote from John Hench from the book Designing Disney: "We give power to the guests' imagination, to transcend their everyday routine." Just as John Hench said, Disney Parks give power to the Guests' imaginations. Guests hear what they want to hear, in their head. They ask a character a question, and know what they want to hear back. And character performers are smart, and know how to answer those questions through their "animation." You can say a lot without speaking at all. 


During my four months as a character performer, I had a lot of truly great Guest interactions. One day working at Animal Kingdom, Goofy was a Camp Minnie-Mickey and was met by a teary-eyed mother. The mother explained to Goofy that her father had been taken to the hospital from the Park, but he was going to be okay and just needed to recover in the hospital. He wanted her and her son, his grandson, to enjoy the rest of their day in the Park instead of the hospital. But he had one request: that they go get a picture with Goofy, because Goofy is his favorite. She held back her tears, and gave Goofy a big hug, and said "Goofy, you have no idea how much I needed that hug." 


That woman opened up to Goofy because of the simple yet powerful trust that people have in Disney characters. Disney characters represent the highest, most uplifting values of the Disney Company, on their own accord. I know it sometimes sounds silly, but people really do hold Disney characters in high respect, and have very sentimental feelings connected with their favorite characters. 


That entire interaction happened without Goofy talking. Goofy was there to listen and react accordingly, but did not need to offer any words. All Goofy needed to do was be there for her and give her a hug. It was a great moment I will never forget. 


So why does Goofy, or any other character, need to talk? Guests go into a character meet-and-greet knowing what they want to say, and get their answers from the characters by interpreting their gestures and "animation." But what's so great about those gestures is that they can be interpreted however the Guests want them to be interpreted. Why take away that power from the Guests and their imaginations?


Thinking about this technology also brings up the question of international Guests, who don't speak English. They very often speak with the characters, and have seemingly understandable conversations. This happened to me on a number of occasions. While I may not have understood what the Guest was saying, Goofy understood exactly what they were saying. And the Guest understood what Goofy was saying to them through his gestures. Goofy, Sulley, Frozone and all of my other Disney "friends" had a number of conversations in Portuguese, Spanish and other languages that I myself do not speak. But my "friends" are able to converse with these Guests through their animation. And those Guests use their imaginations to hear what they want to hear. Why should they be forced to hear what the character wants to say verbally? 


Getting back to the logistics of this technology, I can only imagine that it is very expensive. And how can it be integrated into all of the character experiences offered in the Parks? Will characters only speak in certain meet-and-greet areas? So Mickey can't talk to you during breakfast or dinner, but he can speak to you in Town Square Exposition Hall? What about the rest of the characters beyond the Fab Five? 


I commend WDI for wanting to add more magic to the Guest experience. But I really think this technology is ruining the magic. The magic of character meet-and-greets is exactly that... meeting your favorite character! There's no need to "plus it." Why can't WDI leave some things alone?


And that is why I think Mickey Mouse should keep his mouth shut. 

The Kingdom Keepers

So it's been a while since I've blogged, so I thought I should get back on track with something new.

For the last few months, I've been listening to the audiobooks of the Kingdom Keepers book series. The books follow a group of kids who are trying to save the Magic Kingdom (and the rest of Walt Disney World) from being taken over by Disney villains who come to life after the parks close. I usually get distracted when I read a book, so I decided to subscribe to Audible on my iPhone, and I downloaded all three books in the series.

The books are really interesting and well-written. They're like the Harry Potter books (not quite as detailed and complex), but still full of story lines that keep my interest. And plus, it all takes place at Walt Disney World! It's so cool to hear phrases like Utilidor, Cast Member, Cinderella Castle, Main Street, and so on... and they even mentioned Cosmic Ray's!

I've finished the first two books, and am currently listening to the last book. The first two books were really good. Basically, the books follow a group of kids who got hired by Disney to become digital hosts at the parks, called DHI's, short for Disney Host Interactives (or Digital Holographic Images.) Park guests can rent a DHI, and the hologram will take them on a tour of the park, much like a Guest Relations Tour Guide does in real life. And when the parks close, the Disney characters and Audio-Animatronics all come to life. But the Disney villains have been attempting to take control of the parks. So it becomes the mission of the kids to save the parks from the villains, called the Overtakers.

Imagineering at the Movies

Walt Disney Imagineering, or WDI, is the “master planning, creative development, design, engineering, production, and project management subsidiary of the Walt Disney Company, responsible for the creation of the Disney theme parks and their expansion” [4]. Founded in 1952 as WED Enterprises, Walt Disney Imagineering was created by Walt Disney to help design and build his dream, Disneyland. Looking for a team of people to help build his dream, Walt looked to the most talented and creative people he knew: the artists, directors and designers from his movie studio. The first Imagineers were “a select handful of [Walt’s] studio people” [3], who had a wealth of knowledge of making magic on film. 

With such close ties between his movie studio and the design process of Disneyland, Walt used this link to promote the studio’s films in the park. Though the use of branding and promotion was not as prominent in Disneyland’s early days as it is today, opening-day guests experienced a number of attractions inspired by Disney film projects when Disneyland “opened its doors to a curious and eager public on July 17, 1955” [5]. One such attraction at Disneyland (and Walt Disney World) is the Jungle Cruise. This ride-through attraction was built to tie in with Disney’s True-Life Adventures series of documentaries, specifically the 1955 release of The African Lion. Walt Disney’s True-Life Adventure films also inspired the Mine Train through Nature’s Wonderland attraction. 

In finding source material for Disneyland’s original attractions, Walt Disney and the Imagineers looked into Disney’s history of animated features. Joining the Jungle Cruise, other opening-day attractions inspired by Disney films included Peter Pan Flight, Snow White’s Adventures, Mr. Toad’s Wild Ride (based on Disney’s The Adventures of Ichabod and Mr. Toad,) as well as Mad Tea Party (inspired by Disney’s Alice in Wonderland.) Throughout the history of both Disneyland and Walt Disney World, countless attractions have been inspired by Disney film productions. 

There are indeed myriad attractions in Disney Parks worldwide that do not include a tie-in to a Walt Disney Pictures production. Walt Disney World’s Epcot, for example, is known for its cultural and educational attractions. With its two sections, Future World and World Showcase, Epcot features rides and shows “focusing on the major issues of science and technology, communication and the arts, and community” [4]. As Kurtti also explains, there were no costumed Disney characters at Epcot on opening day, nor were there Disney character merchandise in the stores. In essence, Epcot “was treated as its own organic, self-contained culture, with no relationship to the Magic Kingdom” [4]. 

Yet though the years, many of Epcot’s original attractions and pavilions have changed to incorporate content from Disney films. One striking example is The Living Seas pavilion. The Living Seas opened in 1986, and included a multimedia presentation about ocean research, a ride through a Caribbean coral reef, as well as a visitor information center dedicated to undersea research. In late 2006, the attraction underwent a major overhaul, now featuring characters from Disney•Pixar’s Finding Nemo. The added characterization to certain attractions, such as Epcot’s Mexico pavilion, has been seen as unnecessary by park purists [12]. Yet Wilson also points out that The Living Seas pavilion had seen a steady decrease in attendance in the years leading up to the inclusion of Nemo and friends. 

It is evident that the collaboration between Disney Imagineering and the Walt Disney Studios is becoming stronger, given the popularity of movie-related attractions in Disney Parks. With such a successful strategy on their hands, Disney decided to take a chance at turning one of its popular attractions into a feature film. In fact, numerous attractions have received the big-screen treatment. Yet not all film adaptations have been as successful as the attraction that inspired them. In examining the relationships between the films and attractions, numerous differences can be found. The inclusion of human characters in the attraction’s storyline is the primary factor in the film adaptation’s success.

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Disney College Program, get ready for Zach!!

It's been a dream for a long time: to work at Walt Disney World.

So when I learned about the Disney College Program back in early high school, I immediately put it on my plan for the future. It's funny: when I graduated high school, I was given back all of my records and files from my counselor. Looking through the paperwork, I found a questionnaire from my middle school days. My response for "what do you want to be when you grow up?".... Disney Imagineer.

It's definitely been something that I've dreamed about and strongly considered for quite some time. Most of my personal library of books is about Walt Disney World or Disney Imagineering. So it's only fitting that I would be interested in the Disney College Program, I suppose.

Now the time has come to make this dream a reality! I attended the recruitment presentation on campus last semester, and watched the online presentation just the other day. I filled out the web application and I set up my phone interview: Friday, April 2 at 1:00. I can't wait!

I've got all of my answers prepared. I'm definitely interested in being either a PhotoPass Photographer or a Character Attendant. Being able to work so closely with the characters would be amazing, and I have a good background in photography and assisting performers. I suppose I'd also be interested in working Attractions, but I think I'd have more fun as a Character Attendant. Hopefully I'll get one of my top choices!

What's great about the Disney College Program is that it's a huge first step for a career with the Disney Company. After completing the College Program, alumni can return during the summer for the College Program, and can apply for Professional Internships. That is definitely something I'm interested in. Perhaps an internship in stage management or production management with Disney Imagineering or Creative Entertainment.... I would absolutely love to be involved with the production of parades or live shows like "Beauty and the Beast Live on Stage" or "Finding Nemo the Musical."

So for now, all I can do is wait until Friday afternoon and hope I do a good job on the phone interview. I think I'll be fine.... I'm sure my love for Walt Disney World will definitely show through and my knowledge of Disney Imagineering will help make me a strong candidate.

Here's to the future.... hope to see more Disney in it!

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