Theatre Design & Technology - Spring 2008 - 35

lar properties such as movies or television are one such example; no one takes the ride Jurassic Park to learn the actual plot
resolution, but to experience what it might be like for a giant
TRex to roar in your face. Costume designer Kristina Tollefson
explains the audience "knows exactly" who the characters are,
and "exactly what the characters should look like. They are
quick to point out when a detail is wrong. These details are
important in creating the magic."
Don Carson explains the element of instant recognition
this way "Where am I? No matter how well designed... if your
audience can not answer this question in the first fifteen seconds, you are already lost. Your first job is to present your audience with the opportunity to answer this question for them
selves." Including the audience in this process is important, he
explains. "Self discovery can be even more enjoyable than having the story spelled out for you. There are lots of ways designers can...lead their audience to conclusions." (Carson 2000)
Themed entertainment requires the designer to control
the audience's point of view, just as in theatre but on a much

larger scale-entire buildings are designed, inside and out, to
house the mechanics and effects. While the audience moves
through the space, its experience is carefully mapped out and
anticipated. This is a large appeal in themed entertainment design-creating a full environment, down to the last detail.
One example of detailed control is the classic Disney's
Haunted Mansion. First added to Disneyland in 1969, it is revered as a textbook example of immersive storytelling, combining age-old theatrical tricks with a staged environment. The key
to controlling the audience point of view is an "omnimover"
track system designed not only to move at a pre-determined
rate but also to swivel the cars, turning the rider toward the active vignette. Interestingly, this ride system developed as its own
reference to film, trying to duplicate the cinematic experience
by changing the scenery while the audience passively stays in
place. (Nolte) For an excellent real-time refresher of this attraction, view the YouTube video "Haunted Mansion Ride Video
Disneyland California Anaheim" posted by HbVideo.)
It is also worth mentioning Mr. Toad's Wild Ride, adapted
from Kenneth Grahame's Wind in the Willows. (This beloved
story has appeared in almost every medium-film, television,
animation, ballet, and a themed ride.) It is one of the very
few attractions left from the original opening of Disneyland;
the 1950s cartoon style of this ride now looks very dated. By
choosing an overt, presentational style, the designers hoped to
appeal to the audience emotions of goofy fun. Passengers recreate Toad's driving mishaps in a borrowed car. By sitting in
the car, we become Toad-crashing into buildings, traveling
the countryside, whisking through a warehouse of explosives
and narrowly missing certain death by train. Verbal cues are
few, and the choppy soundscape adds to the chaotic impression of traveling at such high speed we hear only snippets of
conversation. (To experience portions of this dark ride, view
the YouTube video, "Mr. Toads Wild Ride Attraction," posted by
Studiorooster.)

Figures 10 a, b. The Lake of Dreams, Wynn Las Vegas.

theatre

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S P R I N G

2008

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Theatre Design & Technology - Spring 2008