They Probably Don't Even Notice

It has always irked me when I hear a person say that! Especially when it is with regards to theming at a park. To me personally, the suggestion that the theming does not get noticed is a little ludicrous. Nevertheless, there are many out there that believe that theming is just a background function that actually has no impact on the visitor and his or her experience. I have heard it said that the average visitor doesn't even notice the theming. Far more surprising is that certain 'theme' parks have been reported as having this opinion themselves! If they honestly believe that theming goes completely unnoticed I would go so far as to say that they are rather naïve and probably in the wrong business. A bold statement perhaps? I realise I could be calling into question a professional’s whole career, but hey, that's the kind of guy I am I suppose.

In order to understand the importance of good theming you have to look at what is trying to be achieved. In my humble opinion, one of the greatest players in the industry when it comes to theming is Disney and I would say that a large majority of theme park goers would agree. Disney work rather impressively to achieve a totally immersive environment in their attractions. Everything about an attraction and its surroundings in a Disney park is designed to tell an overarching story. Whether it be the colour of the walls, the style of the rubbish bins (or trash cans for my lovely American readers :-P) or the music and sound effects playing. The whole experience is designed to be cohesive and to tell that overarching story and place the visitor in a very specific environment.

BTMR in high-speed action.

As an example, Frontierland in the Disneyland Park, Disneyland California is designed to have a fantastical view of the American Wild West. It is very clear in design what the area is supposed to represent. Every building, attraction and shop has its own story which takes places within the story of the surrounding area. Some of this storytelling is very plain to see, however some of it, is not. But hang on, didn't you just say that the suggestion that the theming does not get noticed is a little ludicrous? Surely, if the theming is not plain to see it could easily go unnoticed. I will concede that on the surface of it, you could argue, that those more 'obscure' elements of storytelling , such as the name of the town in which the 'runaway mine train' Big Thunder Mountain Railroad resides is totally irrelevant. After all, who actually cares about the name of the town? You just want to ride the Big Thunder Mountain Railroad don't you? Disney do not seem to think so. In fact, they wrote  a whole story as background to the attraction.

Let me summarise that story for you. The 'legend' of the Big Thunder Mountain Railroad tells the story of a town once called Rainbow Ridges (side note: the name Rainbow Ridges is actually a reference to 'Mine Train Through Natures Wonderland', a previous attraction that existed in the same location and is the name of the village that can be seen adjacent to the tracks returning to the station and the name Big Thunder is actually a reference to the name of a waterfall that was part of that attraction) in the middle of a gold rush in the 1800s. Overnight, settlers flocked to the town, to enjoy the prospects of such a find.In order to transport all the masses of Ore found in the mountains known as Big Thunder Mountain, the Mining Companies set up extensive mine lines. However, unknown to the settlers, those mountains were a sacred place to the local Native Americans and is cursed! As far as curses go, they normally end in disaster and of course, Big Thunder suffered a tragedy when the settlers desecration of the land caused an Earthquake which led to the town and the mines becoming abandoned. Years later, the trains were found still racing around the mine lines under their own steam, without any engineers or crew. This led to the founding of the Big Thunder Mountain Railroad which attracted and enabled tourists to come and take a trip on the possessed trains

So why?  Why do all of that work to create a story if they – the visitors – 'don't even notice'?

This goes back to whether you believe that visitors notice or not. Personally, I believe they do notice. Of course, it is not always in the literal, 'I have just seen the name of the town and I will remember it' kind of way. They notice, but on a subconscious level. Even if only on a subconscious level does your mind recognise something, a subtle background noise or a smell coming from a certain area. Your mind receives that information and adds it to the 'picture' that has been more obvious. It adds to the authenticity of the experience and the story that they are trying to tell.

Disney approach their attractions as an opportunity to tell a story, so every last element of the attraction and its surroundings must support that story. Going back to the tale of the Big Thunder Mountain Railroad, the station building for the rollercoaster, on closer inspection is actually the offices for the mining company; the red mountain formations are based upon the real red rock formations of the American southwest; within the caves you can hear the sounds of bats and so on…

The Big Thunder mountain range

I really could go on forever mentioning all of the various elements of the story but I will stay "on track" and only indulge in just one more: the imagineers took special care to ensure the mountains were designed to look like real mountains that were there first and that the train tracks were added later. Of course, in the real design process, it is likely the rollercoaster would have been designed in conjunction with the mountains or even before the mountains. At whatever stage those mountains were designed, they were made to look as though they pre-dated the train tracks and to look exactly how those mountains would have existed in the story(and in reality no less). If you take a look at some other runaway mine train rollercoaster you can sometimes see how the mountains are clearly designed to fit around the layout of the rollercoaster.

Again, I appreciate that some may question just how important that is, but it is that level of detail that makes a complete theme which in turn adds to the overall experience a visitor has. Each and every obvious and subtle design element refers back to that original story, whether you notice it consciously or subconsciously. By having such a strict back-story and with every single design element reflecting that story, Disney has created an 'immersive environment'. The standard and consistency in that immersive environment enables the audience or visitor to truly lose themselves in enjoying the experience, whether they notice they are doing it or not.

In terms of whether theming goes unnoticed I think it is safe to say, that even the most subliminal of theming is indeed noticed at some level and therefore to a 'theme park' it is incredibly important. After all, isn’t that the whole point of a THEME park? Ironically, I would say that it is even more noticeable when an attraction has been poorly and inconsistently themed. This is possibly another subject for another blog!

The interesting question comes when looking at other amusement parks and asking 'Does a rollercoaster have to have a theme in order to maximise the experience?' which is again, another discussion for another time.