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The final five

Image: Disney

The rest of the storytelling goals relayed by Sklar are complementary relative to the upper portion of the list. The final five are:

6)      Avoid Overload – Create Turn Ons

7)      Tell One Story at a Time

8)      Avoid Contradictions – Maintain Identity

9)      For Every Ounce of Treatment, Provide a Ton of Treat

10)   Keep It Up! (Maintain It!)

A couple of these storytelling goals aren’t as intuitive as the ones above. Let’s start with avoiding overload. In layman’s terms, this is best described as less is more. One of the struggles that all Imagineers face is an issue of reduction.

During brainstorming sessions, cast members come up with countless ideas, most of which would add tremendous depth and utility to an attraction. The unique challenge ride planners face is that they run the risk of overwhelming guests if they include too many of these (good) ideas. That would prove counterproductive. Instead, the goal is to select the perfect accoutrements to accentuate an attraction without allowing the background to overwhelm the ride itself.

Image: Disney

Think about Expedition: Everest’s line queue. The artifacts and thematic books and journals from prior adventurers weave a yarn of exploration and danger. Having too many of them runs the risk of distracting guests away from the excitement of the actual ride. Then again, Expedition: Everest probably stretches this philosophy more than any other existing Disney attraction since it features approximately 8,000 items. If anything Imagineers have created has ever violated the sixth rule, it’s this one, but most people give it a pass since it’s so thematically appropriate. Maintaining this delicate balance is the challenge ride designers face on a daily basis. And Disney does give its employees the leeway to bend a rule when circumstances dictate.

Rule seven, focusing on a single story, supplements the philosophy that less is more. A wonderful example of this specificity is The Seas with Nemo & Friends. This attraction is elegant in its simplicity. All it does is recreate the journey of Marlin, Dory, and Nemo, as the first two parties attempt to locate the lost clownfish. It’s almost paint by numbers in how dutifully it honors the accompanying movie.

Imagineers appreciated that all they needed was to extend the story into the third dimension. They had that confidence since the story already captured the hearts of Disney fans upon its release in 2003. It didn’t become the most popular Pixar film ever released (up until that point) by accident. So, an attraction based on the movie didn’t need new elements introduced. Ride planners simply needed to tell an already wonderful tale in a new medium, an omnimover attraction carrying guests through the integral set pieces and scenes from the film.

And then there were three…

Image: Disney

Before we discuss the most important bullet point out of the lower five rules of Imagineer storytelling, let’s talk about philosophies eight and ten, both of which are involve maintenance. These two are ones I’ve mentioned in prior articles. The idea of avoiding contradictions stems from Walt Disney’s frustration in seeing a cowboy in Tomorrowland…or possibly an astronaut in Frontierland. The anecdote tends to change with each retelling, but the underlying premise remains. To master the craft of thematic storytelling, each section of a theme park must maintain logical consistency. That means avoiding anything that would ruin the illusion.

The most famous example of this is that heads roll at Disney any time multiple versions of the same character are in plain sight. There’s only one Minnie Mouse, so a park patron should never see a second one in the same general location. That’s easier said than done since several cast members wear these costumes during a given day. Avoiding contradictions like this is an imperative of the park’s operators. Otherwise, everything falls apart. Also, Walt Disney presumably spins in his grave.

As for rule ten, maintaining the park, that one’s the most often discussed part of Walt Disney’s legacy. A huge fan of plussing attractions to keep them fresh and relevant, the corporate founder famously stated, “Disneyland will never be completed. It will continue to grow as long as there is imagination left in the world.”

Image: Disney

Imagineers carry the honor (and burden) of maintaining Uncle Walt’s vision for the Happiest Place on Earth. One of his edicts during the early days was that cast members must spend time in lines for attractions every now and again. Otherwise, they’d lose sight of the excitement of the experience, all but assuring that the ride grows stale over time. It’s not a coincidence that many of the most passionate Disney fans today are cast members. They relish the ability to honor the founder’s wish for park maintenance through shared experiences.

The final rule regarding story is the most oddly phrased one. What does Disney mean when they say, “For every ounce of treatment, provide a ton of treat”? It means that ride planners should never force a concept down a guest’s throat, at least not without providing ample rewards to counteract any preachiness. In other words, Disney’s not above tutorials about education and self-improvement on their attractions, but they remember that the paying customer is there to have fun, not get lectured.

This ninth rule of storytelling is one that you’ll notice the most at Epcot, but it applies to all of Disney’s edutainment rides as well as any other attraction that offers a teaching element. The corporation’s philosophy is that educating guests is an admirable goal. In order for them to accept that part of the story, however, Imagineers must disseminate the knowledge in small doses. Otherwise, the illusion will again fall apart for the customer. As you can see, maintaining the illusion is a constant struggle for Imagineers.

Image: Disney

Perhaps the best demonstration of the “ounce of treatment, ton of treat” approach is the FutureWorld section of the park. I’ll use my favorite attraction, Spaceship Earth, as the example. This ride is equal parts oral history and omnimover journey up and down several stories. The set pieces for this attraction are among the most detailed of any Disney theme park, and that’s not accidental. Instead, it’s a specific implementation of the rule.

As Dame Judi Dench narrates the history of man, an overwhelmingly dense topic, each segment plays out like a big budget movie scene. It starts with humans finally working together to overcome a wooly mammoth, and it ends with Steve Jobs and Steve Wozniak building the personal computer in a garage.

Along the way, Disney accentuates each scene with small touches like the Smellitzer fragrance of burning embers when Rome falls, the actual Olympic clip of Jesse Owens triumphing as Nazis watch impotently, and an authentic 19th century printing press announcing the end of the Civil War. Without these elements, the narration might bore riders, leading to an extended nap on one of Disney’s darkest dark rides. Instead, the lively colors, strong smells, and historically accurate details offer the treats that counterbalance the treatment. To a larger point, Spaceship Earth is a functional monument to the entirety of the ten Disney rules for storytelling. If you’ll think about them in the context of the attraction, an aspect of each philosophy should pop into your head.

Image: Disney

 
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Comments

I think you misinterpret Commandment #8 (Avoid Contradictions – Maintain Identity), and I think this is a big problem overall with the addition of the 'Frozen' ride in Norway. World Showcase at Epcot tells stories of actual places with rich histories and cultures. By putting a fictional princess story in the mix, Disney has effectively contradicted that idea and risks losing the intended identity of this part of the park. I'm not saying there shouldn't be a "Frozen" ride - like most Disney fans, I love the film and totally appreciate the popular demand for an attraction related to that. What I'm saying is that they put it in the exact wrong place (Arendelle is a fantastical version of Norway; not actual Norway). Other attractions on World Showcase don't have this problem. Mexico has the "Three Caballeros" take us through Mexico, not an alternate version of that country. The United States takes us through U.S. history without relying on Pocahontas or Tiana to narrate. I think Disney broke its own rules, and I'm afraid it may lead to the demise of the story that Epcot's World Showcase was meant to tell.

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