Looking at Disney’s theme parks through the lens of a UX designer

Thinking about UX beyond the digital world

Anthony Conta
UX Collective
Published in
8 min readNov 10, 2019

Recently, I went on a vacation to Orlando to celebrate a birthday, a half marathon, and my love for all things Disney. When I was there, I was blown away by how much thought and attention to detail Disney had put into its theme parks.

Going with my father, my wife, and our friends got me thinking about how different people perceive the same experience. Looking at Disney’s theme parks through the lens of a UX Designer, I noticed a lot of things that inspired me to be a better designer.

Crafting an Immersive Experience

Words Can Enhance The Story

Language plays a huge role in a user’s experience. With our words, we create definitions, communicate rules, and express empathy. Depending on how we use them, words are also a great opportunity to develop the narrative of the worlds we create.

A great example this in action is Mickey’s PhilharMagic Concert, where viewers attend an opera that Mickey conducts. Essentially, it’s just a 3D film, but Disney never breaks its narrative––instead, they take every opportunity to stick to their theme, even when communicating rules for their experience. Users are given 3D glasses to watch the show, but Disney refuses to call them 3D glasses, instead referring to them as “Opera Glasses.” They intentionally deviate from a common naming…

Published in UX Collective

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