Mixing reality and magic at Disney theme parks

Ever since Walt Disney first opened the doors to Disneyland in 1955, Imagineers have been using (and misusing) state-of the-art technology to immerse our guests in magical worlds. Combined with richly detailed environments, imaginative characters, and compelling stories, these tools have enabled our guests to dance with ghosts, sail with pirates, and fly to the furthest reaches of both inner and outer space. Today, advances in computing power, display technology, and sensing devices, along with ever accelerating trends of miniaturization and cost reduction are enabling exciting new ways to create our magical Disney worlds. Our environments are richer, our characters more interactive, and our storytelling more fluid, customizable, and reactive. In this talk, I will describe the new techniques we are developing to light, animate, and augment our environments, bringing the world of our animated features to life in ways never before possible. I will relate how we are using advanced sensing technology and better awareness of our guests to create smart reactive environments and new forms of entertainment. I will present advances in our characters that make them more responsive, aware, and engaging than ever before. I will show how we are working to break the confines of the conventional computer display in order to better surround and immerse our guests. I will discuss how all of these efforts are bound together by the common goal of bridging the everyday world of reality and the world of magic and imagination.