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One of the key revelations from our Theme Park Fans Survey 2024, launched in the summer, was guests' tendency to enjoy traditional rides more than screen-based rides. Just 11% of respondents said they had more fun on screen-based systems, such as dark rides, VR and AR rides. We spoke to our Project Producer Alex Tyrrell on the findings.
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What’s behind the results?
First of all, I love a good dark ride and I love a good classic theme park ride, but one of the key contributors to the responses I guess is going to be the COVID pandemic.
That was a time when everyone sort of just stuck on their phones and looked through a screen. So there was a desire after that period where people wanted to get outside and have something that was more tactile.
How is the industry innovating?
There are some great new rides that are hybrid, using both screen-based and live sets or animatronics, which are doing really well. Rise of the Resistance, for example, is a great ride.
It has wonderful set works, lovely animatronics, it is a dark ride in itself, it's got some cool effects and the technology is so good there that your brain is sort of tricked into believing that it's genuine experience. I think that's when a dark ride that uses screens does it well because you don't realize there's a screen there.
How can we improve the guest experience on screen-based rides?
There are some rides where you can clearly see that you're being placed in a big dome and you can see the edges of the screen. That takes away a bit of reality from the guest. Also, some rides have a lack of engagement where guests simply get bored.
The best rides have multiple layers of immersion - combining physical sets and digital worlds to extend the guests field of vision. This allows rides to put guests in different environments and scenes. It’s also really good for action sequences. If the story requires lots of drama and quick changes, then screens help that dynamic storytelling.
What’s the downside to screen-based rides?
Not everyone likes screens with many guests suffering from motion sickness. Simulators and virtual reality can especially cause sickness if the content is not synced properly. I went on a VR ride once which was a haunted house. It wasn't quite in sync with what the ride vehicle was doing and that was a very discombobulating experience.
VR in the traditional sense of guests putting on a headset is also a very exclusive experience. Guests want a shared experience with everyone else who's riding - not being able to see other guests’ reaction hampers the experience.
How can we create shared experiences using screen-based rides?
Universal’s Bowser's ride from Nintendo World is a really good use of augmented reality. Combining the digital element on the guests’ headset, with physical sets, adds more storytelling and immersion. Those cast don't go very fast, but when guests see flashing lights in their peripheral vision it makes them feel like you're traveling a lot faster - while still seeing other guests on the ride.
Another screen-based ride is Mickey Mini's Run Away Railway, because that one, you wouldn't really know you're looking at screens. The whole thing is projected in what Disney call 2.5D, where guests don’t need glasses. Everything looks like it is coming towards the guest at the same time when they are on the ride.
We should also take inspiration from classic dark rides that don’t have digital sets at all. Pirates of the Caribbean is a great example of this. There’s a very well executed alternative version of that in Shanghai, where guests are placed in giant projection domes and the scenes look absolutely fantastic. And that's a very good blend.
About Alex
Alex is experienced in delivering projects all around the world for clients like LEGO, Walt Disney Imagineering and Warner Bros. and has worked on award winning mega-construction projects too. His passion for people & technology inspires him to enhance guest experience and collaborate with his teams to generate new ideas, and collectively solve problems together.
Alex regularly attends events & shows in the attractions industry for ideas and networking and also sits on the Diversity, Equity, Accessibility & Inclusion committee of the Themed Entertainment Association and is one of Katapult’s Diversity Champions. Alex takes daily inspiration from books written by great creative leaders like Bob Iger and Steve Jobs.
