Story Matters
Read or listen to anybody in the themed design business and all you hear about is story. Everything is based on a story. We can’t build an attraction without a story. Story is what drives humanity. Well, that’s actually true. And not just about theme parks or attractions. People communicate everything through stories, whether you realize you’re doing it or not. “Hey dude, you can’t believe what happened to me on the way to work this morning. There was this HUGE…”
For designing attractions, does it really matter, though? I mean, it’s a ride. Probably a really fun one. Oh, was it based on Greek mythology? We were going so fast I didn’t notice. After we got off we hit this awesome restaurant—you gotta try their Fritos. Oh, wait, were those pictures on the walls like, important?
Does the average guest to a park or themed establishment, be it retail, food & beverage, whatever, actually notice the backstory? Or cohesive theming? I’ve always maintained the answer is yes, but it’s not that straightforward. In some cases, of course, you can’t not see what’s going on. I want to talk about one of those in just a bit. But even in the more subtle ones I think it matters. John Hench, Imagineering’s “chief philosopher” for decades, talked about the effect of creating a harmonious environment in terms of the architecture, detail, and so on. It puts people at ease, they feel safe, less anxious. A well-implemented story achieves this. Guests typically don’t know why, or even that they’re responding to the environment. But they know, down inside. Making the effort to create a world—a cohesive experience—makes a difference.
This all came to mind this week as I was listening to my friend Theron Skees, longtime creative executive with Imagineering, in his second guest appearance on Hangin’ at the Hangar Bar podcast. He spent the entire episode revealing the process and details behind the design of Jock Lindsey’s Hangar Bar at Disney Springs. Theron should know…he was the lead creative on the entire Disney Springs transformation. You have to listen to this one, because you cannot believe the level and amount of detail that is in that one establishment. Go visit the place and it’s immediately obvious you just walked into an Indiana Jones adventure. Dig deeper, though…much deeper. Every single item in that building belongs to the story they created. All story threads connect accurately. Everything has a purpose, and it’s all thought out so as to be authentic and, therefore, believable.
Most patrons will never realize the map behind the bar is the centerpiece for the story. Or that all the various pieces of airplane around the joint are actually based on aircraft in the movies. Or that the entire idea of Jock Lindsey running an adventure transportation service out of Florida originated from a random logo on the back of the actor’s shirt in the movie that appears for, what, a few seconds.
Most people will never realize, but they can tell something is special. There’s something intangible that we feel when we’re in a believable world. In order to build that believability, you’ve got to create the story and all its associated details. Difficult? You bet. Takes a lot of time, time that most companies won’t invest in. But it matters. I think this concept can apply to any business in a variety of ways. You want your guests/patrons/customers/whatever to feel welcome, to feel at home and that everything’s ok. That won’t happen unless you focus on the experience from top to bottom, beginning to end. An effective story—or framework—can go a long way toward this.
