One down, six to go, to end the 3D era at Disneyland and Walt Disney World.
Disney announced last week that it will remove 3D projection from its Ratatouille dark ride at Walt Disney World’s EPCOT, starting next month. That ride first appeared at the Walt Disney Studios Park at Disneyland Paris, which announced earlier this year that it would project its Ratatouille attraction only in 2D when it reopens from a long refurbishment next year.
At the Disneyland Resort, Disney projects Star Tours — The Adventures Continue, Mickey’s PhilharMagic, Toy Story Midway Mania and WEB Slingers: A Spider-Man Adventure in 3D. Walt Disney World also projects 3D on its Avatar: Flight of Passage ride and the upcoming “Zootopia” movie that is replacing the old “It’s Tough to Be a Bug” show starting next month.
All but the Star Tours and Avatar rides have no minimum height, meaning very young children can be admitted. Good luck to parents trying to wrangle 3D glasses onto their infants and toddlers. Yet I would be happy if Disney eliminated the need for any of us to wear 3D glasses on its rides and shows. Make ‘em all 2D, just like Ratatouille.
Theme parks entertain best when they transport you into unique environments that you cannot find in everyday life. With people spending so much of their lives in front of screens now, it’s tough to achieve that uniqueness in screen-based attractions. Three-dimensional projection helps those shows look different than all the other screen-based content we consume, but that’s just not worth the costs associated with 3D.
Let’s start with the literal cost of maintaining a 3D show. Those glasses constrict the light passing through to your eyes, meaning that parks must pay for brighter projection to keep 3D shows from looking dingy. Too often they don’t, giving customers a diminished viewing experience.
Then there is comfort. I can see 3D just fine, but many theme park fans cannot. A 3D movie is inaccessible to some people with certain eye conditions. For others, the unfamiliar glasses and the unnatural movement on what the brain says is a flat screen leaves them nauseated when watching 3D, especially when it is deployed on rides and motion simulators such as Star Tours.
Finally, 3D provides a tempting gimmick that too often undercuts rather than enhancing visual storytelling. Watching a filmmaker chuck objects at a screen can be fun for a few moments, but those attractions quickly lose their appeal if all they offer is gimmicks rather than engaging stories.
Disney’s strength in the theme park business lies in ability to build amazing practical worlds for its guests to enjoy. Filmed media can support the type of immersive world building that Disney does so well, so there is space for media in Disney’s world. Rides like Mickey and Minnie’s Runaway Railway blend screens with practical sets to create the visual chaos of a 3D show with no glasses required.
Let regional parks that do not enjoy Disney’s financial and creative resources offer gimmicky 3D and 4D movies. Disney can do better.