Dine at a table that moves you from room to room? A look at the future of theme parks
LA TimesThe annual awards from the Themed Entertainment Assn. Colloquially known as the “Star Wars hotel,” Florida’s Starcruiser was essentially a live-in theme park, a two-day live action role-playing game that utilized a mobile phone app to drive gameplay with real-life actors and sets. “Let’s face it, gaming and gamers is the biggest audience we can have,” said Bruce Vaughn, the creative chief of Walt Disney Imagineering who re-joined the firm last year after departing in 2016. Imagineering’s Vaughn — quickly joking that such a topic was one his public relations team warned to be “cautious” on — said it’s also an area in which theme parks will rely on artificial intelligence, especially when it comes to helping guests plan a day or a vacation. “Seems like a perfect villain for our story’s finale, while also speaking to the Spaceship’s message of safeguarding the water and protecting the ocean.” Tapping into conservation elements isn’t exactly a theme park rarity — Disney’s Animal Kingdom in Florida makes it a priority — but it’s welcome to see such a message in a fantastical, borderline thrill ride for 300 people.
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