When I was little, I wanted to be an Imagineer at Walt Disney.

If you’ve ever been to Disneyland and fallen in love with a ride, with a feeling, with being able to reminisce on your favorite movie through a physical experience, you have an Imagineer to thank. These are the visionaries, the engineers, in charge of researching, designing, developing and bringing to life your greatest fantasies through attractions. These feelings start from conception and are tangible through light, sound, smell and more.

I am very much a person of juxtaposing characteristics: I love math and physics, but also painting, drawing and the physical arts as a whole. I wanted to be an Imagineer to meld my artistic and logical interests into one career.

So, what is Wiki Wiki Adventure? Well, long story short…

I decided to create a mockup pitch and strategy for a new attraction. This includes everything from track design to social media strategy and activation rollouts. Everything you see I have hand drawn, designed, and breathed life into from conception to strategy as if this were a real attraction pitch.

Elevator pitch: I’m working on a current attraction called Wiki Wiki Adventure and my opening overall archiving statement is, you get to travel through Hawaii in a spaceship.

And of course, make it Lilo & Stitch themed - because half of my family is from Honolulu, HI so of course I have a soft spot for the film.

Thinking Through Design | Track Design | Storyboarding | Seating

Marketing Assets | Social Media Strategy |Grand Opening | Playlist

Thinking through design:

When thinking of what this attraction would be like, sound like, smell like, I had to ask myself a lot of questions and think from many perspectives. Think from the size and mind of a kid, from an adult, from a Lilo and Stitch fanatic, from someone who’s never seen the film. Here are my notes:

• Naming the ride: the name ‘Wiki Wiki Adventure’ comes from the word wiki which means ‘fast’ in Hawaiian.

• Accessibility: I wanted it to be kid friendly, equally comforting and exciting, that was accessible to all; thrilling and reminiscent but also compelling to those who’ve either never seen the movie, (or maybe don’t remember it.)

• High Concept: a high concept captures the essence of an experience and gets people excited about the idea — so the big takeaway here is: If I had to create an ‘elevator pitch’, what would it be and sound like?

  • Answer: I’m working on a current attraction called Wiki Wiki Adventure and my opening overall archiving statement is, you get to travel through Hawaii in a spaceship.

Track Design

• The intent to create a dark ride* that was a mixture of both thrill and comfort with drops and narrative.

• The highlight points were numbered and thoughtfully placed in sequence of order.

  1. A blueprint layout of the Pelekai home (Lilo and Nani’s house) was created, complete with first and second floor and an outer layout for accuracy.

*Dark Ride: A dark ride moves an audience through a sequence of scenes where elements like lighting and sound are able to be controlled and help bring a story to life. These are not always fully indoor or in total darkness. Ex: Pirates of the Caribbean, Peter Pan, Radiator Springs Racers, Space Mountain and Alice in Wonderland.

Storyboarding the ride:

Creating the seating:

• Thought process: the seating vessel should be familiar and relevant, but not overpowering or take away from the attraction itself.

• Psychology of vessel: ‘Falling’ creates a feeling of thrill, feeling fear or being scared; this ride should be comforting, reminiscent, memorable with a hint of thrill and excitement. The seating should cradle the audience, hold them in (similar to a boat). This creates a sense of comfort, motherhood, & safety (emotional and physical), and will also protect them with the small drops and speed of the ride in mind.

• Examples: Pirates of the Caribbean, boat. Peter Pan, sail boat. Alice in Wonderland, caterpillar. Radiator Springs Racers, cars.

• Conclusion: What would be more fitting for a Hawaiian Space Adventure: a rocket ship with design references from the movie itself to make it relevant and charming.

Marketing assets

Posters created as promo for the ride and grand opening.

Social Media Strategy

Grand opening

Playlist

A list of songs curated especially for this attraction to emit both songs I would like to play during the ride itself and songs that give a feeling of what the ride would sound like, feel like. This playlist is a mix of Hawaii’s greatest, childhood favorites, and music true to the movie, Lilo and Stitch.

Wiki Wiki Playlist Link here