Page 22 - Disney Insider Guide
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An interesting film-making technique the Imagineers use can also be seen on Main Walt had a strong sense how he
Street, U.S.A. When making movie sets, designers often use a technique called wanted the park to be laid out.
‘forced perspective’. Forced perspective is the illusion of giving greater height or The layout of the park is often
scale to an object using an optical illusion. referred to by Imagineers as the
‘hub and spoke’ design. This
For example, on Main Street, the ground describes a central hub in the
level shop facades are full size, but as center, with paths leading out
the height of the building increases, into the different lands.
the scale diminishes. The windows on
the second floor are smaller and the At the center of our park, is
third floor has the smallest size. This Sleeping Beauty Castle. Not
gives the eye the illusion of scale, when
actually the building is half the size. only does this provide a focal point
for our guests to orient themselves
The Imagineers also placed the buildings within the park, but it is also what Walt
on Main Street in a certain configuration affectionately called a ‘weenie’. This
to give the most amount of prominence refers to a large icon that draws guests
to the castle and make it seem further towards it and provides a focal point
away than it actually is. When you are within the land.
standing at the castle looking back
down Main Street, the train station Another example of a weenie at Hong
seems closer. Kong Disneyland is Big Grizzly Mountain
in Grizzly Gulch.
Something Imagineers carefully plan
is how guests move from one land to
another, using a film-making editing tool,
called a transition. A transition is a subtle,
soft blend between two different images. For example, when our guests walk from
the hub to Adventureland, guests will notice small changes. The ground will appear
different, the music will slowly change, the foliage will subtly change, and even the
smells will reflect a more Adventureland feel.
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