Honing the story, one monster at a time
Even when something's great, it can always be made even better, right? That's the philosophy a team of Imagineers are living by as they work on the refurbishment and upgrade of Tokyo Disneyland's Monsters, Inc.: Ride & Go Seek!
The attraction opened nearly a year ago to huge crowds -- there was a 330-minute standby queue on opening day -- and enthusiastic reviews. But since it was scheduled to close for routine maintenance this spring, a decision was made to "plus up" the attraction and help clarify its story for an audience of eager flashlight hide-and-seekers.
The attraction's premise is perfectly simple: Boo has returned to Monstropolis for a game of flashlight hide-and-go-seek with her friends and guests are invited to play along. They are equipped with flashlights and whisked through scene after scene filled with playful monsters, all hiding from the flashlight beams. The guests point their lightbeams at as many monsters as they can find, and they're rewarded with hilarious payoff gags. But soon after the attraction opened, exit surveys indicated that guests weren't getting everything out of the attraction as originally planned.
"The monsters are cleverly hidden throughout the attraction, and so are the sensors that trigger the monsters to reveal themselves," said Scott Hennessy, concept writer principal. "We received feedback that stated the guests were confused as to where to shine the flashlights. And since there are six flashlights on each ride tram, there were times when the beams were crisscrossing each other at such a feverish pace that the guests lost sight of which beams were theirs. The guests weren't sure which person actually triggered the surprise reveal of a monster."
To address these issues, the team will be more than doubling the number of monsters in the attraction, giving each "hiding" monster a hardhat with an LED light to indicate when that monster's been hit, and adding gobos to the flashlights to differentiate the beams with six unique colors.
The team asserts that part of the fun of updating this attraction lies in really getting to know the loveable Pixar monsters, and in writing stories and gags that are an extension of the film. It's a world that's easy to get lost in.
"I was field art director for the Monsters, Inc. Mike and Sully to the Rescue! attraction at Disney's California Adventure several years ago," said Chris Runco, principal concept designer. "After that project, I felt like the characters—Mike, Sully, Randall, Roz, Boo and all the others—were family. I love them all, so it is a great pleasure to be reunited with them again."
With so many more monsters being added to the attraction, the team gets the opportunity to create plenty more unique characters to love. For instance, at one point the guests move through a bathroom in the Monster's, Inc. building. The scene now has a few more characters to help keep the flow of the hide-and-seek game.
"This might be the only Disney attraction in which the guests ride through a bathroom," said Yong Lee, show producer, senior director, Creative Development. "We had to come up with names for the new monsters we were creating for this scene, in which they're hiding and popping up out of toilet stalls. Most of the good names just could not be used." They ultimately landed on the family-friendly names of T.P. and Plunger.
In addition to the creative challenges posed by this refurbishment, there are other, less easily cleared obstacles—the largest one, of course, is the Pacific Ocean. And keep in mind that this project is on a faster-than-fast timeline, so it doesn't help that half of the team is 17 hours ahead of the other half.
"Under normal conditions, it's a challenge working with another culture because there are always issues of language and cultural difference," Scott said. "And because we are over 5,000 miles apart, things need to be clarified time and again. But both sides are equally dedicated and focused on doing the best job possible, and the spirit of teamwork is felt on both sides of the Pacific."
Yong added, "On any project, there's never enough time, but our management and coordination team -- led by Val Williams, our project manager and Michelle Malakoff, our coordinator -- is doing a fantastic job keeping us all focused. Not too mention some of our great counterparts in Japan: Masato Shimazu, our show designer and production art director, and Hiromi Yamazaki, our Japan-based project coordinator."
"The depth of knowledge and breadth of disciplines involved is truly amazing. We have a 40-year veteran working alongside someone who is just a few years out of school. Above all, we have a very seasoned team that knows precisely what needs to be done."
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