Where do you want to go on vacation?” my wife asked me. We could go see the Grand Canyon, take a cruise, or I guess we could go to Disney World since you’ve never been? The next few moments in my head were filled with every super bowl winning quarterback saying they are going to Disney World! The inner child in me has always wanted to go to Disney World, but it just never happened. So, at 36, here I am going to the mouse’s house.

Before our trip, I watched several Walt Disney documentaries on Disney+, and it was clear that Disney was no ordinary human. I don’t think I need to list his incredible ideas because your childhood has already been filled with them. The one thing that I did not know about though was his emphasis on the guest experience. He wanted everything to be perfect. Absolutely perfect.

One could make an argument that he was an early pioneer on user experience (UX). This didn’t exist when he was alive, but Disney's approach to creating immersive, detail-oriented experiences for his audience laid a foundation for UX principles used today. And from these principles, we can certainly draw a line to designing learning experiences. While I thoroughly enjoyed my vacation, my brain kept on seeing the intentionality behind the designs, and I thought I would share what I connected into our instructional design world. It’s a reminder that if these ideas are good enough for the Most Magical Place on Earth, we should be paying attention to them.

Immersion

Walt Disney was obsessed with crafting immersive environments, particularly in Disneyland. Every detail was carefully crafted to draw visitors into a story, making them feel like they were part of the worlds he created. In the early days of Disneyland, Disney noticed something that disturbed the magic he wanted guests to feel: a cowboy from Frontierland was seen walking through Tomorrowland. This simple incident broke the sense of immersion he aimed to create, as guests saw characters and cast members out of place, reminding them that Disneyland was, in fact, not a "real" magical world but a manufactured one.

This encounter led Disney to develop a solution that would maintain the magic and seamlessness he envisioned for future parks. When designing Walt Disney World in Florida, he planned an elaborate network of underground tunnels, known as "utilidors" (short for "utility corridors"), to allow cast members to move from one area to another without being seen by guests. These utilidors were designed so that cast members, supplies, and even trash could be transported discreetly, ensuring that guests never encountered anything that would disrupt the park's illusion.

It's not just Walt Disney who took this seriously though. All cast members believe in this significance of immersion. I learned about this in the most socially awkward possible way. At Disney World, you’ll see cast members wearing green shirts who are professional photographers. If you buy the photo package, you can have them take your picture at any time without trying to take pictures with your phone. Genius idea really. Anyway, I went up to one of the photographers and asked if she could take our picture. She looked at me, puzzled. “Picture?” she said. “I don’t know what that means.” Dumbfounded, I responded, “Uh… you know… a picture?” She looked at me and replied, “Don’t you mean a holoscan?” I stared blankly, thinking, What the heck is that? I asked her to repeat the word three times. Slowly, it sunk in—I was in Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge. Pictures didn’t exist, but a holoscan sure did."

Immersion might not be talked about as much within the instructional design field, but it certainly applies in a few different settings. If you are creating a 12-week long course and week 4 is radically different compared to week 7, it’s not going to feel connected and cohesive. In a sense, this takes the learners out of the experience and they are trying to figure out why the components are jumbled together. If you were creating a VR training and the setting was in the learners’ workplace, it would need to match real-world expectations. The characters in the virtual world would need to speak like actual normal people, not robots. There would need to be freedom of choice and have consequences of actions. Not every decision is going to end in a perfect way, because that’s the real-world. If we want to keep learners attention, we have to stay in this immersive learning environment.

Storytelling

Disney understood that emotional engagement keeps an audience invested. He structured everything, from movies to theme parks, around storytelling, creating experiences that resonated with people on a deeper level. I was surprised to learn how deeply Disney cared about edutainment (education and entertainment). When I think of Disney, I think of Toy Story, the Lion King, Mickey Mouse, etc. Not education. While he wanted his parks to be entertaining, he was invested in making them educational.

Disney’s original vision for EPCOT (the Experimental Prototype Community of Tomorrow) was deeply rooted in edutainment. He imagined it as a living, educational showcase where people could learn about future technology, urban design, and sustainable living. Though EPCOT ultimately evolved into a theme park after his death, it retained his focus on learning and innovation through entertaining experiences, such as the pavilions that showcase science, technology, and cultures from around the world.

When you go into EPCOT, you will be greeted by Spaceship Earth, the gigantic sphere near the entrance. This ride takes visitors through a history of human communication, blending historical education with immersive entertainment. During the ride, you are asked a series of questions about what’s important to you and your future. After a few moments, you’ll have a customized video of your future and can interact with several games and activities. It’s mentioned several times that these choices are what makes you uniquely you.

What was so compelling within every attraction, was how quickly I was sucked into the story. I wanted to know more about the characters, their backgrounds, and what around me was happening. Even walking into the Hall of Presidents, one of the original attractions from the 70’s, still captured my attention. Being able to hear President Lincoln’s speech in its entirety was captivating. Yes, it was an animatronic, but it felt life like. As the jumbo screens displayed the most iconic moments in American history, I left feeling with this strong sense of patriotism.

Storytelling is a critical component of learning and naturally, instructional design. How we shape and mold the stories the students will be experiencing bring life to the learning experience. Case studies and scenario-based problems immediately come to mind when thinking of stories. When written correctly, these can be transformative for the students. It can take them into their imaginations and vividly think about what it would be like to be in the shoes of a hypothetical character. When written poorly, like naming places of work ABC company or every character is named “Bob,” these can be seen as a throwaway assignment. The level of care and attention just isn’t there, and learners sure do notice this. You can hear me rant more about this with my podcast episode on instructional design pet peeves.

Accessibility

In higher education, accessibility still isn’t prioritized enough. Every time I think we are moving in the right direction, I’ll read an article on Inside Higher Ed that makes me feel like we are still living in 2004. At Disney World though, this is completely flipped on its head. Accessibility features aren’t seen as some nice-to-have or optional add-on. They are clearly taken into consideration first. It’s the way that things should be.

Let’s talk about a few examples of what I saw. The clearest was with multiple formats for content. Disney World offers visual aids, audio descriptions, and Braille maps for guests with visual impairments. Every piece of audio from the rides to the busses had closed captioning. For guests who have hearing impairments, they even offer sign language interpretation for attractions and shows.

Another example was with adaptive technology. Everything at Disney World was accessible for guests with wheelchairs. I know this is the law, but it was nice to see that the ride vehicles could accommodate these people without requiring extra effort. It was seamless. And speaking of rides, Disney World has options for those with development disorders who are unable to wait in line, to make reservations ahead of time.

All of this to say is that I would love to see our design world move more into this direction. Closed captioning and transcripts are the minimum. We should place a higher emphasis on sensory overload. Being able to provide additional flexible options to meet the needs of all students should be the goal. One thing that I want to do personally with my designs is to hire those with impairments to go through them and then to provide feedback on how make improvements. Companies do this when testing out products before they go to market, and I’d love to bring this attention of detail to courses in higher education.

Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) is the standard if you want to read more. Also, Dr. Nicole L’Tetoile has a new accessibility course being offered through IDI that I know you’ll benefit from. She has certainly taught me a thing or two with going above and beyond with accessibility.

Prototyping, Iterative Design, and Feedback

Walt Disney treated Disneyland as a sort of "prototype" for future parks, and he was known to walk around, observe guests, and make real-time notes on what worked and what didn’t. He used guest reactions as feedback to improve the park. For instance, Disney would note where people tended to gather, which paths they took, and how they responded to different attractions. He even famously would grab an order to go, eat along the way, and wherever he finished eating, he said a trash can needed to be placed in that exact spot.

It's not just about prototyping though. Disney Imagineers use feedback loops extensively in designing animatronics and ride experiences. For example, the Pirates of the Caribbean ride has undergone several updates over the years, including adding elements from the popular film series. These changes often come from guest feedback and the need to keep the attraction relevant and engaging. Disney’s animatronic technology itself has evolved based on these loops. When certain animatronics didn’t achieve the desired level of realism or broke immersion for guests, Disney invested in advancements like the A1000 animatronics, which are smoother and more lifelike.

And of course, we can’t forget about feedback. Disney is renowned for its use of data, collecting detailed feedback from guests through post-visit surveys. These surveys cover a wide range of topics, from ride satisfaction to food quality and overall park experience. Analyzing this data helps Disney understand which experiences are meeting guest expectations and which aren’t, allowing them to prioritize future projects and updates.

For example, if guests consistently report issues with a specific attraction, Disney might prioritize it for refurbishment. Similarly, if guests express enthusiasm for a certain experience, Disney might expand it or create more attractions in that style. It’s also been interesting to hear about mixed guest feedback like with the rebranding of Splash Mountain or the fast passes.

All of this is to say, instructional designers absolutely follow these same principles. Building out a prototype of a course or a training and actively seeking feedback before it goes live is crucial. It’s during these moments when we learn about how to improve the design and to reconsider all options. Feedback and data for a designer is invaluable. It’s why I am a firm believer in creating pilot versions of learning experiences before they are launched to the masses. If you have ever taken my courses before, you’ll have heard me say that there is no such thing as a perfect course. We can always improve the designs with more feedback.

I didn’t think choosing Disney World as a destination would lead to writing this blog post, but I’m sure glad it did! Is there another organization you can think of for us to draw inspiration from for our designs? I’d love to hear more!

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