Although the park has added upgrades, including last year’s $60-million thrill ride the Twilight Zone Tower of Terror, its attendance continues to fall short of projections. “We’re in the business right now of really inventing a new genre of entertainment,” said Bruce Vaughn, the Imagineering vice president of research and development.įour years ago, when Disney opened California Adventure, which sits like a barnacle affixed to Disneyland, critics panned its off-the-shelf rides and lack of innovation. Beginning in June, Disney fans sitting at their home computers will be able to team up with park visitors to fight the evil Emperor Zurg, shooting at targets and accumulating points. Then there’s Buzz Lightyear Astro Blasters, a “Toy Story”-inspired space ride that will bridge the online realm with the physical world in what Disney designers are describing as an industry first. Others, including a Magic Kingdom virtual-reality game, will be accessible via the Web.

Some ideas, including a computer-animated clown fish (the star of the film “Finding Nemo”) that swims around a submarine ride filled with park visitors, will come to life inside Disneyland. Over the next several months, Disneyland is set to unveil a new crop of interactive attractions designed specifically to hook tech-savvy youngsters raised on computer games, digital effects and MP3 players. “It’s all about trying to keep our entertainment relevant to the way kids are growing up today,” said Marty Sklar, principal creative executive of Walt Disney Imagineering, the company’s in-house think tank. The goal: to make the park’s next half century as profitable as its last. Increasingly aware that children today are “born with a mouse in their hands,” as one expert puts it, Disney scientists and designers are working overtime to appeal to the Internet generation. these days has more than one mouse on its mind.Īs it ramps up a worldwide celebration this week marking the 50th anniversary of Disneyland, the Burbank company knows it can no longer rely solely on Mickey and his friends to lure sophisticated young consumers into the Magic Kingdom.

Disney magic kingdoms buzz quests