A fan forum self-titled “Ride Archive” has recently released an interesting proposal that they are currently trying to petition the Walt Disney Company to adopt. The project itself is named Disney Ride Archive. The idea is to use new technology in the virtual reality realm to allow guests relive and experience Disney attractions that have long since been closed or retired. The guests would go to one building in a park, and have the option to select an attraction from the past, and experience it as if it was still running and they were actually on the ride.
VR technology would take old photos, plans, videos, and audio from the old rides that have been stored, and recreate the attraction from there. Audio would be remastered, and the visuals would be set up in 360 scope, allowing you to view every detail from the ride. But that isn’t all. At the end of your experience, you would be able to download an app for your phone, and unlock one of the experiences. From there you could go home, and use your phone as the screen along with a VR headset and see the attraction whenever you wanted.
While this idea is extremely new, it has been getting some attention, mainly on Facebook. Older generations like the fact that they may be able to ride their old favorite rides again, and younger Disney fans, like myself, are excited to experience the old rides that paved the way for newer attractions. The Walt Disney Company could do so much with VR, especially in their parks since they are already leaders in experience design. Check out the link below, and you can even sign the petition if you want to someday see Disney Ride Archive in action!
http://huddycreative.com/ridearchive/
This concept intrigues me because it is interesting to see how Disney and other large companies in the same industry continue to innovate. Applying Virtual Realities to various experiences continues to grow in popularity. This use is purely for entertainment purposes and I think that I would have to experience it first hand to decide if it is worth the time and money to create this “Ride Archive”. I have not had much experience with virtual realities but I question whether it would seem real enough to be enjoyable, especially in this case. Seeing as older generations could have experienced the real ride, the simulation could easily be a let down in comparison.
The website “Virtual Reality Society” explains the definition of and elements behind virtual reality. The basic idea is that we experience things through our five senses and that is what they base virtual reality experiences on. But we really have more senses than those five. So according to the Virtual Reality Society, for something like the Ride Archive to be close enough to the rides themselves, it needs to present the people with a totally complete simulated environment. I would love to see for myself one day how close they come to reality but I am skeptical.
http://www.vrs.org.uk/virtual-reality/what-is-virtual-reality.html
Technology and entertainment giants are betting billions that virtual reality is much more than a passing fad, one that will revolutionize the way we experience movies, news, sporting events, video games and more.Last year reality caught up, when he was involved in an actual VR project with none other than Paul McCartney.Mr. Romanek, in Europe at the time, suggested camera angles to the Jaunt VR crew via FaceTime, and a performance of “Live and Let Die” was captured in 360-degree glory. Viewers start off right next to Sir Paul’s piano, where they can swivel to take in the rest of the stage or glance upward to find a sky filled with pyrotechnics. Moments later, they’re in the front row, but a glimpse behind reveals a crowd 70,000-strong.
Mr. Romanek, in Europe at the time, suggested camera angles to the Jaunt VR crew via FaceTime, and a performance of “Live and Let Die” was captured in 360-degree glory. Viewers start off right next to Sir Paul’s piano, where they can swivel to take in the rest of the stage or glance upward to find a sky filled with pyrotechnics. Moments later, they’re in the front row, but a glimpse behind reveals a crowd 70,000-strong.
http://www.nytimes.com/2015/11/22/arts/a-virtual-reality-revolution-coming-to-a-headset-near-you.html