Danisa Alvarez
Panther ID 1945827
August 13, 2011
Research Paper
Disney World’s Tactical Visual Rhetoric
It is Saturday morning and the usually sleepy kids that moan and groan to get out of bed are suddenly early birds. They are heading to Disney World! The family loads up the rental mini-van and head out to the “happiest place on earth.” The long drive on Florida’s Turnpike is exacerbated by the anxious and predictable question, “Are we there yet? Are we there yet?” Finally, they reach the long awaited sign “Walt Disney World” that signals that they have left the real world and entered the fantasy world “where all dreams come true.”
Walt Disney World is the largest and most visited theme park in the world raking in over 51 million total visitors and just under seventeen million visitors to Magic Kingdom alone in 2010 (Orlando Convention and Visitor Bureau). Disney has been called the most powerful corporation in the planet (Giroux 1999). It spans a whopping thirty thousand acres which include four theme parks, two water parks, 23 resort hotels, Disney’s Boardwalk, Downtown Disney, ESPN’s Wide World of Sport, and thousands of acres of undeveloped scrub and swamp (Fjellman 1992). The first theme park and major money-maker, Magic Kingdom, inaugurated on October 1, 1971 with Epcot and Hollywood Studios following just a decade later and Animal Kingdom in 1998. Magic Kingdom employs over 65,000 “cast members”-as Disney likes to call its employees- and spends nearly $1.2 billion on payroll and $470 million on benefits yearly. The expenses don’t stop here. Disney spends about $100 million in maintenance on Magic Kingdom. These maintenance costs include things like steam cleaning all of the streets in the park, re-painting the carousel horses with gold leaf paint, and replacing older trees with younger ones. All of these expenses are well worth it when Disney World averaged over $38 billion in revenue in 2010 alone (Orlando Convention and Visitor Bureau).
Disney World creates unforgettable memories that are treasured forever. When you punch the numbers above how can it not? Disney World creates a fantasy that makes their visitors feel wonder, happiness, and a sense of comfort and security through their visual rhetoric. The park layouts, ride engineering, and strict policies are the techniques Disney uses to have this effect on its visitors.
The whole lot that is considered Disney property is designed in such a way that once visitors enter they forget there is an outside world. As visitors drive deeper and deeper into the resort all signs of the real world are replaced by Disney themes. The sound 
of traffic and unsightly views of highways are all absent. If you were to take an airplane ride over Disney World to get a birds eye view you would see that marshlands are all that can be seen around. When one looks at the park map guides- that are so conveniently available at all the information centers on the way to the resort- they will find that each of the parks in the fantasy world is represented by icons, but appear more like landmark so to speak. For example, Magic Kingdom is symbolized by Cinderella’s castle, Animal Kingdom is represented by the Tree of Life, Epcot is represented by the Spaceship Earth geosphere, and Hollywood Studios is represented by Mickey’s Sorcerer’s Hat. Disney’s goal in creating maps such as this is to give visitors the illusion that nothing else exists beyond their park.
of traffic and unsightly views of highways are all absent. If you were to take an airplane ride over Disney World to get a birds eye view you would see that marshlands are all that can be seen around. When one looks at the park map guides- that are so conveniently available at all the information centers on the way to the resort- they will find that each of the parks in the fantasy world is represented by icons, but appear more like landmark so to speak. For example, Magic Kingdom is symbolized by Cinderella’s castle, Animal Kingdom is represented by the Tree of Life, Epcot is represented by the Spaceship Earth geosphere, and Hollywood Studios is represented by Mickey’s Sorcerer’s Hat. Disney’s goal in creating maps such as this is to give visitors the illusion that nothing else exists beyond their park. Disney has thought of everything. They have made sure that they provide entertainment to people of all ages and have included amenities such as day-care centers, wheelchairs, spas, pet kennels, even rentable audio [players] that describes the sights and artificial smells of each attraction for the blind (Fjellman 1992). From toddlers to senior citizens, there is something for all to enjoy. Magic Kingdom was specifically designed for children with Mickey and the gang at every corner. Animal Kingdom is more of an all-ages park, in that it is basically an oversized zoo. Hollywood Studios is more for the older kids and adolescents, with its movie themed and “scary” rides. Epcot, on the other hand, with its World Showcases was aimed at adults with its futuristic contraptions.
Visitors do not realize this, but they are controlled from the moment they step foot on Disney property. “For first-time visitors, passage through the entrance gates signifies that we are now finally there; but this is somewhat of a false start (Fjellman 1992).” Disney’s strategy is to have their consumers exactly where they want them in order to reap the most profit. Visitors have to ride the monorail to reach the parks and this isn’t necessarily an obligatory act that causes any sort of harm in itself. However, when Disney designed the monorail to pass through the Polynesian Resort, the Grand Floridian Resort, the Contemporary and builds the anticipation of arrival by having its visitors see in the horizon the spire of Cinderella’s castle, then that is where their strategy comes into play (Fjellman 1992). When visitors pass through these resorts and they see the beauty of it and how its guests are enjoying themselves, it creates a sort of sense of jealousy that they are not staying there as well. By doing this, Disney is marketing their resorts and putting pressure on parents to book there for the family’s next visit when they see their children “oohh” and “aahh” at the sight of these gorgeous resorts. Visitors do not realize this , but Disney has also strategically placed Kodak picture spots throughout the park that encourage family’s to pose at that specific location
Another of Disney’s techniques lies in its engineering of rides. Disney has designed their rides in such a way that creates a sense of anticipation that can be seen all throughout the park with kids pulling at their parent’s arms and pants to go to the next ride. They have checkpoints throughout the lines that show the estimated waiting time which in turn increases the anticipation for visitors. The lines zigzag, which allow for visitors to chat while they wait. Waiting can be for sometimes an hour or more to experience a three minute ride, but it is all worth it because Disney makes the long wait seem short with the distractions of waiting times and painted murals that spark conversations. However, as the minutes pass and the line moves inch by inch, the actual ride is never in sight. The ride is usually hidden in a building or behind a tall wall, which adds to the mystery and continues to build anticipation.
Disney also pulls at their visitor’s Americana-patriotic nostalgia with their Main Street USA in Magic Kingdom. The buildings on Main Street are scaled to two-thirds of their actual size to make them appear more reachable to visitors (Fjellman 1992). They have even incorporated feelings of nostalgia to their rides. Disney’s Main Street USA is a glamorized version of what the real Main Street was in the earlier years. “Real main streets circa 1880-1910 were pretty messy. They were unpaved, muddy, or dusty, depending on the weather. Commercial buildings covered with signs and advertisements were built right out to the street. If anything lined the sidewalks, it was bare, functional telegraph poles rather than the leafy elms we carry in our imaginations (Fjellman 1992).” Americanism does not stop here. Disney integrates inaccurate patriotism into several of their attractions: “stories of the past told in the carefully re-mythologized form to which Americans becoming accustomed through movies and television (Fjellman 1992).” So why not include these actual characteristics to Main Street USA and the other attractions? Simply put, it just would not fit with Disney’s squeaky-clean image. Disney wants for all visitors, young and old alike, to feel happy and proud of their American heritage.
Magic Kingdom’s “It’s a Small World” attempts to preserve an image of fake tourism so that visitors feel no need to actually travel abroad. Epcot’s World Showcase also provides this 
fake tourism to its visitors. Disney gives its visitors a chance to “travel the world” in just one day. “Each showcase is wrapped in its sensory envelope, consistently themed from its national muzak and street shows to the accents and costumes of its staff (Fjellman 1992).” Disney replicates countries by having “cast members” dress in the most stereotypical outfits and having them speak in exaggerated accents. Disney’s aim is to provide everything to its visitors in their world. They want their visitors to feel that there is no need to vacation at any other destination other than Disney World. Disney World’s policies contribute to their visual rhetoric technique to lure visitors to their parks time and time again. A young child spots Mickey Mouse at the end of the road and runs to him to take a picture. Mickey has his usual big cheesy smile, but what we do not realize is that there is a person inside; a person that may be going through some difficult times and has a million and one problems going through their head. However, the show must go on. These employees, who are paid minimum wage by the way, must wear heavy, thick suits in all kinds of 
weather and endure kids jumping on them and crying babies all day long. Their suits are designed to always stay balanced and for the head to be nearly impossible to remove. There have been cases of heat strokes and fatigues due to employees not being able to remove their costume heads. Here it 
is clearly seen that Disney will go as far as risking a person’s life in order to maintain their fantasy.
weather and endure kids jumping on them and crying babies all day long. Their suits are designed to always stay balanced and for the head to be nearly impossible to remove. There have been cases of heat strokes and fatigues due to employees not being able to remove their costume heads. Here it is clearly seen that Disney will go as far as risking a person’s life in order to maintain their fantasy.“Cast members” that are not playing full-costumed characters must wear clothing that match the part of the park they are working in. Disney categorizes their employees by clothing in order to have them succumb to the desired behavior given the environment they are working in (Giroux 1999). Disney also has an employee ladder that puts pressure on those at the bottom. This means that there are Disney employees that dress as regular, civilian visitors. These “secret shoppers” are rude and offensive to other employees that are maybe working the lines, restaurants, or gift shops to make sure that they always maintain a smile on their face as dictated by Disney policy. Disney also provides rewards to employees who inform on other employees that do not follow the rules.
Disney also makes sure that anything that could potentially be negative about them does not end up on the news. Disney goes the extra mile to ensure that their squeaky-clean image is not tainted. Not many heard of this story, but in 1992 a man shot himself in the head in front of the Journey into Imagination in Epcot. Disney did not allow for the man to die on their property and instructed paramedics to keep him alive until they were off (Sentinel). Disney does not want their visitor’s to feel like the park is not absolutely perfect and they especially do not want them to feel insecure or uncomfortable.
Does the fact that Disney misconstrues many aspects of life mean that Disney is bad? Does knowing that Disney manipulates its visitor’s mean that we are to boycott Disney? Not necessarily. Yes, Disney romanticizes a lot of what real life is supposed to be. Yes, Disney controls everything- including its visitors- that go on in their parks. Disney is and probably will always be the “perfect” family vacation for many years. Parents should make sure that they understand what exactly they are teaching their kids when they expose them to Disney World. Children are highly impressionable and will believe that the fantasy of Disney World is what the real world should be.
References
1. Fjellman, Stephen M. (1992), Vinyl Leaves: Walt Disney World and
America, Boulder, CO: Westview.
2. Giroux, Henry A. (1999), The Mouse that Roared: Disney and the End of Innocence, Lanham, MD: Rowman & Littlefield.
3. “Man Shoots Himself At Epcot Center.” Orlando Sentinel 13 September 1992, Web. <http://articles.orlandosentinel.com/1992-09-13/news/9209130192_1_epcot-man-fatally-shoots-solomons>.
4. Orlnado Convention and Visitor Bureau (2010). Themed Entertainment Association (TEA) and AECOM. <http://www.visitorlando.com/research/market/attraction_attendance.cfm>.
