We can’t get enough Disney at our house. We love the movies, the music, and eagerly anticipate our trips to the park. One of our favorite things to do is talk about our favorite Disneyland attractions. We love to watch ride-throughs on YouTube and frequently listen to our Disneyland attraction soundtrack in the car.
Naturally, when we had a lull in our homeschool curriculum, I turned to our love of Disneyland to mix things up. I came up with the Disneyland Imagineering Design Challenge! My kids were tasked with the job of taking on the role of a Disney Imagineer.
I challenged my kids to design a unique Disneyland attraction that is NOT currently in the park. Additionally, they were asked to select a Disney movie not represented by an attraction in the park as the basis for their ride. (Ie- they couldn’t make an attraction based on Peter Pan, even if it differed in concept from Peter Pan’s Flight.)
Here is what the kids were asked to design:
- What is the name of your attraction?
- What does the outside of the attraction look like?
- What does the ride queue look like? How is it decorated?
- What will park guests ride in?
- What type of attraction is it? (ie- dark ride, water ride, thrill ride, etc.)
- Design/draw several scenes the rider experiences during the attraction
- Will the park guest encounter any sensory experiences during the attraction? (ie- sounds, smells, etc.)
Blending creative writing with critical thinking and design, this engaging activity was both fun and substantial. I loved watching creativity come alive and their unique ideas surface.
My daughter created an Inside Out attraction, where park guests ride inside a core memory, and take a trip through the most memorable parts of the film. She also designed an Avengers themed coaster ride. My son designed a Lion Guard attraction, where guests enter through a cave and ride on characters from the show, single-rider style through a jungle setting.
Walt Disney (one of my personal heroes) was a master innovator – and as a parent and a home educator, I want my children to believe in possibility. I want them to trust the power of their creativity. There is something so special about the dreamers of the world.
Take the Disney Imagineering Design Challenge, and challenge your kids to create a unique Disneyland attraction. What will they come up with? Who knows? The next Disney Parks Imagineer could be sitting at your dinner table! Let’s inspire the next generation of dreamers!
