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Disney Discussions: Forced Perspective
**In this new blog category, I will be discussing aspects, techniques, attractions, and more that Disney has used or has built. All posts in this category will be strictly about Disney theme parks, primarily the parks within Disney World.**
Have you ever walked down Main Street, U.S.A. at Magic Kingdom and noticed the three story-tall buildings? If so, you have been hoodwinked by the magic of forced perspective.
Cinderella Castle (courtesy of ohmy.disney.com)
Disney is known for using this architectural technique in all eleven of its theme parks. From buildings to mountains, Disney has mastered the art of forced perspective, an architectural technique that employs optical illusion to make an object appear farther away, closer, larger or smaller than it actually is. While in a Disney theme park, you may not even notice you've witnessed forced perspective. It is most prevalent in Magic Kingdom and Disneyland, but you can find it in every Disney theme park.
Disney parks may not have been the only place you've seen forced perspective. Other amusement and theme parks use it all of the time, but these aren't the only places you'll see forced perspective. Have you seen those pictures of people appearing to be holding the Tower of Pisa? That's forced perspective. Have you watched any of the Hobbit movies based off of the Lord of the Rings book series? The dwarfs and hobbits are actually people of normal height, but the use of forced perspective makes them appear shorter than they really are.
Though forced perspective may sound like an odd thing to be used at Disney theme parks because the Walt Disney Company has assets totaling over $88 billion, and Disney has no need to cut down spending, it is used by Disney for not just optical illusion purposes or for the fun of it, but to save on space. While Magic Kingdom has plenty of room to expand, Disneyland is quite the opposite. Disneyland is located in the middle of Anaheim, California, in the Disneyland Resort, while Magic Kingdom is located in the massive nearly 27,300 acre Walt Disney World (WDW) Resort in Lake Buena Vista, Florida.
Disneyland Resort is also large, but in no way does it have the space like that of WDW Resort. The resort consists of two theme parks and three hotels, while the WDW Resort consists of four theme parks, two water parks, twenty-seven Disney hotels, golf courses, a camping resort, and more. Because Disneyland Resort is so tight on space, the theme parks in it are not able to build huge buildings. To adapt to this issue, Disneyland began using forced perspective, and has ever since.
Magic Kingdom also uses forced perspective, despite it not being short on space. The reason Magic Kingdom uses forced perspective is because it is based off of Disneyland. Because Disneyland has a lot less room, it naturally uses forced perspective more often than Magic Kingdom does.
Examples of forced perspective at Disney World:
Main Street, U.S.A. - Magic Kingdom
These buildings in the most famous land of Magic Kingdom are only two stories tall, but using forced perspective, they appear to be three stories tall.
Cinderella Castle - Magic Kingdom
Considered the icon of the Walt Disney Company, Cinderella Castle serves as the logo for the parent company of Walt Disney Parks and Resorts, the division of the Walt Disney Company that operates its theme parks, water parks, and more. One of the most surprising things about the castle is that it is only 183 feet tall, but it appears much larger than it actually is due to it being built with forced perspective.
The Twilight Zone Tower of Terror - Disney's Hollywood Studios
This 1994-built drop tower attraction is one of the most iconic Disney attractions of all time. Reaching 199 feet in the air, it is the second tallest attraction at the Walt Disney World Resort. It may appear taller than 199 feet due to its use of forced perspective. Disney wanted the attraction to appear tall without going over 200 feet, which would have meant the attraction would need a blinking red light at the top of it as a beacon for low-flying planes, and Disney Imagineers believed that would take away from the realism and would have ruined the forced perspective.
The Twilight Zone Tower of Terror: Corridor Scene - Disney's Hollywood Studios
The outer facade of Tower of Terror isn't the only part of this drop tower attraction that uses forced perspective. The first stop riders encounter on the first elevator shaft is a long hotel corridor. Four guests and a bellhop appear in the corridor as riders of Tower of Terror hear thunder and see lighting through the window at the end of the corridor. This corridor riders encounter is no long hallway. It appears so due to the use of forced perspective, but it really isn't as long as it looks.
Expedition Everest - Legend of the Forbidden Mountain - Disney's Animal Kingdom
This roller coaster is proof that forced perspective can sometimes cost a pretty penny. With over $100,000,000 invested into Expedition Everest, it opened as the most expensive roller coaster ever built. It's a roller coaster that winds in and out of an artificial mountain range that mimics the one Mount Everest in Nepal is a part of. The coaster's mountain range's highest point is 199.5 feet, but with its use of forced perspective, the mountains appear more than double that size from certain parts around the park.
These are just five paramount examples of forced perspective, but there are probably hundreds more. Disney definitely knows what it's doing when it uses forced perspective.
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Main Street, U.S.A., photo courtesy of bgavideo.wordpress.com
(2nd) Cinderella Castle photo courtesy of Katie Rommel-Esham
Tower of Terror outer facade photo courtesy of Alexf
Tower of Terror Corridor photo courtesy of Lori Shinn
Expedition Everest photo belongs to Roller Coaster Daily/Caleb Keithley
