The most fun engineers can have at amusement parks may just be a behind-the-scenes tour of the technologies—like CAD, simulation, robotics and generative AI—reshaping them.
When you walk through the turnstile entrance to many amusement parks, you are immediately surrounded by technology. State-of-the-art animatronics populate trackless rides. AI assistants guide you to your next stop. The most adorable robots you’ve ever seen cross your path on the way to the funnel cake stand.
Every industry is digitally transforming at its own pace, but those in the theme park business have never been scared of going fast.
“I believe we are generally the first to embrace new technologies and sometimes we’re the origin,” Charles Laureano, senior director of operations for Six Flags Over Texas, told Engineering.com.
From using 3D printing and CNC machines to quickly manufacture seasonal décor to the use of CAD software and real-time 3D to better simulate the customer experience, new technologies can be seen in both customer facing areas of parks and behind the scenes in ride design. This willingness to quickly adopt new tools has led to a rapid digital transformation that is launching the amusement park industry forward—and you don’t have to be a thrill seeker to be thrilled by this case study in successful digitalization.
Test running new tech, in and out of simulation
Being one of the first to implement new innovations at a large scale requires robust in-park testing. When your creations are used by tens of thousands of customers a day, there is only so much information you can gain from simulation and small group feedback. Laureano says Six Flags often trials new tech at a test park, typically Six Flags Over Texas in Arlington.
“We use the park to formulate a scalable plan, install the infrastructure and test the product,” Laureano said. “Sometimes we’re trying several iterations of what the product could be to see how our guests react and how it could help or hinder our own operations. From there it goes out to different sized parks before getting rolled out to the entire company.”
Test processes like this are used for everything from trying a new maintenance software scheme to an automated parking system to mobile food ordering.
Another major park operator, Disney, has been testing out robotics outside of rides and into park pathways. In Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge, Disney engineers are running trials of independently roaming robots. The childlike “droids-in-training” push the bounds of sensors and human-robot interaction, inquisitively navigating theme parks streets and approaching guests.
“Engineers and animators both are key to a project like this. Engineers are creating an electromechanical system that can physically walk and balance and move, while it’s the animators’ job to artistically craft and shape these movements into a personality. And taken together this creates a relatable character rather than just a robot,” said Joel Peavy, executive R&D Imagineer at Disney, in a November 2023 video (see below).
The key to the whole experience is simulation. By training the robots to move in a simulated environment, Disney was able to program their unique movements in “what amounts to years of learning in the real world in just a few of hours in the simulation,” according to Moritz Bächer, associate lab director at Disney Research, in the same video. “And with this technology we can make inexpensive 3D printed robotic characters come to life very, very quickly.”
Although these robots were tested first in simulation software, in-person test runs are giving the Disney team a better idea of what types of interactions and behaviors spark the most joy for guests, and discover any issues the robots have with navigation.
Interactive robots and other emerging technologies are certainly exciting, but for patrons of amusement parks the most impactful tech is much more familiar. Laureano says there is by far one technology that has had the biggest impact on the industry in the past decade: smartphones.
“Creating mobile apps and having our park system integrate on that platform has been integral to our continued success,” Laureano said. “Everything from purchasing your day ticket or season pass, to flash pass for our rides, mobile ordering your meals and even taking a survey on your visit are all built around the mobile platform.”
Last year Six Flags even rolled out a generative AI virtual assistant on their mobile app, powered through a partnership with Google Cloud.
Supporting increased cell phone use over the large footprint of an amusement park required utility upgrades in addition to software development. The Six Flags Over Texas has installed nearly 100 Wi-Fi access points, 14 cell antennas and nearly five miles of fiber on their property to handle the load.
Upgrading the rider experience
When you are quickly turning and looping through a ride, it’s easy to miss just how many technologies, innovations and advanced elements come together to create a modern ride experience.
For example, a ride like Justice League: Battle for Metropolis in Six Flags Over Texas features roving ride vehicles that have 3-degrees of freedom, 16 channel onboard audio, movement of up to 6 feet per second, 4K projection technology and what Laureano describes as “a state-of-the-art gaming system.” It features several interactive screens, animatronics and practical effects like fire and fog.
Without digital tools like simulation, computer aided design (CAD) and sensors, rides like this would be impossible to create. However, designers don’t want visitors to be thinking about this complexity during their ride. The technology should not be front and center to the experience, but rather augment it.
“I think something that a truly good dark ride needs is a perfect marriage between a very compelling story and exciting uses of technology. So how to make the show truly as immersive as it can be is the main goal of what we do here,” Sally Dark Rides CAD supervisor Michael Torres told Engineering.com.
Dark rides are indoor attractions common at amusement parks that guide guests through a scene-driven adventure. Sally Dark Rides creates themed rides which rely heavily on animatronics and characters. Most recently they opened Spongebob’s Crazy Carnival Ride, a trackless dark ride at Circus Circus in Las Vegas, Nevada. Systems like this rely heavily on sensors and predetermined programming to guide ride cars through a scene.
“That trackless system really just helps tell the story. The fact that you don’t see a track make it almost like you’re kind of floating in the water,” Torres said.
Transforming amusement park design
This quick adoption of new technologies means the industry is constantly pushing digital transformation both in their rides and parks directly, and in the manufacturing processes required to create them.
Tools like CAD and simulation software, as well as 3D printing and CNC machines have become essential parts of the park and ride design process. They have radically reduced the time required for engineering calculations and construction.
“I have a pretty active imagination and I can envision what something looks like in my head. But, things like simulation software and 3D renderings help share what that vision is to a broader audience and when it comes to construction, can help really bring the details to life,” Laureano said. “It provides a clear vision and ability to effectively communicate, which is key when you’re trying to get the smallest of details right.”
Sally Dark Rides relies on AutoCAD and Revit as their primary design tools, supplemented by Enscape and Unreal Engine for high quality renderings.
“We try to use Enscape to see how the show looks from the actual guests’ view,” Torres said. These real-time renderings allow for improvements to the guest experience before construction even begins.
Once the models are fully designed and rendered on the computer, they move to prototyping the physical version. This is where newer rapid prototyping techniques come in handy.
“We do 3D printing for scale mockups of our characters, and scale mockups of certain scenes that have very large show actions,” Torres said. Show actions are important points in the ride or story, so seeing these mockups allows designers to better visualize animatronic movements that are important to guests.
Next up, they create the frame of the full-scale character, which is passed along to the pneumatics team that enables the character to move. The programming team takes the character and adds in the commands, before it goes onto art for finalizing the look of the character. The collaboration of these groups outputs the talking Mr. Krabs or gesturing Squidward that all the guests see.
“Why I am in this industry is honestly the big payoff of seeing how the guests react to what we have helped bring to life,” Torres said. “That part is the most rewarding.”
In addition to prototyping uses, Six Flags even uses 3D printed parts in their final attractions. This is especially helpful for seasonal projects with a shorter lifespan.
“The haunted house attractions we design and build heavily rely on 3D printing and our CNC machines,” Laureano said. “We will typically design a scenic piece or even part of a costume and then 3D print it. From there we can make changes or we can create molds so we can mass produce parts. The team recently printed hundreds of custom flower elements in different “blooming” positions for a [haunted] house we built for Scream Break.”
Whatever the new technology, it is likely to find some use in theme parks to streamline the amusement park experience and take rides to the next level. Amusement parks serve as a prime example of how technology can be used to refine user experiences, and test the limits of human-human and human-technology interactions.
That push for innovation and digital transformation starts with the people passionate about this new era of amusement parks.
“Together as a team, we are constantly leveraging technology to not only make things easier for our guests, but more fun,” Laureano said. “Our team, the rides, the lighting, the sound, the experience all rely on technology to create an immersive experience. It’s part of everyday life and embracing technology and finding new ways to use it is really a ton of fun.”