Disney is revolutionizing Audio-Animatronics, Again!

Some people may have been fortunate enough to see the first animatronics ever created when Walt Disney himself was at the 1964 world's fair in New York City. I was very little, but I remember my parents talking about visiting and enjoying it. And what an impact it had in the future of many different aspects, not only in animatronics but also in park attractions, robotics, electronics and many other areas.

I have been able to read about the innovative part of the Walt Disney Company and in one of my trips to EPCOT Center in 2011, I was invited to a ‘behind the scenes’ tour at the American Pavilion at the very same moment when one of the shows depicting important people in US history brought them alive. It was audio-animatronics seen from below the surface, looking at their every movement, motion and facial expression. For me, it was another wonderful experience during my visit to a Disney Park. Over the years we have seen the many improvements at the many attractions such as ‘It's A Small World’, ‘The Hall of the Presidents’ or ‘The Pirates of the Caribbean’. We even saw Jack Sparrow having a better positioning after the hit movies Pirates of the Caribbean. It is a kind of a Celebrity audio-animatronics Branding for Jack Sparrow, as my friends at the DNA agency would refer to it.

Well, Disney is doing it again. It is not just the more real leg or better facial expressions; it is making the whole attraction look more real. A recent article about the new ride at the Magic Kingdom, the Seven Dwarf's Mine Train attraction, mentioned that it will feature the original seven Snow White dwarfs, and showing them in a more realistic and better way. Disney "imagineers" as they are known, constantly use new ideas and improvements in the key components that make each individual part of the animatronic figure. The article by Sarah Sekula (Heigh-ho, heigh-ho! It's off to Orlando they go!, USA Today, May 2, 2014, LIFE section, page 3D), indicated that "... it features toe-tapping new music, a first of its kind ride system and audio-animatronics that would make Walt proud." Year after year these audio-animatronic figures show improvements, such as better facial expressions, new movements and in this case they are using "the best and most advanced animatronics ever created by imagineers."

Walt Disney was always taking care of the details and we should all be doing the same in both, our personal and professional lives. We lead by what we do, we motivate our team with our example, and we inspire others while doing an excellent job every single day. And we all need to innovate. This is what I want you to take out of this article: you and I, we all need to innovate constantly and continuously. It is the only way by which we make ourselves and our companies competitive in an ever more complex business environment, in every corner of the world. As consumers become more demanding, with little time and many more options to choose from, we need to remind them that we are here for them. It does not matter which product we sell or which service we provide, as long as we keep innovating and improving.

This new ride will open next spring; but please realize that we are all open for business today and our businesses and companies need to grow and get better. So I urge you to take action, innovate, improve, grow, plan and set your strategies to always keep the details working in order to surprise your customers and clients in new and more innovative ways.

Luis Vicente Garcia is a Business Consultant, a Business Performance Coach with FocalPoint Coaching, and a Trainer with Brian Tracy International, who helps entrepreneurs reach their goals faster and improve their performance.

www.luisvicentegarcia.com

lgarcia@focalpointcoaching.com

@lvgarciag