10 Ways Disneyland Used Psychology to Perfect Its Experience

But these principles aren’t just best practice — their effectiveness is also due to the psychological principles underlying each. Let’s kick off with the first — and maybe most important — commandment.

1. Know your audience

Walt Disney’s idea for Disneyland came from a visit to Los Angeles’ Griffith Park with his daughters. He was frustrated because while his kids were having fun on a merry-go-round, he had to sit alone on a bench.

At the time, park rides were only for kids, and there was nothing for adults to do but wait. That experience gave Walt Disney the idea for a theme park where families, not just kids, could have fun.

Disney got lucky because he knew his audience. It was him, sitting alone on a park bench, eating popcorn instead of having fun with his kids.

But once he started building Disneyland, Walt stopped being the customer.

He knew that it would become harder to understand what the guests wanted as the park grew. Walt Disney also knew that if the Imagineers only created rides and park features for themselves, they wouldn’t be focused on giving guests what they needed.

Why is it so important to know your audience?

One reason is a psychological principle called the Hot-Cold Empathy Gap.

What is the Hot-Cold Empathy Gap?

This principle says that we have a hard time predicting how we will behave in the future because our emotional state when predicting is different than it will be in the moment. When we're not currently feeling emotional ("cold") it's hard to predict how we'll react when we're in a highly emotional state ("hot").  

For example, if I asked you how you'd respond if you saw someone get hit by a car you'd probably say something like, "I'd rush to their aid and call 9-1-1." And that's an easy assumption to make, given that you didn't just see a traumatic event, you're not currently experiencing the rush of emotion that would happen after witnessing an upsetting accident.

So what does this have to do with Disney Parks? 

Well, if you’re asking Imagineers to create experiences for guests in a highly-emotional “hot” experience while the Imagineers are in a “cold” state, it can result in a park experience that feels off-the-mark. 

Imagineers can't be expected to design experiences for families who are stressed because of the summer heat, upset because the queue for their ride is moving too slowly, or even just emotionally overwhelmed by the sights and sounds of the park, without experiencing these emotional circumstances themselves. 

By living through the emotional moments that guests experience, Imagineers can create a better customer experience.

2. Wear your guest’s shoes

One of the biggest challenges in design is empathy. But if you’ve experienced the same challenges as your customer, it’s easier to spot what’s broken.

That’s why Walt Disney insisted that his Imagineers visit Disneyland at least every other week and stand in line. That way, they could experience it just like the guests. For you, “wearing your guest’s shoes” could mean using your own product, shopping in your store, or experiencing life as a customer, not a creator.

Why is it so important to have empathy for your customers?

It’s down to a cognitive bias called the False Consensus Effect.

What is the False Consensus Effect?

This principle describes peoples’ tendency to think that our own beliefs, behaviors, and thoughts are more common in the general population than they actually are. In other words, we think that other people like what we like.

For example, if we eat at McDonald's once a week, we assume that most other folks eat there just as often. If we read the New York Times, we assume that more people read the New York Times than who actually do. If we fly first-class, we think it must be something that most other people have done at some point in their lives.

By regularly visiting the park, Imagineers can not only have empathy for their guests, but also observe if their experiences in the park are more or less common than they think.

For example, if an Imagineer hates fruit-flavored ice cream they're likely to think most other people hate it too. But if they observe long, snaking lines to buy a Dole Whip then they have no choice but to rethink their opinion and consider how to make the product more prominent in the park. 

3. Organize the flow of people and ideas

“Great stories, and great experiences, have a logic and sequence that pays off for your guests, customers, or readers for the time and effort they have put in.” — Marty Sklar, Imagineer

Walt Disney knew his park couldn’t just be fun — it also had to be easy to understand. Disney knew that an organized park could be more magical because guests would find their way to more fun. 

In his book, One Little Spark, Imagineer Marty Sklar gave an example of organizing the flow of people and ideas: the Disneyland ride, “Indiana Jones and the Temple of the Forbidden Eye."

The line for this ride starts outside, next to the Jungle Cruise, where guests are surrounded by lush plants and the ambient jungle sounds. Marty Sklar described the rest of the queue this way:

“The fifty-thousand-square-foot show building housing the Temple of Doom is your destination… 

Inside, the Spike Room (watch out for those spears!), the Rotunda Calendar (are those large stones moving?), and the show introduction (presented as an old newsreel about the discovery of the tomb) set the stage for the adventure to come.”

Why is it so important to create an organized flow and narrative for customers? It’s down to a behavioral science principle called Narrative Bias.

What is Narrative Bias?

Narrative bias describes our tendency to make sense of the world through stories. We trust stories, become more emotionally invested in stories, and better remember information when it’s in a narrative format.

People trust, remember, and become emotionally invested in stories.

Disney and his Imagineers created an immersive world where every moment is part of a bigger narrative. Stories make visitors feel like they’re part of the magic.

4. Create a Weenie

Before you wonder why Disney is talking about hot dogs, a “weenie” was his name for a visual magnet that guides people through an experience.

Think of weenies as landmarks — they help you understand the flow of the park, where you’ve been, and where you might go next, relative to their location. The most famous Disney park weenies are Spaceship Earth in Epcot and Sleeping Beauty’s Castle in Disneyland.

These visual magnets help guide you through the park. Without them, you might spend your whole day trying to figure out where you are and how you get where you’re going.

What’s the psychology behind why “weenies” are so important? It’s down to a principle called Visual Salience.

What is Visual Salience?

Visual Salience describes how prominent or emotionally striking something is. If an element seems to jump out from its environment or capture a person’s emotions, it’s salient. If it blends into the background and takes a while to find, it’s not.

Salience describes the prominence or emotional resonance of an element.

By making visual magnets - or weenies - super salient and easy to find no matter where you are in the park, Imagineers can create experiences that are easy to navigate. And when they parks feel easy to navigate, they're less stressful, and more fun. 

5. Communicate with Visual Literacy

Disney knew that people respond better to non-verbal communication, which meant creating a consistent visual code in the park was important.

Imagineer John Hench described Disney’s approach to “visual literacy” this way:

“We pay close attention to color relationships and how they help us tell our stories. 

Nothing in a theme park is seen in isolation [so we] visualize the buildings… in the context of the surrounding pavement, the landscape, the sky with its changing weather…

Color assists guests in making decisions because it establishes the identity of each attraction in the park.”

Disney knows that to be effective communicators who also create an immersive park experience, they have to use all of the non-verbal tools at their command - like color, shape, form, and texture. 

But why is it so important to communicate with "visual literacy" instead of just relying on words and copy to convey meaning?

It’s down to a psychological principle called the Picture Superiority Effect.

What is the Picture Superiority Effect?

This principle says that people remember and understand images better than words.

Images are easier to remember and understand than words.

By making Disney parks visually-driven, Imagineers keep visitors engaged and make it easier to navigate the park. “Visual literacy” also creates an experience that’s accessible to people of almost all ages, languages, and abilities.

6. Avoid Overload

Disney wanted to create an immersive experience, but he didn’t want to overload guests with too much information or stimulus. As Marty Sklar, former international ambassador for Walt Disney Imagineering put it: 

“Your first task on any new project is to learn as much as you can about the subject of your story or assignment. 

Your second task is to become a great editor.”

If you’re asking customers to take in too much information, it can be easy for them to feel overwhelmed and exhausted instead of focusing their goal -  having fun with their families.

Imagineer John Hench described Disney’s approach to information and choice this way:

“When we come to a point in the park that we know is a decision point, we put two choices. 

We try not to give [guests] seven or eight so that they have to decide in a qualitative way which is the best of those. 

You just give them two.”

Why did the Imagineers want to avoid giving guests too much choice?

One of the reasons is a behavioral science principle known as Choice Overload. 

What is Choice Overload?

The Choice Overload Effect (also called Overchoice) says that too many options can be a bad thing - they can confuse, overwhelm, and make it difficult to make a "good" decision.

And once people do make their choice, they can feel disappointed in it because they're still not sure it's the "right" one. 

Although Disney didn't know it at the time, research shows that when there are too many options, customers feel anxious, emotionally disengage, and can even become depressed.

7. Tell One Story At A Time

Disney knew that good stories are clear, simple, logical, and consistent. Here’s how Marty Sklar described this principle:

“The objective is to create a storyline that holds together… we try to find the holes in the story, correct them… and ultimately create a clear story line that we can review with any discipline….”

Why was Disney so intent on guests being focused on one simple story at a time?

It’s down to something called the Simplicity Theory.

What is Simplicity Theory?

This principle says that people prefer experiences that minimize their cognitive load (the amount of information we have to process at any given time).

In other words, people don’t want to think too hard about your experience because thinking is hard work. They’d rather just avoid your brand altogether if it means less thinking is involved.

Consider the Apple store. 

It’s really obvious what story Apple is telling. Its stores don’t sell t-shirts or crowd the floor with inventory. Apple wants you focused on the story at hand — that their products are innovative and easy to use.

That’s it. Anything else is a distraction.

8. Maintain Identity

This commandment means keeping your brand consistent by creating a uniform look and feel for your experience.

Think about a brand like Coca-Cola. Their logo hasn’t really changed for over a hundred years. 

That repetition makes a brand powerful. People remember it, understand it, and choose Coca-Cola over other brands. 

Why is it so important to create and maintain a consistent brand identity? It’s down to a psychological principle called the Mere Exposure Effect.

What is the Mere Exposure Effect?

This principle says the more times people see a message, a brand, or even a person, the more they’ll like it.

But if it’s different every time they see it, they’ll have a hard time building that exposure — it has to have consistency to get remembered. And given a choice of two options, they’ll prefer the consistent message that they’ve been exposed to the most (even if it’s lower quality).

The more times people see a consistent message, the more they’ll like it.

By using consistent visual assets and avoiding contradiction, Disney can take advantage of Mere Exposure to drive love for their customer experience. This effect also makes their parks more memorable and fun.

9. For every ounce of treatment, provide a ton of fun 

This commandment says people will sometimes have to do things that aren’t fun, like standing in line. To keep customers happy, we have to balance that treatment with entertainment.

At Disney World, one of the worst parts of the experience is queuing up for rides. But Disney’s Imagineers are so skilled they can even make standing in line fun.

So when you’re waiting in line for the Haunted Mansion at Disney World, for example, you’re kept busy. You can play ghostly musical instruments, see books that fly from their shelves, and even solve a murder mystery while you wait. 

As MIT professor Dick Larson, who studies the psychology of standing in line, put it:

“You might wait 45 minutes for an eight-minute ride at Disney World, but they’ll make you feel as if the ride has started while you’re still in line.”

Why is it so important to pair fun and entertainment? It’s because of a psychological principle called the Idleness Aversion.

What is Idleness Aversion?

This principle says that people are happier when they’re busy — even if they’re forced to be busy.

For example, have you ever seen an elevator door covered in mirrors? That’s not just an interior design choice. The mirrors are there to keep you entertained, checking out your hair or teeth while you wait for your lift to the next floor.

Why? It’s because time moves faster when you’re distracted.

10. Keep it up

Now that you’ve got a great experience, you have to maintain it. At Disneyland, that means everything has to work — from the air conditioning to animatronic characters. As Marty Sklar put it:

“Poor maintenance is poor show. And poor show is unacceptable in the Disney experience.”

Why is it so important to “keep it up”? It’s down to our preference for something called Status Quo Bias.

What is Status Quo Bias?

Status Quo Bias says that once people get used to your “normal” experience, they’ll feel a loss when something deviates from that norm.

Once people get used to your “normal” experience, they’ll feel a loss when something deviates from that norm.

That’s the downside of having a world-leading experience — once you create it, you’ve got to maintain it. Customers get used to perfection. If any elements are broken, they look a hundred times worse compared to the “normal” experience.

The Bottom Line

“It’s kind of fun to do the impossible.” — Walt Disney

While the psychology and behavioral science that underlies these principles are important to Disney’s success, we can’t overlook the role experimentation played.

Without a testing culture, Mickey’s 10 Commandments could have been nice ideas that were never proven.

But because Imagineers felt comfortable experimenting, the theme parks division of the Walt Disney Company went from Walt’s crazy idea to making nearly $7 billion in revenue in 2019.