At D23, we had the chance to speak to Bruce Vaughn, Walt Disney Imagineering President and Chief Creative Officer, about bringing King Thanos and Disneyland’s upcoming Avengers’ Multiversal attraction to life, the wonder of the HoloTile Floor, and so much more.
Vaughn and the team at Walt Disney Imagineering have a big presence at D23 this year. Not only will they be revealing exciting updates about the future of Disney Parks at tonight’s Disney Experiences Showcase, but they also have an Imagineering: Behind the Dreams pavilion that welcomes guests to see the work behind-the-scenes these creatives do to make real-life Disney Magic.
Alongside all of that are sneak peeks at some of the big new attractions headed to Disney Parks, and a small reveal of a giant King Thanos standee and the attraction vehicle for Disneyland’s upcoming Avengers Multiversal ride was one of the most exciting.
King Thanos May Be the Biggest Multiversal Threat Yet
While we still don’t know too much about this attraction besides knowing our favorite heroes from across the Multiverse will need to come together to take down a variant of Thanos known as King Thanos, Vaughn was able to tease a bit more about what fans can expect.
“We first asked ourselves, do we want to do more of a book report? We said that, because that used to be how most attractions were done,” Vaughn said. “More and more we like to expand the storytelling beyond what’s seen in the movies or the series. And what you get with Marvel – and Kevin Feige is always very deeply involved with our work – is a world that is just endlessly reaching out. And it’s all just part of the MCU, right? So the opportunity, for instance, to introduce a Thanos that only exists in our attraction, a new Thanos that you’ve never seen before, I think that kind of thing is super exciting.”
Vaughn also reassures that this attraction is aiming to please everyone from the most dedicated Marvel fans to those who just love Disney Parks and have yet to watch even one moment from Iron Man to Deadpool & Wolverine.
“We want to make sure we do things that make the hardcore fans say, ‘oh my God, this is different,'” Vaughn said. “We also have to go beyond the hardcore Marvel fans because not everybody is one and we are so multi-generational. People are often traveling from across the world and not everybody has the same passions, so we want to make sure that the story is approachable enough that they’ll go along and have a good time too… and hopefully, maybe, introduce them into this universe! We hope they’ll bond over that.”
“The other thing that we have to do with this attraction is put our guests at the center of it. When you look at the older attractions, like the original Pirates of the Caribbean, which is one of my favorites, you’re really just a voyeur. You’re going through, but you’re not really making a difference. Now, we know we’ve been doing this for a while, but we want more than anything for our guests to feel like they actually have impact on this attraction. Sometimes we can do that where you can do gestures, but even if we can’t, if we give you the sense that you did something, that’s the magic. Kevin Feige loves the idea of just pulling people into the of Marvel, and that’s what we’re doing here. You’re going to get in there and you’re going to have some work to do to save the universe.”
The Potential of the HoloTile Floor Is Limitless
Our conversation then shifted to our universe and how the HoloTile floor may be able to take us to another galaxy far, far away. For those unfamiliar, the HoloTile floor is the “world’s first multi-person, omni-directional, modular, expandable, treadmill floor,” and the potential applications for this device has a Star Wars fan like myself very excited.
Much like the Holodeck did for Star Trek, this HoloTile floor could let guests walk through the streets of Mos Eisley on Tatooine and use the Force to bring items towards or away from them, all from within a small room. You kind of have to think of it as a treadmill floor that’s mission is to keep guests in the center of it, so you can feel like you are running and walking through a vast city but, in reality, you are staying in mostly the same place.
Here’s another look, using a Wii Nunchuk and Star Wars Infinity figures (ugh, how I miss that!), of how the HoloTile floor works! The potential of this for so many applications is truly amazing! pic.twitter.com/doGOZhRi91
— Adam Bankhurst @ D23 (@AdamBankhurst) August 10, 2024
For Vaughn, this is the perfect example of immersing guests into these new attractions and making them feel as if they are the ones living and making a difference in the stories. However, it’s also an incredible way for them to build the experiences themselves.
“Often times, our buildings, rides, and experiences are huge, but we can’t always lay out a whole building to create something. We eventually do mockups that get there, but in the beginning, when you’re in early blue sky and ideation, you’re going to want to be able to say, ‘How would this feel? How would I move through this?’ So, having something that will allow us to go into a virtual world and be able to move through it, that’s special.
“Then, when you do that and you look at it, you go, ‘well, that’s a cool tool for us, but how can we use this for the guests?’ We’re still thinking of ideas, so I have nothing that i’m going to reveal today, but you’ve got the idea of moving things with the Force and all this kind of stuff, and that really can give the idea of magic.
“We have to outdo ourselves constantly because we want our guests to come back and always have that moment of, ‘I have no idea how what I’m looking at is actually working.'”
“A big piece of what we do is the same thing magicians do. It’s about perception. You don’t always have to actually make it happen, but as long as we make our audience, fans, and guests believe it happened, that’s the key thing. So that’s really at the core of a lot of what the technology that we’re doing now is. We have to outdo ourselves constantly because we want our guests to come back and always have that moment of, ‘I have no idea how what I’m looking at is actually working. I have no idea how that happened.” This allows them to suspend their disbelief and just go with the story, relax, and experience the joy of what we’re building.”
Imagineering: Behind the Dreams and the Future About to Be Revealed
As we previously mentioned, guests at D23 are able to see King Thanos and the ride vehicle alongside the HoloTile floor at D23’s Imagineering: Behind the Dreams pavilion, but there is so much more on display there. From a chance to meet the BDX Droids that have been spotted around Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge to seeing a close-up of an Elsa Audio-Animatronic singing ‘Let It Go’ to a look at the illusions imagineers use to bring magic to life, there is a lot to see.
Is there anything better than these BDX droids at the Imagineering: Behind the Dreams exhibit at#D23? 🥰 @starwars @Disney @DisneyD23 #starwars pic.twitter.com/FAiG6NEgeZ
— Adam Bankhurst @ D23 (@AdamBankhurst) August 9, 2024
However, there are also a couple secret sections that will open up on Sunday after the Disney Experiences Showcase concludes on Saturday night, allowing guests to “get an up-close look at future projects.” All in all, it’s an unprecedented look at how Imagineers make the Disney Parks into the places we all love.
“At Imagineering, we have over a hundred disciplines,” Vauhgn said. “It takes so many different facets to bring together the creative vision, and we wanted to pick a few things for the pavilion that we thought were really core. So we have our innovation and technology because we’re always pushing in the spirit of Walt Disney. It’s how we differentiate our product and that is the technology behind the magic. It isn’t typically what’s on stage in the parks, but it does allow us to continue to take what we see in our movies and streaming and be able to deliver that in a way that reinforces them and immerses and blows people’s minds.
“There’s also the artisan and the craftsmanship that we still do. So, you’ll see the carvers in there and how we make the costumes, and those get the same attention to detail and the same care. That was really important to us and we wanted to make sure we brought all that together for one special experience.”
Elsa Audio-Animatronic singing ‘Let It Go’ from Frozen at #D23’s Imagineering exhibit. This space is amazing and really showcases how incredible people make real Disney magic come to life! @Disney @DisneyAnimation @DisneyParks @DisneyD23 pic.twitter.com/hflUEVYsph
— Adam Bankhurst @ D23 (@AdamBankhurst) August 9, 2024
While Vaughn wasn’t able to reveal anything that will be part of the Disney Entertainment Showcase tonight, which we’ll be covering live, he understands that we’ve “been hungry for something besides blue sky,” which is what Imagineers call the initial ideas and concept phase of a project.
“I think it’s a great show and it’s going to be super fun and you’re going to be happy. Let me just say that, you’ll all be very happy.”
For more, check out our recap of all the big announcements from the Disney Entertainment Showcase, including the first footage of The Mandalorian & Grogu, Daredevil: Born Again’s trailer, the reveal of Incredibles 3 and first look at Toy Story 5, and so much more.
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Adam Bankhurst is a writer for IGN. You can follow him on X/Twitter @AdamBankhurst and on TikTok.
