Walt Disney & Hitachi Vantara: Manufacturing Data Magic
The legacy of Walt Disneyland Theme Parks, since the first park was established in California in 1955, has always been groundbreaking.
The parks, which today boast some of the most sophisticated rides in the world, have always been about bringing magical stories to life through manufacturing innovation.
Disney theme parks introduced innovations like the monorail system, an electric-powered transportation system to enable futuristic, elevated and efficient rides to be built around the park.
The parks also introduced the world’s first tubular steel roller coaster, the Matterhorn Bobsleds in 1959, which set the standard for thrilling, robustly engineered modern roller coasters.
Another critical innovation pioneered at Disney Theme parks was Audio-Animatronics technology, bringing lifelike, moving characters from the Enchanted Tiki Room and Pirates of the Caribbean to rides in the early to mid-1960s.
The company’s innovation in this area continues today, with the breathtaking, bioluminescent Na’vi River Journey ride that takes parkgoers on a journey through the world of Pandora, featuring hyper realistic Na’vi animatronics.
Disney Parks today utilises a variety of virtual reality, augmented reality and other 3D technologies throughout its rides.
This history of innovation is down to the creativity and talent at Walt Disney Imagineering.
Walt Disney Imagineering is the research and development arm of the Walt Disney Company, responsible for the creation, construction and designing of Disney Theme parks and attractions globally.
Walt Disney Imagineering has worked with several manufacturers under contract, like Veld Koning Machinefabriek and Dynamic Attractions, to create some of its most iconic rides.
Today the company is also working with Hitachi Vantara, utilising industry 4.0 technologies to manufacture an otherworldly, immersive experience for park guests.
Hitachi Vantara & Walt Disney: Data Magic
In 2019, Hitachi Vantara was appointed as the official ride and show analytics provider for two Disneyland resorts in the US: The Walt Disney World® Resort in Florida and the Disneyland® Resort in California.
“Walt Disney World Resort and Disneyland Resort have delighted their guests with one-of-a-kind experiences for decades,” Brian Householder, President, Digital Infrastructure Business Unit, Hitachi Vantara said.
“We are thrilled to work with Disney to provide intelligent, data-driven solutions that allow Disney to continue its legacy of delivering immersive experiences with increased operational efficiency.”
Operational efficiency is key here.
Disney’s parks host thousands of guests every day, and ensuring adequate people flow is essential.
Maintenance must be planned and executed precisely to keep ride systems running.
This is both to avoid costly delays and to ensure guests get the full experience of the park and its attractions.
Hitachi Vantara has addressed this through IIoT technologies like DataOps and Lumada software, which collect and analyse real-time data insights to improve park operations.
"Both Disney and Hitachi Vantara know how important every guest visit is, and how special each experience is to the limited time they spend with us. With Hitachi Vantara’s world-class data analytics and management solutions, delivering on that expectation of excellence is easier than ever before.”
Deploying digital twins
Disney and Hitachi have deployed a suite of solutions across attractions in Walt Disney World Resort.
These include the Alien Swirling Saucers at Disney’s Hollywood Studios and the Toy Story Mania and Slinky Dog Dash rides at Toy Story Land.
"As the Official Ride and Show Analytics Provider of the Walt Disney World Resort and the Disneyland Resort, Hitachi Vantara's analytic capabilities help us analyse millions of points of data every hour," says Doug Wagner, VP, of Engineering Services at the Walt Disney World Resort.
"This kind of speed and accessibility keeps the magic alive and is imperative to a superior guest experience across the attractions in our parks.”
Disney has built a powerful analytics and data management platform using the company’s Pentaho+ suite of solutions.
This platform captures and analyses millions of data points from IIoT sensors located throughout its attractions.
Artificial intelligence is also used for predictive maintenance, assessing when repairs are needed to keep assets and components in perfect turning order.
This platform has assisted in the management and operation of rides like Star Wars: Rise of the Resistance which requires the real-time analysis and management of between 30,000 and 40,000 data points generated by Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT) sensors.
“We utilise several key solutions from Hitachi Vantara that help propel our data management to the next level,” says Michael Tschanz, Director of Design & Engineering Technology & Analysis at the Walt Disney World Resort.
"One I personally think is the coolest thing we’ve worked on together, is our development of the physical-digital twin analysis technology.”
Through digital twins, Disney can feed the information from its IIoT sensors into a highly detailed simulation of the ride.
Vital measurements such as velocity, acceleration and torque are automatically derived by the simulation, helping Disney gain real-time insight into each ride’s conditions.
“As two companies with nearly 100 years of history each, we both understand the importance of a legacy that sets the stage for the future," says Mike Labonge, VP of Global Engineering & Technology at the Walt Disney World Resort.
One of the first attractions to receive the digital twin technology is Mickey and Minnie’s Runaway Railway.
Through this Disney was able to improve the ride’s machinery operations, avoiding disrupting guests' experiences and the work of ride engineers.
Through its continued partnership with Hitachi Vantara, Disney Parks continues its investment in manufacturing innovation and advancement, utilising industry 4.0 to enhance its rides operations and deliver otherworldly creative experiences.
“From the very beginning, Disney Parks have been an example of how innovation and incredible stories and characters can come together to create something truly special," says Trevor Larsen, former Executive Vice President, Facilities & Operations Services, Disney Parks, Experiences and Products.
"Working with Hitachi Vantara and its portfolio of data-driven technologies, we can continue to take our guests on unbelievable adventures delivering consistently outstanding experiences for every guest, every time.”
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