Giorgio Forte talks about his experience at Disneyland Paris

Theme park shows have been around in the United States since the 1950s, when Disneyland opened. The show at Disney Parks, today as yesterday, involves bringing comic or cartoon characters to life to provide audiences with an unforgettable experience.

In structures that cannot utilize celebrities, performances are moments of entertainment held in theaters or outdoor spaces, which allow visitors to rest their legs while enjoying a show that combines music, dance, circus exercises or various artistic performances and are important elements. In the entertainment offer that the parks offer to guests, when it is possible to invest enough, they remain as memorable as the carousel rides.

At Disney parks, offers are essential elements of the customer experience. Because visitors are offered an experience in which the dream characters become reality and gain physicality. Anyone who has seen, for example, the Frozen show staged this year at Disney California Adventure – here's the video – can understand what I'm talking about.

In the European context, the situation is very diverse. If the Puy du Fou, a French park in which shows with 3,800 participants are presented, exceeds two million visitors annually, in other European parks the performances, generally produced independently or proposed by specialized entrepreneurs, vary over the course of The year proposes imaginative themes addressed in the style of musicals with modern choreography and performers of all genres.

The quality of the offer often depends on the quality of the product and the budgetBecause inappropriate presentation can negatively impact the guest experience. Quality standards are subjective, but some can be determined: the presence of live singers, high-quality costumes, mobile equipment and innovative choreography are highly appreciated by the audience. In Italy, shows consisting of cuts of successful musicals have also been presented in some parks, with excellent results.

Among the forms of emotional participation of the audience, other moments with strong emotional content are organized in theme parks, such as meet-and-greets, photo sets with characters, and parades. Meeting the princesses at Disneyland is one of the most interesting experiences. They are made at Disneyland and many other theme parks amazing Parades and shows ending at the end of the day are common. Disney films, like the recent Disney Illuminations at Disneyland Paris, make use of video maps and pyrotechnics to deliver truly stunning and engaging moments. Lights, music, videos and expertly mixed fireworks provide a truly thrilling experience.

Interview with Giorgio Forti

The Disney group has always put a lot of emphasis on shows. The theme park business was born after Walt Disney was already very famous for his animated films and comic strips and the idea of ​​having actors impersonate the heroes was one of the keys to the success of Disneyland in 1955 and the open-air structures thereafter, in the group's resorts, cruise ships and vacation villages.

We talked about it with Giorgio Forti, Disneyland Paris' Premiere Director, after our experiences at Europa Park and IMG Worlds of Adventure:

• Display in parks has the function of creating a more comfortable time and partially relieving crowding in the park, especially in times of high attendance. At least that's how some managers think. From your experience: What is the role of performances in parks?

The function of performances in parks is certainly twofold: on the one hand we try to make the on-site experience unforgettable and on the other hand we try through pre-determined times and routes to improve the audience's experience in the park to continually allow them to take advantage of the best viewing conditions and usability of the place. It is always clear to take into account the necessary and indispensable quality so that the audience's experience is always at a very high level, allowing increased publicity when leaving the park as well as the desire to repeat the experience and return to visit us. I think the display in the gardens is a kind of gift to the guest.

• Playing shows at a Disney park is certainly a stimulating experience. These are expensive productions, telling stories drawn from films, comics and characters known around the world. But is this the only magic ingredient that makes the quality of shows one of the reasons guests pay for a ticket? What's so special about a show produced at Disney Parks?

Certainly, the main reason why audiences prefer Disney parks is the desire to meet their cherished characters and share a fully immersive experience in the locations the park offers them. Through thematic shows and events, we not only allow guests to realize their dream, but at the same time we allow them to share this experience with the whole family, with friends and loved ones.the. The quality of the products offered and the organized offers must live up to expectations and never disappoint them as this would represent a step towards gradual decline in a competitive context such as that of attraction parks today.
Disneyland remains and will remain for a long time (not to mention forever) a point of reference for everyone working in this particular sector, and this justifies large budgets because quality can in no way be achieved without significant investments. It is clear that the quality of the products offered is always controlled, managed and proposed by highly qualified and carefully selected employees in all areas of work and production stage: from the creative to the productive, and this is what makes the final result a magical experience. That a park like Disneyland should continue to provide for its fans.

• The works, created by Walt Disney in 1955 at the Disneyland Resort and repeated in other structures of the collection, are impressively modern. The companies with the best global prospects currently are those that have shifted their focus from product improvement to analyzing and designing goods and services that respond to users' needs. To what extent is a customer-centric approach a basis for planning and scheduling offers?

As you rightly point out, Disney has succeeded in a very delicate process, which is the ability to interpret the dreams of its audience and make them come true. To do this, you need to know in detail the target you want to touch and impress. For this reason, Disneyland, like other companies in the same sector but not only, constantly monitors the pulse of the public to always be relevant and consistent with the expectations and tastes of visitors.. This is always keeping in mind another fundamental point of the entertainment culture of this company which is the continuous technological development to provide an increasingly immersive, original and intense experience to be fed also through the live experience in the park and not only through films, animations and images of our guests.

• After experiencing this sector and in the most visited park in Europe, what do you think is the future of entertainment in theme parks?

To close the circle and return to the beginning of our conversation, I can confirm that attraction parks that do not know the direct experiences that live shows can impart in the souls and souls of guests will never be able to understand their importance.
In addition to the objective ability to regulate the park's internal traffic, high-quality displays represent an essential moment of collection and engagement to allow our guests to live a fully immersive, high-quality experience.. The stunning choreography, gorgeous costumes, talent of the performers on stage and behind the stage, as well as the amazing locations surrounding our guests will do the rest.

That's why shows remain essential with the sole aim of giving the entire audience a comprehensive and unforgettable experience in a magical fantasy world where anything is possible for at least one day!