Our power of imagination project was an amazing project which just might have to do with the field school we went on for it …. Florida aka DISNEY WORLD! Our driving question: how do Disney theme parks shape and influence the cultural, economic, psychological, and social experiences of visitors?
Investigation 1
This investigation was about building your knowledge that you would need to complete this project and storing it in a PKM. I found this first investigation the most infuriating. Researching, which involved reading articles as a class and watching videos like the “Happiness Advantage”, was very enjoyable. Also, learning about the culture of Disney was very interesting. Walt Disney’s mindset when created these theme parks was so different from other people of his time. What was infuriating? While reading articles and watching the videos we had to MAKE (not to be mistaken for TAKE) notes, which was expected. But then we had to write a summary. The 4 – 2 – 1 structure was challenging. I like the idea but I had a hard time finding the point I should get across in that amount of space. There was so much information and I seemed to include more than I needed. Concise writing is hard! Overall I liked when we found our own articles such as the PKM I made for Dole Whip. This whole investigation shows my growth on the processing curricular competency with critical thinking shown in the fleeting notes and the creative and reflective thinking shown in the connections I made and my thinking sections.
Investigation 2
Early on we were put into groups and assigned a specific aspect of our driving question. My group focused on how Disney theme parks formed emotional connections for the visitors of the park. For this investigation, as a group we had to come up with a pitch board for a 10 minute documentary. The pitch board had to include the main concept we wanted to get across and the mood we wanted the audience to feel. This part of the project involved a lot of growth in the decision making competency. Working as a group we had to look at our topic from different sides and figure out how to put it all together in the end. A challenge for us? The groups were made up of students from both classes. This made collaborating difficult. We did not understand what the other half of our group had done the class before us. Communication was not clear. Thankfully we used time in our other classes to bring it together but it was still difficult and it was a problem throughout this whole project.
Investigation 3
It’s story board time! While working on our pitch board, we came up with a reliant idea. We decided that the main concept we wanted to get across was how the merchandise is a way to take Disney beyond the boundaries of the park. We would show the differences in the merchandise and how they remind you of a place or experiences in Disney. Group members would each introduce different merchandise. The other choice we made was that the overall mood will be up beat and we will interview someone who obviously loves the merchandise.
Thinking back, I loved our idea and I wish our final product showed that more. Our idea evolved and that is ok but I loved our original idea. With the story board, we also created a script for our documentary. The collaboration was difficult because of the separate classrooms and we needed more time. When flights were cancelled the ONLY good thing was that we were able to finish our scripts and get better idea of when and where we would shoot and who would shoot what. I really enjoyed this part of the process because I could see the shape of what we were doing.
Shooting on location …. DISNEY WORLD!
originally I was going to interview a Disney Customer, someone who loved the merchandise. But we decided to have the same voice interviewing both of our interviewees to keep some consistency. So, I instead, was in charge of B Role which meant whenever I was in a store I filmed the merchandise about the 50th anniversary merchandise. My other job, was to film Noah and Gwen when they talked about the custom and limited time merchandise. I helped them film this at multiple locations within Disney Springs. We ran into a several problems. First of all it was very loud in there to get good audio. We also could not find custom t-shirts Gwen had researched before coming. These challenges meant we had to make adjustments so we could still get our point across and show our idea. Throughout our Disney trip, we checked in with each other to make sure we were getting the shots we needed to fulfill our plan.
Since returning, we have been editing and assembling out documentary. I was not in charge of editing but I got audio from other group members and sent it to the main editor, Noah.
This project made me think while I was in Disney World. When I was there, I would look at things differently. Instead of thinking “oh look at that tower” I noticed how the tower added nostalgia because it was the Tangled tower, which reminded me of my childhood. The research we did and the focus I had because of the project made this experience of Disney World different for me than when I went to Disneyland a few years ago. I noticed more. The way the cast members talk to visitors was really cool because it changed based on which part of the park you were in. In Disney World, nothing is out of place, which is good for fantasy but also shows a specific view of life.
The main point of this training is to bring about a more optimistic mindset. We wanted to see if we did certain practices or two minutes per day if your outlook would be more positive. Research showed that a more optimistic point of view leads a person to be more productive and more successful. Meditation Mondays was one exercise we tried. I found it very peaceful but with so many people in the room, I could never fully relax or clear my brain.
James Clear promises remarkable results with tiny changes in his book The Atomic Habits. The book is filled with amazing stories that really stood out to me. He gives very helpful suggestions on systems that can help us achieve our goals. He also does a good job at showing us why the systems we are using or trying to use are hard to follow through. For example some people want to go to the gym but their system really works against them.
Actionable
This step started a week before Disney world and was about planning the trend videos by using storyboarding skills and making prototypes. Starting with storyboarding, I quickly realized that I needed to do more research, because I was planning on doing a Disney food video but I didn’t know where or what food I wanted to use. I am glad I did more research because if you have ever been to Disney World the food and beverages are very imaginative like blue milk!
Disney was awesome!!! This project was a fun way to express things we experienced at Disney that we want to mention. The video is silly but you still needed to plan it out and think it through in order to make it effective.