Rocket to the Moon | Flight to the Moon | Mission to Mars

In this attraction typography case study, we will look at some of the typefaces used for Rocket to the Moon/Flight to the Moon/Mission to Mars.

Rocket to the Moon was one of Disneyland's original opening day attractions.  It was a simplistic show that utilized circular screens in the center of the floor and ceiling. It seated the guests in the round, and a screen on the floor would show the guests where they had been, while the above screen showed the destination. Over time the attraction began to show its age and was reimagineered to Flight to the Moon. After six years, the attraction was rebranded yet again to Mission to Mars. Disneyland's Mission to Mars shut its doors in 1998 while Walt Disney Word's attraction closed in 1995. 

 
The typography for this long-forgotten attraction focused heavily on popular Sans Serif typefaces. The simplistic, classical typefaces represent progress and the future, and the italic-set fonts convey the feeling of movement and speed as if we the guests were thrusting into a world of Tomorrow. A few classic Serif fonts do make their appearance in the font palette, but these are more secondary to the Sans Serifs. With all the rebranding and re-themeing of the attraction, a few small decorative display fonts made their way into the palette, like the main font used for the attraction signage spelling out "Mission to Mars", which is a wide-set, italicized stencil font that looks extremely sci-fi/space race. 

Well that about does it for this week's case study. Thanks for stopping by and be sure to come back on Monday for a new Retro '71 shirt concept. Have a great weekend!

Poster Design Part 2

Second installment. . .

Poster Design

So in my down time I've been toying around with the concept of vintage posters that play upon construction and the final product. These are just roughs but I really enjoy where they're going. I plan on flushing out the series and have a few others already done but plan on saving them for another post.

In the meantime does anyone have any pictures of Walt Disney World's Pirates of the Caribbean being built/construction photos???? There are tons for Disneyland but none for the Walt Disney World Resort. I've searched everywhere on the net and in most of my theme park books but alas nothing. It's like those sneaky Imagineers just beamed over the attraction. If you know or have any photos you wouldn't mind lending to the project I would be grateful.

Snow White's Scary Adventures

 

Welcome back, and for you first-time visitors, welcome! In this week’s Designerland Typography Case Study we'll be looking at the typefaces from another one of Disney's classic dark ride attractions, Snow White's Scary Adventures. Snow White's Scary Adventures is one of the original attractions that remain from Disneyland's opening day back in 1955. The attraction originally opened under the name Snow White and her Adventures. At the time, Imagineers might have been a little too avant garde in having guests take on the role of the beloved beauty. Guests didn't quite understand the attraction from this perspective and often asked why Snow White wasn't featured. Needless to say, the Imagineers quickly added her to the attraction to please the guests. Over time, the attraction has seen some minor upgrades to the show-building facade and also a name change due to parents complaining that the ride was a tad on the scary side. I have to agree with the parents: that attraction scared me as a child—when that wicked Queen turns from her mirror, I would always look away. Such a simple gag but HIGHLY effective.

The attraction loosely follows the plotline of the animated feature we all know and love. While Disneyland had it first, the attraction quickly became a staple of the other theme parks. The Walt Disney World Resort, Tokyo Disneyland and Disneyland Paris have their own versions as well, but that's soon to change. With the plussing of Walt Disney World's Fantasyland, Imagineers have decided to step it up a notch with an entirely new attraction based on this Oscar award-winning feature. I can only imagine the typography and signage the designers will come up with!

When looking at the typography of Snow White's Scary Adventures, there actually aren’t too many fonts to be found. This is pretty much the case with most Fantasyland attractions: limited space, shorter-length queues, and not too heavy on the thematics and atmospheric details of the attraction. Most of the typefaces of Snow White's Scary Adventures come from what I call the classic Disney Fantasyland font palette: Black Letter, Gothic, Old English, and Serif. While the fonts listed are mainly European fonts derived from British origins, the classic Brothers Grimm tale of Snow White was from Germany. Even though the main typefaces aren't really from the story’s point of origin, they still work with the overall look and feel of Fantasyland. In addition to these more typical fonts, this attraction also features Art Nouveau. But what does the Art Nouveau period have to do with Fantasyland and Snow White??? Actually, it really fits when you study some of the stylings that Disney's Animators brought to the feature film. When watching the movie, one can notice the Queen’s elaborate peacock throne—the throne’s design slightly resembles the work of famed Art Nouveau artist, Frederik Mucha. It just so happens that Disney's designers used an Art Nouveau display font for signage warning of the Wicked Witch. Was this planned from the start or simply a happy accident? I'd like to hope it was all a part of the designers’ plan.

That concludes this week's adventure in typography. See you back on Monday for a new addition to the Retro '71 apparel line. Until next time, have a great weekend!

Retro 71

This week’s Retro 71 concept is an homage to the dreamers and doers of the Disney Theme Parks: The Imagineers.

It has been my dream since I was 12 to become an Imagineer—I would make my parents take me to the bookstore so I could drool over the pages of the Architecture of Reassurance and Building a Dream. I've mentioned before how it's one of my goals to work for WDI. Back in 2005, I got my first taste of WDI when I was chosen as a finalist in the Walt Disney Imagineering ImagiNations Design Contest. Being a finalist and winner solidified the fact even more. I have tried really hard to get my foot in that door at 1401 as well as WDW's campus. No luck thus far, but one doesn't just give up on their dreams.

Most all Disney dorks know that the only place to score official WDI merch is at Mickey's of Glendale, and if you ever get the privilege to shop there, I suggest you have a hefty amount of spending money on your person. It's spectacular. I will add that Disney is missing out on a HUGE market by only selling WDI merchandise in this one store, but it makes complete sense. The store is designed for the employees, although D23 has opened it up to a select few fans in the area. I would love to find a small line of WDI/WED merchandise within the parks for which some of the Imagineers would design limited edition shirts. I know Imagineers create limited edition items for Mickey's of Glendale, so I have to ask, why not for the parks?!?!? It would create an entirely new segment within the park merchandise and I feel the category would be well received. 

This week’s concept is a shirt design that I imagine would sell at a place like Mickey's of Glendale. The shirt is inspired by the vintage WED line from a few years back. I used one of my favorite Walt Disney Quotes on the front that really sums up what Disney and his Imagineers did and still do to this day. I then signed the quote with the original WED Imagineering logo. As you can see, the quote is set in the same typeface the WED logo was created in—what a brilliant typeface!  The overall design is simplistic and crisp in a very 1950's/1960's fashion. 

Well that does it for this week’s Retro 71 installation. I hope you've enjoyed it as much as I have. Until Friday, have a great week and see ya soon!

Indiana Jones

In this week’s attraction typography case study, we'll look at the typography used in the various Indiana Jones attractions within the theme parks. Indiana Jones has a huge presence within some of the Disney Theme Parks across the globe: Indiana Jones Epic Stunt Spectacular at Disney Hollywood Studios; Indiana Jones and the Temple of Peril at Disneyland Paris; Indiana Jones Adventure: The Temple of the Forbidden Eye at Disneyland; and lastly, Indiana Jones and the Temple of the Crystal Skull at DisneySea. These attractions take the forms of audience participation shows, state-of-the-art dark rides and simple themed roller coasters.

When looking at the typography from all of the Indy attractions, one in particular stands out: the Indiana Jones Adventure: The Temple of the Forbidden Eye. With its elaborate queue and pre-show, the Imagineers really set the stage for guests. The typography throughout the queue is one of the key elements in presenting a believable story. If you're a fan of Indy movies, you immediately think of adventure, 1800's & early 1900's archeology, distressed and aged artifacts, art deco, the arts and crafts period and so on. These same themes are present within all of the display fonts designers used in and around the attraction. 

What makes this one attraction even more exciting for typeractive people like myself is that designers at WDI created their own typeface for this attraction . . . well, more of a hieroglyphic. Hieroglyphics were one of the earliest forms of character (letter) writing, even though they're more closely related to pictograms and ideograms. When the attraction first opened, Imagineers provided clue cards that assigned the various characters of this ancient language to letters that closely matched our alphabet so that guests could decipher the messages. This was a simple but amazing feature to this attraction—I only wish the line didn't run so long so that I could one day explore the temple and decode the messages for myself.

The other Indy-based shows and attractions include more of the standard Indiana Jones fonts with some subtle changes here and there. Not enough typography to build and design an entire case study around, so you will see some of the typefaces from other locales within this week’s poster. I hope that one day I can visit the other Disney Theme Parks so that I can continue my research, but for now, photos on the web will have to do.

Growing up with Indiana Jones films, I can only hope that Disney and Lucas will continue to plus this property and bring more amazing attractions and offerings to the theme parks, along with some more amazing thematic typography. Well that does it for this week’s case study. Tune in on Monday for another Retro 71 concept and as always, thanks for stopping by.

Retro 71

This week’s Retro 71 concept is a special twofer. The concepts are based on my favorite resort, The Polynesian Resort. The Polynesian Resort was one of the original hotel concepts dreamed up by WED Imagineering for the Walt Disney World Resort, and it opened the same year as the theme park in 1971 under its original name, The Polynesian Village. The resort has not only grown in size due to its popularity, but it has also seen some changes in its look and branding. From fonts to color palettes, to pools to interior decor, the resort has evolved over the years.

When thinking of shirt concepts for the Polynesian Resort, I wanted to pay tribute to the original name of the resort and use the original logo with the iconic tiki idol. I love all the old branding where the designers used the main tiki idol on pretty much everything from hand soap wrappers to shot glasses (aka tooth pick holders), from frosted libation mugs to even "privacy please" door hanger signs. Nowadays he's seen in a few places around the resort, most notably on trash cans.

The first shirt concept is the classic logo. I tried to plus the design by changing the colors to match the original tile floor of the resort. The original color palette of the resort consisted of deep browns, aqua teals and mossy looking yellowish greens, and I wanted to bring that back to keep it consistent with the overall look of these shirts. I picture this design on a vintage ringer that has color banding around the arms and neck in either a dark brown or the same color as the resort name depicted on the shirt.

The second shirt concept is our favorite tiki idol, but with his legs! Today, only a couple of locations remain where you can still see him depicted with his jaunty little legs. Keeping the color story consistent with the first shirt, I incorporated the same color palette.  I believe it really captures the feel and tone of the resort from back in the day. When looking at the shirts next to each other, I can imagine seeing them sold together at the Boutiki in the Great Ceremonial House. In my downtime, I've come up with an entire product line that includes these two shirts along with a few other fun tropical treasures that celebrate the history and traditions of this amazing resort.

Well that about does it for this week’s Retro 71 segment. I hope you enjoyed the designs! Until next time, have a swell week and be on the lookout for a new soundboard coming soon, not to mention even further looks into the typefaces used on some of our favorite Disney Theme Park attractions. See ya soon!

Backstage Magic with Mickey Mouse

In this week’s case study we'll be looking at the magical typography used throughout the new Backstage Magic with Mickey Mouse character meet and greet.

On April 1^st of this year, the Main Street Exposition Hall changed its name to the newly renovated Town Square Theater. The Theater now includes two elaborate character meet and greets: one for the Disney Princesses and one for the main mouse. The new character meet and greets are the first to utilize Disney's FASTPASS ticketing system, which now guarantees guests an audience with the beloved mouse.

Imagineers designed this new experience to resemble a turn-of-the-century magic show, where Mickey is the main magician and the guests get to venture backstage to interact with him before his next act of people-pleasing prestidigitation. 

While in line, guests are treated to humorous and clever advertising bills for Mickey the Magnificent. The posters depict Mickey and some of his noteworthy feats of illusion. Using cutting edge technology mixed with some good old fashioned mathematical magic, a few posters actually interact with guests as they wait. 

These posters set the stage for some amazing type specimens. The designers of the various posters and signage really streamlined the font palette. Most of the typography comes from one particular type foundry, which is noted for producing turn-of-the-century, elaborate display fonts. Some of the classifications of fonts seen throughout the new meet and greet area are: Western, Victorian, Script, Late 1800's, Early 1900's, and Decorative. Main Street U.S.A. has a great many fonts used from this foundry, and if one were to ask me where to find Disney Park fonts with that Main Street feeling, I would recommend this one foundry right off the bat. What is this foundry you ask? Well . . . a true type magician never reveals his secrets.

I think that does it for this week’s typography case study. Tune in Monday for another Retro 71 concept and for those of you who have enjoyed the Haunted Mansion Soundboard app, I pleased to inform you that I have created 2 new soundboard apps and have a 4th one in the works, so tune in for these real soon! Thanks for stopping by and have a great weekend.

Pirates of the Caribbean

This week we set sail with some of the wildest fonts to ever terrorize the Spanish Main as we look at the typography of Disney's Pirates of the Caribbean. What can be said about this all-time classic that hasn't already been covered on many a Disney blog, book or fan site? 

On a personal note, Pirates of the Caribbean is my all-time favorite Disney attraction. I have many memories of my dad and I at Disney World late at night during the extended hours. We would end our nights continuously riding this classic, seeing how many times in a row we could get in. My dad loves to tell the story of how he could never keep up with me as I ran from the exit, through the gift shop and back to the entrance. The only time I would ever pause was to stop and purchase one of my MUSTS from the shop: a mini skull necklace which was made of plaster with a rhinestone “diamond” in one of the eyes. How I treasured it! Despite the countless times my parents had to buy that exact same necklace, I haven’t managed to keep a single one. I keep a weathered eye out on eBay from time to time, but have never seen one up for grabs.

The first Pirates of the Caribbean opened at Disneyland in 1967, and it was originally designed as a walk-through wax museum-like attraction. However, the plans changed when WED decided to incorporate some of the new animatronic technologies they had created for the World’s Fair. The attraction became an instant success. When Walt Disney World opened its gates in 1971, fans demanded that the show be brought to the Sunshine State. Disney World's Pirates attraction opened in 1973 with some slight modifications from the original. As we all know, most every park Disney has built from here on out has a version of this masterpiece.

When looking at the type used by designers, we see a wide variety in classification of display fonts. Most of the typography is based on classic 60's and 70's fonts with a few subtle nods to the sea fairing, scripty, pirate-looking fonts like Caslon Antique. It wasn’t until the Pirates of the Caribbean film franchise that some of the typography changed, mainly at the Walt Disney World attraction, where we now see the font from the films’ titles now branding the attraction. Once again, we see our favorite font, Bookman Swash, along with some other notable 70's fonts like Columbus. Disneyland's attraction has a larger variety of typography as compared to the Walt Disney World attraction, so most of the fonts in this week’s study come from the Anaheim original.

The one thing I enjoy about the typography of the Pirates of the Caribbean attractions is the use of such dated and classic fonts. This one attraction features the works of such time-honored typographers such as William Caslon, John Baskerville and Ed Benguiat. If a Pirates attraction were designed today, I'm apt to say the designers would probably choose more aged and distressed fonts. To a type nut like me, the typography tells the story of when this attraction was created—it has a refinement that doesn't rely on gimmicks to enhance the story. It is truly one of my favorite font palettes within the Disney Parks. 

Well that about does it for this week’s case study. Tune in for more fun Designerland updates. Thanks for stopping by and have a great weekend.

Retro 71

This week’s Retro 71 concept is my take on Disneyland's "coming soon" attraction sign for the Haunted Mansion. The sign, created by WED, was posted on the gates of the Mansion in the mid 60's. The simple wood cut sign featured the clever writings of Mr. Marty Sklar. This hand-painted sign featured a skull-bat icon at the top, with copy that advertised "post-lifetime leases” which included a "license to scare the daylights out of guests visiting the Portrait Gallery, Museum of the Supernatural, graveyard, and other happy haunting grounds."

I recreated this sign in Illustrator then changed up the body copy slightly—my version directs ghosts to contact Walt Disney World's Ghost Relations Department rather than Disneyland's. I removed the spider web icon from behind the text and placed a photo of Walt Disney World's Mansion from the early 70's that was taken through one of my all-time favorite filters in Photoshop. After that, I adjusted the Mansion photo in Illustrator to make it a vector object so that separations for screen printing films would be possible. The color palette consists of washed-out, ghostly grays and eerie whites. I have a few other color combinations for this shirt, but I feel the distressed texture and faded look lends itself to the established branding that is Retro 71. 

Well that about does it for today. Tune in this Friday for another theme park typography case study. Thanks for dropping in and hurry back!

Storybook Circus

In this week’s case study we'll be looking at a wall. What's so special about a wall you ask? Well a wall at Disney Theme Parks is usually hiding something truly amazing behind it: a new attraction, a refurbishment or even a whole new extension of Fantasyland. WDI has realized as of late that they're wasting valuable market space with just blank construction walls when they could be promoting, enticing and even teasing guests with what's about to come to the theme parks. Their solution to this problem was to theme these walls with various graphics and signage to really get the guests excited about what's to come. In this case study we'll look at one wall in particular, the Storybook Circus wall that's currently up between Fantasyland and the old walk way to Mickey's Toontown Fair.

Before we talk type, let's talk about inspiration. It seems I may have tracked down WDI's reference photo for the Storybook Circus wall. In comparing the photo with the Storybook Circus wall, I can find 13 similarities between the two, which leads me to suspect that the wall’s designer looked to this very photo for inspiration. Do you see the similarities?

We all know that I enjoy a good Slab Serif font, so when I saw this wall's teaser "billing" art I got excited. The overall graphic has a disjointed look: predominately type-oriented sections are broken up by large illustrated concept art. It’s my theory that the illustrated portions were done in Glendale and the typography portions were done by WDI in Orlando. Why do I think this? When studying type, there's a BIG difference between Glendale's campus and Orlando's WDI campus. As of late, it appears WDI Glendale has been using free fonts from such sites as dafont.com and abstractfonts.com, whereas WDI Orlando tends to use professional, commercial fonts for their signage. The sections of the wall that are mainly type-heavy use a variety of classifications: Slab Serifs, Western, Tuscan, and Woodblock. These same classifications can be seen in Frontierland, which is fitting because they all have a Wild West look to them. Traveling circuses were extremely popular in the late 1800's and early 1900's—the same time period from which many of these “Western” typefaces originated. As for supporting my theory, it just so happens that all of the fonts featured on the Storybook Circus wall can be found in the Western section of the type foundry from which WDI purchased most of their commercial fonts.

In comparing the type with other vintage circus posters from the time period as well as the reference photo, the designer(s) paid a great deal of attention to detail. I hope that WDI continues the theme of a late-1800s-to-early-1900s traveling circus with the signage in this extension of Fantasyland. I'm excited to see what typographical wonders show up when this new section finally opens. Well that about does it for this week's case study. Tune in on Monday for an all new Retro 71 concept. As always, thanks for visiting and I hope to see you back real soon!

Skyway

It's a two-for-one typography treat this week as we look at the gone-but-not-forgotten Disney Skyway, so let's jump aboard for a one-way trip into this week’s case study!

The Skyway was a simple gondola lift attraction that ushered guests back and forth between Fantasyland and Tomorrowland. The first Skyway was built at Disneyland and tunneled through the icy slopes of the majestic Matterhorn. Disneyland wasn't the only park to feature this attraction: both Walt Disney World and Tokyo Disneyland had Skyways of their own. Sadly, the Skyway at Disneyland was closed in the early 90's, and like falling dominoes, Tokyo Disneyland closed theirs a few years later, followed shortly by Walt Disney World.

The Skyway still has some presence in the parks, but that's all about to change shortly. The Skyway station still sits to this day in Fantasyland at both Disneyland and Walt Disney World. Walt Disney World's station is about to undergo a major refurbishment to house larger restrooms, feature lush landscapes and possibly some water features as well. I'm looking forward to what the Imagineers have in mind, but I’m also hoping they'll retain a subtle nod to the original attraction.

Now on to the type. Let's start by looking at the Fantasyland Skyway first. Like all attractions in Fantasyland, the Skyway used decorative display fonts such as Old English, Blackletter and Fraktur, which all combine the themes of English/European fairytales with a Swiss edge to convey the theme of a gondola taking us high into the snowy alps. Once again, the designers have used more German-based fonts to represent Switzerland. Swiss typography does get featured—just not in Fantasyland.

The Tomorrowland Skyway Station used only one classification of fonts, sans serif. The main font used on the signage was the classic typeface Helvetica, which was designed by typographer Max Miedinger back in 1957 in none other than Switzerland. Various weights and sizes where incorporated on the signage along with another popular yet overused typeface, Impact. A few decorative futuristic fonts made their appearance later on in the years. One specific typeface was used to brand Walt Disney World's second gate.

I miss the Skyway—it was a great way to get off your feet for a few minutes and get a bird’s eye view of the park. It was a small thrill as well—I remember being scared as a child that the cables would snap. I even miss those out-of-place pylons positioned right in the middle of Fantasyland. One thing I do not miss is seeing the unfinished tops of the show buildings within the park—it was the first time I had ever seen the illusion revealed. Ever since, I've been interested in the art of illusioneering, if you will, which has been perfected by those mad geniuses over on Flower Street.

Well that about does it for today. I look forward to seeing you back on Monday for a new Retro 71 design. Thanks for stopping by and have a great weekend.

Matterhorn Bobsleds

Guten Tag, y'all! This week we’ll take a brisk look at the typography used throughout Disneyland's Matterhorn Bobsleds. Walt Disney came up with the concept for the attraction while visiting the Swiss Alps on vacation with his family. Once back home in the states, Walt tasked his Imagineers with creating a Matterhorn of his own. Stepping up technology, as Imagineers do, the Matterhorn was the first roller coaster to implement a tubular steel continuous track system. This innovation ushered in a whole new era of thrill ride capabilities.

Many of the typefaces and fonts used throughout the attraction are derived from English, German and Irish lineage . . . while the actual Matterhorn is located in Switzerland. Regardless of whether or not it is completely accurate, the typography does give an air of authenticity to the overall theme.

 

Most of the typefaces used on the signage are display fonts. The signs feature a few classic Serifs and italicized Sans Serifs to convey the speed of the bobsleds barreling through the icy slopes of the mountain. However, the two most prominent classifications are Blackletter and Calligraphic.

Blackletter typefaces are heavy, bold, angular fonts derived from medieval script writing, and are Disney’s fonts of choice for most anything and everything in Fantasyland. Blackletter typefaces can break down even further into five subcategories: Bastarda, Fraktur, Quadrata, Rotunda, and Textura.

Calligraphic fonts are hand-drawn fonts. Typically gentle and light in weight, these are designed to mimic the traditional quill-and-ink flowing script found in early monastic manuscripts. Two main variations appear throughout the Matterhorn Bobsleds: Uncial and Jackboot. Uncial fonts are more consistent with what you’d expect from calligraphy. While most are Irish-based, some can be traced as far back as the late Roman Empire.  Jackboot fonts are bolder, heavier variations that are crisp, sharp and usually italicized. These make for a perfect transition between the themes of Fantasyland and Tomorrowland. 

 

While the typography used may not be historically accurate in terms of origin and locale, Disney designers knew what they where doing. These interesting and unique typefaces blend together into a font palette that truly evokes the Swiss Alps.

Well that does if for this week - thanks for dropping by and I look forward to seeing you back on Monday for a new Retro 71 concept. Auf Wiedersehen!

It's a Small World

This week we look at a Disney theme parks time-honored classic: It's a Small World! So climb aboard and let’s sail with the happiest set of typefaces that ever sailed!

When it comes to Small World, people tend to love it or hate it.... personally, I love it. I love it even more now as an adult, especially as a designer. As a child I tended to focus on the children from around the world, the fun yet repetitive theme song by the Sherman Brothers, and the copious amounts of glitter (be honest, who doesn't love glitter?). But now as an adult, I'm more intrigued by how this one attraction is a perfect example of the elements and principles of design.

One of the primary designers of It's a Small World was artist, designer and Imagineer Mary Blair. I believe Mary's success was due to her understanding of classic design elements and principles, along with her stylistic approach and background in fine art. Her style was somewhat avant-garde for the time and if she were at WDI today, her style would still be considered innovative. To be honest, I don't think anything would get green lit if the storyboards looked like some of Mary's concept treatments . . . my how the times have changed!

Over the years, from the original Small World designed for the 1964 World's Fair to Hong Kong Disneyland's version, It's a Small World has used a variety of fonts and typefaces to brand itself. From posters to merchandise, the stylistic approach in terms of type has changed over the years. Italics, bolds, curls, serifs, sans serifs and display fonts have all been used in conjunction with this attraction. Currently, a whimsical childlike display font sets the tone for the main signage. I believe this is a custom typeface designed in-house by Disney's design team. Sometimes designers will design just the characters needed to spell out the attraction name for the logo or signage—they usually never create the entire alphabet, punctuation marks, numerals or glyphs (there are exceptions and we'll discuss that later on when we look at the Indiana Jones case study).

Lucky for us, we have typographers who are Disney dorks!!! These typographers, paying homage, have created entire fonts (including some amazing glyphs) based on their appreciation and love for Disney attractions. Their designs come close in matching what you see in the parks—they are usually about 95% accurate and could fool most any viewer. Disney has even gone so far as to purchase some of these re-imagined fonts to go back and use in the parks.  As a designer and Disney dork, I could only imagine the thrill of walking into the parks and seeing a font of my creation in use.

Aside from the main signage of It's a Small World, the only other type treatments seen on or near the attraction are closure signs that pop-up from time to time, and the final show scene of the attraction itself. The last show scene consists of various languages bidding riders farewell. What better way to use typography than to match the good-byes in a font found from that native country?

Well that about does it for this week. Tune in next week and thanks for stopping by!

The Haunted Mansion

When I began the journey of hunting down fonts used in the parks I started with one of my favorite attractions. Let's just be honest, the Haunted Mansion is one of everyone's favorite attractions.  I've ridden the Haunted Mansion too many times to count.

I began looking for fonts used in the ever-so-popular attraction posters, signage used in the parks and various consumer products (both present and past merchandise). Unfortunately, I've not tracked down ALL the fonts used in the various Haunted Mansion branding...but I have a good start.

The Haunted Mansion font palette is an interesting one. Fonts can actually tell us a lot about something such as a time period. They can also convey themes and even invoke moods from us, the viewers.

Let's look at just one font used in the Haunted Mansion. The "The" in the Haunted Mansion's main sign on the gate is one of my favorite fonts of all time. Bookman Swash (used throughout the park) tells us about the time period this certain signage was created.

Bookman Swash became highly popular in the 70's and is a variation of the classic font Bookman. We die hard fans know that Disneyland's Haunted Mansion opened on August 9, 1969 and Walt Disney World Resort's Mansion opened in 1971... so did the designers use this font because it was popular for the time or simply because it spoke to them from regions beyond?!?! 

Most, if not all, fonts used by Disney are actually display fonts. Display fonts are known for their decorative characteristics and are usually used only for titles and other BIG billing text. You will find throughout the parks, Disney's designers like to break this basic rule of design and use these display fonts to set entire sections of body copy. This helps keep the theme of an attraction, land or area consistent.
  
Other font themes found in the Mansion can be classified as Victorian, Art Nouveau and even Celtic.

Walt Disney Imagineering

I've decided to give you all a taste of things to come. Here's my first "test run" of my typeface case study poster designs. 

Starting on the first of January I'll begin with actual attractions found within the parks but for now I give you my dream: Walt Disney Imagineering.

I, like most Disney dorks, have dreamed of being an Imagineer since I was young. I've tried extremely hard to become one and I will continue to keep that dream alive but in the mean time let's talk type.

For this case study I began by looking at mostly logos and signage. My main focus was on the classic WED Enterprises Logo. Who doesn't love that mod retro design, right? Sadly it's not a real font. It was hand generated by one of the designers at the time...but who????

Well according to Mr. Roland Crump the designer of the original WED logo was none other than Paul Hartley. You see, being so obsessed with this logo I got together with another designer who specializes in custom made typefaces and they designed a font based on it for me at a said price. I even contacted Rolly and asked him is he created the WED Enterprises logo. I thought he'd shed some light on the topic seeing how the Tower of the Four Winds model that resides in the Contemporary Resort has that same D character from the WED logo.

Rolly actually enjoyed the typeface and provided some great feedback. As for now, the designer of this reimagined font has not went public with it yet, but if and when they do I'll let you know.

Other than the custom WED typeface, the poster displays fonts found in the current WDI logo, the WDI ImagiNations logo and website, The Blue Sky Cellar, and a few WDI Construction signs that have popped up in the parks.