Disneyland

Overview

Like many other Californians, I absolutely love Disneyland and am filled with glee whenever I’m able to visit the theme park.

I worked with 2 other product designers to redesign the Disneyland app, focusing on improving the way users can find rides, plan out their day, and invite friends to see said plans for the day. We were excited to redesign the Disneyland app because from our first-hand experience in using it to try to navigate the park, we found that it was not very time efficient and could be optimized such that users spent less time in lines or trying to find rides and more time having fun with friends.

‍

My Role

While I was involved in all aspects of the design process, I focused on turning insights from user testing and heuristic evaluation into concrete design changes for our high-fidelity design.

‍

Guiding Questions

• How might we design the app such that it is intuitive and easy for people of all ages to use?
• How might redesign the app such that it allows users to have a more seamless Disneyland experience?

‍

Research & Needfinding

We conducted live user interviews and asked interviewees to walk us through how they would go about finding rides, choosing rides to go on, and planning their overall day. We were able to consolidate findings from these interviews to attain the following user flows.

‍

‍

‍

From our research, we found that:

1. There were few ways to make a trip itinerary for individuals that are going with multiple people
2. Users faced confusion when trying to search for rides in the app
3. First-time Disneyland-goers struggled to understand which rides were worth going on
4. Many users spent most of their time at Disneyland in lines, only going on an average of 4-5 rides within a 9 hour timespan

Imani, User Persona
20 years old, college student, visits Disneyland every week (annual pass + superfan)
“It sucks that most of my time at Disney is stuck in lines. If you want to ride more than 5 popular rides, then you're going to have to show up early in the morning, which is hard for me as a student. ”

Rudy, User Persona
45 years old, father of 2 teens, visits Disneyland around every 3 years
“Last time I took my kids to Disney felt like a waste. We spent most of our time wandering trying to figure out where each ride was and whether it was worth our time. It's not like at Six Flags where you can visually see if the ride has a big drop or if it goes upside down. You kind of have to guess at Disneyland.”

Define + Reframe

From our research, we found users found a successful Disneyland trip to be one where they rode a large number of rides, typically around 6-10. We found a huge painpoint to be users waiting in line for rides that turned out to be lackluster, with many interviewees remarking that they wished there were an easier way to know how thrilling a ride were.

‍

From these insights we reframed HCW statement: How can we design an efficient and easy-to-use system that allows users to navigate rides at Disneyland more seamlessly?

‍

Prototyping + User Testing

We developed concepts, design mockups, and created an interactive prototype that would aid users search for rides and see if they were a good fit.

After prototyping and conducting live user testing, we found that users found an in-app planner that could be synced with their mobile device to be a helpful tool, as it would allow them to visualize their day and let them know if they're on track to complete a desirable number of rides. Moreover, users were also enthusiastic about our redesigned ride information pages, which gave more information on the rides and their thrill levels.

‍

Final Prototype

After receiving feedback from users, designers and key stakeholders, we iterated on the user flow and interaction design to create a final prototype walkthrough. I've recently revisited this project after a trip to Disneyland in June 2021 and am playing around with a more collaborative trip planning feature, which can be seen in the prototype!

‍

‍

Reflections and Iterations

This experience has helped me realize that it is important for both experienced and novice Disneyland attendees to find the joy in planning their trips. Throughout the design process, I constantly pondered how we could make the app experience exciting for users who were Disneyland pros and already knew which rides they wanted to get on once they arrived at the park. Through user interviews, we found that the collaborative aspects we added to the app aided in helping them take their Disneyland adventures to a new level such that their trips were more organized and lively.