As a media designer for Walt Disney Imagineering, Joe Herrington has worked on sound design for some of Disney’s most well-known rides, as well as new attractions like Mickey & Minnie’s Runaway Railway at Disneyland and Walt Disney World, and TRON Lightcycle / Run at Walt Disney World and Shanghai Disneyland. He has worked for Disney since 1981.
The sonic experience is a key part of any attraction. Designers use a mix of music, sound effects and dialogue to help draw visitors into the story of that attraction.
Talking to blooloop in 2023 about the different elements of a ride soundscape that come together to create this sonic experience, Herrington explained: “Firstly, we have a harmonious blend of unique music that establishes and sustains the mood. Then we add a sound bed to create a fantasy world. This includes specific sound accents that bring the world to life. And then there is the dialogue, which helps to set up and direct the story.
“Those are the essential layers that we put together in a soundscape to create the sonic experience.”
Explaining the sonic experience of TRON Lightcycle/Run, and the team’s initial goals for the attraction, Herrington added that the sensory experience “begins outside under the canopy, which is designed to create anticipation. This is where you have the structure, the lighting, the music, the vehicles streaking past and the race team overhead, and you start to think, ‘This is going to be cool.’
“Before guests even walk into the building, they are excited. They can’t wait to get on the ride, because there is so much to look at, listen to, and feel. And all these things in harmony begin to pull the guests away from the outside world and into our story.
“The soundscape starts this transformation on an emotional and subconscious level. The music resonates with something inside of you.”