i ‘heart’ themed exit signs

tom — Tue, 15 Dec 2009 23:45:50 +0000

While I was working at Walt Disney World I had a mission: take a picture of every different type of themed exit sign at EPCOT. This seemingly simple task turned into an epic struggle against the salida gods [that is exit in spanish...not the god part]. Below, you’ll see a collection of the ones I captured. I’m sure I missed a bunch, any ideas which?

One of the many reasons I love EPCOT is the little design touches that contribute to the authenticity of your experience…such as exit signs that match the theme of the space they inhabit. You see, there isn’t any reduction in the safety of the environment by theming an exit sign. It is likely 95% of the visitors don’t ever notice the signs. That is the point. If the parents of Kelsey and Hunter need to exit the building quickly, the exits are clearly marked…but when they are experencing the pavilion or attraction, the signs do not intrude or interrupt the themed experience.

When the exit signs are not themed they clash between the fantasy of the designed environment and the reality of egress safety. Designers should take note of little details like exit signs that separate a novice from a professional. In recent park enhancements there has been a switch to generic exit signs [The Land, California Adventure, etc]. Usually they are black and don’t draw too much attention to themselves, but they certantly don’t match the overall theme. Sure it is a little more expensive to paint the sign or choose a unique typeface, but the subliminal enhancement of authenticity is worth it!

Without further delay, here are some great themed exit signs at EPCOT. See if you can guess what pavilion they are from and click show below the image to find out of you are right!

[[Visit blog to check out this spoiler]]

And here are a few at other Disney parks…

[[Visit blog to check out this spoiler]]

Does anyone have photos of these exit signs?

Mission Space
Test Track
Old Journey Into Imagination
Spaceship Earth

Maybe I should ask, has anyone else noticed these exit signs?

Note: There is a poll embedded within this post, please visit the site to participate in this post's poll.

explore the holiday display at the mission inn [week 1]

tom — Sat, 31 Jan 2009 05:58:45 +0000

While I was at home for the holidays with the family in New Jersey [for the first time since 2004, btw], the Discovery Channel ran a special about the historic Mission Inn in Riverside, CA.

The backstory of this ‘whimsically designed historic landmark hotel’ was quite interesting or my family was quite dull and either way I thought it would be great to see the display in person. The Festival of Lights was definitely worth the drive. Wikipedia says that there are nearly three million Christmas lights and over 400 [extremely frightening] animated figures.

A note about those ‘animated’ figures… they make the Tiki Birds in the Enchanted Tiki Room [Presented by Dole] at Disneyland look as fluid and lifelike as perhaps the Wicked Witch on The Great Movie Ride.

Although most of the lights were not LED they did have a few. Including these which were perfectly straight, something that I wasn’t able to achieve with the same set. They must know some type of voodoo magic [or own a heat gun].

The hotel is plopped down in the the middle of ‘Riverside Downtown’ which appears to just be an outdoor mall in the style of the Third Street Promenade in Santa Monica, only less classy. So much history and presidential influence here and I still am more interested in the exit sign. Also, we were shocked to find a ice skating rink in the middle of the road. I can’t imagine how much it cost to keep that water frozen!

Week 1 has been a success!

Be sure to check out the rest of the photos on flickr.

Key ‘lessons learned’:

Who knew Riverside downtown existed?

Parking structures are not designed to have lights that blink to Manheim Steamroller Christmas music.

At least someone in this world can put up their LED christmas lights straight.

It’s a good thing that Disney’s animatronics work the way they do (fewer nightmares)

Don’t get distracted by a green light until you stop at the red light that comes before it

how tom works | Tom Arthur » exit

i ‘heart’ themed exit signs

explore the holiday display at the mission inn [week 1]

Week 1 has been a success!