How Disney Uses Digital Twin Technology with Hitachi Vantara

Through its continued partnership with Hitachi Vantara, Disney Parks continues its investment in manufacturing innovation and advancement. The organisation utilises industry 4.0 to enhance its rides operations and deliver otherworldly creative experiences. 

As a result, Disney has been able to improve the machinery operations of some of its rides, avoiding disrupting the experience of guests.

“From the very beginning, Disney Parks have been an example of how innovation and incredible stories and characters can come together to create something truly special," says Trevor Larsen, former Executive Vice President, Facilities & Operations Services, Disney Parks, Experiences and Products.

"Working with Hitachi Vantara and its portfolio of data-driven technologies, we can continue to take our guests on unbelievable adventures delivering consistently outstanding experiences for every guest, every time.”

Deploying digital twin technology

Disney and Hitachi have deployed a suite of solutions across attractions in Walt Disney World Resort. These have impacted infamous rides such as the Alien Swirling Saucers at Disney’s Hollywood Studios and the Toy Story Mania and Slinky Dog Dash rides at Toy Story Land. 

"As the Official Ride and Show Analytics Provider of the Walt Disney World Resort and the Disneyland Resort, Hitachi Vantara's analytic capabilities help us analyse millions of points of data every hour," comments Doug Wagner, VP, of Engineering Services at the Walt Disney World Resort.

"This kind of speed and accessibility keeps the magic alive and is imperative to a superior guest experience across the attractions in our parks.”

Disney has built a powerful analytics and data management platform using the company’s Pentaho+ suite of solutions. The platform is designed to capture and analyse millions of data points from Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT) sensors located throughout its attractions. 

AI is also being used for predictive maintenance, assessing when repairs are needed to keep assets and components in perfect turning order. This strategy avoids downtime and keeps essential operations in good condition.

The data platform has assisted in the management and operation of rides like Star Wars: Rise of the Resistance which requires the real-time analysis and management of between 30,000 and 40,000 data points generated by IIoT sensors.

“We utilise several key solutions from Hitachi Vantara that help propel our data management to the next level,” says Michael Tschanz, Director of Design & Engineering Technology & Analysis at the Walt Disney World Resort.

"One I personally think is the coolest thing we’ve worked on together, is our development of the physical-digital twin analysis technology.”

Through the use of digital twins, Disney can feed the information from its IIoT sensors into a highly detailed simulation of the ride. Vital measurements such as velocity, acceleration and torque are automatically derived by the simulation, which helps Disney gain real-time insight into the condition of each ride.

“As two companies with nearly 100 years of history each, we both understand the importance of a legacy that sets the stage for the future," comments Mike Labonge, VP of Global Engineering & Technology at the Walt Disney World Resort.

Data Magic: Behind the scenes at Disney

Hitachi Vantara was first appointed as the official ride and show analytics provider in 2019 for two Disneyland resorts in the US: The Walt Disney World Resort in Florida and the Disneyland Resort in California.

“Walt Disney World Resort and Disneyland Resort have delighted their guests with one-of-a-kind experiences for decades,” Brian Householder, President, Digital Infrastructure Business Unit, Hitachi Vantara explains.

“We are thrilled to work with Disney to provide intelligent, data-driven solutions that allow Disney to continue its legacy of delivering immersive experiences with increased operational efficiency.”

Operational efficiency is key, given that Disney amusement parks host thousands of guests every day. Ensuring people flow is adequate is essential and maintenance must be planned and executed to an extremely high standard to keep ride systems running.

This is both to avoid costly delays and to ensure guests get the full experience of the park and its attractions. 

Hitachi Vantara has addressed this through IIoT technologies like DataOps and Lumada software, which collect and analyse real-time data insights to improve park operations.

Disney’s digital transformation legacy

Since being established in California in 1955, Walt Disneyland Theme Parks have always been committed to ground-breaking transformations. 

Its range of parks now boast some of the most sophisticated rides in the world and have always maintained a focus on bringing magical stories to life - particularly via digital and manufacturing innovations. The theme parks have introduced innovations like the monorail system, an electric-powered transportation system to enable futuristic, elevated and efficient rides to be built around the park. 

This history of innovation is down to the creativity and talent at Walt Disney Imagineering, the organisation’s research and development arm of the Walt Disney Company. The Imagineering department is responsible for the creation and construction of Disney Theme Parks and attractions around the world.

It has worked with several manufacturers under contract, like Veld Koning Machinefabriek and Dynamic Attractions, to create some of its most iconic rides. The company’s current work with Hitachi Vantara is aimed at using Industry 4.0 technologies to manufacture an immersive experience for park guests.

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