How is math used in Disney Imagineering?

Dear Eddie,


Thank you in advance,
Brendan Generelli

Brendan -

Well, depending on where you land at imagineering, math plays a crucial role in each area. In the engineering realm, everything from calculus to basic math is used to create the geometry, speed, force simulation, etc, for thrill rides. It is practically all math and calculations.

In my area of creative, basic math is involved in determining the hourly capacities of a proposed ride. It is the dispatch interval, how many seconds pass between sending out a vehicle. Divide that into an hour, then multiply the number of dispatches by the average number of guests in each car and you have THRC, the theoretical hourly ride capacity. This also is useful in determining the financial feasibility of a ride and is compared to the total guests in the park per hour as to whether it can be marketed as a major draw. Here math is used to see whether enough guests that come on a given day can actually ride the new Attraction. This whole thing goes on and on. But I think you get the idea on how math is crucial to the process.

- Eddie Sotto

CEO Sotto Inc.
Former Senior Vice President
Walt Disney Imagineering


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