Role
Project Manager
Skills and Tasks
Visual Design
Interaction Design
User Testing
User Research
Tools
Figma
Duration
10 Weeks, Spring 2025
Team
Andrea Da Silva / UI Lead
Nikki Hahn / Illustration and Exterior Lead
Alana Watts / Branding and Visual Lead
Austin De Nijs / Animation and Interior Lead
Disney's Future In-Park Transportation Experience
DreamLine is a compact, self-driving, electric vehicle designed to enhance the in-park experience at Disney. Equipped with climate-controlled seating and an interactive table, it helps guests navigate, rest, and enjoy entertainment, dining, and shopping on the go. Personalization features and thoughtful accessibility make it a restful way for families to move through the park, empowering longer and more joyful visits.
My Role
As Project Manager, I ensured we met all deadlines while fostering strong collaboration and communication. I delegated tasks based on teammates’ strengths and growth goals, mentored peers in UX and visual design, and helped create a supportive, team-driven culture.
I focused on the development of the interactive table, focusing on the map and dining features, from paper prototyping to high-fidelity UI in Figma. I also supported other widget designs, built a full map flow prototype, and conducted user testing. Throughout the project, I actively contributed to research by interviewing and surveying Disney guests to ground our work in real needs.
Overview
Relax Between Activities
Control Your Ride And Stay Immersed With The Interactive Table
Research
Lets Be Honest, Exploring Theme Parks Can Be Exhausting
Long walks, intense heat, overwhelming crowds, and the pressure to make the most of every moment often turns what should be a day of fun and connection into an experience marked by exhaustion and frustration.
@_disney_adult_
at Reddit
Even for perfectly healthy people with no mobility issues Disney parks are A TON of walking.
Surveying Families To Uncover Their Disney Experience
We surveyed 129 recent Disney visitors, with a focus on families with young children and those with mobility challenges.
Interviews To Understand Individual Experiences
Eight in-depth interviews revealed that kids often feel overwhelmed by the heat and the amount of walking, parents struggle to balance group needs, and older adults found it difficult to keep up with the group and find shaded rest areas.
On-Site Research at Disney
Our team visited Animal Kingdom, Disney’s largest park, and conducted impromptu interviews and ethnographic studies.
Observation Log
As we experienced the park, we noted down everything we observed and felt ourselves, from the shuttle bus into the entrance, to the amount of people resting in the shade throughout the day.
Interview Insights With Guests At The Park
We talked to people waiting in lines and resting in the shade to ask about their experience and if the heat and extensive walking caused exhaustion. While half who we asked were not strongly affected, we found older guests and large groups had the most difficulties.
Five Major Problem Areas
Solution
A Mobile Disney Experience
Based on our insights, we designed DreamLine, a themed, family-sized, self-driving electric vehicle that offers guests a restful, immersive way to travel through the park. It features climate-controlled, shaded seating and an interactive table for planning, shopping, dining, and entertainment.
Compact Self-Driving Electric Vehicle
The size of a golf cart, and travels at walking speed on dedicated lanes within the park.
Themed Around Favorite Character
An experience themed around the guest's favorite Disney character.
Wheelchair Accessible
Removable seats and ramps for wheelchairs.
Panoramic Windows
Allows guests to continue experiencing the park's atmosphere while en-route.
Interactive Table
Featuring park maps, scheduling tools, car controls, and entertainment.
AI-Powered Planning
Helps guests optimize their park route and reach attractions with the lowest wait-times.
Validating Demand
To gauge interest in this solution, we surveyed 87 members of our target audience. These results confirm that there is a strong demand for an accessible, enjoyable way to move through the park.
64/87
Interested in using the vehicle.
42/87
Find the vehicle helpful.
Ensuring Safety
Our survey revealed concerns about safety in a crowded theme-park setting. DreamLine vehicles solve those concerns with dedicated lanes, advanced safety features, and maintaining a limited fleet.
Dedicated Lanes
For the DreamLine to seamlessly navigate around the parks.
Limited Fleet
To preserve the park’s atmosphere and avoid turning Disney into a highway.
Advanced Safety
To detect people and objects, move at walking speeds, and avoid collisions. Seatbelts and emergency stop buttons provide guests with reassurance and control.
Interactive Table
The Heart of the DreamLine
Giving guests full control of their park journey, and the ability to plan routes, shop, order food, and enjoy entertainment in one seamless, themed interface. Real-time AI-generated routes optimize for preferences, wait times, and walking distance, enhancing accessibility and enjoyment for all.
Free-Form Interaction Design
An exciting challenge to solve was that the UI had to be especially flexible, as guests are seated on either side of the table, potentially with different objectives. Our team had to solve for orientation, screen sharing, and multi-widget functionality. We designed a fluid, customizable interface that lets guests interact with individual widgets independently or collaboratively.
Paper Prototyping
To explore these interaction patterns, we began with paper prototyping. This helped us refine the design, scale, and layout of widgets, and explore how physical interactions would translate across a horizontal surface. We tested widget rotation, orientation switches, and layout scaling, emphasizing simplicity and intuitive feedback.
UI Iterations and Developing A Visual Identity
We jumped into Figma to begin developing the table’s visual identity. This required extensive iteration. Initially, we drew UI inspiration from popular platforms to align with guest's mental models (such as Disney+ for entertainment and Spotify for music).
iPad
Redefining the UI
However, our approach of modeling from existing platforms quickly revealed an issue: each interface looked different and were becoming overly complex. They began to resemble an iPad, each with their own navigation and in-depth features.
This wasn’t our goal. We envisioned a more dynamic layout of simple widgets. In response, we stripped down each feature to its essentials, offering just what guests need.
Building Visual Consistency
To support our shift toward a more widget-based UI, we created style guides to ensure visual cohesion across all elements. These guides helped us maintain a consistent visual language to align our team, while allowing flexibility in widget size, layout, and interaction.
Widget
Mid Fidelity UI
High Fidelity UI
Evolution
Testing The Interactive Table With A Projector
We projected the UI design onto a tabletop for interactive testing. Participants navigated the interface in real time, opening widgets, scaling them, passing them across the table, and rotating or interacting with them independently. Feedback from testers confirmed the system’s intuitiveness and the delight of its features.
Testing The Map Prototype
Further rigorous testing focused on the map feature, one of the most complex flows. Testers found the map to be intuitive and flexible to their needs, allowing them to easily understand, rearrange, and start their route. Only minor feedback was advised, such as increasing touch targets and text sizes.
Car Development
Golf Cart Size Vehicle
Creating The Pod Design
We aimed to create a compact pod with an exterior design that seamlessly integrates into the Disney park environment. We drew inspiration not only from beloved characters but also from the worlds they inhabit and the surrounding landscape. While evoking a sense of magic and nostalgia, the vehicle’s sleek, futuristic form reflects the innovation of an autonomous EV, capturing both the wonder of Disney and the forward-thinking spirit of the park’s future.
Pod Variations Based On Character
Guests can choose their favorite Disney character to theme the exterior and interior design of the pod around, making each pod a unique experience that resonates with their family's interests.
Interior Design
The interior of the DreamLine pod is designed to balance comfort, accessibility, and engagement. It features a comfortable seating arrangement for up to four guests, centered around the interactive table. Seats are removable for wheelchair accessibility. Panoramic windows offer sweeping views of the park. Under-seat storage provides convenient space for bags and strollers.
Branding
Creating the DreamLine Identity
Rather than relying solely on Disney’s existing brand language, we expanded upon it to create a unique identity for DreamLine, one that could later be adapted for other parks or contexts.
The logo features a stylized path winding through a cloud and the “second star to the right,” an homage to Neverland’s legendary entry point - a beacon to reach a desired destination.
Booking The DreamLine
What's Included?
Dreamline comes bundled with MagicBands for the whole family to unlock the vehicle, track reservations, and authorize purchases within the pod. Guests can also choose to showcase their Dreamline vehicle in one of the park’s daily parades, turning their ride into part of the show.
Ride Control
During checkout, guests will choose which passengers are granted permission to control stops, purchases, and in-car settings to prevent kids from making unauthorized purchases.
Integration Into Disney
Disney May Be Exploring Autonomous Vehicles
Disney is already exploring autonomous vehicle solutions. In 2017, the company partnered with Navya and Local Motors to test self-driving shuttles. However, the tests were abandoned due to limited maneuverability and poor sensor quality.
Navya faced major setbacks due to technological limitations.
Shuttles had poor maneuverability and limited sensors, causing abrupt stops and minor collisions, poor for crowded environments.
Los Angeles Times
Local Motors struggled with financial instability and regulatory barriers.
The company lacked long-term funding, leading to its shutdown, and faced legal disputes that further stalled development.
RCR Wireless News
DreamLine builds on this legacy by integrating advanced technology in a more scalable, family-focused package. Our vehicles would include 360-degree sensors, predictive AI to handle crowd flow, and lane-specific navigation to prevent congestion.
“CEO Bob Iger committed $60B to a 10-year expansion of Walt Disney World, including new attractions and park redesigns”.
Orlando Weekly
This concept aligns perfectly with Disney’s long-term strategy. With the company investment to expand the park experience, there is a clear opportunity to invest in infrastructure updates, such as DreamLine lanes, charging docks, and themed integration points.
Dedicated Lanes
For the DreamLine to seamlessly navigate around the parks.
Charging Stations
Readily available within the parks for each DreamLine to easily recharge.
Parking Zones
Throughout the park to ensure any DreamLine has a place to stop.
Limited Fleet
While DreamLine is there to provide a key service to families across the parks, we understand the need to limit the amount of vehicles due to overcrowding issues. To combat this, only a limited number of vehicles will be available for purchase.
Benefits
New Market Of Visitors
It makes the Disney experience more inclusive for people with limited mobility, young children, and older guests who before may have chosen not to come to Disney due to the physical strain.
Increasing Park Dwell Time
Reduces physical strain empowers families to stay connected, relaxed, and joyful, opening the door for longer, more fulfilling visits.
Increases In-Park Spending
Onboard access to food ordering, shopping, and special events may boost in-park spending, while improving guest satisfaction and retention.
Creates New Monetization Opportunities
Opens up upsell tiers for themed pods, exclusive character designs, in-app experiences, and parade participation.
Strengthens the Disney Brand Promise
Reinforces Disney’s reputation as a leader in magical, inclusive, and innovative experiences.
Extends Storytelling Beyond Rides
Transforms transportation into another touchpoint for IP engagement, with themed characters, games, and immersive content.
Concept Is Scalable To Other Theme Parks
While DreamLine is designed specifically for Disney, we also considered its scalability to other parks where families have to walk far distances to get around. Our concept is adaptable to Universal Studios, Six Flags, and similar family-oriented destinations.
Meet The Dream Team
This team was incredibly driven, curious, and excited to create something truly magical. Click on their photos to see their portfolios!
