More than a retooled ride, Disneyland’s “Finding Nemo” Submarine Voyage is emblematic of Disney’s efforts to keep its parks relevant in a digital age. Designers—“Imagineers”—are “bringing new magic to our classic attractions,” explains Jay Rasulo, chairman of Disney’s theme parks and resorts. That means effects like the audio-animatronic Johnny Depp that now inhabits the 40-year-old Pirates of the Caribbean attraction. The parks are more interactive now. You can take your Nintendo DS into the Magic Kingdom and download special content for the Pirates of the Caribbean videogame from wireless hotspots, or log onto your home computer and compete against visitors riding through the Buzz Lightyear shoot-’em-up. You can converse with the beasts from “Monsters, Inc.” (real-time computer animation) or, soon, interact with Muppet Prof. Bunsen Honeydew and his assistant, Beaker (robotics). Disney watchers estimate the price tag for adding Nemo and friends to the underwater attraction at about $100 million; the company doesn’t divulge the cost of new rides. But judging from the crowds who waited in line four and a half hours last Monday to see Nemo, the money was well spent. “Disney outdid themselves,” says Carlos Soto, 16, who came with his family from Nogales, Ariz. And that’s music to Bob Iger’s mouse ears.
