The Architecture of Reassurance and Disney's Coasters

Whilst exploring the design of Disney Parks, one will undoubtedly come across the phrase Architecture of Reassurance  As far as I can gather, this was a term coined by John Hench and refers to the idea that in order to create a welcoming environment where people can truly be happy and relaxed, visual contradictions must be eliminated.  It is this idea that prompts imagineers to be so very obsessed with story and detail, and began with Walt himself the day that he was angered by a cowboy walking through Tomorroland (or so the legend goes)!

I was made aware of this philosophy whilst listening to Sam Gennawey's series on The Unofficial Guide's Disney Dish with Jim Hill Podcast (which is fascinating, by the way) and it got me thinking about Disney coasters.  Two things occurred to me.

1) Some Disney Coaster are inside, and some are outside.
2) Whether a coaster is exposed or inside a show building is completely dependent on the land in which it exists.

Some examples:

Space Mountain:

An outdoor coaster would have created a visual contradiction, by putting it indoors, Imagineers had the opportunity to create something that would not conflict with the other visual information in the land.

Note: Yes, I know the Tomorrowlands in the United States are, nonetheless, full of visual contradictions and need some real help, but that is another post for another day.

Primeval Whirl:
This classic mouse fits perfectly within the world of Chester and Hester's ramshackle carnival!

California Screamin':

Similarly, California Screamin is modeled to look like a classic woodie that belongs on an amusement boardwalk, such as Paradise Pier is modeled to look like.

Rock 'n' Rollercoaster:

Okay, Okay.  So this coaster in and of itself is a contradiction i.e. HOW THE HELL does it have any business being on Sunset Boulevard, but I think it would be more jarring were it an outdoor coaster.

Anyway, I thought this was interesting way to look at Disney coasters, and I'm definitely going to look into some of Gennawey's written work on the architecture of Disney Parks.