Week #6 - Kristin - Disney Magic

On Sunday Evening, I went to Downtown Disney for the first time. When I walked in, I immediately felt the magic! (And the overwhelming presence of capitalism). I loved all the fairy lights in the trees that twinkled on and off and the colored string lights that hung above the restaurant seating. I went in the evening, and the soft and colorful lighting near the entrance coupled with live music from a band of middle-aged men wearing Hawaiian shirts created a fun, night market atmosphere. The designers of Downtown Disney were trying to create a shopping mall with "Disney Magic," and they absolutely accomplished that goal for the shops that were Disney themed. My only critique for the overall atmosphere is that the regular stores did not join in on the theme, such as Sephora and the surf clothes store, which looked exactly the same as their other non-Disney store locations. 

My favorite store that we visited was the World of Disney store. The overall theme for the store at this time of year is Disney Holiday Magic! The store was decorated for Christmas with string lights intertwined in pine leaf trim with red Christmas bobbles. The lighted trim was hung in a way that complimented the brick archway architecture of the store well. These warm, festive lights felt joyful and heartwarming. The overall lighting for the store aided in this experience as well. The top lighting and display lights were not harsh fluorescents, but instead were soft, warm white lighting that helped foster a sense of calming magic. I think the designers were very successful in creating a magical holiday shopping atmosphere at this store. 

One design I was not enthused by was the Black Tap lighting design. When one walks past the building from the street, one can see the second floor of the Black Tap restaurant from an upward angle. I think the designer's intention was to create a cool, hip design to entice people in to the pub. The upper window display was lit with blue ground lighting. The angle of the lighting took over the forms of what was being lighted, so it took me a long time of staring to figure out what was in the window. I believe the window showed the metal tubes and containers holding all of the craft bear that the Black Tap specializes in. This was very difficult to discern from the blue light blending all the shapes together. The blue felt out of place with the rest of the lighting around it. I think the lighting would have been more effective if the blue lights were on the ceiling instead of the floor. 

Overall, I am so happy that we had this assignment so I got to experience Downtown Disney and the myriad of interesting designs!