THE
WONDER OF FRIENDSHIP

SNAP X DISNEY

OVERVIEW
Launched in May, 2023 at The Strand in London, The Wonder of Friendship is an immersive and interactive exhibit that celebrates the connection between individuals and invites visitors to step into a wonderland of magic. The exhibit features five whimsical experiences that pay homage to iconic Disney characters, their incredible stories, and the power of true friendship. The exhibit will tour through Berlin, Paris, Milan, and Barcelona, enchanting visitors across Europe.


THE EXPERIENCE
Team Arcada deployed Snap’s world-class AR technology to ignite imagination as guests journey through 5 enchanted rooms. Each room leverages a unique AR technology that brings the Disney world to life through moments of interaction to create an unforgettable experience.

Room 1: Garden Of Mystery: Follow the bread-and-butter-flies to bring the garden to life - literally! 

Room 2: Ohana Bay: Snap a selfie with Stitch - if you can!

Room 3: Orchestral Oasis: If you’re ever feeling lonely, Prideland is just a scan away.

Room 4: Wonder Quest: Help Mickey and his friends find their missing items to win an exclusive reward 

Room 5: Retail Room: A charming way to try on the exclusive Pandora x Disney anniversary collection

Role: Creative oversight
Creative Team: Sean Lee
Project Type: User Experience Design, UI Design, Augmented Reality

Design Direction

Using the established Disney: Wonder of Friendship IP, the team created a User Interface design that worked well even within the dimly lit rooms. We used neon outlines and gradient colors throughout the experience to bring it to life in AR.

Alice in Wonderland: Garden of Mystery

Enter the exhibit and immerse yourself in a world of wonder. Watch as the environment around you comes to life. Chase the bread-and-butter-flies around a fantastical garden of colossal dancing flowers. Don’t worry; the rocking horse flies won’t bite. 

Flip the camera to the selfie side, and you and your friends can become part of this floral fantasy land.

    • 3D world mesh of exhibit room

    • Advanced character animation

    • Friendship-oriented selfie experience

    • ML selfie transformation

  • Using a LiDAR and 3D mesh matching technique, we are bringing this physical space to life in AR. The lens uses real-time LiDAR data to match the user’s surroundings to a pre-captured 3D mesh, allowing us to understand the user’s surroundings fully.

    The lens uses this to map dynamic AR animations and interactions to the room so that the AR environment and physical environment intertwine seamlessly.

Lilo and Stitch: Ohana Bay

After asking really, really nicely, Stitch has agreed to take a photo with everyone at the Wonder of Friendship exhibition. DISCLAIMER: Snapchat accepts no responsibility for any chaos caused by Stitch's antics. You have been warned.

    • Advanced character animation

    • Friendship oriented selfie experience

  • Disney places a great deal of importance on character animation, and rightly so.

    Through our use of precise rigging, meticulous animation, Stitch character studies and cutting-edge face and body tracking techniques, we were able to recreate Stitch in AR.

    Our work exceeded Disney's expectations, receiving approval on the very first attempt.

The Lion King: Orchestral Oasis

Bring the jungle to life through the power of augmented reality. Wherever you point your device, you'll reveal giant leaves, beautiful butterflies, and a grub that scurries on the jungle terrain. There's lots to explore, you can even flip the camera to show your pride as part of the pride! 

    • ML mesh of exhibit room

    • Dynamically placed AR elements

    • Friendship-oriented selfie experience

  • One of the innovative features of the AR experience in this room is the use of machine learning to detect and identify different surfaces.

    The lens uses this technology to recognize the floor, walls, and ceiling in real time and accurately place virtual jungle flora and fauna accordingly.

    The result is a breathtaking jungle environment that visitors can explore and interact with.

Mickey and Friends: Wonder Quest

This interactive hunt turns your phone into an image detecting device, so you can help Mickey find his friend’s missing items across six colourful scenes. Find all of the items to earn a hug from Mickey himself and unlock  a pair of Mickey ears to celebrate Disney's 100th anniversary.

    • Custom game back end

    • Game interaction design

    • Marker technology

    • Persistent storage

  • This experience employs image recognition technology that allows the lens to detect a specific image in its environment, allowing the user to "scan" an image they find in the real world which then unlocks an exclusive lens as a prize.

    This feature adds an exciting element of discovery and surprise to the experience, encouraging visitors to explore their surroundings and discover hidden gems in the environment.

AR Retail Room

Step in to the retail room for some magical AR try on experiences. Try on  Pandora's exclusive "100 years of Disney" charms collection. With life-like 3D models that reflect the light in the user's surroundings, this lens fuses the magic of Disney and the radiance of Pandora in a virtual try-on experience.

    • Ray Tracing

    • Wrist Tracking

    • Shopping functionality

  • Using advanced Ray Tracing technology, the AR charms realistically glint and sparkle, reflecting the lighting conditions in the real world.

    As visitors try on and move the AR charms, the technology calculates how light would interact with each charm, creating a lifelike and immersive experience.

Experience the AR

Using Snapchat, scan the Snapcode below to try the Lion King experience for yourself.

Let’s work together.

hello@staceythompson.design
Currently: Phoenix, Arizona