Students will investigate the needs, emotions, and expectations of real theme park stakeholders and readers in order to ground their ride designs in authentic user evidence. Through interviews, observation, and structured empathy mapping, they will surface assumptions, gather direct quotes, and create research artifacts that will anchor their problem definition in Phase 2.

Students will synthesize firsthand interview data into clear, research-grounded problem statements that define a focused design challenge for their theme park ride. They will analyze patterns across users, identify core needs related to physics-driven thrill and thematic storytelling, and craft a defensible How Might We question that guides ideation in the next phase.

Students will generate a wide range of theme park ride concepts grounded in real user needs and literary themes, then narrow their ideas using evidence-based criteria to select 2–3 high-potential concepts for prototyping.

Students will build, test, and refine increasingly sophisticated prototypes of their theme park rides, moving from rapid low-fidelity models to higher-fidelity scaled models with documented physics calculations and narrative integration. They will conduct structured user testing with peers and external stakeholders, analyze feedback, and revise their designs while maintaining detailed iteration logs that trace decisions back to user evidence and core physics principles.

Students will validate their refined theme park ride designs with new users, document final iterations grounded in physics and thematic evidence, and present a professional stakeholder pitch at the Ride & Read Gala that traces their full design journey from user research to tested prototype.