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| Mickey calls this pose "the wizard" |
Presentations and Class:
For the past week we have been working on a hypothetical workforce scheduling problem for Pecos Bill Cafe. As mentioned in earlier blog posts each group was given an objective that they had to minimize and a certain set of constraints. For example, my group (Molly, Caroline, Zach and Alex) had to minimize the number of shifts of different length while also meeting or exceeding the required workload for each fifteen minute time period. On the other hand my group (Lindsay, Mary Lib, Jamie and Alyssa) was similar to Molly's group but our objective was to minimize the number of over-scheduled shifts. Today we had to present our projects to the rest of the class. It was very interesting to see that while we had similar problems to solve, we each had our own way of modeling the problem. Dr. Bouzarth even mentioned that having different perspectives is useful while doing research because it allows for more creativity when trying to reach a solution and when each method returns a similar solution, there can be more confidence in the likelihood of a correct solution.
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| Group 1 (Maria, Johanna, McKenna, Courtney) presenting their project |
Today Dr. Hutson taught us a new way to solve the Operations
Research problems we have been working on this trip. In these types of problems, we are trying to
come up with the “optimal solution,” or best possible solution, to a problem. One example is the Traveling Salesman Problem,
where we picked an order to ride attractions in the Magic Kingdom so that we
could ride all the rides as quickly as possible. In this problem, the tour that got us through
the rides in the shortest possible time is the optimal solution. Unfortunately, in many problems, including
the Traveling Salesman Problem, finding the optimal solution takes a really
long time (months or years), even for a fast computer. Since most people probably don’t want to wait
for ten years before making plans for which Disney attractions they will be
riding the next day, it is important to be able to generate solutions
quickly. One way to do this is to find a
really good solution to a problem instead of finding the very best solution. This might mean a tour through the Magic
Kingdom that takes 10 minutes longer than the best possible tour.
One way to find a really good (but not optimal) solution to problems like the Traveling Salesman Problem is called the genetic algorithm, which Dr. Hutson taught us this morning. This approach tries to mimic biological reproduction that we see in nature. The first step is to randomly generate lots of possible solutions (not necessarily good solutions) to the problem. For example, we could generate lots of completely random paths through Magic Kingdom. Then two of these solutions can be mixed together to make a “child” solution. Good child solutions are kept so that they can be paired to make even more child solutions. Eventually, a very good child solution will be produced. After learning some theory, we got to play around with a program that a previous Math and the Mouse student wrote that uses a genetic algorithm to solve the Traveling Salesman Problem in Disney World. It was pretty crazy to see a solution to a problem that we had worked on for hours generated in just a few seconds.
Team Disney:
After our morning class, we had the unique opportunity to
meet with some Disney professionals.
After getting cleaned up and dressing in something a bit nicer than
workout shorts and t-shirts, we drove out to their Team Disney office building,
where we were able to get a group picture with the Seven Dwarves.
Even the office building was up to the Disney standards
we’ve come to expect. Though we weren’t
allowed to take any pictures (sorry guys, Disney secrecy!), we can tell you
that the whole building was decked out in Disney fashion, down to rugs with
Mickey Mouse ear designs. We could tell
that our hosts had been kind enough to make a special exception for us, because
everyone was looking at this large group of college students as though we were talking teacups. Our afternoon was broken
up into four different talks. One was
about workforce management, which we are all pretty familiar with after our Pecos
Bill scheduling project. Another session
focused on using simulation to model theme park rides and attractions to work
out the kinks before the rides are actually built. Our third talk was about how Disney creates
memorable experiences for their guests. I, Lindsay, experienced this special Disney treatment at dinner, when I
asked for a refill of my drink. Even
though the restaurant doesn’t normally give refills, I was given a new drink
with a Mickey straw, because I “didn’t know and walked all the way up there.” The last presentation was about
machine learning – a bit of history, and then the different types of machine
learning that can be done. After saying
goodbye to our hosts, we hung out in the lobby for a while to avoid the rain,
and then set off for Magic Kingdom.
Evening:
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| Jamie with Princess Belle |
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| Dr. Harris ready to perform his role |
With our appetites satisfied we were ready to conquer our favorite rides. A visit to the Magic Kingdom is not complete without riding Space Mountain, Splash Mountain and Big Thunder Mountain Railroad and so we made sure to hit all of those at least once or even three times. After meeting Mickey in Town Square Theater, we all broke off to ride different rides. We still had fast passes for two rides but decided to ride them separately. Our first fast pass was for Enchanted Tales with Belle, reenactment of when Belle and the Beast first fell in love. Although the ride is meant for younger kids, it was still fun for us because both Dr. Harris and Jamie were chosen to play the guards. It was hilarious watching them march around the room to the tune of "Be Our Guest". Our final Fast Pass was for Big Thunder Mountain Railroad and we were able to time it so that we got on the ride as soon as the fireworks show was starting and Thunder Mountain has one of the most amazing views of the castle from the ride. Since it is one of our favorite rides and even more fun to do in the dark, we took advantage of the 10 minute wait time and rode the ride two more times! By then it was getting late and so we headed back to the hotel for some rest before our 8am Keys to the Kingdom Tour the next morning!
Written By:
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| Molly |
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| Lindsay |
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