Challenge
Orlando International Airport (MCO) is the busiest airport in Florida and the ninth-busiest airport in the United States. With nearly 160,000 people going through the airport every day, efficiency is essential, especially in traditionally high-stress areas like security.
Uncertain wait times, shifting queues, and unfamiliar procedures can make TSA checkpoints one of the most stressful parts of the passenger experience, but the Greater Orlando Aviation Authority (GOAA) goes the extra mile to make their security queues fast and fun.
In 2022, MCO and Synect won a Digital Signage Award for a custom digital aquarium at their West Checkpoint. When it was time to refresh the content, the team aimed for something even more engaging, entertaining, and informative to optimize passengers' time at security. The vision was to deliver valuable information alongside engaging content in a creative blend of wait times, TSA-approved travel tips and reminders, post-security concession options, Annie the Astronaut, fun easter eggs, and more.
Approach
In 2017, GOAA and Synect created a 3D digital airport ambassador named Annie the Astronaut, who appears across the airport’s Passenger360® visual communication ecosystem. She beckons on wayfinding signs, dances, and gestures to highlight concessions and other airport amenities, creating connections with airport passengers in a friendly, memorable way.
Working with GOAA, Synect conceptualized a digital passenger journey with Annie as the star. Our approach centered on four key pillars:
Information
Education
Entertainment
Engagement
Our work began with strategy. Collaborating with MCO’s expert team, Synect mapped the full customer journey, from curb to gate, identifying where they could help passengers prepare for the next step of the journey and highlighting airport amenities. We worked to identify the information passengers would need at security, such as dynamic wait times, divestment protocol, bonus tips on post-security concessions, and more.
Synect’s studio began building a custom digital journey that would embody MCO’s brand and deliver the creative, engaging, and exceptional passenger experiences they’re known for.
Power in Numbers
Solution
Annie’s Airport Journey is a cinematic, 3D-animated experience depicting Annie the Astronaut strolling and rolling through the airport with ease—complete with dynamic wait times and other helpful information.
Designed entirely from scratch by Synect’s in-house content studio, the immersive experience follows her along a lovingly detailed digital recreation of Terminals A and B, mirroring the path passengers take in real life.
To make the experience, Synect created:
Over 1,000 animated elements
More than 100 custom character models
More than 7,200 rendered frames
A production pipeline that leveraged Maya, Cinema 4D, After Effects, and more
Annie’s Journey plays on two identical, brilliant overhead LED video walls, displaying real-time wait times from TSA wait time APIs. It demonstrates each step of the passenger journey, recommends concessions to travelers via scannable QR codes, and more. Each video wall is a massive canvas of 6864 X 624 pixels.
The content is driven by Synect’s Passenger360® Digital Content Management System (DCMS), which controls more than 2,100 digital displays across Terminals A, B, and C, and the Train Station. MCO’s West Checkpoint upgrade deployed seamlessly using their existing Passenger360 infrastructure. The experience is scalable, easy to update, and always in sync with airport operations.
Results
The new experience reduces perceived wait times with real-time updates and engaging storytelling. It provides clarity and calm with just-in-time info to help passengers navigate the airport. It also creates memorable, shareable moments in the security queue and highlights concessions options.
Passengers raved online: “This is fabulous!! 😍” said @phileagle747 while @BR20271 teased “Wow wee...getting a bit fancy over there MCO. Just keep the carpet LOL.” Fans of MCO’s iconic carpet can spot it in the digital journey, along with other easter eggs like a Synect ReadySeeGo display that appears as Annie makes her way to the gates.
At the airport, this new content reflects GOAA's ongoing commitment to enhancing the traveler experience - making it more seamless, efficient, and visually engaging, while fostering a stronger connection with guests. It creates a calmer, more efficient checkpoint and reinforces MCO’s brand as a guest-centered, forward-thinking airport that uses content and technology in surprising, delightful, and helpful ways.
This launch also marks a significant creative and technical milestone for Synect. It’s one of the largest single-sign projects at an airport—by duration, creative complexity, and client collaboration. With multiple rounds of review, cross-department input, and our meticulous build process, this project pushed the boundaries in storytelling and creative execution.
“Annie’s Journey is informative, uplifting, and unmistakably MCO,” said Lance Lyttle, CEO of the Greater Orlando Aviation Authority, which operates Orlando International Airport. “In partnership with Synect, we’re transforming the checkpoint into an interesting, fast, branded experience using a content-first strategy and our Passenger360 platform, which connects guests with real-time information and a host of airport amenities.”
"This collaboration with Synect is a testament to how wayfinding can transcend function to become an experience,” said Karla Carman, Senior Manager, Wayfinding & Signage, at Orlando International. “By blending placemaking with real-time information, we’re turning a traditionally passive space into an opportunity for engagement, delight, and orientation - all while staying true to the unique spirit of MCO."
Delight Passengers
Inform and Engage Passengers
Project Goals
Highlight Concessions
Get passengers excited to explore
Streamline Security
Reduce perceived waits
