"Industry Standard" Has No Place In Disney

Disney has a vision problem.  This pandemic has taken this notion from "what is going on here?" to "oh!  That's what I've been experiencing the last 5 years."  I'm heartbroken to think the world of magic has become the world of "industry standard".

It's been going on for longer, but 2018 was the first hint of what was going on.  From the Disney Tourist Blog on March 14, 2018 (emphasis mine):

"Walt Disney World has indicated that this change is to bring their Florida hotels more in line with industry standards."

Disney is supposed to be where the Impossible is possible; an industry all its own without match or "standard". Other companies and people should be looking to Disney for what they can do.

From there, you can see that they've dropped the any pretense of "doing the impossible," and pivoted to "year-over-year growth for the shareholders".  

I know the "shareholders" issue is not unique to Disney, but Disney had a unique position for decades: Freedom to tinker; money as a tool, not the goal.  That freedom included allowing Imagineers to reach outside their role and find the keys that could bring the impossible to life. 

Journey into Imagination is not my favorite ride, but there's truth to what Figment says: "Imagination works best when it's set free."   

Money is needed, but Roy and Walt had a good flow going after their initial setbacks.  It may have been a slow climb, but they were trending in the right direction, and they did not have to force it.

Focusing only on profit growth has become a way to force guests to increase Disney profits, without providing anything novel, and, as you've seen recently, to take away without replacing perks that have made the Disney experience compelling. 

In a future post (posts?), I'll provide some additional details from previous trips.  It's a wild ride that even Mr. Toad would not like.