Disney's Cloudy Vision - Part 1

Today's Disney has the idea backwards: Disney Parks should be imagined as places where a particular character/IP would live, not create an Avengers/Frozen/Coco area.

This has been going on since Iger, and Chapek has decided to leave that as it is, and drive the attendance and "plus-ups" route.  Instead of a fantastic, immersive experience for everyone, even if the cost has to rise, there's a push to get the base experience to "you are here", and everything else is an add-on: want to get to Disney from the airport?  Pay up.  Want to get on the rides?  Pay up.  

On top of that, they want to push you to certain areas.  They cloak it in an "improved experience", but Genie(+) is just a way to move you to the most profitable locations.  I'm sure there some good (planning staff schedules), but the main controls allow for them to point you to their idea of the "best experience."  

I just want to be able to drop into Disney World to walk around, jump on a ride, or grab some fish and chips without having to plan it 6 months out.  I really enjoyed the experience of being in Disney World - the atmosphere, the smiles, the immersion into a world away from the real world.

"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.