Previously, we looked at what Walt Disney would love about Walt Disney World. He spent so much of his final years trying to buy the Central Florida land that would become the Most Magical Place on Earth. One of the great tragedies of the 20th century is that he never got to see his vision brought to life.
While Uncle Walt surely would have loved many of the attributes of the theme park that bears his full name, some things would bother him, too. What would disappoint the man who created Mickey Mouse? Everyone has an opinion on the subject, and nobody’s right or wrong on anything. It’s all a matter of perspective. Keeping that in mind, here are four aspects of Walt Disney World that I believe would break Walt Disney’s heart.
Transportation and logistics
Yes, the situation is improving. After years of complaints, Disney finally did the obvious and added monitors with bus wait times at the resorts and major destinations. That’s a nice step. Similarly, the imminent arrival of the gondolas will reduce traffic while adding convenience for guests of some of the most crowded resorts. That too is nice.
Still, what Walt Disney would wonder if he heard the whole story is exactly what the rest of us have. “What took so freakin’ long???”
Disney transportation rarely feels organized, which is amazing for a system that has hundreds of employees. Guests wait too long too often, which is why ride-sharing services like Uber and Lyft have gained popularity in recent years. How happy do you think Walt Disney would be to see freelance drivers with GPS systems transporting guests more efficiently than Disney’s paid staff? Heads would roll.
The erratic nature of current transportation represents only part of the disappointment that he’d feel, though. The more crushing part is the realization that the monorail system only extends to two of four theme parks while ignoring both water parks and Disney Springs. Then, he’d feel absolutely demoralized that the idea of the PeopleMover never took off. Its current presence at Magic Kingdom, while warmly welcomed by people like me, is more of a courteous tip of the cap to Uncle Walt’s wishes than a useful means of transportation. More people use it as a nice way to get off their feet than admire the PeopleMover for its utility. In some alternate universe, it has a much more important place in central Florida society. In this one, it’s a relic signifying a broken dream.
Ticket prices
Walt Disney started his career as an illustrator, but he was always an industrialist. He founded what we now know as The Walt Disney Company when he was 21 years old. He made several daring business choices in his career, narrowly avoiding bankruptcy on several occasions. Disneyland was one of those ventures.
Uncle Walt always loved those rare days when he played in the park with his wife and daughters. He dreamt of creating a place where other families could do the same. The Happiest Place on Earth was the embodiment of that idea. He took pride in the fact that it was an affordable day of entertainment for parents and a thrilling day for children.
The broad strokes of that statement still apply today. Walt Disney World is a wonderful place for families. In fact, I’d argue that it’s THE best place for families on the East Coast for certain and probably in the entire country. Sorry, Disneyland fanatics.
Still, a problem exists that’s hard to ignore. The Walt Disney Corporation has a board of directors and a group of major shareholders who want their core business, the Parks and Resorts division, to maximize profit. To that end, Disney has increased the cost of a day at the park on a regular basis. More alarmingly, they’ve also introduced new ideas such as surge pricing that prevent some families from visiting the park during what have historically been the busiest times on the theme park calendar. And I won’t even go into specifics about the notorious upsells that explicitly target rich customers.
The unmistakable conclusion is that Disney is growing too expensive for the average family, and that’s by design. Despite his strong business skills, I don’t think Walt Disney would approve. His park is supposed to be family-first, not dollar-first.
No true EPCOT
This is the pink elephant dancing in the living room (I think that’s a scene from Fantasia) that makes everyone sad. Walt Disney had a single vision for the Florida Project. He wanted to create a capitalist utopia, a place where everyone worked all day while embracing a sense of community and a shared feeling of accomplishment.
Call me a softie if you like, but I would argue that a lot of that has come true. Look at the broad strokes. Walt Disney World IS a functional city, employing more than 60,000 people. It has its own government and basically calls all the shots, even over the state of Florida’s government in some instances. It does have the equivalent of a daily World’s Fair at the World Showcase at Epcot. It’s a business hub of sorts, receiving millions of dollars of commerce each week.
But Epcot is no E.P.C.O.T.
Roy Disney tried so hard to honor his brother’s dreams. He could only do so much, though. After he put off retirement to guide construction of Magic Kingdom the older Disney brother died a few months later, more than a decade before the introduction of Epcot.
The original version of that gate, EPCOT Center, seemed like it was on the right track. It had a technological inclination and a healthy dose of edutainment for kids. Still, it wasn’t a futuristic city full of People Movers and the business elite. It was just a theme park. And its core flaw wasn’t one that people would realize for years to come.
Disney executives never gave the park the resources it needed to stay ahead of the technological curve. Over time, Epcot became the butt of jokes for its “futuristic” renderings of the world of tomorrow as predicted in the year 1981. It gradually devolved into the Most Anachronistic Place on Earth.
If Walt Disney walked through the park today, he’d be of two minds, I’m sure. He’d feel pride that so many of his ideas stood the test of time and that Imagineers succeeded so much with the World Showcase. He’d also feel frustration that most of his dreams for the Experimental Prototype Community of Tomorrow never came to fruition.
The competition
In 2016, every Disney theme park fell in attendance. Every. One. Conversely, the Universal Studios parks in the United States sold 7.5 percent more tickets in 2016 than 2015.
Walt Disney didn’t spend millions of dollars and sell his dream home so that a competing company could run a more successful theme park. Sure, Disney’s profits, market share, and attendance still dwarf Universal Studios’ numbers, but the problem is one of perception. Disney screwed up in not acquiring the Harry Potter intellectual property when they had a chance. Now, a park whose very existence is due to the presence of Walt Disney World is now garnering more positive headlines.
Walt Disney would never ever never abide that. He was a winner. He earned more accolades as a cartoonist than anyone who came before him, he won more Academy Awards than anyone before or since, and he built one theme park out of orange tree groves and then planned another in swampland. Nobody has the kind of success that Walt Disney had unless they’re deeply competitive. Right now, Universal Studios is doing too well, and that would irritate Uncle Walt.
