Every Disney fan idly wonders the question from time to time. What would I do if I ran The Walt Disney Company? Obviously, that’s a broad question with lots of parameters. Since this is a site about theme park tourism, let’s narrow the scope to Disney’s legendary Parks & Resorts division. What would I do if I ran this part of the company? Read on…
Should Walt Disney World add new entry points?
Image: Disney
As I gaze over the entire Parks & Resorts landscape, one overriding thought drives my decision-making. Star Wars Land – Galaxy’s Edge will instantly become the biggest Disney theme park draw of all-time.
The current record for park attendance is roughly 20.5 million. In 2019, Magic Kingdom may break that record due to the arrival of the new themed area at Walt Disney World, even though it’s not the direct beneficiary of Star Wars Land.
Disney’s Hollywood Studios earned 10.8 million visitors each of the past two years. Its numbers could increase as much as 50 percent in 2019 and (especially) 2020, the latter year enjoying 12 full months of Star Wars Land traffic.
Here’s the question Disney is asking internally right now. Where will all of those people go? The four parks are already so crowded that the company introduced surge pricing to reduce crowds during peak season. What more can they do?
Image: DisneyThat’s a nuanced question that doesn’t have any great answers. The one priority I’d have in the short term is to offload main gate traffic. Disney’s already done something quite smart by adding monorail security check-ins to lessen the load at Magic Kingdom, but that step only goes thus far.
The new Disney Skyway arrives at the back side of Epcot, which is not a coincidence. That entrance has existed for a long time, though. Disney needs to add new entry points to multiple parks to aid the flow of traffic in and out of each gate.
Magic Kingdom’s had rumors about a Tomorrowland entry for a long time now. Why they haven’t added this is a mystery to me, as it’s perfect for guests staying at Disney’s Contemporary Resort (or other monorail riders who could exit there and then walk to the park). Adventureland recently had similar rumors about a new entry point from a hotel just outside of the themed land.
Image: DisneyThe key determinant for this idea is the confirmed Star Wars hotel. If Disney constructs it near Galaxy’s Edge, they’d be remiss to make the guests there enter Hollywood Studios via the main entrance rather than a backdoor.
How far should we take immersive entertainment?
Image: DisneyDisney recently dipped their corporate toe into the field of immersive entertainment. They added new features to It’s a Small World and The Haunted Mansion. Using Magic Band technology, Disney said good-bye to guests in their own languages as they departed the former ride. The Hitchhiking Ghosts of the latter ride also offer special messages involving birthdays, anniversaries, and trips back home.
These were baby steps into a field with much broader potential. And I’m going to use an anecdote to demonstrate this. My love of Sci-Fi Dine-In is fairly well documented by this point. It’s basically my favorite restaurant on the planet. Cast members at this establishment apparently know about my zealous support. They’ve left me notes during each of my last two visits. If I’m honest, these thank you cards probably had nothing to do with my writing but rather the fact that I schedule two meals there every time I visit Walt Disney World. And each one made me feel special.
Let’s extend that thought process to its logical conclusion. Disney’s using Magic Bands and other technology to track user behavior. They should know how many times you’ve ridden something. They also have the ability to send you immediate message via My Disney Experience or even a smartphone text. Why don’t they do that?
Wouldn’t you love to know when it’s your 100th time riding Space Mountain? Or your first time riding Avatar Flight of Passage? Or the first time you enter Galaxy’s Edge? These are digital mementos you may want to keep. Disney could even monetize them by offering corresponding memorabilia. I want this kind of immersion where I feel like a part of the theme parks. It connects me on a deeper level to know that Sci-Fi Dine-In appreciates my business. I’d love to have that sort of connection to attractions as well.
How about a rewards program?
Image: DisneyA Disney rewards program (and I don’t mean the Visa card thing) is the idea that I’ve kicked around that comes with the most challenges. Disney can’t very well offer a free hotel night after you’ve stayed ten nights. That defeats the purpose of the park congestion issue previously discussed.
Still, Disney already does rewards programs. As an example, movie lovers can earn free stuff via the Disney Movie Rewards program. You get 100-150 points for each DVD/Blu-Ray/digital movie purchase. At 1,500 points, you can claim some pretty cool merchandise. Why don’t they have this for the parks?
Disney’s in the business of upsells. Many of their latest offerings attempt to convince guests to spend more money on a visit. The cost of these items is often significant, as opposed to the $20 for a movie purchase. I’m convinced that Disney would sell more items to their most loyal customers if they offered a rewards program.
Image: DisneyHow would the system work? Let’s say that you eat at 10 Table Service restaurants during your stay. With the markup on these places, Disney’s making a lot of money off of you. They WANT you to eat the expensive meals onsite. Why don’t they offer a rewards card that tracks your meal purchases and gives you a discount or free meal after a set number of purchases?
In extreme instances, Disney could even offer a Disney Dining Plan (DDP) discount or a free DDP on your next visit. It’s no different than the current DDP offers they have. Plus, it honors guests who spend a lot of money on Disney food (read: Florida residents).
Perhaps the best usage of a rewards program would be for merchandise. How many times have you been on the fence about a purchase? Wouldn’t the idea of membership points have pushed you to buy? With enough points, you’d presumably get something special like a huge discount coupon or maybe even a free purchase.
I believe that Disney should explore any idea that rewards loyal fans. They already have iterations of a rewards program in place. They should extend the premise into the theme parks.
How much of the Disney Magic should be able to go home with guests?
Image: DisneyFrequent Disney guests semi-jokingly refer to their bus trip to the Orlando International Airport as the Tragical Express. It’s a play on words of the Magical Express, the journey that transports people inside the famed Disney Bubble. The problem is that the joke isn’t that funny.
Many people, myself included, want more of Disney in our everyday lives. Apps and games only go so far, which is why YouTube channels offering livestreams of park visits have grown so popular in recent years. Those of us who don’t live near Disneyland or Walt Disney World can live vicariously through the streaming hosts.
Disney seems at least somewhat aware of this frustration. They occasionally host official broadcasts of fireworks displays and other events. What I don’t understand is why they don’t do this on a daily basis. Streamers can only show a fraction of the things that Disney’s officials Parks & Resorts channel could offer.
From home, guests could watch ride videos as they’re happening. We could see the inner machinations of keeping the parks operating well. Disney could show some of the happy moments that brighten days. Basically, they could offer plenty of positive reinforcement for Disney dreamers, incentivizing us to plan our next visit sooner than we’d intended. Nothing sells a Disney vacation like witnessing the joys of a Disney vacation.
Image: DisneyThe above thought ties into the future of Disney theme parks as well. Virtual reality (VR) is in its infancy right now. VR gear like the Oculus Rift and the HTC Vive are extremely expensive introductions into the realm of VR. Still, this technology is likely the greatest revolution in interpersonal communications since the internet. The release of Steven Spielberg’s Ready Player One next year will also bring VR into the mainstream in terms of awareness.
At some point, a virtual reality version of Disney theme parks will become a reality. Disney should already tiptoe toward that long-term goal. They should embrace VR as a new way for guests to experience theme park attractions from home.
A VR park videogame isn’t even an outlandish request. The company did something similar in 2011 with the release of Kinect Disneyland Adventures. It tried to mimic a park visit on the Xbox 360. The Rift and Vive are already capable of better iterations of the same concept.
Image: DisneyOver time, the idea should evolve to the point where guests can feel like they’re visiting a Disney theme park in the comfort of their own home. This idea sounds crazy on the surface, as it seems like something that would undercut Disney’s basic revenue model. That’s the wrong way of evaluating the situation, though. Disney parks enjoyed a record number of guests last year, 140.4 million. How many other people wanted to go to the parks but couldn’t, though? Disney could monetize literally billions of consumers with a quality VR park simulation. VR is the optimal way to expand the Disney brand. Best of all, everyone would be a pair of VR goggles away from the Happiest Place on Earth!
Okay, those are my ideas for if I ran Disney. What would you do if you were ran Disney? Feel free to leave a reply in the comments.
