The Seven Best Words to Describe Disney in 2021
Last year, I tried to summarize the impossible. I listed eight words that encapsulated The Walt Disney Company’s craziest year ever.
Over the past 12 months, things have mostly calmed down, but there’s still plenty of work yet to do.
So, here are the seven words I would use to describe Disney in 2021.
Callous
I know. There’s nothing Disney about the word callous. We use it to describe insensitive people who don’t care enough about others.
Unfortunately, that term does apply to Disney over the past year. The debate lies in how much of it was avoidable.
Early in the year, Disney callously announced the end of Magical Express, which shocked all of us.
Then again, maybe we shouldn’t have felt surprised. After all, Disney relies on Mears Transportation for Magical Express to work, and that company…hasn’t done well.
Still, we can list at least one other example. Walt Disney World took the free FastPass program and switched to a pay-to-play system.
On top of that, Disney removed some rides from the standard Disney Genie+ inventory. Instead, those went into a unique virtual queue system called Lightning Lane.
So, Disney turned the old FastPasses into a $15 a day (plus tax) upcharge that could add another $20+ for two more Lightning Lane rides.
Celebratory
I don’t want to come across as more negative today. However, I believe that transparency is essential.
Even so, Disney did experience many positives in 2021. The highlight among them was undoubtedly the 50th anniversary of Walt Disney World.
A year ago, we all wondered how Disney could throw a party amid an unprecedented pandemic.
To the company’s credit, it somehow found a way to host an 18-month social gathering that celebrates the Most Magical Place on Earth. And we’re grateful for that.
Confusing
Why did Disney wait so many months to bring back annual passes at Disneyland and Walt Disney World?
Then, when Disney did restore these ticketing options, why did they only last a few weeks?
The top tier of Disneyland’s new Magic Key program sold out quickly. Soon afterward, Walt Disney World canceled all annual out-of-state annual passes.
These moves happened so suddenly that fans could have gotten whiplash.
Why did Disney stop annual pass sales so quickly? For that matter, why did they even start if they were going to shut down the program after a certain level of sales?
Why wasn’t there any transparency about the process? Also, why did we have a Destination D23 event if Disney never intended to announce anything significant?
I mean, I could go on here because Disney’s behavior seemed so erratic. One minute, they were hyping Star Wars: Galactic Starcruiser with a video.
Within days, they’d deleted the video and acted like it never existed due to poor reception.
Also, why are there two Lightning Lanes that are totally different? Shouldn’t we have something like Disney Genie, Disney Genie+, and Disney Genie E-Ticket instead?
Disney has baffled us all frequently in 2021.
Evolving
I would describe Disney as evolving because of the number of additions during calendar 2021.
You may recall that the pandemic stopped many plans at the parks.
Realistically, the only two achievements of note for that entire year were two openings.
Star Wars: Rise of the Resistance debuted at Disneyland, a month after its Walt Disney World twin, and Mickey and Minnie’s Runaway Railway opened at Disney’s Hollywood Studios.
Other than that, we’ll always remember 2020 for what we lost at the Disney parks rather than what we gained.
Contrast that to 2021, when Remy’s Ratatouille Adventure debuted at EPCOT’s World Showcase.
In another section of the park, Space 2020 delivered an unprecedented immersive dining experience.
Thanks to several Imagineering tricks, guests believed they had traveled to outer space for a meal!
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World Celebration at EPCOT also unveiled two new shopping options, both of which established new standards.
The entirely new version of Club Cool keeps the Beverly prank alive, while Imagineers outdid themselves with the design of Creations Shop, the spiritual successor to Mouse Gear.
Of course, the crown jewel of Disney’s 2021 evolution occurred at Disney California Adventure.
Park officials revealed Avengers Campus, the long-awaited Marvel themed land that provides insight into the future of Disney park visits.
The reality is that Marvel has evolved into the anchor intellectual property for Disney. So, it’ll want to do everything it can to have Avengers everywhere.
Obviously, that’s currently impossible at Walt Disney World due to licensing issues. However, Disneyland Paris is nearly ready to open its Marvel land.
In fact, that’s another significant addition. One of the park’s resorts just reopened as Disney’s Hotel New York – The Art of Marvel.
So, the evolution of Disney undeniably involves immersive Imagineering experiences, especially ones involving Marvel.
Pricier
I mean, yeah. Disney has unquestionably crept up in price during calendar 2021, and that trend likely continues in 2022.
Still, I struggle to fault the company for this. We’ve all heard the inflation discussions and know that supply chain issues remain a consideration.
The pandemic made Disney cash poor, forcing it to pass its newfound (and unexpected) expenses to customers.
So, we’re paying for previously free FastPasses, responsible for our own transportation to/from the airport, and more expensive after-hours events.
On the whole, this situation really could be substantially worse. But, unfortunately, fans hold Disney to a higher standard.
So, your favorite company is taking a PR hit for the price increases.
Recovering
For all the negatives we can list about Disney, it has survived the most challenging test in its history.
To wit, during the fiscal third quarter of 2020, Disney reported losses of $4.8 billion. That sounds disastrous on its own, but the reality was even worse.
For the same timeframe in 2019, Disney had netted $2 billion. So, one year later, the company’s profit dropped by nearly $7 billion.
Then, during the same summer timeframe in 2021, Disney gained almost $1 billion. So, the company remains down a billion from 2019.
However, Disney’s core businesses had recovered enough that its quarterly profits increased by nearly $6 billion from the nightmare of 2020.
I can assure you that Disney officials would have happily taken that if offered at the end of 2020.
In fact, I think the math of this example is just about right. I would describe Disney as roughly 85 percent recovered from the worst of the pandemic.
Reopening
Those of you who read MickeyBlog regularly are aware of this subject. Our core duo attended virtually all of Walt Disney World’s 2021 reopenings.
They also made the trek to Disneyland for the reopening of the Happiest Place on Earth for non-Californians.
We’re writing a complete article about this, but I can give you the highlight.
By their count, they attended Disney reopenings for approximately 35 attractions and restaurants.
No, the theme parks haven’t 100 percent returned to normal. We’re close enough that pointing out the absentees feels like nitpicking, though.
Once the parades return in early 2022, even the most diehard critics must acknowledge that virtually everything at Disneyland and Walt Disney World has reopened.
We’re back, baby!