Hey Disney, Can You Help with Our Phone Problem?
Whenever Disney fans complain about their park visits, one topic almost unavoidably arises.
Many guests believe that they must rely on their phones too much during Disney trips.
For those born in the era before phones doubled as babysitters, the problem is that much worse. But it’s frustrating to almost everyone.
Hey Disney, can you help with our phone problem? I have a few thoughts…
Let’s Rewind Five Years
I realize that the pandemic aged everyone prematurely. Five years feels like forever for many, but Disney fans remember what once was.
Not that long ago, Disney not only allowed but encouraged guests to book FastPasses ahead of time.
All guests could schedule up to three FastPasses 60 days prior to a visit. And management toyed with even longer planning.
Some high-paying tourists could book 90 days ahead of time, giving them the first crack at the most popular FastPass attractions.
This system proved divisive because old-school Disney fans had grown accustomed to paper FastPasses.
The sudden change to online reservations didn’t win over some of Disney’s oldest and most loyal customers.
Today, FastPass is dead, while its replacement, Disney Genie+, doesn’t even go on sale until the day of one’s park visit.
Also, Disney Genie+ sells out, sometimes causing guests to miss the opportunity entirely.
Yes, Disney has created a paid version of FastPass that requires more overhead and allows for less planning.
How does this change negatively impact park visitors? We inevitably spend most of our park visits staring at our phones.
Here, please allow a recent Disneyland guest to explain their frustration:
“I took my kids a week or two ago, and it’s just an awful experience now, between logging in and having your reservation and your ticket and getting there and doing the Genie thing, which they now charge $30 a person for.”
That sounds harsh, right? Folks, these are the words of a former Imagineer!!!
Even Disney’s best and brightest express their aggravation with the current Disney setup.
An Imbalanced System
Do you know what else Disney added during the past few years? As Harmon referenced, vacationers must reserve Park Passes to visit.
Not long ago, we called Park Passes by a different name: admission tickets. When you owned a ticket, you got into the park.
Alas, that’s no longer true, as Disney has introduced a second hurdle. Honestly, I’m fine with it, too.
If Park Passes allow Disney to staff the parks more efficiently and pay cast members more money, I think we can overlook the minor irritation.
My problem lies more in what the new system represents. Disney has asked us to book something for them.
That Park Pass provides planners with valuable information regarding staffing allocation.
Disney gets something from this deal, while park guests must jump through a second hoop to visit the park.
Conversely, Disney has taken something away from us with the FastPass-to-Disney Genie+ conversion.
We may no longer book these reservations early. Instead, we start our morning fighting our phones to buy Disney Genie+ and reserve an attraction.
First-time users often feel amazement as they realize how much they need to do before they’ve even had a sip of coffee.
You must log into My Disney Experience, perform a transaction in buying Disney Genie+, and try to schedule a Lightning Lane.
Some guests haven’t felt this much pressure since they took their SATs.
Even worse, Disney fans have gained nothing in the exchange.
Everybody’s on the Phone
Until 2020, we could plan our top three rides during a park visit from the comfort of our homes.
In fact, that process was enjoyable because it allowed us to anticipate our upcoming trip.
I loved communicating with friends and family members as we all plotted the perfect three FastPasses for each day of our Disney visit.
During a five-day trip, we knew 15 attractions we were sure to ride. It was a stress-free booking experience.
Under the new system, we’re on the trip, and we’re not having fun because we’re too busy freaking out.
Some of Disney’s most popular rides book quickly, which can set you on a dark path for that date.
Let’s say you have your heart set on Slinky Dog Dash, but it sells out.
First, you’ll feel anger that you paid for Disney Genie+ and didn’t get what you wanted from the deal.
Then, you’ll spend a significant portion of your day on your phone as you try to snag a reservation if/when someone cancels at Slinky Dog Dash.
Do you know what you’re missing this whole time? You’re not looking at Disney’s Hollywood Studios and admiring all the magical touches.
My heart breaks when I consider how much time Imagineers spent designing those individual pieces of Disney storytelling.
Now, guests ignore them because they couldn’t book a Lightning Lane reservation ahead of time.
Disney has undercut its own greatness by forcing such behavior on consumers.
Back to the Future
I’ll say the obvious. Disney has overcorrected here.
A few years ago, guests complained about the lack of spontaneity at the parks.
So, management took note of these complaints and ultimately decided to negate advance reservations as much as possible.
Now, you MUST book the Park Passes that help Disney, but you cannot buy/reserve Disney Genie+ options early.
I honestly don’t get this tactic at all. Disney asks more of its guests while taking away options from us. That’s just bad business.
Management listened to a few naysayers who wanted more opportunities while at the parks. In the process, they punished literally everyone else.
Instead, Disney should gravitate more toward the other end of the spectrum.
At a minimum, guests should be allowed to buy Disney Genie+ ahead of time.
In a perfect world, Disney should provide an amenity to guests staying at official resorts.
Such tourists would regain the 60-day window to book at least one Disney Genie+ reservation.
I honestly don’t understand why Disney moved away from this structure. The new system has introduced a new layer of chaos.
We shouldn’t start our Disney days feeling agitated about the mercurial Disney Genie+ system.
Also, booking FastPasses and Lightning Lanes ahead of time is a GOOD thing!
Why can we book Park Passes early for you, but we can’t book FastPasses for US? That’s selfish behavior, Disney. Even it up.
A Daring Proposal
In fact, I offer a second suggestion to Disney. In the days leading up to the debut of Disney Genie, park officials promised a product that could schedule a spontaneous itinerary.
The product, while exceptionally useful, hasn’t quite lived up to that level of hype.
We need more, and I believe Disney should look to Universal Orlando Resort for a more comprehensive solution.
The TapuTapu wearable, Volcano Bay’s answer to the MagicBand, includes a feature Disney lacks.
You can reserve your spot in a virtual line queue thanks to the wearable. More importantly, you don’t need your phone.
While this sounds like MagicBand – and it’s irrefutably similar – TapuTapu enables guests to enjoy their environment while the system holds their place in line.
Disney has moved away from that strategy in the pandemic’s aftermath, which isn’t the correct approach.
Instead, Disney’s technology team should be investigating strategies to combine the promise of Disney Genie with the application of TapuTapu.
In other words, guests should be able to use a wearable to request access to any virtual line queue, hopefully without checking their phones at all.
A Disney theme park visit should entail losing oneself in the surroundings rather than staring at our phones all day.
Disney, we can have a phone problem, and the solution to it is already available.
Can you help us reduce our phone reliance and empower us to enjoy a park visit more?
I sincerely hope this idea is part of your five-year plan for making Disney even more magical.
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