What Do Disney Fans Want Changed at the Parks?

The other day, I wrote about changes I’d like Disney to make at the theme parks.

Alas, I only get one vote here. While doing my research for that piece, I stumbled upon a plethora of oft-repeated concerns.

So, what do fans want fixed at the parks? It’s a lot, some of which isn’t feasible, but other stuff is a no-brainer.

Dear Disney, please pay attention as your fans are talking.

Better Restaurant Menus – Quick Service

Reading various comments, I realized how unhappy some people are with Disney dining.

Specifically, fans sound content with Table Service meals for the most part; it’s Quick Service meals causing the issue.

According to fans, Disney stripped down the menus during the pandemic but hasn’t fixed the problem now that it’s over.

Some folks gripe that if you want more than chicken nuggets, burgers, hot dogs, or salads, you’re out of luck at lots of places.

While I think that’s a bit unfair, maybe even glib, a cursory look at some menus shows that the claim is at least somewhat accurate.

Typically, Quick Service menus lead with the dishes customers will likely buy, which are cheeseburgers and chicken nuggets.

So, I’d suggest that Disney add a specialty item to most Quick Service menus to give each restaurant something memorable.

At this moment in time, many restaurants are interchangeable due to the lack of distinct menu items.

Less Reliance on My Disney Experience

This has been a recurring complaint since the introduction of MyMagic+.

Many Disney fans, especially older ones, wish that visiting the theme parks didn’t require so much phone time.

After all, Imagineers spend so much time thinking about every view at a theme park.

In an extreme example, the Mexico pavilion has a different appearance depending on whether you see it at EPCOT or Disney’s Hollywood Studios.

Similarly, Imagineers populate every attraction queue with detailed elements to enhance the theme.

When someone is staring at their phone to make a Mobile Order or book a Lightning Lane, they miss all that.

Some Disney tourists would prefer a simpler Disney experience, which makes me wonder whether non-phone itineraries should be a thing.

Realistically, a Disney park guest shouldn’t need My Disney Experience to enjoy their visit, right? It’s not that big an ask.

More Control

Before the pandemic, guests controlled much more of the Disney vacation experience.

Disney allowed vacationers to book Advanced Dining Reservations (ADRs) 180 days in advance (and sometimes longer).

Similarly, we could schedule our FastPasses 60 days in advance, guaranteeing we’d know three attractions before our visit.

That’s no longer the case, as Disney has detoured Disney Genie+ bookings and 60-day ADRs toward arrival dates.

So, one window has shortened dramatically, while the other is non-existent.

While Disney has indicated that pre-visit Disney Genie+ bookings will debut soon, the 7 a.m. struggle is real.

Right now, Disney has removed the viability of a theme park itinerary. Everything’s tenuous depending on what you can book.

On the morning of your visit, you won’t know when your Disney Genie+ reservations are, what time your virtual queue opens, or when your Lightning Lane starts.

That’s a problem, one that reduces spontaneity during a park visit.

Disney dictates too much and allows far too little flexibility.

New Attractions

Okay, this complaint goes away soon, but it’s definitely in the zeitgeist.

In 2019, Disney offered a broad array of upcoming attractions, one that would excite and delight fans.

When the pandemic struck, park officials modified those plans to guarantee a steady flow of attractions.

Since the start of 2020, we’ve gained new E-ticket attractions like Mickey & Minnie’s Runaway Railway, Guardians of the Galaxy: Cosmic Rewind, and Tron Lightcycle / Run.

However, once Tiana’s Bayou Adventure opens in a couple of weeks, the pipeline is dry…and even that ride is just a re-theme.

Right now, the only officially confirmed change at Walt Disney World is Test Track 3.0, another re-theme.

The Tropical Americas will debut at Disney’s Animal Kingdom, but Disney hasn’t confirmed any attractions yet.

So, we’re all kinda stuck, anxiously awaiting announcements at the 2024 D23 Expo.

We know that Disney is about to spend $42 billion on theme park expansion, which means this fix is in the offing.

Until we know something tangible, it still feels theoretical, though.

The Price

When I cover Disney’s quarterly fiscal earnings reports, I sometimes wince and/or grow uncomfortable.

Whenever Disney Experiences reveals a large margin growth in operating income, I understand what that reflects.

Those larger operating incomes occur because fans are paying more during their visits.

In fact, the next request will directly relate to that complaint, but let’s just focus on it as a standalone statement.

In reality, many Disney guests are paying 40+ more for a theme park visit than five years ago.

During the pandemic, a panicked Bob Chapek discovered that he could overcome Disney’s financial woes by raising the prices at the parks.

Chapek did that so often it felt like a compulsion. We all hoped for change once Disney fired him and brought back Bob Iger.

Alas, that hasn’t happened yet, at least not to the level we need. Iger and Experiences Chairman Josh D’Amaro left it alone.

They understood that people would always view Chapek as the bad guy while many tourists would accept the increases as the expected price.

That has happened, leading to a dramatic increase in the price of Disney vacations, at least for those who don’t know what they’re doing.

Not coincidentally, I tell friends they should use MickeyTravels to help them plan a vacation.

These Authorized Disney Vacation Planners know all the best ways to save money, and they’ll keep looking long after you book your trip.

So, even if the prices stretch your budget at booking, you may find them much cheaper when you arrive.

Most remarkably, MickeyTravels doesn’t charge for its services, earning a commission from Disney instead.

Those worried about the price of a Disney vacation should use MickeyTravels to maximize your vacation budget.

The Return of FastPass

Okay, this one isn’t happening, and we should all make peace with it.

The industry had committed to paid line-skipping as a business model even before the pandemic.

Disney was one of the final holdouts, and it was already trying some stuff at the international theme parks.

So, the current system isn’t going anywhere. Now, I would suggest that Disney clean up the naming conventions.

Right now, we have two different services, Disney Genie+ and Lightning Lane, both of which allow guests to enter the Lightning Lane queue.

That makes zero sense on its own. Then, we have the fact that fans revile Disney Genie+ due to what it represents.

Rebranding would be a smart business move, although Disney may wait a few years before taking that step.

Transportation Changes

This complaint covers a wide swath of criticisms, including the ending of Magical Express.

I recently debated whether Disney should bring back Magical Express as a paid service.

The same fans who are quick to criticize the price of Disney visits quickly acknowledged that they’d pay for the service.

That’s how much fans miss Magical Express, which liberated tourists from worrying about their luggage.

Other fans would like to see changes in the Disney bus system, which hasn’t improved in the 21^st century.

That’s remarkable in that we live in a technologically advanced era, yet the arrival of Disney buses still feels scattershot.

Fans want Disney to improve the bus system, particularly regarding arrival and departure time alerts.

Finally, we have the Disney Skyliner, which most fans had expected park officials to expand by now.

Obviously, the pandemic made that impossible, as Disney cost its park expenditures by hundreds of millions of dollars.

Building new ski lifts and gondolas was too pricey over the past several years.

Now that Disney is ready to spend money expanding the parks and maximizing inventory, that reality could change, though.

The Weather

Despite what you may have read on a conspiratory media site, Disney does not control the weather.

So, the increased heat in Central Florida represents something Disney can’t do much to address.

Sure, the company can build more indoor attractions, a trend that’s been underway for a while.

Consider that the new rides I mentioned earlier – Runaway Railway, Cosmic Rewind, and Tron – are primarily indoors.

Similarly, Tron’s outdoor section is covered, which leads to a second point.

Storms have become more prevalent and problematic in recent years, forcing Disney to close its parks more often.

Such weather events can prove disruptive to tourists, but again, there’s not much Disney can do here.

We’re all susceptible to the weather and subject to its mercurial whims.

I’m confident that park officials are contemplating the best ways to mitigate this concern, but in insurance terms, it falls under an “act of God.”

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Feature Photo: DIsney