A Few Disney Decisions I Liked in 2024…

We’re at the point in 2025 when we shouldn’t be talking about 2024 anymore.

Still, I couldn’t let this amazing year for The Walt Disney Company close without reflecting on a few more positives.

After getting kicked in the teeth almost non-stop from 2020-2023, Disney had a Comeback Player of the Year type of 2024.

Here are a few Disney moves I liked in 2024.

Bringing Back the Dining Plan

Everyone vacations differently, and I accept that.

A certain percentage of Disney vacationers would never even consider the Disney Dining Plan.

They tell me this loudly and repetitively. For whatever reason, Disney fans have strong opinions about the dining plan.

I won’t cast stones here, as I’m the same way. A Disney vacation without the Disney Dining Plan (DDP) feels incomplete to me.

When I have the dining plan, I never think about money during dinner.

Instead, I happily devour a veritable feast of flavors, knowing that all I’ll pay is one “entitlement” rather than money.

This option allows me to forget about my wallet while on vacation, and I love it.

Coincidentally or not, I visited Disney less when it didn’t have the dining plan. So, I’m thrilled that it’s back.

In fact, you can get the Disney Dining Plan for free with some vacation packages right now!

The Concept of CommuniCore Hall & Plaza

I’ve stressed this several times since Imagineers finished the EPCOT reboot, but it bears frequent repeating.

For generations now, Disney’s management has been at odds with its tourists over a simple issue.

Disney wanted guests to move around the parks as much as possible, pushing them on to the next thing.

For decades, that was the conventional wisdom on how to make the most money at a theme park. You keep the tourist in motion.

Speaking on behalf of all tourists, that’s a terrible business practice. We’re already walking a ton at these large theme parks.

When you constantly push us to the next thing, we have no time to relax on vacation, thereby defeating the point.

The arrival of World Celebration Gardens in 2023 signified a philosophical change at Disney.

Executives finally realized that EPCOT, in particular, is where fans want to kick back, relax, and enjoy themselves.

Walt Disney knew that, as he’d based the idea of EPCOT around his experiences at the 1964 New York World’s Fair.

After his death, the message got a bit lost as Imagineers struggled to bring all of Uncle Walt’s ideas to life.

Now, with CommuniCore Hall & Plaza, Disney has given us a centralized location to relish all of EPCOT’s festivals.

In 2025, Disney will accentuate this process by opening three new lounges/taverns, two at Magic Kingdom and one at EPCOT.

Finally, Disney has accepted vacationers the way we are, which is to say that we’re finally encouraged to sit down and rest a spell.

A D23 That Mattered for Once

One of the unexpected outcomes of the pandemic was that Disney unintentionally diminished the D23 Expo.

This fan service event celebrates all things Disney, but park officials have also used it as a launcher for upcoming projects.

At D23, we first learned about revolutionary Disney themed lands like Pandora – The World of Avatar and Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge.

While that was true in the past, Disney’s pandemic-related financial crunch led to a different kind of D23 the past few years.

Destination D23 and the D23 Expo became places where Disney vaguely described potential experiences rather than confirming them.

Thankfully, that infuriating behavior ended in 2024. This time, fans welcomed a slew of major announcements.

Disney has promised new themed lands based on Avatar, Cars, Disney Villains, and Monsters, Inc.

In the process, Disney redeemed D23 after a shaky few years.

Please never use D23 as a blue-sky “Maybe we could…” exercise in indecisiveness again, Disney!

The Gentility of Tiana’s Bayou Adventure

Like many of you, I rode Tiana’s Bayou Adventure for the first time this year.

While I wasn’t lucky enough to experience the Disneyland version yet, I have taken multiple turns on the one at Magic Kingdom.

As a diehard fan of the vibe of Splash Mountain, I was so concerned in the days leading up to the new opening.

While I find The Princess and the Frog impossibly charming – who doesn’t??? – it’s tough to replace a legend.

In a way, Tiana’s Bayou Adventure is like the quarterbacks who came after Dan Marino.

There’s a running joke among Miami fans that before Tua Tagovailoa, the team hadn’t had a good QB since Marino retired.

That’s what it’s like to come after someone or something so great. The standards are much higher.

To my surprise and delight, Tiana’s Bayou Adventure not only met my expectations but far surpassed them. And the key is simple.

This ride leads with kindness and warmth. In that way, it exemplifies the spirit of Disney theme parks.

Tiana’s Bayou Adventure tells a simple story well, as the grateful chef tries to throw a party for the people in her city, New Orleans.

So, Tiana ventures back to the bayou where she once lived as a frog – long story – and finds the magical ingredient needed.

If Tiana’s Bayou Adventure were a person, I’d want to hug it and tell it, “Never change. You’re perfect just the way you are.”

Leveling up Disney Cruises

I worry I’ve talked about this too much lately, but it’s such a timely, essential topic for Disney.

The company has committed billions of dollars to new cruise ships, and it’s the timing that’s so shocking.

No, I’m not talking about what comes next. Instead, I’m referencing the timing when the cruise industry was shuttered just three years ago.

At the start of 2022, some cruise ships were operational, but strict health measures were in place.

Back then, many analysts – and I was one of them – openly questioned whether people would ever want to take cruises again.

I laugh about that, as I’ve spent much of the past two weeks gaping in awe at pictures from a friend’s vacation.

He just took a cruise to Antarctica, and he’s got the penguin pics to prove it!

As a Disney fan, he’s ready to go on the Disney Treasure next. He speaks for all of us, as that’s the ship that changes everything.

On the Treasure, Disney has opened Haunted Mansion Parlor, a lounge themed just like the Haunted Mansion ride.

Soon, the Disney Adventure will open. Imagineers have styled it as a theme park at sea, complete with a take on themed lands.

That kind of brilliant design will entice non-cruise fans to ride the Treasure, the Adventure, and whatever comes next.

Modernizing Country Bear Jamboree

This change is a minor one in the greater scheme, but it speaks to something bigger.

Historically, Disney was unlikely to change its classic attractions, especially the ones that Walt Disney himself worked on.

Did I mention that Walt Disney had planned a ski resort just before his death?

The signature attraction at this resort would have been Country Bear Jamboree.

This fact forced management to look the other way as attendance slid for the attraction over the years…until 2024.

Finally, Disney officials accepted that thrill had gone. Country Bear Jamboree needed a change.

So, Imagineers rebooted the attraction into a vibrant show with more modern character behavior and better music.

While I loved the deadpan humor of the songs on Country Bear Jamboree, the replacement’s tunes are objectively better.

Disney had remade some of its classic soundtrack singles with Country & Western sounds.

The result is a crowd-pleasing update that has completely reinvigorated this part of Magic Kingdom.

Fans actually wait in line for the next show of Country Bear Musical Jamboree!

While I realize this topic is touchy for many, the reality is that a handful of classic Disney attractions could use this sort of touch-up.

Fresh eyes and some modernization would plus them and re-engage fans.

Single Rider at Rise of the Resistance

As Disney evolves and grows, it must consider all possibilities to reduce crowd congestion.

Some of them won’t necessarily be popular with everyone, but that’s not the point. A bold approach is needed at times.

For example, Disney has tested Single Rider on and off at Star Wars: Rise of the Resistance over the past few months.

The “problem” with this particular implementation is that you miss part of the experience in the process.

Disney deems about 30 percent of the attraction skippable.

To many fans, that’s a sacrilegious thought, but plenty more are happily willing to get to the good part by skipping the intro.

The idea makes sense for those of us who have already ridden Rise of the Resistance 10+ times.

We know everything that happens at the start, making it less necessary.

Don’t get me wrong. All things being equal, I’d rather hang out with Rey and then get imprisoned by The First Order.

I…have a weird bucket list. Anyway, the point is that the situation isn’t equal.

By entering Single Rider, you’ll save half an hour or more. You won’t stand in line anywhere near as long.

So, from that perspective, it actually improves the experience.

Therefore, your use of Single Rider entirely depends on how often you’ve experienced Rise of the Resistance and how emphatic you are about it.

These are the types of daring ideas Disney should consider, though.

Anything that reduces average wait times is a net positive.

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Feature Photo: Disney