Talking Disney With DeepSeek

I didn’t have ChatGPT getting wrecked by a $6 million startup on my bingo card for January 2025, but here we are.

A new AI named DeepSeek has throttled the stock market and sent every American tech company into a flop sweat.

Suddenly, a complete unknown has become the most downloaded free app in the United States.

As a longtime internet writer, I’m supposed to view AI as an existential threat, but I view it more as a curiosity.

I’ve never used AI in my writing and don’t have any plans to do so.

Sometimes, I do play with the buttons for my own amusement, though.

So, I spent part of my morning talking about Disney with DeepSeek. It’s fun to do, and I recommend it to others.

Here are a few hot takes that the ascending AI has about Disney vacations.

DeepSeek Prefers Walt Disney World

I don’t want to be insensitive or controversial with any of my comments.

Still, I’d be negligent if I didn’t acknowledge the awkward truth about any Chinese company.

Such businesses must show a bias toward Chinese enterprises because the government dictates it.

I mention this because I fully expected a specific response to my first query, which is a ranking of the various Disney theme parks.

Since Disney operates two theme parks in China, I presumed they would finish first and second…but they didn’t!

Instead, DeepSeek listed Walt Disney World first, albeit with a weird explanation.

WDW wins due to its “Iconic attractions like Cinderella Castle, Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge, and Pandora – The World of Avatar.”

So, partial credit? I guess we’re still asking for a lot to expect correct terms here. Still, the ranking system shows the following:

1. Walt Disney World
2. Disneyland Resort
3. Disneyland Paris
4. Tokyo Disney Resort
5. Hong Kong Disneyland Resort
6. Shanghai Disney Resort

That ordering isn’t chronological, as Disneyland would go first in such a scenario.

Instead, DeepSeek created its own pros and cons list and decided that the Chinese parks are the worst.

I’m particularly surprised in that China and Japan are constantly feuding.

So, while Tokyo Disney IS better, I didn’t expect that ranking, but I was pleased to see it.

DeepSeek appears to have accurately ranked the various theme parks and mostly done a good job.

Nobody informed on the subject (outside of Europe) would argue Disneyland Paris is better than Tokyo Disney, but that’s a small quibble.

All in all, DeepSeek mostly passed its next Disney test. So, let’s try something a bit harder.

Which Disney World Hotel Does DeepSeek Prefer?

I have some quality assurance training from my computer programming days, which is why I’m kicking myself a bit.

For my next query, I asked something that was too open-ended, and the AI promptly spanked me for my imprecision.

On this front, DeepSeek gave me a much better and more detailed answer than I deserved.

My question was, “Which Disney hotel is best?” I intentionally left it vague to test the response.

DeepSeek surprised me with a detailed ranking. The list starts with the following ranking:

1. Disney’s Grand Floridian Resort & Spa
2. Disney’s Polynesian Village Resort
3. Disney’s Animal Kingdom Lodge
4. Disney’s Contemporary Resort

That’s a pretty good list. I just wrote about the advantages of Animal Kingdom Lodge just last month.

The other three entries are all monorail resorts and generally the most expensive Disney properties.

So, I’d expected the AI to pull from aggregate sites like TripAdvisor, compiling thousands of internet grades instantly.

Instead, this answer possibly reflects something more impressive. It’s like an awareness of all our perceptions about monorail resorts.

Alternatively, DeepSeek just looked at prices and tiers and went with that. You be the judge.

That wasn’t the end of the response, though. DeepSeek noticed my lack of specificity and gave me more.

Here are the rankings at Disneyland Resort:

1. Disney’s Grand Californian Hotel & Spa
2. Disneyland Hotel
3. Disney’s Paradise Pier Hotel

And here are the top two – and only two — at Disneyland Paris:

1. Disneyland Hotel
2. Disney’s Hotel New York – Art of Marvel

The reply included all six Disney resorts, and each hotel evaluation added pros but no cons. DeepSeek is an optimist.

More importantly, the AI gave me MUCH more information than I’d asked for.

Is DeepSeek Good at Budgeting?

In examining DeepSeek’s replies, I noticed a few things. For starters, there’s no mention of price on anything.

Also, location doesn’t appear to factor into some of these replies, as they’re not penalizing resorts for poor logistics.

So, I asked a more aggressive question. “Which Walt Disney World hotel provides the best value?”

That’s something I debated while writing another article that’s not even in the publisher yet.

I wanted to compare my lizard brain with DeepSeek and its sum-total of human existence.

I’m gonna score this round for the lizard brains, as DeepSeek got a bit political (i.e., cowardly) with its response.

“Determining the best value at Walt Disney World depends on your budget, priorities, and what you consider ‘value’ (e.g., proximity to parks, amenities, theming, or overall experience).”

The AI then led with Walt Disney World’s Value Tier resorts, an answer that seems a bit too on-the-nose and, thereby, lazy.

According to DeepSeek, here are the best values at WDW hotels:

1. Disney’s Pop Century Resort
2. Disney’s Art of Animation Resort
3. Disney’s All-Star Resorts

There’s no delineation between the All-Star properties. DeepSeek groups them together.

To the AI’s credit, it does list prices this time, although I wouldn’t consider them accurate.

Then, the AI added other tiers. For the moderate tier, it listed two in this order:

1. Disney’s Port Orleans Resort – Riverside
2. Disney’s Caribbean Beach Resort

Next, the system listed Deluxe tier resorts…but not many. Here’s the entire list:

1. Disney’s Animal Kingdom Lodge
2. Disney’s Wilderness Lodge

Eek! That’s far too short a list. However, I credit DeepSeek for adding this summary that combines tiers:

1. Disney’s Pop Century Resort
2. Disney’s Caribbean Beach Resort
3. Disney’s Animal Kingdom Lodge

According to the AI, those are the top three options for “Best Overall Value.”

Riding with AI

Would I agree with those rankings? Absolutely not. None of them make my personal top five.

Still, I credit the system for trying to deliver a finite answer, which isn’t something I’d expected it to do.

In reading the responses, I wondered how it would handle a more human debate.

So, I asked DeepSeek to rank the best Disney transportation options.

Disney fans all know which one should win since it’s the option closely associated with the brand.

However, I also would have accepted the Disney Skyliner since it’s the new hotness.

Also, from a cold, ruthless AI perspective, the gondola system is the most efficient form of transportation. How did DeepSeek do?

Here are its rankings:

1. The Monorail
2. The Disney Skyliner
3. Buses
4. Boats/Ferries
5. Minnie Vans

The ranking of buses over boats is infuriating, but I give the AI credit for including Minnie Vans.

But my query wasn’t specific to Walt Disney World. That’s where the system went a bit wacko.

According to DeepSeek, the best transportation option at Shanghai Disney is walking rather than taking the buses.

The same statement applies at Disneyland Resort, but I would argue that response is correct. It is NOT at Shanghai, though.

The sprawling campus dictates some use of buses at times.

So, it’s pretty funny that the AI thinks your best transportation is your feet. There’s no mention of ECVs at any park, either.

That makes me wonder how accessibility-friendly these responses are.

Still, overall, I had better early success with DeepSeek than I ever have with ChatGPT.

To my fellow Disney fans, I’d suggest that you play around with it and see what you think!

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