How Disney Is Using Guest Feedback to Reshape Walt Disney World
Early this morning, Walt Disney World unveiled numerous new offerings that will debut at the resort this summer. From new kid-centric activities at select resorts to the long-awaited debut of Little Mermaid: A Musical Adventure and Disney Villains: Unfairly Ever After, The Most Magical Place on Earth is leaning into its core audience and giving guests more of what they want.
To do this, Disney World has launched a new customer experiences team, which uses data to create a comprehensive strategy to improve the guest experience.
During a panel yesterday, Disney World leaders reflected on their embrace of analytics and highlighted different ways the resort has been changed based on the new information.
Cinderella Castle
“We stood up a new team called the customer experience team — what we call the CX team,” said Melissa Valiquette, vice president of park operations and development (via The Orlando Business Journal).
“That team’s sole responsibility is to really understand data that we weren’t even tracking — about planning experiences, about booking experiences, to really understand what are the drivers of complexity and try to alleviate some of that complexity.”
Providing Clarity
The new customer experiences team knows the importance of data, especially at the onset of guests’ vacations.
“Before someone becomes our guest, they’re our customer, right? They have to transact with us. And they have to make decisions. They make purchases,” Vice President of Customer Experience and Commercial Strategy Chelsea Filley “What we hear from our guests is that clarity is the number one thing that is most important to them.”
Photo: DIsney
According to Filley, the new team is focused on big and small variables. The goal is to increase guests’ intent to return.
Leaning Into Their Core Audience
Disney World has implemented numerous changes based on recent guest feedback. These have included tweaks to the Lightning Lane system, upcoming entertainment additions to Disney’s Wilderness Lodge, Art of Animation, Pop Century, and Caribbean Beach Resort, and even the newly announced updates to Buzz Lightyear’s Space Ranger Spin.
“Our main focus right now is summer and young families. You think about these families with young kids and … our data tells us [they’ve] always been [our core],” Filley continued.
While Disney World has long collected data on consumer habits and guest satisfaction, the resort is clearly ramping up its efforts.
. (Olga Thompson, Photographer)
Through this feedback, Disney hopes to make The Most Magical Place on Earth more inviting than ever.
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