Give Disney Credit for Trying

I’ve seen and heard the complaints. I understand the concerns.

Many of you worry that history will repeat itself during theme park expansion.

You believe that Disney will cut corners, just as they did with Disney’s Animal Kingdom, Disney California Adventure, and EPCOT.

Well, I’m starting to think Disney has learned from past mistakes.

Even if they haven’t, at a minimum, we should give Disney credit for trying.

I’m saying this because some recent theme park decisions have impressed me. Let’s discuss.

The Successful Changes

Historically, Disney hasn’t done well with many of its re-themes.

Sure, Frozen Ever After proved triumphant, and we’re all big fans of Mickey & Minnie’s Runaway Railway.

I’d also like to give a shout out to some Marvel rides: the Incredicoaster, Guardians of the Galaxy: Cosmic Rewind and Mission: BREAKOUT!.

So, that’s five reboots over the past decade that have gone quite well.

Before then, we had a lot more instances like the Journey into Imagination mess and the failure of Enchanted Tiki Room.

If you didn’t live through the trauma of Under New Management, consider yourself lucky.

Let’s just say that Disney hasn’t always gotten it right when they’ve tried to “improve” something.

Well, that changed in 2024, as Disney legitimately made a show better.

Country Bear Jamboree had previously been one of the lowest-rated show-based attractions at Magic Kingdom.

After Disney reinvented the story as Country Bear Musical Jamboree, it became a top-six attraction at Magic Kingdom.

I shouldn’t need to remind you of this, but Magic Kingdom is THE most popular theme park on the planet.

For a show to be more popular than most of the rides there is quite the accomplishment.

Disney had previously tried something similar with the Finding Nemo show at Disney’s Animal Kingdom.

While the move wasn’t anywhere near as successful as Country Bear Musical Jamboree, it largely worked.

Finding Nemo: The Big Blue…and Beyond is working well enough at the park. It’s much more of a draw than its predecessor.

The Fear of History Repeating Itself

When you study the totality of these moves, independent of what you think of any of them, the picture grows quite clear.

Disney obviously has a list of attractions it considers either outdated or unpopular.

Now, the company is finally doing something about them. And we’ve seen this behavior previously.

Remember that Disney spent the body of the 2010s reinventing its weakest theme parks.

Disney California Adventure spent more than $1 billion creating Radiator Springs.

Then, the park committed to Marvel and Pixar brands to enhance tourist appeal.

Disney’s Animal Kingdom added Avatar, while Disney’s Hollywood Studios opened Toy Story and Star Wars in consecutive years.

Last year, EPCOT completed its total reimagining wherein Disney split the outdated Future World into three themed lands.

To my constant frustration, this is one of the most underreported stories about Disney theme parks.

Disney has somehow telegraphed all these changes, yet the media doesn’t tell this story often. And we all know why.

When Bob Chapek became head of Disney, the pandemic gave him an excuse to cut the budget on various projects.

Chapek wasn’t the first Disney CEO to do this, nor will he be the last.

Whenever I write about the history of Disney, it’s a recurring theme.

We’re all still waiting for Beastly Kingdom at Animal Kingdom and, after more than 25 years, I’m starting to think it’s not coming.

Disney’s Hollywood Studios offered only a couple of rides when it debuted due to a corporate feud between Disney and MGM.

Even at Disneyland, Walt Disney could barely afford to pay for the pavement and sold partial ownership to ABC for a cash infusion.

Things happen, and Disney grows cash-poor. Traditionally, such scenarios have led to budget cuts at the parks.

Have a Little Faith

Now, we’ve got some genuinely strange stuff happening with the American and global economies, neither of which has fully recovered from the pandemic.

From 2021-2024, the United States was actually doing better than virtually every other country. Did it ever feel that way?

And that was the ongoing frustration before the current batch of nonsense.

So, I fully understand why everyone is braced for the worst as Disney preps for $42 billion in Disney Experiences investments.

Here’s the thing, though. The writing is on the walls about Disney’s approach.

Disney has cut its investment budget in streaming, and the theme parks division appears to be reaping the rewards.

Currently, Disney has not only broken ground on promised projects but even announced some unexpected ones.

Most recently, Magic Kingdom confirmed that Buzz Lightyear’s Space Ranger Spin will undergo refurbishment.

Imagineers plan to modernize the attraction while adding entirely new elements.

Disney will do this while working on Test Track 3.0 and the track update at Big Thunder Mountain Railroad.

Similarly, the former Little Mermaid show at Hollywood Studios will reopen in a new form this summer.

The totality of these endeavors shouldn’t be lost on you. Disney is taking every perceived weakness and turning it into a strength.

With the benefit of hindsight, Country Bear Musical Jamboree and the Finding Nemo show were the first two examples of this.

Everyone’s worried about which things Disney will cut even as park officials announce additional improvements.

You should trust your eyes here and have a little faith in Disney.

The Totality of Park Improvements

To prove my point, let’s think about what Disney has announced over the last 18 months.

Animal Kingdom will close DinoLand U.S.A. soon, with some attractions already shut down.

The replacement, the Tropical Americas, sounds night and day better than what it is currently, Disney’s worst themed land.

Simultaneously, Disney is rebooting the former show, It’s a Bug’s Life!, into a Zootopia story.

That’s in addition to the recent Finding Nemo show update. In totality, you can appreciate how much Disney will change here.

We’re witnessing such alterations across Disney’s American theme parks, as demonstrated at Magic Kingdom.

The re-theme of Buzz Lightyear wasn’t on anyone’s bingo card, yet it makes perfect sense.

This ride is outdated, yet it’s a key part of a themed land named Tomorrowland. Does that sound right?

So, Disney will modernize the ride. You can think of the next version of Buzz Lightyear as a remake of the original game akin to Resident Evil 4 Remake.

In the gaming industry, remakes like this are all the rage as they’re cheap to do yet satisfying to gamers.

That same philosophy applies at Disney theme parks, which raises questions about other attractions Disney should update.

I’ll discuss that in a later article, but you understand the underlying point.

When you criticize a Disney park or attraction, park officials are listening now more than ever.

You may not believe that, but I’ll close with a final example.

Lightning McQueen’s Racing Academy was relatively new yet unpopular.

Disney listened to the complaints of guests, closed the show, and will replace it with Disney Villains: Unfairly Ever After.

Final Thoughts

I haven’t mentioned Disney Experiences Chairman Josh D’Amaro yet in this article, but his fingerprints are everywhere.

Here’s someone who cares about the parks and is sensitive to all viable criticism.

D’Amaro has seemingly made it his mission in the 2020s to improve all perceived theme park weaknesses.

Buzz Lightyear is merely the latest example that D’Amaro and Disney are trying to perfect your next theme park vacation.

At a minimum, you have to give them credit for trying.

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