Disney’s Future Park Plans Revealed
Sometimes, we get so focused on the minutiae of theme parks that we miss the forest for the trees.
I’m as guilty of this habit as anyone. Disney theme parks offer so many new experiences that it’s a balancing act to prioritize them all.
Photo: Disney
Lately, we’ve discussed all the exciting new activities like Disneyland 70, EPCOT’s upcoming Food & Wine Festival, and Magic Kingdom’s Halloween Party.
But all of these marvelous events will occur this year. We need to pay attention to what’s happening down the road, too.
Here are some future Disney plans for its theme parks based on comments by the people in charge.
Disney Wants to Gamify the Parks
In March, Bloomberg published a (paywalled) story about Disney Experiences Chairman Josh D’Amaro.
Last week, D’Amaro appeared with his boss, Disney CEO Bob Iger, during a CNBC interview about the parks.
Photo: Getty
Then, D’Amaro performed a Q&A session at the MoffettNathanson Media, Internet and Communications Conference.
While the executive would never admit it, he’s currently campaigning to succeed Iger as CEO.
(Photo by Hou Yu/China News Service/VCG via Getty Images)
For this reason, D’Amaro has been unusually forthcoming about his future projects, wanting to establish his resume for Wall Street investors.
Many of these people are friends of James Gorman, the Chairman of the Board at Disney who will ultimately determine the company’s next CEO.
Photo:Morgan Stanley
One of D’Amaro’s biggest pushes involves gaming. The executive knows that the next generation of tourists have video games in their blood.
They were raised on Mario, Sonic, and Halo. Not coincidentally, films and television series based on those stories have proven wildly successful.
(Photo by Tobias SCHWARZ / AFP) (Photo credit should read TOBIAS SCHWARZ/AFP via Getty Images)
So, D’Amaro wants to marry everyone’s love of gaming with their theme park visits as well as other Disney branded interactions.
According to Bloomberg, Disney is currently “working on games and social experiences connected to Disney’s brands.”
Photo: Universal
The company isn’t ready to divulge details yet, but we can draw some vague conclusions from elsewhere.
Universal Epic Universe opens next week. It’ll feature interactive elements, giving park guests the chance to score points during their visit.
Simultaneously, Disney will plus Buzz Lightyear’s Space Ranger Spin to make it more modern. Let’s be clear.
They’re going to gamify it even more than it already was. And I’m happy about that because I always lose on the current version.
Disney Parks Will Embrace Technology
In 2009, Disney went all-in on MyMagic+, spending an estimated $1 billion to modernize its American theme parks.
Later, during the pandemic, the company gained an unprecedented opportunity to reevaluate its technological infrastructure.
Photo:Disneycoupon.jpg
Nobody at Disney wanted that, and it cost them billions of dollars in lost revenue, but it happened. And there was an unexpected benefit.
When the pandemic ended, Disney suddenly possessed a treasure trove of newfound data it could mine to maximize revenue.
Not coincidentally, the parks have experienced quarter after quarter of near-record operating income.
Disney got smarter, and it made more money in the process.
Cosmic Rewind line
Now, leadership possesses a fuller understanding of how people experience the parks. The company has weaponized this information for greater profits.
So, park planners are incentivized to make theme parks as technologically advanced as possible. When Disney does, it makes more money.
That’s why you should pay attention to a quote from Disney’s press release regarding Disneyland Abu Dhabi.
“As our seventh theme park destination, it will rise from this land in spectacular fashion, blending contemporary architecture with cutting-edge technology to offer guests deeply immersive entertainment experiences in unique and modern ways.”
What could that mean? Think Unreal Engine. I’m dead serious.
Yes, Disney Theme Parks Will Use Unreal Engine
Photo: Disney, Epic Games
Disney already uses it for certain movies and television series, and it recently acquired an ownership stake in Epic Games, the creators of Unreal.
Now, CNET is reporting that Unreal Engine could “fuse characters and stories into its attractions.”
I presume that means more digital displays throughout the parks, introducing an unprecedented level of immersion.
However, I’m also allowing for the possibility that it may mean holograms.
In case you’re unfamiliar with Unreal Engine, it’s a computer graphics game engine that has since escaped into the wild.
Now, you’ll find the Unreal Engine used to make The Mandalorian. Here’s Jon Favreau explaining “wall technology.”
You can let your mind roam on how this sort of innovation could elevate a theme park visit.
Personally, the whole thing reminds me of the daring vision of Ralph Breaks the Internet, an okay movie with some incredible ideas.
By the time Disneyland Abu Dhabi opens, some of this stuff shouldn’t be that far-fetched.
Since Disney owns ten percent of Epic Games already, it can get this technology for cheaper than anybody else could
Disney Parks Will Move Indoors
Photo: Disney
About a year ago, I wrote this article pondering whether Disney should prioritize indoor attractions.
What I was really saying at the time was, “Disney, you should prioritize indoor attractions.”
Magic Kingdom crowds on August 7th
While I listed several reasons why the company should, Occam’s Razor applies. It’s the heat.
The world is becoming hotter, with 2023 registering the hottest day on record…multiple times.
And then 2024 registered the hottest day on record…multiple times.
That pattern isn’t going away, and Disney park planners must adapt to a changing world. And they apparently are. Here’s a video:
At the 8:10 mark, Mohamed Abdalla Al Zaabia, the CEO of Miral, flatly states that Disneyland Abu Dhabi will be indoors.
Forbes
From a Disney perspective, that means Miral will pay Imagineers to create an entirely new set of theme park attractions, all of which are indoors.
Disney can then turn around and duplicate the attractions at its American parks for much cheaper since it has saved all R&D expenses.
Effectively, Disney has found someone else to pay it to do the R&D work on indoor attractions that it needed to do anyway. That’s a masterstroke.
More importantly for the sake of this discussion, Disney is already strategizing a theme park future where new attractions are mostly indoors.
I doubt that anything changes in the short term at the American parks, where we already know several outdoor attractions are in progress.
However, I fully expect temperature considerations to influence future projects, the majority of which I expect to be indoors.
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Feature Photo: Disney
