What Does the Future Hold for Disneyland?
Will Disneyland survive for another 70 years?
A different Disney journalist recently posed this question in an Orange County Register article.
Image: The Healthy Mouse
I don’t think anyone’s crystal ball is good enough to answer that question definitively, not even Madame Leota’s.
But the thought process here is interesting. What does the future hold for Disneyland?
Disneyland at 70
Disneyland Resort just turned 70 years old, which is a stunning feat.
When Disneyland opened, amusement parks were barely a thing, and only one other “theme park” existed.
Photo: Disney
That place, Santa Claus Land, technically still exists, but it was really more an extension of the city of Santa Claus, Indiana.
I don’t consider a toy store, a restaurant, and some farmland to be on the same level as Disneyland.
Photo: Disneyland
So, I think it’s fair to say that Disneyland has been doing this better and longer than anybody else in the business.
However, we should also be realistic that the business has changed. Here’s Robert Niles making his argument.
Photo: Downtown Disney
The article is paywalled, but I think you get some free articles each month. If not, the gist is simple.
The author believes that Disneyland faces an existential crisis of sorts due to several underlying issues.
What’s the Problem?
One involves the less family-centric nature of society, which is based in at least some fact.
In 1955, the average family included 3.59 children and usually had two parents as well.
Image Allan Grant / The LIFE Picture Collection via Getty
Nowadays, we have fewer children, with parents having an average of 1.94 children in 2023.
Notably, those numbers have ticked up from 2007, which was tied for the lowest year since 1960.
Photo: Disney
So, the trend was even worse 18 years ago, but it’s still valid. Similarly, Niles mentions the income divide.
I think we’d all agree that financial disparity remains a popular topic of conversation, although, as I’ve pointed out, it’s not new.
Photo: Disney
People were making the same claims in the 1990s. As proof, here’s a link.
And here’s a quote that will make you giggle: “noting that a single-day, adult admission ticket to the Magic Kingdom had increased to $38 from $18 a decade ago.”
As an FYI, $38 in 1994 is the equivalent of $83.84 today, which is slightly cheaper than Disneyland’s cheapest price today.
So, you can argue that the gap has grown bigger, although it hasn’t by a lot.
Photo:Disneycoupon.jpg
Basically, we’ve been in the same spot for at least 40 years in terms of the “Disney’s too expensive” debate.
There’s another question that I found interesting, as it ties into something I’ve often said:
Photo: Wikimedia
“Various discounts and pass programs have helped, but taking advantage of those requires advance planning that some families simply do not have the spare time to do.”
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At this point, you’re just making your life harder by trying to do this stuff yourself.
But those aren’t Niles’ only concerns…
Disneyland in the Digital Era
Photo: Disney
The author wonders about “disturbing trends in childhood development.”
No, this isn’t something ominous. It’s more of an honest evaluation that kids crave content.
Disney
Disney is in the business of “family togetherness,” according to Niles, and I would never argue the point.
So, yes, Disney is at a crossroads, and I understand why he’s questioning its future.
Disney
But here’s my counter. Disney is always at a crossroads. There’s no finish line for a business.
Since the company shouldn’t ever close, it must always adapt to changing circumstances.
(Christian Thompson/Disneyland Resort)
At Disneyland, park officials understand the dangers of resting on their laurels. So, they’re not doing that.
The entire point of the DisneylandForward campaign involved modernizing The Happiest Place on Earth.
Disney
Disney executives have understood for generations now that they face limitations caused at the start.
Walt Disney could barely afford the land he did buy, leaving all the surrounding area up for grabs.
Photo: Washington Post
Now that Disney as a company generates more than $90 billion in annual revenue, it can buy more.
That’s why Disney has acquired an entire street (and a half) from the city of Anaheim.
Photo: skillastics.com
It’s also why Disney will construct a new parking garage and transportation hub and rebalance the parks.
Currently, Disneyland Resort is doubling the attractions at Avengers Campus and creating an entirely new Avatar themed land.
Photo: Newsweek
That’s in addition to the Coco ride coming soon and other unannounced changes.
DisneylandForward listed 16 future attractions coming to The Happiest Place on Earth.
Therefore, the park itself is in good shape. This debate sounds more existential, though.
What Is Disneyland?
Photo: Playbuzz.com
Niles punctuates his argument by stating the following:
“Disneyland promotes itself as the happiest place on Earth.
(Paul Hiffmeyer/Disneyland Resort)
But the hard fact is that it might offer no appeal to new generations if they grow to prefer living in their own, isolated worlds.”
Realistically, and I think the author would acknowledge this, that statement is less about Disneyland and more about society.
We are witnessing a rather profound generational divide, one that stretches the limits of even Walt Disney’s Carousel of Progress.
In Walt’s lifetime, electricity went from being a scarce resource to readily available in homes.
A 30-year-old today has grown up with internet access for their entire lives and Wi Fi for as long as they can remember as well.
Now, the next generation of children will enjoy ready access to artificial intelligence, a historical first.
Photo:seoclerk.com
Will this new iteration of the Information Era make them more internal and less interested in experiences?
That’s a profound question I couldn’t possibly answer with certainty…but I will say this.
Photo:Rappler
Millennials and Zoomers haven’t run away from experiences. Oh, it’s quite the contrary.
This is the most experiential generation in American history. And there’s data to support that notion.
Photo: Computer Hope
Disney and Universal both changed the names of their theme park divisions to reflect this fact.
So, if anything, I believe that we need Disneyland now more than ever. Will that change by 2095?
How would I know? Few of us will be alive to know either way. But Mickey Mouse will survive.
I suspect that Disneyland will as well, even if it’s on Mars rather than in Anaheim.
Photo: MickeyBlog
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