The theme parks at Disneyland Resort and Walt Disney World are changing. Disney has announced several projects that will transform large areas at both theme park destinations, but the news comes at the cost of existing guest spaces. Those announcements have polarized the fan community. Is Disney being shortsighted? Or do guests have to accept Disney’s new vision for its parks?
The conversation about Disney’s long-term theme park plans came to a head with the announcement that the Rivers of America would be going away at Magic Kingdom. It accelerated further with the rumor that the new Monsters, Inc. land at Hollywood Studios could end Muppet*Vision 3D. While Disney hasn’t formally said where Monsters, Inc. is going, the discussion and announcements confirmed one thing to fans – no area or ride is safe.
This isn’t the first time Disney is replacing old theme park areas with something new. It has happened repeatedly. New Fantasyland, The Great Movie Ride, Universe of Energy, and Splash Mountain are just quick examples. But, the Rivers of America change in particular feels like a notable difference where Disney is fully abandoning ambiance and aesthetics in favor of what many believe is Disney’s current guiding light – revenue.
It’s objectively true that Tom Sawyer Island and The Liberty Square Riverboat aren’t the most popular attractions in Magic Kingdom. No one is going to argue that point. However, measuring attractions and areas in a theme park based strictly on popularity is nonsensical. Not every attraction needs to be an E-ticket. A good theme park needs a balance of E-tickets all the way down to relaxing, peaceful spaces. In the case of the Rivers of America, it thrived in adding atmosphere and nature to a park that has a ton of concrete spaces.
Every guest who walks by the Rivers of America sees value in it whether they know it or not. Walking alongside a beautiful river is much more pleasing than walking by a wall or an area of concrete. That’s a big perk for the Magic Kingdom even if no one makes the boat ride over to Tom Sawyer Island. We digress. We could spend a lot of time explaining why the Rivers of America – and even Muppet*Vision 3D – are experiences worth keeping.
The bigger picture is that Disney seems intent on optimizing its existing theme park spaces. And nothing, albeit a few exceptions, is safe or off the table. While there are some plans to build new and expand theme park boundaries, the plans for Cars attractions at Magic Kingdom, the Tropical Americas at Animal Kingdom, and Avatar at Disney California Adventure are replacements. Those plans will bring more modern characters, themes, and revenue possibilities.
Let’s use the Rivers of America change as an example. Sorry, we know we digressed, but this is the most clear example of what we feel is Disney’s modern theme park goals. The Rivers of America and Tom Sawyer Island aren’t generating direct streams of revenue. The new Cars land will add two attractions that can have paid Lightning Lanes, and add more spaces for merchandise and food and beverage kiosks. There’s obviously a lot more revenue opportunities with the Cars land than there is with Tom Sawyer Island and the Rivers of America.
Disney’s goal of increasing revenue per guest (and per square inch) is well documented. As attendance has dropped, Disney has been trying to offset everything with more spending per guest. Remember the “unfavorable attendance mix” comments? That’s where the addition of Lightning Lanes, and paid line-skipping services, has become the driving force in Disney’s theme park plans. New theme park concepts have to have a direct way to earn long-term income that justify their existence. Disney isn’t going to sign off on a new project that doesn’t have the support of the finance team.
In many ways, Disney is treating its theme parks like a retail store. The goal is to maximize revenue with all available space, just like a retailer would for all shelf and floor space. We can’t exactly fault them for that strategy given its success, but we lament that it comes at the expense of original, beloved, or even peaceful spaces.
Nostalgia isn’t safe at Disney’s parks. These are evolving, changing places. We could pull out several Walt Disney quotes that support the idea that the theme parks aren’t museums and should keep moving forward. That’s a tough pill to swallow for Disney fans who want to share their childhood memories with the next generation.
Of course, the overall vision and concept of the theme parks shouldn’t be lost even as the parks move forward. Whether or not Disney is succeeding at preserving the mission and vision is certainly up for debate.
We’ll be the first to admit we’ve been disappointed by some of Disney’s recent decisions. We’re team expansion, not replacement. Add, don’t replace. It’s always hard to see a ride or land close because we know it’s someone’s favorite spot in the park. We probably love Restaurantosaurus more than most (or anyone) and will miss it tremendously. Amazing theming and soundtrack!
Our advice is to enjoy a Disney theme park for what it is and not for what it was. Embrace the new and accept that the past isn’t coming back no matter how awesome or special it was. Easier said than done, obviously, but it helps make future enjoyment in the parks a lot easier. While we’d like to see the Cars rides go elsewhere, we know we’ll feel a lot better about it after seeing all the guests having a blast in the new area. There’s going to be a ton of very excited kids ready to enjoy everything Cars as soon as it opens.
Disney’s theme parks are changing. Older spaces are being removed for new and modern characters and attractions. Disney’s strategy is controversial, but we can’t wait to follow it and see how everything pans out with the benefit of hindsight.
