So I was just thinking (A dangerous past time, I know ♪) about how popular Disneyland is currently and about how a lot of folks think things would be better if someone like Walt (or at least someone with his philosophies) were back in charge of things.
For the sake of this discussion, let's pretend a portal in reality is torn open someplace in Anahiem and Walt is able to return. Let's also, for the sake of discussion assume that he comes in on a crowded, stressful day and decides to change things "for the better".
Whatever your personal belief that Walt would do, just imagine that he has done that (with the exception of growing outwards, being landlocked to it's location in Anahiem). *cue pixie dust* *poof* The park is now perfect in your mind.
Well, the park was crowded before while things maybe weren't so perfect and now, things in the park are even better. Somehow generations, nay, legions of fans more are now drawn to the property because of whatever improvements you've imagined in your mind (after all, if things are now truly better, why wouldn't they be?).
Walt is now faced with the dilemma of preserving the Guest experience while wrestling with the demand brought on by this point in time, Disneyland forced to bear the weight of it's own success. What seems like the logical solution? Probably capping attendance at a point where the Guest experience no longer suffers yet the parks still remain profitable. This brings up the conundrum of folks on Wall Street/Investors/etc. not liking that park profit is essentially capped on any given day but again, for the sake of discussion, let's pretend Walt is in charge and that doesn't concern him.
So Walt conducts his research, looks at the tech available today and arrives at the decision to make Disneyland entry by reservation only. Would you be opposed?
This is just the way of thinking that I arrived at. Obviously I don't know what Walt would really do in this situation but I wonder if folks out there would be open to the idea of reserving days for Disneyland in advance (a la the Flex pass and most likely paying upfront to avoid no-shows)?
State/National parks already do this. A weekend getaway to some requires you to select your campsite often 6 months in advance in order to secure time there. Would you be opposed to treating Disneyland any differently if it meant a perfect experience?
There are obviously some flaws to this, some might say it prevents some folks from visiting at all if they don't manage to secure a spot. Another issue might be innovation, because if the park is popular enough to book out say, a year's worth of time in advance, what motivation would there be to create many/if any new offerings during that time when you know your park is going to be at capacity all year either way? The park may become reactive instead of pro-active. A final issue might be dealing with the frustration of trying to get a reservation at all.
But I'm curious what you all think. Would you be opposed to Disneyland becoming a reservation-only type of experience in an effort to preserve the Guest experience? Another option might be to simply lower the cap on attendance but I feel like that would cause more confusion and disappointment among day Guests arriving at a shot into the park. What problems do you think this might cause? What would you do differently? Or, what do you think Walt might do given the troubles he would be forced to face today? Disneyland has created generations of fans and even it's current state it continues to. How do you think Walt, or how would you personally, handle the ever growing legions wanting to break down the gates for just a few minutes in the Happiest Place on Earth?
DISCLAIMER: I'd like to point out that no one in this thread really knows with 100% certainly what Walt would or wouldn't do. This is all just for-fun conjecture and opinions. Have some fun with it and respect others.
For the sake of this discussion, let's pretend a portal in reality is torn open someplace in Anahiem and Walt is able to return. Let's also, for the sake of discussion assume that he comes in on a crowded, stressful day and decides to change things "for the better".
Whatever your personal belief that Walt would do, just imagine that he has done that (with the exception of growing outwards, being landlocked to it's location in Anahiem). *cue pixie dust* *poof* The park is now perfect in your mind.
Well, the park was crowded before while things maybe weren't so perfect and now, things in the park are even better. Somehow generations, nay, legions of fans more are now drawn to the property because of whatever improvements you've imagined in your mind (after all, if things are now truly better, why wouldn't they be?).
Walt is now faced with the dilemma of preserving the Guest experience while wrestling with the demand brought on by this point in time, Disneyland forced to bear the weight of it's own success. What seems like the logical solution? Probably capping attendance at a point where the Guest experience no longer suffers yet the parks still remain profitable. This brings up the conundrum of folks on Wall Street/Investors/etc. not liking that park profit is essentially capped on any given day but again, for the sake of discussion, let's pretend Walt is in charge and that doesn't concern him.
So Walt conducts his research, looks at the tech available today and arrives at the decision to make Disneyland entry by reservation only. Would you be opposed?
This is just the way of thinking that I arrived at. Obviously I don't know what Walt would really do in this situation but I wonder if folks out there would be open to the idea of reserving days for Disneyland in advance (a la the Flex pass and most likely paying upfront to avoid no-shows)?
State/National parks already do this. A weekend getaway to some requires you to select your campsite often 6 months in advance in order to secure time there. Would you be opposed to treating Disneyland any differently if it meant a perfect experience?
There are obviously some flaws to this, some might say it prevents some folks from visiting at all if they don't manage to secure a spot. Another issue might be innovation, because if the park is popular enough to book out say, a year's worth of time in advance, what motivation would there be to create many/if any new offerings during that time when you know your park is going to be at capacity all year either way? The park may become reactive instead of pro-active. A final issue might be dealing with the frustration of trying to get a reservation at all.
But I'm curious what you all think. Would you be opposed to Disneyland becoming a reservation-only type of experience in an effort to preserve the Guest experience? Another option might be to simply lower the cap on attendance but I feel like that would cause more confusion and disappointment among day Guests arriving at a shot into the park. What problems do you think this might cause? What would you do differently? Or, what do you think Walt might do given the troubles he would be forced to face today? Disneyland has created generations of fans and even it's current state it continues to. How do you think Walt, or how would you personally, handle the ever growing legions wanting to break down the gates for just a few minutes in the Happiest Place on Earth?
DISCLAIMER: I'd like to point out that no one in this thread really knows with 100% certainly what Walt would or wouldn't do. This is all just for-fun conjecture and opinions. Have some fun with it and respect others.
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