The scan is from the Art of Walt Disney World Resort. This was a study for Disney’s Yacht Club. It was done by R. Tom Gilleon in 1986.

There is the woke and grooming element of the Walt Disney Company but this post is more about the decline of the theme parks. My own personal boycott of the Walt Disney Company remains in effect¹ too.

Before the pandemic and the Biden Price Hike (via inflation) the parks were on the decline from a quality/value versus price perspective. I can speak with authority on this topic because prior to the pandemic I was at WDW every other year and recorded a precipitous drop in the quality of the parks. The magic (quality) was always a differentiator for Disney but how many articles have been published the last two years with a headline about the magic being gone? They have ruthlessly cut the entertainment and entertainers and new offerings are done cheaply and without any substantial storytelling/theming. When we were last there in September 2019 the transportation system was pathetic (dirty monorails, fewer buses, etc.). Disney has also retired the very popular Magical Express. It feels like the cost cutting and price increases have only accelerated as the company recovers from the pandemic.

Day Planning
On one hand their ads talk about removing the stress and complexity of planning but the experience and reality are completely different. YOU will spend a considerable amount of your “vacation” engaged in queue management which requires your face to be stitched to a screen. It’s also more expensive than the older more democratized version of FASTPASS which has been superseded by pay-to-play schemes. Disney has an experience for every income level but the model has been supercharged with a labyrinth of options designed to vacuum every penny from your wallet. Unfortunately they have achieved this sorcery without materially boosting the experience. They also seem to be targeting guests with much, much, much higher incomes. The irony is the super “woke” and affluent crowd they covet has traditionally considered the product uncultured and boorish.

Hide the Decline
After Jack Welch (Neutron Jack) retired from GE the new CEO Jeffrey Immelt cozied up to the Obama Administration. I think Immelt did this, in part, so he wouldn’t have the pressure of outperforming Neutron Jack. This is similar to Bob Chapek hiding the decline at the Walt Disney Company behind social justice causes. Does the “woke” get worse now that inflation is going to squeeze theme park attendance or are there enough childless blue haired weirdos to fill the parks? How do they retcon attractions that have typically celebrated the American spirit without alienating more than half the country? The SJWs who have infiltrated the ranks of management at Disney have convinced the C-suite execs that twitter is represents majority opinion. This is a fever that needs to break to stop guests from running for the exit turnstiles.

¹Excludes Kingdom Hearts since this is more Square Enix and Tetsuya Nomura than Disney.

Related
Guess Which Theme Parks Are Conspicuously Missing From USA Today’s Top 10 List? (PJ Media)
Here’s How Americans Are Downgrading Their Summer Vacations Due To Inflation (Forbes)
Nolte: Pro-Grooming Disney’s Favorability Rating Plummets 53 Points In One Year (Breitbart)
Disney World Now Charges for Parking at Hotels, Decreasing Their Value (Frommer’s)