It's safe to say that a trip to the Disney Parks isn't what it was ten or even five years ago. As the kingdom has evolved with the times, many guests feel that the classic Disney magic is slowly draining away.
This isn't the first time Disney has been called out on matters like overcrowding, lacking maintenance, and price-gouging tickets, but it's becoming evident that the problem is snowballing harder and harder. One mom and former Disney employee shared her thoughts on the subject, and it looks bad for the company.
The kingdom crumbles...
@theandreacarolina, like many TikTok users, shared her thoughts after a recent trip to Disney. In the video, she goes into great detail on how guests are rude, there is little park upkeep, and the cast members are incredibly miserable, going on to state the magic is "just not there."
In her official description, she shares the following statement.
"I used to work at Disney and I’ve always been about it. But lately I don’t feel they are living up to the standards and expectations they’ve served for decades. Don’t even get me started on lightning lanes."
This creator is one of hundreds (including this writer) who believe that Disney has strayed away from its once-stellar standards, and things have drastically changed at Disneyland and The Walt Disney World Resort. The problem is, even the company's best and brightest can't narrow it down to a single issue.
Rides need upkeep, cast members need to be thoroughly compensated, and Disney needs to relearn how to put guest experiences first. Ordering food and getting Fast Passes and Lightning Lanes on your phone aisgreat, but that should be the extent of things.
One detail pointed out in the video is that Disney doesn't feel like an escape anymore, and that's one of the biggest issues facing the American parks today. If Disney doesn't do something about it soon, it's going to make their parks like every other garden-variety amusement park.
"Here you leave today and enter a world of yesterday, tomorrow, and fantasy" are the words inscribed on the Magic Kingdom's entrance, and if guests can't get that experience, what's the point? While technology and constant phone dependence play a big part, a lot of Disney's current problems is that dwindling immersion.
When @theandreacarolina says that Disney is giving "Universal energy," she means that its giving the same aura that Universal Studios gave before the inclusion of areas like the Wizarding World. It's become unfocused and overcrowded.
With the recent addition of the Epic Universe, Universal Studios is running circles around Disney and beating it at an art form it created. Not since the World of Avatar has Disney brought us something that size, and the need is growing more and more dire.
Hopefully, the new additions coming to the Magic Kingdom, like the Villains expansion, will generate a creative catalyst. However, it looks like Disney will have to learn a very hard lesson in the meantime.
Do you think the magic is gone?