How to fix Disney's "weak teen market"

[wicked.witch.of.wdw]

So, my dad gets these magazines telling how the Walt Disney Company's doing economically, and I like to flip through them for information about new attractions and movies and stuff. One thing I've noticed is that a lot of issues mention how they can't seem to find anything to appeal to teenagers. So, I was planning on writing to them to tell them how to fix that, because Walt knows I can't find enough of my favorite Disney characters and movies around Disney Stores and parks! So, who's in the same boat as me, and what should I put in my letter?

More villains and the Hunchback of Notre Dame are definites, because they're my personal picks. Most of my friends prefer the villains over the princesses and heroes because they have more personality, better songs, etc, and HoND has a HUGE online fanbase (Google "hunchback of notre dame fansite," it'll give you TONS of stuff)

Btw, I'm well aware that this probably won't work, but what have I got to lose, really?

 

[I Am What I Am]

Have either Disney Channel or a new television station that broadcasts Disney shows from the 90s and Disney Renaissance and prior movies.

Just about all of the kids who watched these things growing up are now teenagers.

 

[mherzlovesdisney]

have a channel that plays the classics. i love them but havent seen them in forever. and the newer disney fans may not have seen them. id appauling how disneys classics have gotten overshadowed by the newer stuff( i don't think the new stuff is even that good)
and i agree with you on the first post. they need to have the villians walk around the park just like they do for the good guys. also they need to bring more characters out and more often. its now diffecult to find some characters. and once you do find them there is an hour long wait because the little kids all get their parents to stand in line 30 minutes before the character even comes out.

so all in all go back to the original disney not the modern stuff and bring out ouf favorite more often

sorrry for the rant. i love disney the way it is but improving it to fit everybody would be amazing

 

[Ppufi]

They either need more villians around, or a villian park. Darker, scary rides and coasters, spooky atmosphere, villian meet and greet, awesome villian merchandise and a cool themed restaurant. It still could be family friendly because I know at least when I was a kid I loved Halloween and spooky things. Disney needs the thrill draw that Universal currently has.

 

[HSMndLKfan92]

They either need more villians around, or a villian park. Darker, scary rides and coasters, spooky atmosphere, villian meet and greet, awesome villian merchandise and a cool themed restaurant. It still could be family friendly because I know at least when I was a kid I loved Halloween and spooky things. Disney needs the thrill draw that Universal currently has.

I definitely agree.

 

[¡WDW!girlrox(:]

They either need more villians around, or a villian park. Darker, scary rides and coasters, spooky atmosphere, villian meet and greet, awesome villian merchandise and a cool themed restaurant. It still could be family friendly because I know at least when I was a kid I loved Halloween and spooky things. Disney needs the thrill draw that Universal currently has.

 

[aquarhapsody]

I am a teenager, and can say that I would absolutely love it if the Disney Channel would play more classic Disney movies.

I don't want to watch those DCOM things, I'd much rather watch the Hunchback, Little Mermaid, or Lion King.
Even more Pixar would be good. They seem to be obsessed with playing Cars on that channel, and it's not my favorite.

Anyways, I wouldn't enjoy a villian park, WDW is perfect for me. They don't need to change for this teen. xD

 

[MickeyisBeast]

I think they should show Lizzie McGuire, That's so Raven, Kim Possible, etc.
I don't agree with the "there should be a villian park" I wouldn't like a villian park, I probably wouldn't enjoy going to it, I think if they were going to expand the villian stuff, they should expand it in DHS.

Honestly, I think Disney appeals perfectly to me the way it is

 

[wicked.witch.of.wdw]

Thanks, guys, keep the suggestions coming! I’m definitely noticing a lot of villain love, so that’ll definitely be hiiiigh on the list ^__^

Have either Disney Channel or a new television station that broadcasts Disney shows from the 90s and Disney Renaissance and prior movies.

Just about all of the kids who watched these things growing up are now teenagers.

DuckTales and Goof Troop pwned. That’s all I gotta say XD

have a channel that plays the classics. i love them but havent seen them in forever. and the newer disney fans may not have seen them. id appauling how disneys classics have gotten overshadowed by the newer stuff( i don't think the new stuff is even that good)

Ooh, definitely agree. It’s kind of pitiful that all of Walt Disney’s classics have been almost totally lost under a mess of Hannah Montana and HSM

and i agree with you on the first post. they need to have the villians walk around the park just like they do for the good guys. also they need to bring more characters out and more often. its now diffecult to find some characters. and once you do find them there is an hour long wait because the little kids all get their parents to stand in line 30 minutes before the character even comes out.

so all in all go back to the original disney not the modern stuff and bring out ouf favorite more often

sorrry for the rant. i love disney the way it is but improving it to fit everybody would be amazing

Honey, that’s not a rant, it’s truth <3 For all they complain about wanting more money from boys and teenagers, they really don’t make much of an effort to cater to anyone but girls ages 4-12, do they?

They either need more villians around, or a villian park. Darker, scary rides and coasters, spooky atmosphere, villian meet and greet, awesome villian merchandise and a cool themed restaurant. It still could be family friendly because I know at least when I was a kid I loved Halloween and spooky things. Disney needs the thrill draw that Universal currently has.

GUH. YES. I WOULD DIE FROM HAPPINESS. CAN’T YOU SEE MY CAPS LOCK OF JOY? I know I for one always preferred the thought of being an evil queen to being a princess—yeah, I had a thing for Ariel, but I’d still rather have been Ursula, or Maleficent to Aurora. I think a whole park would be overkill, but maybe a section of DHS (like, around Fantasmic) would work as long as they didn’t make it TOO scary for really little kids.

I am a teenager, and can say that I would absolutely love it if the Disney Channel would play more classic Disney movies.

I don't want to watch those DCOM things, I'd much rather watch the Hunchback, Little Mermaid, or Lion King.
Even more Pixar would be good. They seem to be obsessed with playing Cars on that channel, and it's not my favorite.

Absolutely. The one and only movie they play that isn’t a DCOM is Cars, and I think that’s ridiculous. It’s called the Disney channel, so why the lack of Disney magic?

 

[yellowlabforever]

Well I think that Disney should re-look at their tween market, and create something that everybody can enjoy (like Phineas and Ferb for example). Maybe have more of an outreach, like have a Disney Channel Blog like they do for the parks.

Shows wise, I loved all the old shows like Lizzie, Kim, The Jersey (anyone remember that?) etc... It seems like they are focusing too much on the "mary sue" characters. Lizzie McGuire was just a good show about a perfectly average girl.

Now going on this Mary Sue thing that the tweens seem to adore
-WoWP "Girl is a wizard, but she has to keep it secret, but only her best friend can know"
-HM "Girl is music pop star, but by day a normal girl. Somehow she manages to keep it all in balance"
-HSM "Basketball star suddenly ends up becoming a broadway star as well, and all his friends follow his lead"
-JONAS "Stars trying to be regular teens"
-SLOZC and SLOD "Twin boys having the gift of living in a hotel/boat, and choosing to cause mischief and nobody except Moseby seems to care"
-Sonny With a Chance "Girl gets to go on comedy set and be a TV star.

I do like Good Luck Charlie, it reminds me of the old 90s sitcoms like Full House (although I was a bit young to enjoy the show) and Phineas and Ferb is good as well, even with all the odd inventions.

But back in the day, even That's So Raven wasn't as Mary-Sue as some of these shows are. Yes, she was Physic. Did they make the whole show revolve around it? Somewhat. It was sort of the basis of the plot, but you saw maybe only one flashback, it wasn't the whole scene, and she tried to work around it so that it could or could not happen.

So what I'm trying to say is maybe have more shows with emotional depth, like a good drama series, or just a regular series for that matter. ABC family shows seem to be doing well for Teens, so why not make a show like that on Disney Channel? Or maybe a series like Degrassi that revolves around an entire town, not just one Mary-Sue and their special adventures.

And the Villain thing, it seems like they have more depth to their characters so maybe that's why Teens are drawn to them?

 

[-DisneyFreak-]

They either need more villians around, or a villian park. Darker, scary rides and coasters, spooky atmosphere, villian meet and greet, awesome villian merchandise and a cool themed restaurant. It still could be family friendly because I know at least when I was a kid I loved Halloween and spooky things. Disney needs the thrill draw that Universal currently has.

i absolutley LOVE this idea!

 

[wdi2b]

i think that disneys teen market can't really fly so high. if u ask kids why they don't like to go, they say bc disney is too childish. the only thing that i can think off is their teen clothing line... that might be the only way

 

[tumblrbailey]

More villains for sure. I agree with all the expanding HS ideas. And bringing back more 90's stuff. I think having more roller coasters would be cool. More high thrill type rides. Maybe in Epcot they could have a teenage version of the Kim Possible scavenger hunt. Where you have to like, find someone with the clue and talk to them or just make it harder. Where you have to go to all the countries. I know I would like somemore interactive things.

 

[chexie]

They either need more villians around, or a villian park. Darker, scary rides and coasters, spooky atmosphere, villian meet and greet, awesome villian merchandise and a cool themed restaurant. It still could be family friendly because I know at least when I was a kid I loved Halloween and spooky things. Disney needs the thrill draw that Universal currently has.

definitely add more roller coasters like rockin rollercoaster. alot of my friends would rather go to six flags or universal over WDW

 

[wdi2b]

six flags prices are about 1/10 the price of disney.

 

[Axel]

I don't care if they don't show the classic movies on TV, I own them all (pretty much, there are few exceptions) so I can watch them at my leisure.

I'd like to see more villains, but I don't think an entire villains park would be a good idea. HS has a good villains base, so I'd just expand on the theme there.

I'd love to see a channel that played the old cartoons, though. I mean I've got a good portion of them on DVD, but some stuff I don't have and I'd love to see again. Stuff like Duck Tales, Darkwing Duck, Chip 'n' Dale Rescue Rangers, Talespin, all of that I'd love to see more of. Even in the parks, too! I found Darkwing Duck once and that is definitely an awesome memory of mine! I remember meeting Kit and Launchpad as a kid and even then they were kind of rare to find.

Basically, I think they need to do some more "adult" stuff to get the teens back. Most teens I know don't want to watch the same recycled plot line with new musical numbers. They want drama and mystery and romance and stuff that blows up and people who actually get hurt. They want the hour-long drama of House and CSI:, not the half-hour cotton candy fluff that is Suite Life.

And honestly, they could stand with getting better actors. I'm not gonna watch a bunch of mediocre actors/actresses (or singers/musicians) on the Disney channel when I can go two up and watch re-runs of Law and Order and get some decent acting.

I mean, Disney's trying to make characters that teens can relate to, but they're failing at it because they can't do realistic. High school isn't a place where enemies suddenly like/put up with each other thanks to a couple shared musical numbers. And the music/theater kids (at least at my HS) are some of the most cutthroat people I know. They'll do whatever it takes to get what they want, not just make an offhanded comment about how they didn't really want the part and then walk away.

I pretty much do Disney for the parks and classic movies (and yeah, I do love some of the old Disney Channel Originals. Luck of the Irish is always a favourite. Halloweentown is a Halloween must-watch). That's it. I don't keep up with modern DC shows aside from the ads I see on park busses.

 

[Sparx]

i'm typing this on my dsi so i apologise for grammatical errors up front but i think disney is failing to create something kids can grow with. if you catch a fan when theyre young you have to work so much harder to create something dynamic that they can continue to relate to through middle, highschool and eventually ito college. have you ever noticed how old toys and themes and music keep cycling back onto toy shelves? its because parents are the main people buying toys. if my dad grew up watching star wars you better believe he will buy something for his children that reminds him of his star-wars-childhood. the same is true for disney. parents take children then tjose children grow up and take their children to relive memories of the parents childhood. but if disney could hold these kids they wouldnt be losing the adolescent years, because the kids wouldnt outgrow ddisney so they would have no reason to leave.

 

[LittleMissMusical]

remove disney channel from the park!!!!!!! i'm sick of hearing hannah montana in the magic kingdom!!!!!!!! i totally understand that they should sell merchandise, but don't incorperate it into the park!!!!

maybe follow suit of the cruise and somehow open up a teen hang out. i know the BC has mermaids which is used maybe four times a year, it could go there.

more thrill rides!!!! it's the only thing universal has over them!

redo pleasure island some how and allow kids +13 to attend. i'm not saying let them into bars, but some cool hang outs like the adventurers club.

i'm not into the villian thing as much, amybe cause i'm such a girlie girl and princess at heart...

 

[::Snow_White::]

Personally, I love to shop when I go to WDW so that's what my post will be about. I think the Villains clothing shop has gone way downhill since I was there in 2007. Half of the store doesn't even have villains and the part that does all it is is Jack skellington.
Last time I went they had Maleficent and everyone and it was really cool. I think they lack on that.

Along with it, kind of with what Shelby said, the only thing that I can think of that they still sell from awhile back is Toy Story, and that's because there has been additional movies. I wish they had more Peter Pan, little mermaid, snow white, and older movies merchandise for teens. Things like shirts, or keychains, purses, backpacks (Just NOT Disney couture, most people can't/won't afford all of that). Most of the princess things are aimed for little girls, and if they had adult shirts, heck yeah I'd buy one.

I feel like they don't think teens like cartoons or animation anymore (or at least the old stuff we used to watch) and aim it all towards children, but I don't think that's true. Just as the above poster said, they like princess. Why don't they have teen princess merchandise? I don't want DC things, I want original Disney movie merchandise. I'm not saying they're doing horrible, because they do have nice things, but most of the stuff I picked up was either all mickey mouse, or park specific. I didn't see any adult movie tees.

As for the rides, I'm okay with them as of now. I agree that they don't have as many thrill rides as they probably could. The only thrill rides are EE, TOT, & RnRC to me. It would be nice to see more, but I don't have too much of a problem with the rides. I guess I'll be in the minority and would like a villain park, but I would also love for them to expand it at DHS too.

I do think one thing that they are doing well is all the street performers and interactions at DHS. I adore sitting and watching the performers because they are so funny. And there is my opinion on all of this. lol.

 

[dancer4life22]

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