If you ran Walt Disney World...

[LittleDreamer]

“What if you ran the parks?”
Asked young Gerald McGrew
“I’m sure it would be a lark,
but what you would do?”

“Restaurants, Resorts, Rides,
there is so many choices…
Let’s not be shy
raise your voices.”

“Doesn’t matter if they are big or small,
let’s hear those ideas, lets hear them all.”

I’m curious what DISers would do if they were in charge of Disney. Trying to keep the post from getting long let us keep it to 3 or less things. Here are my top 3:

1. Improve the maintenance schedule. Every time a ride breaks down the wait times for the rest of the day around the park go up. Since FP+ cannot adapt like the old FP system i think it’s become more obvious. The rides seem to break down often, it could be an issue of age but if failure rate could be minimized with a better maintenance and refurb schedule they should go for that.
   
   
2. Food Services shake up. While Disney is starting to diversify and try new things when it comes to food, I want them to go further. In an attempt to improve quality I would switch up teams, such as flipping head chefs and management from Crystal Palace and Hollywood and Vine. I think quality issues need to be address first but I have many other desires when it comes to food. Such as, if they don’t already, quarterly/semi annual competitions for sou and line chefs to create new dishes.
   
   
3. Increase Imagineering Orlando operation. This is mostly guessing but it seems like Imagineering in Orlando is focused on show/entertainment and operations. I’ve heard it said many times that being able to go into the parks and see guests is great for Imagineers. If there is a limited creative team here in orlando I think missing that anecdotal experiences can hurt the parks. I dream that if Imagineering in orlando had a stronger creative voice we could see more care and attention in Walt Disney World.

 

[MrKnight]

Here goes! In no specific order:

1. FIX Future World at Epcot. This entire area needs some major TLC, creativity and money needs to be poured into FW to bring it back to what it once was, an innovative forward-thinking land, not an outdated concrete shell of closed attractions and half-empty buildings as it is now.. And please note that I say all of this as a loyal Epcot fan who cares very much about this park and will always consider it my favorite WDW park..

2. Increase Wages for CMs.. As a former WDWCM I have to list this for the thousands of hard working CMs working tirelessly day after day, night after night, holiday after holiday, serving millions each year! As much as I love WDW, unfortunately the company has a track record of being one of the lowest paying employers in the region, very sad considering the company's sky high profit line..

3. Create an alternative to FP+ and ADR.. I am talking a SECOND option to the existing system as I know Disney already invested billions into the current system.. A second choice that would allow more flexibility specifically for local AP holders that make spur of the moment visits the parks and would like to be able to enjoy the same attractions and restaurants as those that planned vacations a lifetime ago (exaggeration lol).. Table Service restaurants should leave aside X amount of tables available for same-day walk-in or booking instead of pre-booking every restaurant to 100% capacity at every park leaving zero options for same-day dining..

 

[CampbellzSoup]

Cast members need to be payed more I'm sorry but they do...the level of expectations and standards they have to abide by without the compensation to merit it is ridiculous.

Also Epcot - the future world pavilion needs to be redone. I would like some more glit to it - if it's suppose to be he way we SAW the future that's fine. However, lets spruce it up a bit...

Also I would have some kind of reward level and special events for fans who come a lot. Sorta as an appreictaion for the fans.

 

[pjweaver]

Gordon Ramsey and Robert Irvine would have a reality show where each week they compete to fix two TS restaurants. This could last three or four seasons. Round one is Tony's Town Square vs Coral Reef.

Every ride or attraction gets a 3 day rehab or refresh every 6 months.

ADRs would be available on a sliding scale. 30% at 180 days out, 30% at 90 days out, 20% at 30 days, and 20% at 24 hours out.

Dining success sharing instituted, where all employees get a quarterly bonus based on the restaurants performance, ratings, and improvement. Same for resort and concession CMs.

 

[PACVII]

First expand the monorail (or some kind of people mover) to all the parks including Disney Springs (and water parks) with all deluxe resorts. Then would look to give EPCOT lots of attention, like finally put that country into the African outpost holding slot. Last would look to expand the two water parks with a few more rides and attractions.

 

[SplashMo]

Clearly fix FP+ and the CS options in DHS and MK. Replace Dinosaur ride with Indy. Add another blockbuster ride to Epcot and DHS.

 

[PoohBelle]

Gordon Ramsey and Robert Irvine would have a reality show where each week they compete to fix two TS restaurants. This could last three or four seasons. Round one is Tony's Town Square vs Coral Reef.

I LOVE this idea.

 

[Optimouse Prime]

Admittedly, my interest isn't too much in the more administrative end of things... I'd probably be the Walt type who'd need a Roy to rein in my crazy ideas. That being said, here's a few things that come to mind.

1. Address Future World in Epcot. As someone who loves this area, I think it could and SHOULD be so much more. Future World should push innovation, and not just if you found a way to revive the Communicore/Innoventions concept. The attractions should push technology in new directions, so I'd look at not just creating new attractions but revamping old ones to take advantage of new technology. I'd also focus on finding a way to unite what Future World is, and be absolutely certain about what the story it's trying to tell is. If there are going to be characters in Epcot, make sure they're characters that make sense there. I like Tomorrowland as a time capsule of what we thought the future might be, but Future World should show us what it WILL be.

2. Not limit innovation to the attractions. Listening to the episode about the history of the Haunted Mansion and learning there was once talk of a haunted restaurant makes me wonder what that would be like today, or what if you tried to take the gift shop outside of Pirates and tried to make it really feel like a seaside trading port? Sure, this is the sort of thing that's being talked about with the immersion in the two new Hollywood Studios lands, but there's no reason to not try and apply it to the other parks and lands as well.

3. Challenge food service to step up their game. Not only do I think there shouldn't be a bad place to eat in the park, I don't think there should be a mediocre place, either. And I'd really think outside the box for this one. We want to open a Mexican restaurant on property? Find a small, hole in the wall type place that's doing amazing food and recruit them to run it. What if an eatery on property served a handful of guest selected items from Food and Wine, with that selection changing every year? I don't know if any of that is remotely plausible, but why not give it a shot.

4. Tie in achievements to Magic Bands. I think this would actually be huge and a lot of fun for guests, since it's already a big thing in the gaming world. And these could be anything, from just riding an attraction to getting a daily high score in Midway Mania or even more specific things, like riding Mine Train during the fireworks show. This might even have a side benefit of pulling people to attractions they might not normally visit, if they need to get that missing achievement. This might be a tough one to do, but I just think it would engage guests in a completely new way.

Again, most of this is probably not remotely realistic, but that's the fun thing about pretending, you don't have to let that pesky realism ruin the fun.

 

[PoohBelle]

4. Tie in achievements to Magic Bands. I think this would actually be huge and a lot of fun for guests, since it's already a big thing in the gaming world. And these could be anything, from just riding an attraction to getting a daily high score in Midway Mania or even more specific things, like riding Mine Train during the fireworks show. This might even have a side benefit of pulling people to attractions they might not normally visit, if they need to get that missing achievement. This might be a tough one to do, but I just think it would engage guests in a completely new way.

Like this one two. So many creative people on this site

 

[sunshine1]

Up the wages for the cast members. First and foremost.

Bring back furry characters in town square as they were in 2003. There were characters everywhere!

 

[dogdangling]

1 - Increase the monorail to the resorts / other parks.

2 - Extend park hours for the early risers. Why not a 7am start at the parks?, I start work at 6am and surely a midnight finish till 6am is enough time to get the park clean and washed for the next day. Extra hours would hopefully mean better availability.

3 - More cast members at the exit of rides to assist people getting off the rides, space mountain is a prime example, get people off the rides in a timely manner and get the car ready for the next guest, thus improving the throughput of the ride.

I could not resist one more - BAN TOUR GROUPS lol

 

[KingLlama]

First thoughts that popped in my head, so they won't be nearly as creative as some of the cool proposals others have made:

I'll do it park by park. Epcot is on the brain first...

EPCOT:
1. Find something, ANYTHING, as a way to repurpose the dead space known as Odyssey Restaurant and Wonders of Life. It annoys me to no end that those two buildings sit there virtually unused. Surely SOMEONE can think of another cool Future World attraction. Then use the other defunct building for your special events. But I hate all that dead space.
2. Redo Imagination as an "Inside-Out" themed attraction. It needs some TLC anyway, so why not update it with one of the best movies Pixar has ever produced, which just so happens to be perfectly suited for it? Maybe Figment meets Joy, Sadness, etc.?
3. It's time for an Australia pavilion. I know that there are hoops to jump through regarding adding a new pavilion, but it's one area of the world which is grossly under-represented in the parks. And besides....if Jes is happy, I'm happy.
4. I know we've been harping on Epcot restaurants a lot lately, but the most disappointing menu to me is at the American pavilion. American food is more than just burgers and fries. Make it a true representation of the different American cuisines. Put some jambalaya on there. A Philly cheesesteak. Some low country shrimp and grits. Barbecue. Make it a true mosaic of American dishes, instead of what you ASSUME guests will think of when they think of American food.

Okay those are the first things that popped in my head about Epcot. May add more as I think of them...

 

[TheMaxRebo]

Gordon Ramsey and Robert Irvine would have a reality show where each week they compete to fix two TS restaurants. This could last three or four seasons. Round one is Tony's Town Square vs Coral Reef.

I think that is a really cool idea, though doubt it would ever work as that would take Disney admitting they need to fix a number of restaurants ... and focusing on "bad" things at Disney is not something they want to do

I could see something like if they were to add a restaurant or just flat out change one that they could have a reality competition of people pitching ideas and proving they would run it up to Disney standards, etc.

So, not to "Fix Tony's" but rather a new and exciting restaurant is coming!!!!

and seeing @KingLlama 's thought to redo the restaurant in the American pavilion, maybe that could be one to redo ... have like Tim Love, John Besh, Emerl Lagasse, etc. compete to take over that restaurant

 

[TheMaxRebo]

So some thoughts from my end, as I find this type of thinking very entertaining ...

1) First and foremost they need to up the maintenance efforts in WDW. I recall visiting as a child and my Mom loving to go to Disney World because "it is so clean!" - not sure she would still feel the way. Thinking back to how everything needed to be perfect for the "show" for Walt, I think he'd be ashamed of how things currently are. This especially goes for the monorail! (Pete: "and the damn bathrooms!!!!")

2) Some way to increase cast member attitudes and performance. They definitely don't have it easy with the way a lot of guests can be (or at least the squeaky wheels trying to get the attention) but still, they used to be such a differentiator for Disney. Not sure if simply increasing their pay is what will do it though - personally I think the training you get at Disney is invaluable for your career so ok with your starting point being on the lower end (say $10/hour) but then once you prove you are a valuable asset for Disney they should look to pay those CM's more. Some way to ensure they keep the best and weed out those that aren't

3) Do something about the crowds. Whether this is a 5th gate or reducing the max capacity for the parks or whatever, it just isn't a fun experience dealing with hoards of people and I think that adds to a lot of the other issues (or at least escalates them) with rude guests and cutting in at Fireworks, etc. ... if there was space for everyone and people got on 90% of the attractions they wanted and could get into restaurants when they wanted, etc. it would ease things. Not sure exactly what I would do about this but I would look at a 5th gate, expanding other areas that can absorb people (the Boardwalk, etc.), lengthening park hours so people who are willing to go in the middle of the night to avoid crowds and heat can, etc.

 

[EricInPA]

Gordon Ramsey and Robert Irvine would have a reality show where each week they compete to fix two TS restaurants. This could last three or four seasons. Round one is Tony's Town Square vs Coral Reef.

The problem with Gordon and Robert fixing restaurants is they eventually leave... and the restaurants they fix still fail at lot of the time anyway.

The only thing I would want would be longer park hours by default. The extreme early and late hours could serve some different demographics.

 

[LittleDreamer]

I'm glad to hear the suggestions of higher pay for cast members. I was a little afraid if I posted this on a travel board, "lower prices" would be the top response.

In regards to Epcot, I think most fans agree that it needs updating and Marty Sklar seemed to hint it was in the pipeline. It seems Disney fans are in an optimistic state since the announcement of Star Wars Land.

 

[shanethesaint88]

First order of business would be to completely update all attractions. I mean in look, functionality, and safety. Some of theses rides need are looking pretty rough and break down quite often (looking at you buzz lightyear)

Next I would redo FP+ to be just like the old system except now with your magic band instead of paper fast passes. Sorry guys you would have to be running for those toy Story FP again. I would also remove rides that don't need a fast pass such as any of the shows, spaceship earth etc.

And lastly I would extend traditions to be what it used to be and insert a policy that gives managers the right to get rid of cast members who do not show the Disney way 24/7. Years ago they were making minimum wage and were great no excuse why they can't do the same now. And I was a CM who worked 13 hours a day last summer for barely nothing, it sucks but you have to still be disney quality

 

[TheMaxRebo]

First order of business would be to completely update all attractions. I mean in look, functionality, and safety. Some of theses rides need are looking pretty rough and break down quite often (looking at you buzz lightyear)

Next I would redo FP+ to be just like the old system except now with your magic band instead of paper fast passes. Sorry guys you would have to be running for those toy Story FP again. I would also remove rides that don't need a fast pass such as any of the shows, spaceship earth etc.

And lastly I would extend traditions to be what it used to be and insert a policy that gives managers the right to get rid of cast members who do not show the Disney way 24/7. Years ago they were making minimum wage and were great no excuse why they can't do the same now. And I was a CM who worked 13 hours a day last summer for barely nothing, it sucks but you have to still be disney quality

Certainly think some attractions need it more than others, but definitely along the lines of what I meant by "maintenance" -> get everything back up to "Walt's Standards"

When you say "remove rides that don't need a fast pass" I assume you mean, remove them from the fast pass system, correct? I definitely think some more attractions need to be free of the system, especially those with queues not designed for it.

As to you last point I fully agree - CMs should be held accountable, but also should be allowed to provide more magic and should be rewarded when they prove to be good CMs (that is, weed out those that aren't and increase pay/reward for those that do)

I am hopeful the management structure change that puts a manager in charge of an entire area (i.e., one person in charge of all aspects of Fantasyland, etc.) will promote this more

 

[shanethesaint88]

Certainly think some attractions need it more than others, but definitely along the lines of what I meant by "maintenance" -> get everything back up to "Walt's Standards"

When you say "remove rides that don't need a fast pass" I assume you mean, remove them from the fast pass system, correct? I definitely think some more attractions need to be free of the system, especially those with queues not designed for it.

As to you last point I fully agree - CMs should be held accountable, but also should be allowed to provide more magic and should be rewarded when they prove to be good CMs (that is, weed out those that aren't and increase pay/reward for those that do)

I am hopeful the management structure change that puts a manager in charge of an entire area (i.e., one person in charge of all aspects of Fantasyland, etc.) will promote this more

We are exactly on the same page with is. Buzz light looks so run down and some of the guns don't work and it's embarrassing. Exactly what you said, back to walts standards

And yes I meant remove fast pass from them. Some rides just don't need it. Why is there a fast pass for journey into imagination!!!!???? Why? Who is on that ride!?!?!?! Lol

And I just seen a lot of CM's while I was on the DCP that flat out just didn't care. There was no magic coming from them. And I believe they were kept because managers didn't have the authority to get rid of someone because they needed someone who would work for cheap and not many hours. Also better training would weed out some of them from them he very get go

 

[pittsburghmarc]

Raise the multi-day ticket prices by 25-50% in order to thin out the crowds.