Social Media in the parks

[CoachBeard]

I’m in Epcot today and it happens to be the opening for festival of the arts. I’ve already seen about 10 or so (a few of them in groups) “influencers/creators/streamers” whatever you want to call them.

Sure, I occasionally watch some of the videos leading up to my trip so I recognized a few like that Tom guy and the Rhino fellow from dis after dark or whatever it’s called. And some of the All Ears kids.

I saw a few who I didn’t recognize with elaborate setups and they seemed to be in bad moods and upset for some reason. Both totally separate from each other and unrelated. I really wish Disney would force these people to buy permits and have some sort of vetting process to allow for commercial amateur filming in the parks because it’s gotten out of hand in recent times.

 

[PollyannaMom]

I don't think I've ever even noticed one. (They were probably there, but I wasn't paying close enough attention.)

 

[scrappinginontario]

We were in Epcot for opening day of Food and Wine 2025 and I can't say we noticed a single influencer - and we were looking for them.

There are tens of thousands of people in the park, a few influencers are not going to affect my day. So many people benefit from their content (which is why they're 'influencers') so I'm glad they're there and helping people out either with planning or, enjoying a festival they may not be able to attend.

 

[chicagodisneyguy]

I was in Epcot today for the first day of festival of the arts and saw more today than I had in the previous 10 years combined. Many use those tiny hand held stick cameras which are easy to miss so they can blend in if you don't know who they are.

 

[jimmymc]

I typically see one a day in the parks, but 95% are non-intrusive. The only ones who bother me are those filming or talking on dark rides. And even that's rare, I've seen it maybe twice on my last 10 trips.

 

[CoachBeard]

I just left Epcot. I saw/ran into:
For the Love of the Theme Parks
Wright Down Mainstreet
Sage/Fry Bucket Allears
Quincy All Ears
Tom Corless and crew
Disunlimited
Some other guy I know I’d seen before but don’t know the name and his crew

A few others who may have been “influencers” or maybe just trying. They all those DJI Pocket cameras, so hard to tell.

 

[hardcorestitch]

Headed to the parks next week, it’s been 5 plus years since my last trip. Looking at social media it seems every one is streaming or filming content from the parks.
Is it as much as it seems to be? Or not noticable at all? Does it cause any issues?

I apologize if this is posted in wrong section or been discussed.

Without social media… Disney’s success wouldn’t be at this level!

 

[NickC]

This past November, I saw a guy record the entire American Adventure show. I could see his screen lit the whole time and some sort of gizmo on his phone. We didn't see anyone else streaming the rest of the week though.

 

[Genie+]

We usually notice 1 or 2 vloggers per trip but for the most part it’s momentary, not instances where they’re sat at the dining table next to ours or in the same ride vehicle, etc. More like ships passing in the night lol.

I’ve noticed a huge drop in how many regular guests are filming things. Definitely not as many phones out.

Personally I like taking pics and little snippet videos. First, I try very hard to keep it out anyone’s sightline by holding it very close to my chin where my body blocks it from everybody else’s angle and I can peek down at the screen. WDW is constantly changing and I love my little treasure trove. While plenty of content is out there, it’s not my family experiencing the Christmas Castle Dreamlights or Rivers of Light performers visiting us in the stands, or our back row video of Splash Mtn, or my first iPhone taking insanely crisp MSEP shots from our family’s POV and catching my young son’s ear to ear smile, etc. Recently we made a stamp album of all our best shots of Safari animals over the years. Of course being in the moment is important but I say go ahead and capture some moments, just try not to bother others doing it. We have so many cool pics and snippets of things that don’t even exist at WDW anymore.

 

[steve_rob]

We have seen a few over the years but thought it was fun if we knew them and also interesting to watch. We were directly behind Molly in line for safari and couldn’t hear what she was saying and it was very non obtrusive.

It's very easy nowadays to get professional grade mics that clip on without having to break the bank. It may seem like Molly and Alan (just to use them for the example) are talking in normal voices when you watch their videos, but really they are able to speak quite quietly and their mics will still have picked up their voices crystal clear when it comes down to the finished video.

I know this from having worked with a transportation vlogger in the past - I asked him did he need to shout over the noise of trains / lorries / etc. when out filming videos and whether anyone got annoyed with him because of that. He then spoke to me in what he called his 'vlogging voice', which was actually slightly quieter than his normal speech pattern and he said that the mic quality had improved so much that he could get away with talking like this and still be heard, plus also it filtered out much of the background noise as well.

 

[MinnieMSue]

It's very easy nowadays to get professional grade mics that clip on without having to break the bank. It may seem like Molly and Alan (just to use them for the example) are talking in normal voices when you watch their videos, but really they are able to speak quite quietly and their mics will still have picked up their voices crystal clear when it comes down to the finished video.

I know this from having worked with a transportation vlogger in the past - I asked him did he need to shout over the noise of trains / lorries / etc. when out filming videos and whether anyone got annoyed with him because of that. He then spoke to me in what he called his 'vlogging voice', which was actually slightly quieter than his normal speech pattern and he said that the mic quality had improved so much that he could get away with talking like this and still be heard, plus also it filtered out much of the background noise as well.

Another thing I have noticed in some vlogs I watch, they add audio after the fact at times. I think that is great. I think most of the people I watch try very hard to not disturb other guests. But of course I don’t know if that is true. Just the impression I get.