Josh D’Amaro, chairman of Disney Parks, spoke during an interview with CNN Business about the future of Disney Parks amid preparations for the 50th anniversary of the Walt Disney World Resort.
D’Amaro first wanted to ensure that the company would protect Walt Disney’s legacy and continue the magic that people expect from a Disney Park:
First, I would say we have a long legacy here. Again, in Disneyland, Walt walked through these streets. I want to make sure we protect that legacy, that we make sure we stay the magic that people expect of us.
However, he continued: ‘We have had the opportunity to turn brand new guests into our world and allow brand new character and intellectual property to go to our parks, [and] look at new technologies that will make the experience even better than it was before we entered the pandemic. ”
The interview then began to discuss the possibility of a ‘metaverse’, with D’Amaro on the opportunity to merge Disney Parks with its digital footprint ‘like no other business can.’
I’m sure you’ve heard this word before: ‘metavers.’ An opportunity to bring these assets into a digital framework. It offers us endless opportunities at these theme parks. It can bring Main Street to life in ways you’ve never seen it before, never thought of it. You can have the whole theme park take part in a game that culminates in a celebration in the center at the top of Main Street. The possibilities are endless and I think that’s where we’re incredibly unique at the Disney company. This combination of a very future-oriented digital footprint with our heritage assets that we have in place, and makes it incredibly relevant today.
The Walt Disney Co. continues to see huge success with Disney +, surpassing 100 million subscribers just last month. Successfully “begins to realize new intellectual qualities, whether it be the world of Marvel, [such as with Marvel’s Avengers Campus coming to Disney California Adventure,] or something incredibly new and interesting. D’Amaro continues,
We will bring these things together to take to the world in a different way. [Marvel’s] Avengers campus will be a campus that will never be done. As [Marvel President] Kevin Feige continues to create new stories, new characters, those stories, and characters will show themselves in the park.
On the topic of technology coming to the parks, as we saw with MagicMobile and the upcoming Disney Genie travel planning tool coming to Walt Disney World, D’Amaro says features like this allow Disney to ‘tell stories that are incredible is relevant to the specific person we want to talk to. ”
You can think of a digital cover on any country, any attraction, any brand or food facility we have, that can constantly change in a way that makes it feel completely new and different from a guest who just visited the day before . If you think about our physical footprint and the fact that we can make it new every day, the possibilities here are incessant.
Of course, we saw the Disney Parks Reservation System introduced at Walt Disney World, and we’ll see it implemented for the reopening of Disneyland Resort from April 12th. Mobile ordering via My Disney Experience or the Disneyland app has been around for a few years now, where D’Amaro says’ people have a much easier time finding places they want to eat and have experiences that allow them to spend more time in the parks and with their families. ”
D’Amaro goes on to say that ‘layering [of] technology in the attractions, merchandise and eateries ”is evident when Avengers Campus opens at Disneyland Resort on June 4th.
Source: CNN Business