Disneyland has been trying to make it easier for fans to visit its theme parks. But making things easy for others just might be the most complex job that any manager faces.
Disneyland has removed its restriction on park hopping before 11 a.m. That was a pandemic-era rule that managers decided they no longer needed to help ensure smooth operations at Disneyland and Disney California Adventure. Magic Key annual passholders and others with undated tickets still must make reservations to visit the parks. But now they can hop over from one park to the next without having to wait until 11.
Visiting Disneyland would be even easier for those fans if they no longer had to make reservations. As much as fans have been asking for that change, I do not see it happening. The reservation requirement might be an extra step for some fans, but it is one that makes life much easier on a lot of Disneyland cast members.
Reservations mean more certainty with crowd levels. That makes it easier for the park to plan staffing and stocking levels that work for everyone.
Very often, the simplest systems are not the most efficient for everyone involved. Making a complex institution like Disneyland work for its customers, its employees, its neighbors and its investors requires balancing a lot of competing needs. Simplicity is often the first thing to go.
Buying tickets at Disneyland was easier when every day cost the same price. Flat pricing also made it harder for the resort to control crowd levels from day to day. Variable pricing has allowed Disney to raise admission prices to eye-watering levels on some dates, while allowing families to find relative bargains on others. That means fewer uncrowded days, but also some relief on what used to be the busiest days of the year.
I have visited plenty of theme parks where you can just walk up and buy a ticket, where wait times are reasonable, and no one feels the need to pay for line-skipping passes or other upcharges. The trade-off, though, is that the quality of attractions in those parks stands nowhere near the level of top Disney rides and shows. That’s why those parks typically attract the smaller crowds that make a simpler experience possible.
If the price and pressure of visiting Disney push more fans to those less-crowded parks, I think that’s good for the industry. Perhaps an infusion of cash from ex-Disney visitors can help those parks raise their game with more imaginative experiences. It costs fans nothing to shop around and search for better values in entertainment.
Disney, of course, is betting that such searches will show fans the value in a Disneyland visit. Disney could help its case by continuing to strip pain points from its experience. Managers have promised better versions of the Disneyland app and website, including Spanish-language support, later this year.
Ultimately, the simplest solution for all is for Disney to keep investing more in its cast members. Better pay and benefits do wonders in helping the people in the community that Disneyland calls home — and for making fans feel welcomed, no matter which park they visit.