3. ‘Avatar’-inspired land at Disney’s Animal Kingdom

Image: Disney

Another big change in the works involves Walt Disney World’s newest park. Ground was broken last year to transform Camp Minnie-Mickey at Disney’s Animal Kingdom into a land based on the Academy Award-winning film “Avatar.” Blue creatures will abound at the new land, which will include rides, restaurants and more. Like “Frozen,” “Avatar” was a huge hit, and some fans can’t wait to visit the lush world of Pandora. But others think that the whole purpose of Disney’s Animal Kingdom is to showcase real animals, not made-up creatures.

4. FastPass+ and spontaneity

Image: Disney

Waiting for attractions at Walt Disney World has evolved a lot over the years. For decades, guests would have to line up and wait for hours for a seat on the most popular rides. Then came FastPass, which let park visitors insert their park passes into machines at some attractions and receive paper tickets that served as reservations for the rides at later times. This let guests explore nearby shops and restaurants instead of killing time waiting in lines (leading to less-enjoyable visits and, of course, spending less money).

Now, Disney has expanded that concept further, offering paperless “reservations” that can be reserved a month or two before a trip. Through FastPass+, guests can plan to visit three attractions at the times of their choosing per day of their visit. Some visitors enjoy this feature, saying it adds to their anticipation of their trip while saving them time at the parks since they don’t have to rush around to FastPass machines at each ride to get (and possibly lose) paper tickets. But others miss being able to plan their days at the parks on the fly. They say the reservation system means that good spots for popular rides are taken quickly and that once you use your three FastPass+ times for a day, you’re stuck in standby lines the rest of the time. In the old paper-based system, visitors who planned their return times properly could get as many as 10 FastPasses in a day.

5. MagicBands and privacy

Image: Disney

It’s hard to believe that MagicBands have only been around for a few years. The wristbands replace park tickets, room keys, paper FastPasses and even a wallet, and there are tons of ways to personalize them -- from sliders that frame the Mickey head that guests connect with sensors in the parks to rubber charms that feature a wide variety of characters. The bands are also very popular, with 10 million distributed by the beginning of January this year.

Many guests love the bands because of the convenience they provide: The wearers no longer have to worry about losing tickets and carrying cash or credit cards, but some people think that the convenience comes at a price. They think the information that the bands contain can be hacked, and they also believe the bands give Disney too much info. As the technology advances, Disney might be notified when MagicBand wearers go to a restroom, for example. Disney could use this information to make sure the restrooms are clean and well-stocked, but the fact that the company could know wearers' personal habits is alarming to some people, who feel like they're being tracked.  

The future may not be totally clear, but one thing that is certain is that Disney will continue to make changes to Walt Disney World and there will continue to be controversies as a result. Which changes are you looking forward to, and which issues will you refuse to bend on? Leave your comments below!