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How much of the Disney Magic should be able to go home with guests?

Image: DisneyFrequent Disney guests semi-jokingly refer to their bus trip to the Orlando International Airport as the Tragical Express. It’s a play on words of the Magical Express, the journey that transports people inside the famed Disney Bubble. The problem is that the joke isn’t that funny.

Many people, myself included, want more of Disney in our everyday lives. Apps and games only go so far, which is why YouTube channels offering livestreams of park visits have grown so popular in recent years. Those of us who don’t live near Disneyland or Walt Disney World can live vicariously through the streaming hosts.

Disney seems at least somewhat aware of this frustration. They occasionally host official broadcasts of fireworks displays and other events. What I don’t understand is why they don’t do this on a daily basis. Streamers can only show a fraction of the things that Disney’s officials Parks & Resorts channel could offer.

From home, guests could watch ride videos as they’re happening. We could see the inner machinations of keeping the parks operating well. Disney could show some of the happy moments that brighten days. Basically, they could offer plenty of positive reinforcement for Disney dreamers, incentivizing us to plan our next visit sooner than we’d intended. Nothing sells a Disney vacation like witnessing the joys of a Disney vacation.

Image: DisneyThe above thought ties into the future of Disney theme parks as well. Virtual reality (VR) is in its infancy right now. VR gear like the Oculus Rift and the HTC Vive are extremely expensive introductions into the realm of VR. Still, this technology is likely the greatest revolution in interpersonal communications since the internet. The release of Steven Spielberg’s Ready Player One next year will also bring VR into the mainstream in terms of awareness.

At some point, a virtual reality version of Disney theme parks will become a reality. Disney should already tiptoe toward that long-term goal. They should embrace VR as a new way for guests to experience theme park attractions from home.

A VR park videogame isn’t even an outlandish request. The company did something similar in 2011 with the release of Kinect Disneyland Adventures. It tried to mimic a park visit on the Xbox 360. The Rift and Vive are already capable of better iterations of the same concept.

Image: DisneyOver time, the idea should evolve to the point where guests can feel like they’re visiting a Disney theme park in the comfort of their own home. This idea sounds crazy on the surface, as it seems like something that would undercut Disney’s basic revenue model. That’s the wrong way of evaluating the situation, though. Disney parks enjoyed a record number of guests last year, 140.4 million. How many other people wanted to go to the parks but couldn’t, though? Disney could monetize literally billions of consumers with a quality VR park simulation. VR is the optimal way to expand the Disney brand. Best of all, everyone would be a pair of VR goggles away from the Happiest Place on Earth!

Okay, those are my ideas for if I ran Disney. What would you do if you were ran Disney? Feel free to leave a reply in the comments.

 
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Comments

Until reading this I have never met anyone other than our family that has called the return trip the Tragical Express. Every time I have referred to it like that whomever I've said it to has said "Yeah! That's exactly how I feel!"

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