FacebookTwitterPinterestEmail

Construction aplenty

 jeffchristiansen, Flickr (license)

Image: jeffchristiansen, Flickr (license)

While new stuff rightly gets people excited, it’s the stuff that still hasn’t arrived yet that really makes guests’ imaginations go wild. Everywhere you look on the Walt Disney Property, construction is either near completion or just beginning. When looking around, you get the sense that Disney isn’t just executing on its near-term future, it’s also building the foundation of the next ten years of the property.

It’s hard to overstate just how much construction is going on, but it doesn’t ruin your trip. Unlike in the past, when construction at Disney Springs made visiting the area feel more like a chore, the current construction on property is visible but out of the way. 

Construction in Tomorrowland can be seen as you arrive via monorail, but it doesn’t severely impact the Tomorrowland experience. The Epcot reimagining — most clearly exemplified by the forthcoming Guardians of the Galaxy ride and Ratatouille attraction — doesn’t affect your daily tours of Epcot, but it does act like a giant “coming soon” poster to beckon you to return.

The construction on property is incredibly visible, but it isn’t ever really frustrating. That amount of construction hasn’t been seen on property since the Disney Decade, and it is extremely exciting to witness. In a few years, the parks will look entirely different.

More first-timers

 stevewise60, Flickr (license)

Image: stevewise60, Flickr (license)

With new, major attractions coming online every year, it might seem like there isn’t a good time to visit Walt Disney World. After all, you want to wait for everything to be open so that you can experience it, right?

However, that same calculus seems to be leading more first-time guests to visit Walt Disney World than ever before. There’s so much new and so much happening, why wouldn’t now be the perfect time to make a first trip?

The result of having so many first-time guests on property is that the feeling of visiting Walt Disney World has never been more positive. For most people visiting, this is the trip they’ve been waiting their whole lives for — only now, it’s finally here. This isn’t to say guests in the past were more negative, but nowadays, there’s a party-style atmosphere that pervades the parks. 

With so much new happening around the Walt Disney World resort, new guests feel inspired to come visit. That makes everyone happier to be there.

Great cast members

 harshlight, Flickr (license)

Image: harshlight, Flickr (license)

All of these elements — new lands, new construction, and new guests — have combined to create the perfect conditions for Disney’s cast members to really shine. And, for the first time in what feels like ages, the Disney difference is incredibly noticeable.

For years, Disney’s service was viewed as something to which every other company strived. It was so good, in fact, that they’d offer their own wisdom to train other companies on how to treat their guests. But then, as time passed and as they leaned more heavily on the college program to provide staffing, that reputation of above-and-beyond service started to fade.

Disney has never really had an issue, per se, with its cast members, but it was hard to ignore that the whole enterprise lost a step over time. But now, for whatever reason, things seem to be trending in the right direction.

More and more, cast members seem to put a deep investment in ensuring guests are happy, and even more importantly, they seem to truly derive pleasure out of seeing that their work has paid off. Disney itself seems to be putting an effort into making Walt Disney World a better place to visit, and it clearly has had the perhaps intentional side-effect of making it a better place to work. 

The cast members are the lifeblood of Walt Disney World, and everything starts with them. If they’re happier, and spreading more joy, that makes the energy of Walt Disney World even more exciting and infectious. They’re happy to be there, and they have to be there. That attitude can’t help but influence how you see things. 

The Disney Decade has been over for almost 20 years, but we don’t have to long for it anymore. A new one is clearly well underway.

 
FacebookTwitterPinterestEmail

Add new comment

About Theme Park Tourist

Theme Park Tourist is one of the web’s leading sources of essential information and entertaining articles about theme parks in Orlando and beyond.

We are one of the world’s largest theme park guide sites, hosting detailed guides to more than 80 theme parks around the globe.

Find Out More About Us...

Plan Your Trip

Our theme park guides contain reviews and ratings of rides, restaurants and hotels at more than 80 theme parks worldwide.

You can even print them.

Start Planning Now...