Older Adults are [were] the Key to Disney's Success

[jah4955]

Been thinking about this a lot lately, as Disney pushes for more rides with physical thrills and doing everything on your phone...

Walt was 54 when Disneyland opened, with no thrill rides. Dick Nunis was adamant about building something, but it's not hard to understand why Walt was reluctant to have one in the first place. Even after the Matterhorn was built and Space Mountain was in its early concept phase, Walt's Disneyland was not focused on physical thrills. The attractions made were something different generations (or more pointedly, HE) could enjoy together. It's not like people didn't like roller coasters in the 1960s, it's just they were not the thing that differentiated Disneyland from other amusement parks. Most of the E-tickets from this time were dark rides and shows.

Marc Davis was almost 60 when WDW did. Little wonder why he didn't care for Space Mountain and BTMRR and preferred designing animatronic boat rides and shows. Much of WED's talent at the time was late-middle aged men, and older. The younger generation that gave us a run of rides like Star Tours, Splash Mountain, Tower of Terror and Indiana Jones was taught by them and perhaps understood more than their successors that physical thrill was not the end point of what defined a "Disney" quality experience, nor could it come at the cost of something gentler for other age groups.

Disney later built stripped down rides where the thrill was the predominant focus or selling point, but Test Track, California Screamin' and Mission: Space have never enjoyed the cultural significance or franchise build of the thrill and show combined rides of the late 80s/early 90s. For how expensive it was to build, I don't think something like Cosmic Rewind is much better and suffers from the same shortcomings.

If you're over a certain age, regional amusement parks offer little for you to do besides sit around and watch other people go on rides. The whole reason Disneyland was built in the first place was to give something adults to do too (specifically, one adult). Disney's push to build more and more thrill rides with inadequate capacity for marketability and Lightning Lane sales risks them getting trapped into the same corner Universal is stuck in. Where regardless of the hype or technology on display, some people don't care or don't want to go because they simply cannot do those types of rides.

The OG "Disney Adults" were those Florida seniors. The ones WED assumed would make up a higher % of visitors than California when building WDW. They don't care about Six Flags, but WDW is where they can rekindle their youth and enjoy some nostalgia [hard to think now, but when Disneyland opened there were people old enough to remember the America of the early 1900s, less so, but still somewhat possible in 1971] and more importantly feel the environment and experiences are accessible to them, with or without the grandkids.

And that's where technology and customer service come into play too. Regardless of how tech savvy they are, quite a lot of people still prefer talking to someone in person vs using their phone to do certain tasks. As a hospitality experience specifically, I think WDW is doing a huge disservice by pushing every aspect of your day in the park into a micro transaction done with a screen. Not everyone feels comfortable with tech and Disney's tech in particular is prone to issues. Beyond that, talking face-to-face with a person is part of the experience and "show" of Disney. How often does the company say their CMs are what make the "magic"? Is it really "magical" to have an app crash and no one's around to help? Trying to run WDW as efficiently as possible, loses that human connection that guests of any age appreciate.

And much of what I've written above applies to people with accessibility issues too, another demo Disney excels with, but can't ignore.

I'm sure we've all had relatives who have aged out of going to Disney for one reason or another, but Disney was the thing they probably kept doing for so long because they enjoyed their time there and felt they could go if they wanted to.

I hope Disney never forgets this.

No one could say it better than Roy on the Dedication plaque of WDW: " ... a Magic Kingdom where the young at heart of all ages can laugh and play and learn--together.

 

[jah4955]

The quote seems pretty squishy in terms of "certain age" and "little for you to do," and more an indictment of the parks than "all seniors" to me.

But anyway, I scrolled through the attractions at Six Flags Magic Mountain (haven't been there in years but it's the only regional amusement park I recall going to) and I don't see anything my parents, in their 70s, would or could ride. Even the one dark ride I noticed seemed to be an interactive video game type ride -- they'd pass. The website is pretty clear what the park is all about -- thrills (see below). It's just one regional park but I think the point of the post is reasonable in my opinion. I also didn't notice any seniors (and not too many children, really) in this pov of Magic Mountain. Seemed like 90-some-percent of guests were age 10 to 20, from what I could tell. Very narrow guest self-selection going on.

Hats off the seniors up for the coasters and drop rides and all that, that's cool. Hopefully I'll be like that, though in my early 50s now and I already have decided "no more Matterhorn." One back surgery is enough.
View attachment 894878

and I always felt: "and you are welcomed to keep that title!"

 

[JIMINYCR]

As I have added on the years, now considered a senior, I still enjoy all the thrills I can get to. I probably will never feel like I must stop. Age is a state of mind and just a number. I can keep up with and out do many much younger than me. Disney is wise to continue adding variety and drawing in all ages of guests. Whoever enters the parks can decide for themselves what they can or cannot do. Dis gives use all multiple option of how we spend our park time. The newer younger generation of park goers are not going to be satisfied with the calmer attractions and unless Dis provides them with what will draw them in and back again, Dis will lose paying guests to Uni and others that will give them what they seek. .

 

[Chi84]

This is incredibly ageist. Both my parents (65 and 59) do the newer, more thrilling rides. Heck, they can do FOP and I can't because of motion sickness. The point is to have rides that interest multiple people.

My 90 year old grandfather prefers to do things online because he's extremely hard of hearing. My 86 year old grandmother does everything online as well.

Your assumption that no one is around to help is also false. All of the parks have CMs to assist if needed. They're standing under the blue umbrellas.

Maybe we should stop assuming what people are and are not capable of based on age.

That’s a bit harsh.

Congratulations on having healthy older relatives. But aging takes a toll on both body and mind, for some more than others.

I find nothing wrong or offensive in what the OP said.

 

[Chi84]

As I have added on the years, now considered a senior, I still enjoy all the thrills I can get to. I probably will never feel like I must stop. Age is a state of mind and just a number.

That’s what I thought too when I was a young senior.

But many people suffer age-related health issues - in my case hereditary osteoarthritis - that are limiting no matter what your state of mind.

Age is a state of your physical body, including your mind, and both will deteriorate.

 

[jah4955]

That’s what I thought too when I was a young senior.

But many people suffer age-related health issues - in my case hereditary osteoarthritis - that are limiting no matter what your state of mind.

Age is a state of your physical body, including your mind, and both will deteriorate.

did you catch the humor of this post with your avatar?

 

[Disstevefan1]

Disney thinks they need thrill rides like Universal has.

Lounges (for adults of course) are popping up all over the Disney resorts both inside and outside the parks.

Time will tell if these were the right decisions.

 

[Chi84]

did you catch the humor of this post with your avatar

Not at all! My husband’s name is Fred, thus the avatar choice.

 

[networkpro]

post hoc ergo propter hoc!

Logica circularis semper circumcurrit caudam suam mordens

 

[Chi84]

Logica circularis semper circumcurrit caudam suam mordens

Ouch!

 

[Vegas Disney Fan]

Disney thinks they need thrill rides like Universal has.

Lounges (for adults of course) are popping up all over the Disney resorts both inside and outside the parks.

Time will tell if these were the right decisions.

It seems strange that the most successful theme park company ever would want to copy their (historically) inferior competition, in the short term it doesn’t make any sense to change a business plan that has dominated the industry for decades buy there was also a time Sears, Kmart, and Blockbuster dominated their industries and their failure to adjust fast enough was their downfall.

Personally I think Disneys business plan is timeless and they should stick with it but the current management team seems to disagree, it seems they want to eliminate everything that has historically set Disney apart from the competition.

 

[TrainsOfDisney]

the true “Magic” of a Disney park is creating a balance of attractions for all ages. I think a few thrills should be in the parks. But it shouldn’t get to a point where those who want to skip thrill rides feel like they are left out the entire day.

Also having a few extremely mild thrills - like pirates and maelstrom / frozen - that’s ideal as well.

 

[CAV]

Your post is based in presentism. While it is possible to compare what we know today with what we knew 60 years ago, the opposite is not true.

 

[Goofyernmost]

Been thinking about this a lot lately, as Disney pushes for more rides with physical thrills and doing everything on your phone...

Walt was 54 when Disneyland opened, with no thrill rides. Dick Nunis was adamant about building something, but it's not hard to understand why Walt was reluctant to have one in the first place. Even after the Matterhorn was built and Space Mountain was in its early concept phase, Walt's Disneyland was not focused on physical thrills. The attractions made were something different generations (or more pointedly, HE) could enjoy together. It's not like people didn't like roller coasters in the 1960s, it's just they were not the thing that differentiated Disneyland from other amusement parks. Most of the E-tickets from this time were dark rides and shows.

Marc Davis was almost 60 when WDW did. Little wonder why he didn't care for Space Mountain and BTMRR and preferred designing animatronic boat rides and shows. Much of WED's talent at the time was late-middle aged men, and older. The younger generation that gave us a run of rides like Star Tours, Splash Mountain, Tower of Terror and Indiana Jones was taught by them and perhaps understood more than their successors that physical thrill was not the end point of what defined a "Disney" quality experience, nor could it come at the cost of something gentler for other age groups.

Disney later built stripped down rides where the thrill was the predominant focus or selling point, but Test Track, California Screamin' and Mission: Space have never enjoyed the cultural significance or franchise build of the thrill and show combined rides of the late 80s/early 90s. For how expensive it was to build, I don't think something like Cosmic Rewind is much better and suffers from the same shortcomings.

If you're over a certain age, regional amusement parks offer little for you to do besides sit around and watch other people go on rides. The whole reason Disneyland was built in the first place was to give something adults to do too (specifically, one adult). Disney's push to build more and more thrill rides with inadequate capacity for marketability and Lightning Lane sales risks them getting trapped into the same corner Universal is stuck in. Where regardless of the hype or technology on display, some people don't care or don't want to go because they simply cannot do those types of rides.

The OG "Disney Adults" were those Florida seniors. The ones WED assumed would make up a higher % of visitors than California when building WDW. They don't care about Six Flags, but WDW is where they can rekindle their youth and enjoy some nostalgia [hard to think now, but when Disneyland opened there were people old enough to remember the America of the early 1900s, less so, but still somewhat possible in 1971] and more importantly feel the environment and experiences are accessible to them, with or without the grandkids.

And that's where technology and customer service come into play too. Regardless of how tech savvy they are, quite a lot of people still prefer talking to someone in person vs using their phone to do certain tasks. As a hospitality experience specifically, I think WDW is doing a huge disservice by pushing every aspect of your day in the park into a micro transaction done with a screen. Not everyone feels comfortable with tech and Disney's tech in particular is prone to issues. Beyond that, talking face-to-face with a person is part of the experience and "show" of Disney. How often does the company say their CMs are what make the "magic"? Is it really "magical" to have an app crash and no one's around to help? Trying to run WDW as efficiently as possible, loses that human connection that guests of any age appreciate.

And much of what I've written above applies to people with accessibility issues too, another demo Disney excels with, but can't ignore.

I'm sure we've all had relatives who have aged out of going to Disney for one reason or another, but Disney was the thing they probably kept doing for so long because they enjoyed their time there and felt they could go if they wanted to.

I hope Disney never forgets this.

I think that they forgot already. I'm scaring the hell out of 78 years old. If I could afford it and if the current general world situation didn't exist, I would still go. Even though I have a few back issues, I can still ride everything I did back when I was in my thirties. The part that the new Disney forgot was the family aspect and why it was important. More and more children are banned from attractions, More and more Seniors that once could still go and find many things that they could also enjoy with their extended families are now relegated to the benches that Disney has taken out to a large degree. Older people are usually the ones that have accumulated wealth and would like to have the fun that they once experienced with their families. Nope, nothing much to do except sit and wait at the attractions exit. Children that cannot experience, with their parents, rides that look like fun to a young mind, will retain that memory of how they felt and either wait until their own children are old/big enough to not be excluded from a bunch of things or that the times when they had to sit with a parent or grandparent while the rest of the family had fun might sourer the desire to return.

As a certified Old Person, I realize how lucky I am to have born before money, money, money became the only concern of the current people controlling the present while ignoring the future and seem to be actively trying kill the magic built up over 75 years. I have never been a coaster fan, but over the years I have been on every ride, coaster or not, in Disney. Why because I felt secure that their pockets were deep enough that they could not afford to be careless in maintaining their attractions. I have never ridden any thrill ride in any other non-Disney parks. Disney is not to big to fail and unless they can offer something that no other place can offer they can go down. Probably not in my lifetime (or what is left of it) but it will catch up.

In my own family my children have crossed off Disney and therefore unlike previous generations have eliminated the spark that once drove people to feel it was a rite of passage. My youngest grandchild at 14 has never even been to a Disney park or even expressed a desire at any age. They have substituted places like Dollywood, a very nice park, but nothing comparable to what Disney offered even 40+ years ago.

 

[JIMINYCR]

That’s what I thought too when I was a young senior.

But many people suffer age-related health issues - in my case hereditary osteoarthritis - that are limiting no matter what your state of mind.

Age is a state of your physical body, including your mind, and both will deteriorate.

A good friend of mine said to me many years ago when I was still in my 40s and he was well over retirement age.... People have told me Retirement is Golden but all Ive seen is Rust.
Yes it's sad that many folks cannot enjoy their older years. I have many customers of mine who put off doing things and dreamt of getting to them when they retired only to have one spouse get too ill or get hit with cancer from some other calamity and never get to realize those dreams.
I'm not foolish enough to think I'm not vulnerable to ill health or crippling arthritis but I will fight to get as much out of my time on this ground as I can. I WILL never give in or give up or think I must stop until my last breath.
BTW.. all my family has reached well over their late 80s so I'm counting on utilizing my good genes passed on to me.

 

[Baloo124]

I remember as child and teenager, the thought of turning 50 terrified me for some reason. Never thought of retirement era and all the problems that come during those times. The big 5-0 was frightening enough.

While that fear has subsided somewhat, it's looming presence in just over 5 years still feels like a creepy shadow in the closet just grinning and waiting.

Many of my current phobias come from witnessing my Grandfather go through Alzheimer's way back. Wouldn't wish his final years on anyone.

 

[jah4955]

I remember as child and teenager, the thought of turning 50 terrified me for some reason. Never thought of retirement era and all the problems that come during those times. The big 5-0 was frightening enough.

While that fear has subsided somewhat, it's looming presence in just over 5 years still feels like a creepy shadow in the closet just grinning and waiting.

Many of my current phobias come from witnessing my Grandfather go through Alzheimer's way back. Wouldn't wish his final years on anyone.

50? I remember being practically terrified of 30 (not being melodramatic in my wording in this case). It was so stupid in retrospect. Yet I thought that if I didn't have all the "boxes checked" by 23, at the latest, I was doomed.

As a kid I thought the last sage of life was the best: ("No work, no school!") Now I'm convinced it's by-far the hardest for so very many virtually countless reasons.

That being said I still give adolescence "Honorable Mention."

 

[jloucks]

This is incredibly ageist. Both my parents (65 and 59) do the newer, more thrilling rides. Heck, they can do FOP and I can't because of motion sickness. The point is to have rides that interest multiple people.

My 90 year old grandfather prefers to do things online because he's extremely hard of hearing. My 86 year old grandmother does everything online as well.

Your assumption that no one is around to help is also false. All of the parks have CMs to assist if needed. They're standing under the blue umbrellas.

Maybe we should stop assuming what people are and are not capable of based on age.

There are always exceptions. I am happy your grandparents are good with tech. Most are not.

I think the OP is mostly referring to the rule, and not the exception.

In my observations, most 86-year-olds are absolutely not fond of smartphones or the idea of them being mandatory for some endeavors in life. Taking my 70+ year old MIL and FIL on vacation (x2) this last year was wrought with smartphone (and internet) shenanigans. Add to that, getting my mom and dad new smart phones was not fun.

My feathers are still a little ruffled after dealing with older folks and their technology issues.

 

[The Colonel]

It's good that older adults are a key to Disney's success. Because babies, toddlers, and pre-scoolers certainly aren't anymore. For those groups, Disney is a big nothing. And with only the most wealthy young parents able to afford a Disney vacation, if they even want one, they're going to need to keep the old folks around as long as possible.

The brand Disney used to conjure images of Walt and good clean family fun. Now for many, it's price gouging, radical politics, and questionable sexuality. Great job.

 

[Smiley/OCD]

This is incredibly ageist. Both my parents (65 and 59) do the newer, more thrilling rides. Heck, they can do FOP and I can't because of motion sickness. The point is to have rides that interest multiple people.

My 90 year old grandfather prefers to do things online because he's extremely hard of hearing. My 86 year old grandmother does everything online as well.

Your assumption that no one is around to help is also false. All of the parks have CMs to assist if needed. They're standing under the blue umbrellas.

Maybe we should stop assuming what people are and are not capable of based on age.

To me, FOP really isn’t a thrill ride…GotG, RnRC, & Tron (to a somewhat lesser extent) are…