Valuation of Time
For Southern Californians, Disneyland is an institution. Almost everyone who lives in the region has entered the park at least once in their lifetime, or is an annual passholder and goes regularly, or they know someone who works there.
Our family visited a few times with our children pre-pandemic, and now in the aftertimes, we decided to buy a pass so we could get our dose of magic once more.
And so, we went recently, however something was … off.
It’s the same park it was, almost all the rides are still in place—not many changes there. The most noticeable change, however, is the mood. The cast members, as I observed, seemed frustrated, annoyed, and curt with handling guests. Restaurant workers never smiled.
My son and I stepped into a car at the Autopia ride, and it was filled with sticky caramel popcorn. After asking for a new car, the host kicked the popcorn off the seat and said it was the best she could do.
The best she could do? It used to be that Disneyland cast members would go above and beyond to make guests happy.
And then there’s this other … thing. It’s called your mobile device, and if you intend to do anything at Disneyland, you need to have it on hand. Via their app, Disney’s newly launched Genie service is a sort-of itinerary planner, suggesting where to go throughout the day. Then there’s Genie+, a fee-based service in which you can book Lightning Lanes passes (formerly known as Fast Passes) and own your photos.
Lightning Lanes can be purchased a la carte at different price points based on the attraction. Seven dollars a person for certain rides, $20 per person for other rides via the Genie+ service.
It’s all quite confusing, and it forces you to focus on your phone a lot to make sure you’re maximizing your time, and in turn, your access to the magic.
That is after all, Disney’s product—magic. The difference now is the valuation Disney has put on time itself to access said magic. Outside the gates of the park, these services and passes mean nothing. But inside the park, the market determines that the passes, etc. are worth everything.
The question is, are you willing to pay for them?
It’s always a grand social experiment at a Disney park, and now in pandemic life, adapting to their marketplace will take, well, adapting to. Many will adopt to their guest engagement machinations with ease, others will be skeptical. Me, included.
In the meantime, one thing is certain: Disney has appropriated the one thing that brings us the most perceived magic and joy in our daily lives—our phones.
They have reinforced the addiction that we can’t shake. Stand in any waiting line at Disneyland, and you’ll see fellow humans engaged in what you see at any given moment of the day: eyes glued to a phone screen.
Since attention is what’s at stake here, Disney once again figured out how to get ours and keep it. All we have to do is stare back into it like the mirror on the wall.
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Photo by Aubrey Odom-Mabey on Unsplash
