How to Be Happy at Disney 101

What factors make an experience an enjoyable experience or not? Let’s look at something that happened in the park through a lens of happiness and unhappiness.

Situation A:

One afternoon in the park, after a very full and tiring morning of rides, a few friends and I went to join up with another friend. We trekked across the park to get fastpasses for the Indiana Jones ride only to have to wait for him to finish the ride he was on. While we were waiting, we decided to get snacks since we were starving. I wanted a Dole whip since it’s only found in one place in the parks but I had to walk a long way to get to the place it’s sold. Then there was a super long line that I had to wait in to get my snack, so the others left to go ride Pirates of the Caribbean while they waited for me. I ended up getting my ice cream (which was small for the amount I paid for it) and going to join them in line. But I had to climb over a rope to get to them and I ended up with sticky hands since the Dole whip stand didn’t have any napkins. Overall, it was a rough half hour.

Situation B:

One afternoon, after an exciting morning full of rides, some of my friends and I went to meet up with another friend in Disneyland. We went to get fastpasses for my favorite ride, Indiana Jones, so that we didn’t have to wait in line. My friend was on a ride, which left us time to get snacks! Dole Whip is my favorite food so I didn’t mind having to search around a bit to find the stand for it and wait in line. I sent the others ahead to get in line for Pirates of the Caribbean while I waited for my food…the anticipation made it taste even better! I was able to catch up with them and slide over a rope to join them in line in time to ride with them.

I think that while things like time of day, hours of sleep had, amount eaten, who you’re with, and weather all contribute to happiness at Disney, the biggest factor is simply your mood. Like we saw in the film Escape from Tomorrow, being at Disney World or Disneyland when you’re in a bad mood can make everything seem horrible. However, if you have a good outlook and you’re feeling fine emotionally, then you can enjoy even experiences that might not be perfect. In Situation A, I was annoyed with everything that went wrong rather than simply looking on the bright side like in Situation B.

Research Update

My research project for this trip is centered on the question: Does gender of children affect which characters they want to meet? I went about this research in two ways: interviews with cast members and guests and observations of the different character lines. To make things easier, I divided the characters into four types: animal characters, male characters, princesses, and Disney Junior characters. (The last category was added to the other three during the research process when it was discovered that the results were different for it.) I did research in both Walt Disney World and Disneyland, except for the Disney Junior characters, which I only found in Walt Disney World.

Based on my research, children of both genders equally want to meet animal characters. I observed lines to meet Minnie Mouse, Donald Duck, and Daisy Duck in both Disney World and Disneyland. (I left out Mickey Mouse because I thought that he might be an outlier as he’s a center attraction in many ways.) I think that this might be because characters like Mickey and friends and Winnie the Pooh and friends may seem un-gendered to many children. They are marketed equally to boys and girls.

I also observed lines for male characters like Woody, Buzz Lightyear, and Gaston. I discovered that it appears that both boys and girls nearly equally want to meet male characters. However, Gaston appears to be an outlier since the line to meet him was nearly always full of high school or college-aged young women.

I discovered that almost exclusively girls meet the Disney princesses. In all my research I only saw two boys in lines for princess meet-and-greets without a sister with them. Interviews with cast members also confirmed that they rarely see boys who aren’t “dragged in” by a sister. At our meeting with Guy Selga, he pointed out that Disney even markets the princess meet-and-greets specifically to girls. Surprisingly, I found this was even true for newer, less traditionally feminine princesses like Anna and Elsa, Tiana, and Merida.

In Hollywood Studios in Walt Disney World, there is a special courtyard brimming with children where they can meet characters from Disney Junior TV shows. I found that equal numbers of boys and girls line up to meet Doc McStuffins, Jake (of Jake and the Neverland Pirates), and Princess Sofia (of Sofia the First). I think this might have to do with the fact that the children in these lines were generally quite young, mostly below the age of six years old. I’m curious to see if I can find research that supports the idea that gender differentiation largely occurs after this age.

While I expected that there might be some differences in the data that I collected in Walt Disney World and Disneyland, there were none detected. I had hypothesized that the West Coast park, being in a more liberal setting, might have less strict gender roles in place. However, this doesn’t appear to be the case based on what I’ve found thus far.

Overall, my predictions about gender and meeting characters appear to be fairly accurate though my thoughts about differences occurring on opposite sides of the country were incorrect.

A Guide to Disneyland

Imagine that you are writing a guidebook entry about Disneyland, for someone who has never heard of Disney. Describe the parks, what to expect, and how to prepare.

Disneyland is a theme park based on the magic of Walt Disney’s films. It is composed of two separate parks, Disneyland and California Adventure. Disneyland was planned by Walt Disney himself, who wanted to create a place that whole families could have fun together. After years of spending time with his daughters at amusement parks, sitting on benches while they rode rides, Walt designed Disneyland to be fun for adults and children alike.

Disneyland is composed of many different sections of the park, or lands, that have different themes. Fantasyland is focused on early Disney movies and princess movies, while Frontierland is based on the old West, and Adventureland is based on a jungle adventure theme. California Adventure also has different lands, including Paradise Pier and Carsland.

There are a variety of things to do in the Disney parks, from eating to going on rides. The parks have many restaurants, from quick-service places where you can grab food and go to fancy restaurants where you can enjoy an expensive meal. The types of cuisine range from classic American to New Orleans. There are also snack carts across the parks for popcorn, ice cream, fruit, and churros.

There are tons of rides to choose from, from high speed roller coasters like California Screamin’ to indoor children’s rides like Snow White’s Scary Adventures. Between the thrill rides and the slow rides based on Disney movies. Additionally, there are shows and character meet-and-greets to enjoy. Children and adults alike can see amazing theatrical productions of their favorite Disney stories. They can get autographs from and take photos with their favorite Disney characters, from Winnie the Pooh to Anne and Elsa. There are also lots of shops where you can buy special merchandise, often only available at the parks.

It’s best to be prepared before entering the parks in order to have the best experience. Sometimes, the parks can be overwhelming especially for smaller children. Reading a guidebook and looking up information online can help. Try making reservations for dining ahead of time or making a list of the attractions that are most important for your family to see.

Disney Alone?

In my opinion, being at Disney alone would take all of the fun out of the experience. While some people might love being able to ride all the rides without waits or other people around them, the best part of being at a Disney park, for me, is spending time with the family or friends that I’m with. However, one of the things that I think is most interesting about Disney parks is how personal the experience is for each person. While I would find the idea of being at Disney World or Disneyland alone absolutely abhorrent, some of my classmates might welcome that opportunity.

I don’t mind standing in lines most of the time (unless it’s very hot or cold) because I enjoy spending that time just chatting with whomever I’m with. Especially with the new interactive queues, I actually find the time I spend waiting in lines enjoyable. It gives me a chance to talk with my family or friends, which I don’t always get to do in “normal life” outside of the parks. I think that’s why my family returns to Disney World again and again every year: because it gives us a place to simply be together with no worries or important schedules to adhere to. I have great memories of standing in lines with my parents and sister, my cousins, and family friends. It’s a great time to catch up on what’s been happening in each other’s lives and plan out the rest of your day.

In addition to loving spending time with my family, I actually really enjoy people watching and interacting with other guests. Nothing makes me happier than to watch a little girl meet her favorite princess (especially if she’s dressed up in that princess’s costume) or to see a grandparent experiencing a ride with their family. I love telling people wearing birthday buttons “Happy Birthday,” striking up conversations with the party behind me in a line, or the simple bond that forms between guests in the same ride vehicle. I am very guilty of watching the people around me because I like watching other guests’ interactions and seeing ‘magical moments’ happen. Thus, I think that being in the park alone would take away a lot of the fun for me.

While some people might like it, a lot of my joy in being in Disney parks is being around other people. I love both hanging out with my family and friends and seeing other people having great days. 

Epcot: Fact or Fiction?

Based on my experiences, the countries of Epcot’s World Showcase are an accurate representation of what tourists who visit those countries see. While not perhaps accurate representations of the countries themselves, they do seem to embody the same traits that people who visit those places take away with them. Disney has put a considerable amount of time and money into making the World Showcase experience as factual and true to life as possible, though it is very cleaned up. Obviously, lacking from the experience are smokers, pickpockets, and foreigners who don’t like Americans. However, all in all, the experiences that people are able to have in the World Showcase of Epcot aren’t that different from those that Americans experience in trips abroad.

The France pavilion of Epcot doesn’t differ all that much from the Paris that I remember. I went to Paris for a few days when I was sixteen years old. In all honesty, I felt much more confident in my language skills because I’d been practicing speaking French to the French people working in Epcot every year since I started learning the language at the age of eleven. While in Paris, my family went to see the Eiffel Tower, drove past artists’ stands by the Seine, ate loads of crepes and pastries, and dined in overpriced restaurants with amazing cuisine. Sound familiar? That’s exactly what you can do in the France pavilion in Epcot, in addition to there being a splendid film about the country.

I can only imagine that the same can be said for the other countries of the World Showcase: that they’re not that different from how Americans experience other countries. Touristy? Of course. Overpriced? Always. Inauthentic? Maybe. But they’re a fantastic introduction to other cultures and Disney seems to have taken pains to not indulge in any potentially harmful stereotypes.

That isn’t to say that there aren’t issues with the World Showcase. The destruction of Maelstrom in the Norway pavilion to make way for a Frozen-themed ride has been controversial, to say the least. The American pavilion continues to confuse visitors. Why is it colonial-themed when the rest of the countries appear somewhat modern? Why does so little take up such a large space in the park? And there’s always the issue of which countries have pavilions. Can Disney continue to justify how Western-centric the World Showcase is? There’s certainly space to add India or Russia or Brazil. While the Norway and American pavilions may be veering away from the fairly accurate representation of the other pavilions, it’s clearly not an accurate representation of all the countries around the world. If it were, would Norway even have a pavilion rather than India or Russia?

The World Showcase of Epcot, though not without its problems, gives visitors a fairly accurate representation of what the typical American visitor to those countries might see. 

What Would Walt Do? (or rather, What Walt Might Think about the Disney Parks)

I think that Walt Disney would overall be very pleased with Walt Disney World and Disneyland, though there are some things that don’t fit his vision for the parks. While I have less experience with Disneyland than with Disney World, I think I can generalize about the attractions and general aesthetics of both locations. Walt Disney’s main goal in planning the parks was to create a new kind of amusement parks in which families could have fun together that was not aimed towards one particular age group (Weinstein, 1992). Both Walt Disney World and Disneyland certainly achieve this, as there is plenty to offer to adults as well as young children. However, there are things in the parks that Walt might not approve of.

Walt Disney’s aim in designing Disneyland was to create a place where whole families could have fun together, which is certainly true of both parks. Walt wanted to create an amusement park that was clean and family-friendly, unlike the more carnival like places he had visited with his daughters (Weinstein, 1992). I imagine he would love the family values reflected in the Disney parks, especially the Mainstreet USA’s found across the world. Part of his vision for Disneyland was to have rides that were “interesting, educational, and scientifically correct” so he would definitely approve of attractions like Ellen’s Energy Adventure and The Hall of Presidents (Weinstein, 1992, 150). He had a passion for trains, so he would love the presence of them in the Magic Kingdom in Walt Disney World and in Disneyland (Weinstein, 1992). As he was invested in using his films and characters for turning the parks into true theme parks, he would probably appreciate the saturation of character-themed attractions and character meet-and-greets. I think that overall, Walt Disney would be very pleased with Disney World and Disneyland.

While Walt Disney would be pleased with the parks, there are also definitely aspects that don’t fit his vision for them. He didn’t want “thrill rides, alcoholic beverages, games of chance, shoddy merchandise, or unfair prices for refreshments” in his theme parks (Weinstein, 1992, 150). Both parks have thrill rides, from the Rock ‘n’ Roller Coaster in Hollywood Studios to California Screamin’ in Disney California Adventure. Alcohol is permitted in all parks, except Disney World’s Magic Kingdom and Disneyland. The entire parks, not just the refreshments, could easily be called overpriced. Additionally, most of the attractions are lacking the educational focus that Walt Disney had in mind for the parks and are less historically minded than he might have preferred. Obviously, his vision for EPCOT as a community of tomorrow never came into fruition. However, despite these deviations from Walt’s vision, I think that he would find the parks overall very pleasing as they completely achieve the family-centered atmosphere he had in mind. 

Weinstein, R (1992). Disneyland and Coney Island: Reflections on the evolution of the modern amusement park. Journal of Popular Culture, 26(1), 131-164. DOI: 10.1111/j.0022-3840.1992.00131.x.

The Utilidors and Lost Magic

While seeing the Utilidors felt like a magical experience of its own, if all guests at Disney World used them, some of the magic of the parks would be lost. The Utilidors are obviously a fast and efficient way to navigate the park, but they take away from the themed experience that guests are offered at Magic Kingdom. Part of the magic of being at Walt Disney World is that it is an immersive and nostalgic world, carefully designed and managed to provide the guests with the best possible experience.

Houston and Meamber (2011) discuss how part of the appeal of Walt Disney World is its nostalgia and aesthetic values of the past. They describe how the American people have a yearning for the past that Disney World attempts to meet, by presenting an aesthetic of America one hundred years ago. In our guided tour of the Magic Kingdom, we discussed how walking down Mainstreet USA gives the guests a feeling of nostalgia and transports them back to an idealized time of American history, near the turn of the century. While the buildings of Mainstreet USA have impeccably detailed turn-of-the-century architecture, the Ultilidors have plain and drab walls and floors.  While there are brightly colored decorations and signs for the cast members, the area appears strongly industrial. Were guests to the park allowed to use the Utilidors, the sense of nostalgia and being transported back to the past would be completely broken by the sight of the undoubtedly modern and boring tunnels.

King (2002) considers Disney World’s theme parks to be representative of America’s values, which the Utilidors are certainly not. King explains, “With their panoply of themed stage sets, [theme parks] are a showcase of archetypal forms – the material artifacts foreshortened as icons and images free of contradictions” (2002, p. 9). The parks display the American values of nostalgia, family, community, consumerism, and more through their architecture, attractions, and guest-cast member interactions.  The Utilidors don’t display these values as they are largely plain and designed to be efficient, rather than to reflect American values. By allowing everyday guests access to them, some of the magic of the parks would be broken.

Allowing guests to use the Utilidors would break the magic of Disney World’s nostalgic appeal and representation of American values. The underground tunnels are designed for efficiency, not display and don’t match the tone of the rest of the park. I know that as a child, the tunnels would have reminded me of Home Depot or Lowe’s or another industrial-type setting. They don’t match the typical Disney experience that is focused on values and aesthetics being perfect. While fascinating to visit on a special behind-the-scenes tour and helpful to use as a cast member, the Utilidors don’t fit with the rest of the image that Disney paints in the Magic Kingdom.

Houston, H. & Meamber, L. (2011). Consuming the “world”: reflexivity, aesthetics, and authenticity at Disney World’s EPCOT Center. Consumption Markets and Culture, 14(2), 177-191. DOI: 10.1080/102538666.2011.562019

King, M. (2002). THE THEME PARK: Aspects of experience in a four-dimensional landscape. Material Culture, 34(2), 1-15. http://www.jstor.org/stable/29764155