Changes Coming To The Walt Disney World Website

Before arriving at Disney World, guests will have new tools at their disposal to book hotels, dining and tickets. The Walt Disney World website will receive a major overhaul and a new vacation comparison tool. With the comparison calendar, guests can review rates across multiple dates, compare hotel options, and more. This should be helpful for families who want to stay within a certain budget and time frame, but have flexible travel dates. It can also be helpful for families who are between two hotel options, as the new tool can compare prices and show details of each resort so guests can pick the right option based on family needs and what they want from their vacation.

Another welcome change will be the way parties can be formed. Right now, linking family and friends is a bit of a hassle, since guests have to send emails and hope everything is synced correctly. With the new system, one person can text everyone a link to the trip, and people just accept the invite to join.

Changes To The My Disney Experience App

Disney recently updated the My Plans area of the My Disney Experience app to provide each trip with a cohesive flow. Guests can select a day to see everything for that date at once. According to Disney, the change not only impacted guest satisfaction by eight percentage points, but also reduced the technological challenges on the back end.

Currently, the app’s home screen is a jumble of daily plans, ads to purchase Lightning Lanes and PhotoPass pictures. Disney is working towards refreshing the home screen to make it more straightforward for guests. This includes simplifying the look, adding in planning tools like a guest checklist and even showing a countdown to the next trip.

The search experience on the app is also getting an overhaul. Currently, the search function is a little clunky, and guests have to read through a list of frequently asked questions to find answers to something simple like where to find chicken tenders at Magic Kingdom or where to see Mickey at EPCOT. With the new update, Disney will use AI to help create a summary of answers for guests when they type in short-form and long-form questions into the app’s search bar.

Finally, the app will also be available in Spanish, something long overdue at Walt Disney World, where thousands of Spanish-speaking families enjoy the parks every day.

All of these updates will roll out at Walt Disney World later this year, followed by Disneyland. It’s yet to be seen if these changes will really make planning a Disney vacation easier or just add more micro-decisions to the overall process. What is good about all the upcoming changes is that it shows Disney is truly listening to guests. They understand that if planning is hard, some guests will already be set up for failure once they arrive at the parks. If Disney can simplify just one aspect of the planning process, it can truly change how guests interact with the brand and how they choose to vacation with Disney.