Asger Risom
Disney parks remain some of the most popular destinations in the world, but executives say one modern habit is undermining the experience.
Disney parks remain some of the most popular destinations in the world, but executives say one modern habit is undermining the experience far more than most guests realize: people can’t stop looking at their phones.
From maps to ride reservations to mobile ordering, devices have quietly become required tools for navigating a Disney trip. But according to Bruce Vaughn, president of Walt Disney Imagineering, that dependence comes with a cost.
“You’re there with your friends, your family, and the people you care about, and every time you have to look at a device or a phone, that spell is broken,” Vaughn said.
A high-tech workaround for a low-tech problem
Instead of asking guests to simply “use their phones less,” Disney is experimenting with something more ambitious — a way to keep visitors fully present in the parks while still giving them the digital guidance they expect.
The company has been testing Meta’s Ray-Ban smart glasses as a possible hands-free alternative to constant screen-checking. The glasses include cameras, microphones and speakers and can deliver information through audio based on what the wearer is looking at.
“We have a really wonderful partnership with Meta,” Vaughn said. “It allows us to put a virtual tour of the theme park right in their ear.”
Guests could look toward an attraction, shop item, or landmark and ask questions aloud, receiving immediate answers without pulling out a phone. Vaughn explains in Disney’s video how the goal isn’t to flood the experience with more technology — it’s to make the existing technology far less intrusive.
Disney’s aim: let visitors look up again
Vaughn argues that extended reality tools may actually help restore the feeling Disney believes has been eroded by smartphone use.
“If extended reality can be used, I’m still observing my surroundings,” he said. “I’m amazed by the people I’m with. It’s going to be less disruptive.”
Disney hasn’t announced whether the glasses will become a guest offering or remain in testing. But the company appears increasingly determined to address what it sees as a growing problem inside its parks — the constant pull of the smartphone and the moments it interrupts.
Watch the video here:
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Sources: Disney
