Disney Does Damage Control, Returns to Traditional Values

in Disney, Walt Disney World

Walt Disney posing in front of 'Sleeping Beauty' concept art.

Credit: Walt Disney Animation Studios

Disneyland, Walt Disney World, and the Disney studios have struggled with a major identity crisis these past few years. In the wake of 2020, various social movements, and media backlash, many Disney fans have claimed that the magic is gone.

Sunset hues cast a dramatic backdrop over the iconic cinderella castle and the statue of walt disney and mickey mouse at a bustling disney theme park.
Credit: Inside the Magic

After a season of flops at the theme parks and the box office, Disney is finally starting to wake up and smell the Joffrey’s. 2022-2023 might have been an experimental era for The Walt Disney Company and the studio, but audience reception has not been what the higher-ups expected.

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It can be so easy to blame the go-woke-go-broke crowd and just as effortless to say that Disney needs to return to the traditional/conservative values set by Walt, but the real source of the problem is that Disney has forgotten who its primary demographic truly is. Now, the studio is seeing the error of its ways.

Reestablishing the Magic for Disney World and Disney Studio

A family of four looks at their phone while visiting Magic Kingdom Park at Walt Disney World.
Credit: Disney

Many die-hard Disney buffs would argue that the studio, films, and parks haven’t been the same since roughly 2018, and some of the changes made during the past few years have left a bad taste. While some of Disney’s latest creative choices might have been made in the name of inclusivity, critical and financial failures took more than a bite out of Disney’s wallet.

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With films like Strange World (2022), Lightyear (2022), and Wish (2023) failing to live up to expectations and forcing Disney out of its usual billion-dollar territory, the “Flop Era” ultimately tarnished the studio’s previously magical reputation. However, the problems didn’t end there.

A whimsical sign reads "Tiana's Bayou Adventure" in a forested, Disney theme park setting. A circular inset shows an animated character with dark hair and wearing a yellow top, smiling and waving. The character is overlaid on the right side of the image.
Credit: Inside the Magic

After the 2020 COVID-19 Pandemic, the Disney Imagineers had the opportunity to completely reshape and reimagine how we experience Disneyland and the Walt Disney World Resort. Instead, the parks were assaulted by problematic allegations, a Star Wars hotel that went belly up, and deteriorating attractions that were absolute nightmare fuel.

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Fans were appalled and outraged at the closure of Splash Mountain over “racist caricatures,” Disneyland’s Pride Nite drama, the Fantasmic! dragon bursting into flames, and a political battle royal with Florida Governor Ron DeSantis, just to name a few. After all of that, many have been left wondering if Disney can ever find its magic again.

The Healing Begins

A black and white photograph of a smiling man in a suit and tie is overlaid on a colorful background featuring Tinker Bell, the text "The Wonderful World of Disney," and sparkling stars, capturing the timeless magic that Walt Disney's love affair with creativity brought to life.
Credit: Disney Dining

So many people have taken to social media with outcries of “That’s not what Walt would have wanted,” but the issue goes far beyond that. Disney has indeed strayed away from its core value, which is appealing to the massive family-friendly and family-oriented demographic that Walt Disney built his empire on.

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In truth, there’s no way to know what Walt would want without a seance or an Ouija board, but there’s a place for experimenting and appealing to alternative audiences just as much as there is appealing to the traditional family unit.

All companies should strive for inclusion, but inclusivity, by definition, means there should be no room for exclusivity, and families with traditional values have been more than vocal about their position. However, Disney is making efforts to change that.

Four Ennui (Adèle Exarchopoulos), Embarrassment (Paul Walter Hauser), Anxiety (Maya Hawke), and Envy (Ayo Edebiri) in Inside Out 2 characters showing varying emotions and styles plus colorful backgrounds: blue drenched and sad, pink and surprised, orange and quirky, and purple and dreamy.
Credit: Pixar

The Walt Disney Company has seen success with Pixar Animation Studio’s Inside Out 2 (2024), which is still climbing the box office and shattering records with each new viewing. This is because Pixar has chosen to tell a more universal story instead of one that tries to push some sort of message or be a mouthpiece for a minority group.

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On the park side, Disney is slowly returning to the FastPass+ program with an updated Lightning Lane system. Doing away with the controversial and complicated Genie+ might be just the start, but it’s a step in the right direction.

A mom kisses one of her daughters on the cheek in front of Cinderella Castle at Disney World at night.
Credit: Disney

The point is that Disney is slowly realizing that it’s been playing to the wrong crowd. That’s not to say viewers or consumers of different cultures, ethnicities, or beliefs shouldn’t be represented, but pushing millions of dollars into properties that only appeal to one audience is by no means a smart business decision.

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Disney will get its magic back, but it will take some time. It might be a long while before Disney is at its peak again, but the right decisions are being made.

Do you think Disney is on the rebound? Let Inside the Magic know in the comments down below!

in Disney, Walt Disney World

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