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Disney Guests were never meant to peek behind the curtain. Walt Disney built a magical fourth wall in 1955 when Disneyland opened its doors, and the Disney characters, Cast Members, and enchanting films have guarded it ever since.
With Park expansions and new attractions to explore almost weekly, Disney Guests have always done their homework before planning a Disney vacation. While some enjoy a low-key beach vacation, Disney enthusiasts get a recharge from the immersive experiences at the Parks, where everything feels simple, smooth, and fantastical.
In the last few years, the world has shifted in seismic ways. With a global pandemic shaking up everything about daily life, Disney’s magic had to evolve in ways the Park wasn’t prepared for. But it’s not just the days before Genie+, Lightning Lanes, reservations, or the retired Magical Express Disney Guests miss—it’s the presence in the Parks.
Credit: Disney
The Magic is Missing
When the spooky stretching room pre-show in the Haunted Mansion is interrupted by an iPhone flash, it snaps Guests out of the magical moment they’re entrenched in. For the amount of time and money needed to pull off a successful trip to Disney, it’s unsurprising that Guests are frustrated by others’ disregard for the Disney experience. And not just for themselves—for the kiddos learning to love Disney as they did.
In a moment of Disney desperation, a Guest took to the most magical subreddit to see if other Disney fanatics felt the sense that other Guests were infringing on the coveted magic. The post from u/macDLC called “Stealing Magic” said:
The title may seem a bit severe, but I didn’t know what else to call it. It seems to me that lately there have been even more people filming rides, talking over the pre-show on various rides, or just loudly explaining how things work in the parks (like the young lady a few weeks ago telling her friends about there is more than on Mickey)I’m usually there with my nieces who are young and it is a world of wonder for them, butI feel like some of the magic is being stolen from them. Don’t know if this has been anybody else’s experience.
Nearly 200 Disney fans flooded the comments with similar experiences: phone flashes, talking over narrators, and chipping away at Disney’s precious fourth wall. Redditor u/rikomatic added a comment about Disney Guests filming during rides:
The constant filming thing does bug me a lot too. Just put down your phone and enjoy this experience, rather than document everything for some audience that doesn’t really care that much about your vacation.
Others like u/PsychonautDad pointed to a larger-scale problem that stretches outside the Disney bubble:
the sense of entitlement nowadays and lack of awareness from the general population is an issue everywhere not just Disney.
But many longtime Disney Guests like Reddit user u/Alone-Marketing-4678 shared the original poser’s sentiment that the Disney experiences of old are missing:
Absolutely. In 2005 when I went on the Haunted Mansion, everyone was dead silent during the Preshow. Now, people talk loudly and take pictures with their phones. Completely ruins the mood for me.
Credit: Disney
What Can Disney Do?
Disney Guests aren’t the only ones constantly attached to their cell phones—it’s everywhere. Especially for the younger generations, posting every experience on social media is a regular occurrence. It would take a serious shift from Disneyland and Walt Disney World to curtail the crowds spoiling the Disney magic for others.
One Redditor, u/rubberduck05, pointed out a global Disney Park’s approach to telling Guests to put their phones away:
NONE of that existed in Japan and TDR. People were told to put their phones away and they did. People were silent. It was SO CLEAN. I was pleasantly shocked; it was like the Disney of old that I remember growing up with and so much more magical. I really miss it.
While it would be impossible to prevent every Guest from disrupting Disney attractions, more die-hard Guests are calling for a return to a nostalgic version of Disney when the mechanics of the magic were tucked neatly behind the curtain.
