News recently broke that Disneyland Paris has stopped giving paper maps to guests. Instead, guests are expected to use the Disneyland Paris app on their cell phones to navigate through the huge park.
Since Disneyland Paris is often a "testing ground" for new features, many Disney parks fans are speculating that soon Walt Disney World and Disneyland in California will make the same move.
Each Disney park has its own app, and they can be a great place to get information. I myself am a huge advocate for the Disney World app (formerly known as My Disney Experience). However, I can't help but feel that completely banning paper maps is a terrible choice for numerous reasons:
1. Banning paper maps will lower guest satisfaction
A common criticism of Walt Disney World's current state is that the park experience is designed to force guests to do everything on their phone. Dining reservations, Genie+, ticket purchasing, showtimes, and more are all done through the Disney World app. Guests often complain of having to spending too much time on their phone while in the parks. In fact, the amount of people voicing their frustrations has brought the issue to Disney's attention. In a recent announcement, Disney declared they would be simplifying Genie+ "Our goal is to give you the opportunity to spend less time planning in the park and more time enjoying your visit with friends and family." This is Disney speak for "guests don't want to be on their damn phone all day".
If guest satisfaction has been lowered as a result of Genie+ forcing too much screen time within the parks, then why would banning paper maps make anything better? Without paper maps, guests are forced to use their phone for navigation. Guests will have to spend the whole day with their nose in their phone instead of looking up at immersing themselves in the intricate theming of Walt Disney World. How would that make for a better guest experience?
2. Paper maps allow cast members to show courtesy
When I was a Cast Member at Walt Disney World, I personally witnessed many times just how helpful paper maps are for guests. My home park was Animal Kingdom. I was stationed at the Oasis, the very front of the park. Since I was the first Cast Member guests saw as they entered the park, I was often asked many questions. The most common question at DAK was "So, what's there to do here?"
The reason why so many guests asked this question was not for a lack of looking at their phones. The reason is that Animal Kingdom is not as heavily marketed as Magic Kingdom. When the average person thinks of "Disney World", they only think of Magic Kingdom. A lot of guests don't even know there are 3 other parks! And while this information can easily be found online (especially at Disney Darling Blog *wink wink*), there are plenty of guests who prefer to use an actual person as their source of information rather than the internet.
Disney Cast Members have a reputation of being trustful and helpful. We are trained to know absolutely everything we can about our home park or resort. Guests recognize this and often come to us for their questions, instead of using their phone.
So when guests would come to me and ask "So, what is there to do here?" I would first ask them some questions. What kind of rides do you like? How old are your kids? What's your favorite animal? I would then use this information to make suggestions. And I would ALWAYS whip out a paper map while discussing their options.
"Oh, you like rollercoasters? Well then you have to go on Everest, and that's located-" I would whip out a paper map and pen and circle Everest on the map "-right here. So, we're currently right here." I would mark the Oasis on the map. "So you're gonna go up these pathways. Turn right at the Tree of Life and go into Asia." I would draw the pathway they needed to take on the map with my pen.
Or sometimes the conversation will go like this: "Your daughter loves zebras? Well, the best place to see zebras is on the Safari ride." I would take out a paper map and circle Kilimanjaro Safaris. "And right next to the Safaris is The Festival of The Lion King. It's the best show at Walt Disney World, you have to see it." And then I would whip out the paper show times guide. "There's a showing at 11:00, but it's a popular show so you'll want to line up early." I would then give the paper map with their desired attractions circled and the paper show times guide, and off the guests would go. Sometimes the guests would even track me down as they were leaving the park to thank me for the help!
Having a paper map and show times guide that I could physically mark up to show the guests was incredibly helpful. I can't imagine doing the same with a phone. Cast members are trained not to touch guests' phone, and the tiny screens make it difficult for guests to see the exact paths they need to take. Having a paper map allowed me to show courtesy towards our guests.
3. Paper maps are an important part of Disney history
Speaking of Animal Kingdom and paper maps - we need to revisit the park's history. I was told this story at Daklimation. When Animal Kingdom first opened, there were no paper maps to found anywhere in the park. The idea was to allow guests to immersive themselves in the theming, explore, and find their own paths. This idea was an epic failure. Guests were upset they had no idea where to go or what to do, and paper maps were quickly added to the park. Does Disney really want to try this again?
Paper maps are a historic collectible. The Disney parks are constantly changing. I think Hollywood Studios underwent three different map iterations during my 6 month college program alone. To be able to have a physical copy of history and look back at how things have changed is a wonderful thing. I really hope Disney does not take that experience away from guests.
Digital streamlining is a very useful thing, and Disney should always be looking towards the future. However, some things go digital just for the sake of going digital and not for the sake of efficiency. Disney needs to re-evaluate the choice to get rid of paper maps and see if they fit the five keys and how this will effect guest satisfaction.
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