Disney Knows "Everything That You Do in the Park". Why You Can't Stop Them.

Disney parks changed forever when the My Disney Experience and Disneyland apps were introduced.

My Disney Experience car locator signage in Disney World

All of a sudden, we had everything we needed to have a stellar park day in the palm of our hands. Since then, each app has gone through updates and added new features designed to help “enhance the guest experience” to use Disney terms. Whether you like them or not, the apps are here to stay — and they’re becoming increasingly more useful to Disney. In fact, Disney knows “everything that you do in the park” and you can’t stop them.

When Disney launched the My Disney Experience and Disneyland apps, chances are few of us knew the potential they really held. Your park tickets, hotel room key, dining reservations, skip-the-line bookings, show schedule, park map, and so much more are all wrapped up in a convenient little program on your phone — how cool is that?

But, these jack-of-all-trade apps serve quite an important purpose for Disney, too — they can track what you do in the parks and resorts. So, how does Disney know “everything that you do” and why do they want to? And more importantly, how does this benefit you?

How Disney Knows “Everything That You Do”

Like we mentioned, Disney is able to keep tabs on guests using the apps for the parks on both coasts — both My Disney Experience and the Disneyland app are location-tracking enabled, meaning that Disney knows right where you are when you’re in the parks.

Disney knows when you scan into the parks!

Plus, the apps also keep track of your entire schedule including dining reservations, Lightning Lane bookings, hotel reservations, and more. Did you let the free Disney Genie service plan your day? Congratulations, Disney now has what you like and what sort of park experience you’re looking for stored on file. Every time you scan your MagicBand or use it to make a purchase, that’s logged as well.

And, Disney uses this information to control where guests go in the parks and try to manage wait times. Have you ever received a push notification from the app telling you about a certain merchandise location or attraction? That’s Disney’s way of trying to spread guests out in the parks (and make you spend more money!).

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Why Disney Wants To Know “Everything That You Do”

According to Disney, this is all to “customize the experience” for guests. The company is even working on a membership program that would combine several different experiences both in and out of the parks.

Chapek said, “We know everything that you do in the park. And if you give us the permission and ability through the membership app, we’ll program your Disney+ experience, not according to what you watched last or what other people who watch this show, but to what you did, what you experienced.”

Cast Members scanning for Lightning Lane passes

That means Disney would be able to use the information they gather about you in the parks and then use it to suggest content on Disney+ or even merchandise they think you might be interested in.

“If we know that someone spent 7 days in the park was the same person who watched XYZ on Disney+, we could customize the experience,” Chapek stated.

©Disney

Disney is calling this new amalgam “Next Generation Storytelling” or “Next Gen Storytelling.” This is the company’s version of the metaverse (though Chapek has spoken out against that term) that would bring virtual and physical realities together for customers in the parks and at home.

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How You Can Stop Them

You can’t. Okay, maybe you could if you purchased a physical ticket and made park reservations in-person, used the physical ticket at the gate, and didn’t have the app on your phone (thus not being able to use any of its features like Genie+, Mobile Order, etc.).

But why would you want to? Since Disney is in the game of anticipating guests’ needs before we even know they exist, it would stand to reason that each visit should be better than the last — emphasis on “should.”

Disney Genie exists to help tailor your park day and customize your visit, and how many times has Mobile Ordering saved you time (and possibly a bit of your sanity) in the parks as well?

Of course, you don’t have to utilize all or any of the features found in the My Disney Experience or Disneyland apps, but chances are your day in the parks might be a whole lot easier if you’re familiar with them and do know how to use them to your advantage!