As I think about things I’m thankful for from the realm of Disney and positive stuff, one thing that popped into my mind is progress. This comes after going through some pictures I have through the years at Disneyland. Some of these were taken on film, some on very early digital cameras, some on nicer cameras, and some on my various iPhones through the years. In all of these cases, progress has been made. This doesn’t even get into how video technology has progressed through the years. From there, my brain started thinking about the other ways I’ve seen progress in the parks.
Looking Back
Going back to some of my earlier days at Disneyland, I think of how the original Star Tours was the high-tech thing. Abe Lincoln was cool but a bit stiff and jerky at the time. There was no Disney California Adventure or Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge, or even a Disneyland Resort. On a much bigger scale for Disney, so many of the parks we know and love today hadn’t come into being yet. In fact, Florida only had the Magic Kingdom and EPCOT. Overseas, the only park that existed was Tokyo Disneyland. Oh, and the Disney Cruise Line? That wasn’t a thing yet either.
Looking at Today
Moving forward a few decades, we have new parks, new lands, new attractions, and new technology. Audio-Animatronics pop out at me as I think about how much more advanced the Walt Disney figure is in Walt Disney – A Magical Life versus the Abraham Lincoln I first saw. We can now enter the world of Pixar’s Cars and go racing with Lightning and Mater, or head to a galaxy far, far away and pilot the Millennium Falcon! We can enter the parks by wearing a MagicBand+, pay for things with our phones, and some of us have even gotten to have conversations with Mickey Mouse!
Looking Forward
Looking to the future, Disney continues to “keep moving forward.” They can continue to imagine, innovate, and create new technologies that help tell stories both in the parks, on screens, and around the world. There are quite a few exciting things that have been announced that are mind-blowing. There are even more that are being worked on that will be even more incredible. It really is exciting to watch this play out and anticipate what could come next!
The Challenge of Change
Change can be a hard thing, especially for us as Disney fans. We have so much that we love. However, without these things getting updated, or dare I say it… sometimes replaced… Disney would become stagnant and eventually go out of business. Instead, we have new things to experience and to look for. As hard as it is sometimes to experience the change and progress, I’m very thankful that Disney continues to be committed to working to improve. I’m thankful for the new stories and experiences we get as fans because of the progress that Disney continues to make.
What are you thankful for today? Join A Month of Thanksgiving by sharing what you are grateful for in the comments below! If you are thankful for the progress that Disney continues to make, let me know in the comments or share this post! Happy Thanksgiving!
