Walt Disney World Resort will soon be rolling out a beta test to select visitors to its website from the United States and Canada. This beta test will be on a new AI-powered booking experience for vacation planning to the Most Magical Place on Earth. The tool has been built in collaboration with Google Cloud and Gemini. This new tool comes after a redesigned version of the Walt Disney World Resort website debuted in August.
The new tool will allow for people to have a conversation with the website as they plan their website. There will also be some other new functionality included with it. This includes:
- Flexible search options with personalized results
- New pricing and availability calendar
- The ability to ask questions and get answers based on vacation plans
- Scheduling and budgeting help
There will be AI-powered summaries that pull information from official Disney sources.
The Why
This beta-test comes out of the realization by Disney that many vacationers visit the Walt Disney World website multiple times before booking a trip. This can be due to the large amount of information that guests need to go through and understand before making vacation decisions. This tool is an attempt to simplify this process and make it easier to make decisions.
The new system would allow for an easier way to find lowest available vacation rates for tickets and/or resorts. It will also make it easier to compare options for trips. On top of that, special offers will be included so vacationers will get to include that into their thought process all at once instead of moving to another page on the website.
Guided Search Beta
Those who are randomly chosen to experience this beta test will be entered into a “Guided Search Beta” experience. This will then take them on a path where they input information about when they want to travel to Walt Disney World, how many people are in their party, and any preferences for resorts. This will not be done by checking boxes but instead by typing out what the vacationer would like. For example a guest could say, “I want to stay at a resort that is close to the Magic Kingdom” or “I want to visit during the Festival or the Arts at EPCOT.”
This new tool will then create options to provide the best possible rate and options. It will cross check the offers and provide flexible searches before showing the options the vacationer has and share why they are good. This will ultimately make it easier for future guests to see their options and compare them.
Other Options
There will still be other ways to book travel to Walt Disney World Resort. This includes the traditional booking process through the Walt Disney World Resort website or by booking through a travel agent. When this beta tool begins to be tested, it won’t have all the functionality that these two options have. For example, it will not be able to make Lightning Lane or dining reservations.
Looking Forward
Looking forward, Disney continues to show its commitment to making the Disney experience as simple and enjoyable for as many people as possible. It is investing in initiatives that will help make the Disney Parks experience as accessible as possible. In recent years, the process to visit Walt Disney World (and Disneyland) has become increasingly complex and challenging to navigate. This beta program is an effort to combat that.
This is just a test that is one step in a great journey. As has been demonstrated frequently by Disney lately, it will learn lessons from this beta test and adjust what it does next based on the lessons learned. Some of these lessons will be learned from the data collected from the test and others from the guest feedback that is provided. Disney Experience Thomas Mazloum said while he was the Disneyland Resort President that guest feedback is the key principles that he uses to guide his decision making.
What do you think of this new AI-beta test? Would you like to try it? Would you like to see it go beyond the testing phase? What would you most like it to be able to do? Share your thoughts and opinions in the comments below!
