Despite being one of the most successful companies in history, the Walt Disney Company doesn’t attempt to hide its biggest key to success. Throughout the years, one of the main practices that has kept Disney, and especially the Walt Disney World and Disneyland resorts, far ahead of the competition has been the unique combination of immersion and nostalgia.
As a Cast Member at Disney’s Hollywood Studios, I experience this combination on a daily basis, and can vouch for its importance with so many of our guests. But what a lot of guests may not know is that there’s a special way to experience those things – For half the price!
In that exceptionally cheesy intro, I’m referring to Disney Quest. I’m not going to argue that guests are not aware of the existence of this 5-story, 100,000 square foot attraction in Downtown Disney. In this day and age, I would be very surprised if anything related to Disney could possibly remain hidden longer than it takes someone to take a Snapchat. However, what a lot of our guests may not realize in the stress of planning a trip that includes four separate parks is the experience that Disney Quest can provide.
With multiple full arcades, creation zones and virtual reality experiences, Disney Quest offers a look at the potential future of theme park attractions – mixing classic games and crowd-favorites with unique experiences such as new looks at classic park attractions including Aladdin’s Magic Carpet Ride, Pirates of the Caribbean, and Jungle Cruise.
Though some of the technology used may feel admittedly dated, Disney Quest is light-years ahead of its time in its concept – allowing guests to interact with the attractions and characters that they can only experience while at the parks. Guests can create their own song or roller coaster, build their own virtual toys, experience Disney animation first-hand, and even just play arcade games to their hearts desire. At Disney Quest, the guest controls what they experience.
The hands-on nature of Disney Quest is what separates it from both the Disney World parks and other popular entertainment businesses like Dave and Busters. It captures the best of both worlds and adds just enough of that classic Pixie Dust to make it feel like a futuristic extension of the parks and movies that we’ve grown to know and love.
I knew Disney Quest was something special when I saw the different ways that families were enjoying their time there. Fathers were building roller coasters and playing arcade games, mothers were playing Guitar Hero and Dance Dance Revolution, families were making music and buying their own CDs. The beauty of those experiences is what Disney has always done best – allowing people of all ages to become kids once again and capturing the nostalgia and memories of the classic childhood.
In short – Disney Quest may well be the most underrated attraction available at the Walt Disney World resort. With a 45 dollar ticket, it’s an experience that can be had at half the price of a day at one of the parks, and provides a more hand-on approach to the routine experience of a park . It’s a great way to take a break from the insanity of park crowds, with minimal crowds during the middle of the day, without sacrificing the priceless memories.
One of the main goals for my column is to use the advantages that I’ve been given as a Cast Member to help other guests explore Walt Disney World in ways that they may not think of in the stress of planning their short stays. What I hadn’t realized was that there are still so many places, such as Disney Quest, that I hadn’t fully explored. This never-ending stream of potential new memories is what makes the Walt Disney World resort such a valuable experience time after time.
Thanks for reading folks, and don’t forget to keep exploring, because “curiosity keeps leading us down new paths”. Until next time!
