Disney is exploring a super app to break silos and unify Walt Disney World, Disneyland, DCL, as well as streaming services, movies, merchandise and more, according to reporting by Bloomberg. Here’s the latest, along with our commentary about this ‘what’s old is new again’ initiative.
Attempting to make his mark on the company and make good on his “One Disney” promise, new CEO Josh D’Amaro wants to “break silos” within the company and simplify how customers interact with its brand. The plan is to launch a new ‘super app’ that would combine Disney+ with the My Disney Experience, Disneyland, Disney Cruise Line Navigator, and more.
Internal conversations about the so-called super app are at an early stage and no concrete steps have been taken toward developing the product, according to Bloomberg sources. That report also indicates that the super app has been at the center of internal presentations, and is indicative of the direction D’Amaro sees the company’s direct-to-consumer business evolving.
Disney has many apps, and has periodically revisited whether to combine them. Past ambitions to do so have never gained traction due to logistical setbacks. Disney is currently working on merging its Hulu online video platform with Disney+ but has faced obstacles due to separate tech infrastructure and programming rights, per Bloomberg.
Longtime fans might recall dearly departed CEO Bob Chapek mulling a membership program akin to Amazon Prime. Those plans were nixed as part of the last cost-cutting cycle, as discussed in Disney Laying Off 7,000 Employees, Canceling Metaverse & Prime Program Plans shortly after the other Bob (Iger) returned as CEO. Iger had likewise considered a unified app for more than a decade.
That “Disney Prime” program, as it was being called internally, had the goal of keeping consumers in the Disney ecosystem longer, which would likely be achieved by offering more value for money. This would in turn get people to spend more on the company’s products and services.
It would also provide Disney with a treasure trove of data, consumer analytics, and other information about their preferences. (Worth noting here that, historically, Disney has a weak track record of putting consumer data to use. As much as it might like to be, Disney is not a tech company.)
The abandoned “Disney Prime” effort was spearheaded by Chapek, who was vocal internally and publicly about the opportunity for Disney to do more to cross-sell to customers.
Turning to commentary, my view on the “super app” is that it’s a stupid idea.
It feels very much like a ‘solution in search of a problem,’ but that presupposes that we’ll actually end up with a solution when all is said and done. As someone who uses a lot of Disney apps, this is the type of thing that sounds good in theory, but probably would be less so in practice.
The existing apps are already bloated and buggy, and I don’t see how adding more to that would improve anything. More importantly, there are a lot of different backend systems that would need to be integrated, and that would probably not be free to do!
How I see this actually playing out is Disney investing a ton of resources on a super app for the next 8 months or whatever, but then scrapping the plans as part of another cost-cutting initiative at the behest of Wall Street and having nothing to show for it. That’s not even the worst case outcome, though.
Another possibility is that Disney invests a ton of resources on developing a super app for the next 14 months, releases it, and it fails to gain traction because consumers do not actually want or need a combined app for theme parks, streaming, shopping, etc. So once again, a ton of money is wasted. This also is not the worst case outcome, however.
That would be a twist on the above scenario, with Disney spending even more time and/or money on the super app, releasing it prematurely while it’s still glitchy, and forcing it on consumers in order to manufacture a “successful” launch of the super app.
To each their own, but I’ve seen this movie before and already know how it ends.
Just at Walt Disney World, there was the next gen initiative (MyMagic+) and then there was Genie, which was originally going to be a standalone app for Walt Disney World pre-COVID. Then there was Genie, the app within the app, which barely worked at launch despite a ton being invested in it.
I am very pleased with the ‘MyDisney’ seamless login that launched a couple of years ago and works better across the separate apps. I feel like Disney should just take the win there, and not try to force further integration; especially when these apps are all performing very disparate tasks, serving different audiences, etc.
A streaming app does not also need to be a theme park app, etc. The separate, specialized apps make sense. They are exactly what consumers would expect to see if these business units were owned and operated by distinct companies, as opposed to one behemoth. Even Apple, Amazon, Meta, etc. have separate apps for different product offerings.
I’m skeptical the so-called super app would attempt to do all of these things in the first place and eliminate the need for separate apps. Excuse my skepticism, but given that I still can’t make a park reservation within the park apps ~6 years later, it feels warranted.
I’m guessing this super app is actually more of a synergy play. Instead of replacing any other apps, it’s an addition to all of them, acting as a centralized hub that ends up launching them (kind of like the park reservation button!). Maybe it’ll be that Disney Prime membership program that was developed under Chapek.
That actually might be the best-case scenario, as a loyalty or membership program is something I’d actually like to see from Disney. This is one of those rare times when I’ll say it (non-sarcastically): that Chapek fella had a good idea! (File under: even a blind squirrel finds a nut once in a while.)
We are an Amazon Prime household, purchasing extensively from that online juggernaut while also watching a lot of that streaming service, listening to their music, taking advantage of in-store discounts at Whole Foods, and other value-adds that the subscription offers. I’ve been an Amazon Prime member since May 2009 and have never once thought about cancelling.
Although very different from Amazon Prime, we are both members of various airline and hotel rewards programs. Each of us has had status with Hyatt, Hilton, Marriott, Delta, United, and Southwest at various times in the last decade thanks to a mix of credit cards and usage.
Our experiences with those have been fantastic. We regularly receive upgrades, rewards, and superlative service. All of the above programs actually offer something of substance, and aren’t just crass ploys to juice spending. I’m sure they do that, too, because of course they do, but there’s a certain quid pro quo that makes the dynamic feel rewarding.
We also have gone through a number of credit cards that, in their own way, are similar to a loyalty membership program. Two ‘prime’ examples are the Chase Sapphire Reserve and American Express Platinum.
Both offer a wealth of perks and benefits beyond just reward points, including airport lounge access, statement credits, free activities, extended warranties, and exceptional customer support.
Back when it was first rumored, I was really hoping that the Disney Inspire Card would be along the lines of those premium cards. There’s definitely a market for that type of a product, and I think “Disney is actually a bank” is a lot more plausible than “Disney is actually a tech company.” Disney is great at money stuff, but terrible at technology.
With its vast media footprint, Disney could offer something very similar to Amazon Prime. With its parks & resorts business, Disney could do something similar to hoteliers or airlines. Disney could also roll all of this into a credit card with something above and beyond the current Chase products.
It could be a hybrid of the above, with Disney+ serving as the foundation and other benefits flowing from that streaming service into other facets of the company’s media empire, parks & resorts, and beyond. We’ve already seen them dip their toes into this water with the Disney+ Perks program.
Fans of Walt Disney World have long questioned why there was no rewards program.
There were no free nights or room upgrades for loyal guests. About the best thing repeat visitors could hope for was a bounceback offer, and those have been mostly gone for the last couple of years. Beyond that, regulars might find themselves targeted for a timeshare sales pitch, but that’s about it.
As someone who spends a ridiculous amount each year at Walt Disney World and Disneyland, I’d love for the company to throw me a bone every once in a while–or at least pretend my patronage is valued. Despite spending much less with other hoteliers, airlines, etc., all other hospitality companies are far more gracious and eager for our spending. That makes sense–rewarding loyal customers is good business.
Perhaps this is something that’ll continue down the road of ‘Disney as a service’ with more digital media bundled under the direct-to-consumer umbrella. As someone who doesn’t really consume Disney’s other media products, I’m not really sure what this entails. Maybe comics, books, apps, music, and games? Perhaps they’ll introduce more ‘seamless integration’ between consumer products and the direct-to-consumer businesses?
My guess is that it’ll primarily be about improving corporate synergies, increasing per consumer spending, and reducing friction in the flywheel. Insert other corporate buzzwords as you see fit. I would also hazard a guess that it’s the type of thing that sounds really good in the corporate world (who doesn’t love synergies and all of those other fun buzzwords?!), but won’t amount to anything in reality.
Someone is not going to book a $14,582 trip to Walt Disney World on a whim after watching the latest episode of ‘The Secret Lives of Mormon Wives’ on Hulu and deciding to browse the super app to see what else might interest them. The good news is that, if Disney wants to achieve that type of synergy, the conduit for it already exists. It’s called advertising, and it’s built into the streaming apps. No need to spend a fortune trying to reinvent the (fly)wheel.
Perhaps I’m a pessimist, but I don’t think the contemporary Walt Disney Company has the vision, ambition, or expertise–much less the patience–to create an actual super app. Whatever this ends up being, if anything at all, it’s probably going to be superficial. It won’t replace Disney+ or any of the existing parks apps. You’ll have just as many Disney apps after this launches as you do today. Probably one (1) more.
The tone of this post might sound more cynical than normal, but in my defense, that is because (again) I’ve seen this movie before. Not just with needless apps or superfluous synergy, but the chasing of the shiny new object.
I have watched as Disney wasted billions of dollars trying to “make fetch happen,” for lack of a better term, when they would’ve been better off focusing on their core competencies and doing something of substance. Disney is a creative company, so actually create something of value. Stop with the gimmicks that try to make revenue streams materialize out of thin air.
No one should understand this better than Josh D’Amaro. He is a theme parks guy (non-derogatory) through and through. He has watched over the last decade as Disney had opportunities to invest in new lands and attractions, which would’ve paid for themselves many times over, but declined to instead throw billions of dollars into the latest money pit.
Josh should remember that he got this job because he’s a theme parks guy, not despite that fact. In what’s felt like a prolonged black swan event, Wall Street actually likes theme parks right now! Josh, if you want to make your mark on the Walt Disney Company, double down on that so-called turbocharged investment in the parks & resorts. It’s a lot better move than throwing it away on a so-called super(charged) app that’s not going to go anywhere.
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YOUR THOUGHTS
What do you think of this so-called super app? Think the company will actually launch it, or is simply “exploring” the idea as one of many ways to maximize revenue and consumer spending? If it does come to fruition, do you think it’ll actually benefit loyal Walt Disney World and Disneyland fans, or will the main/sole beneficiary be the company? Agree or disagree with our assessment? Any questions? We love hearing from readers, so please share any other thoughts or questions you have in the comments below!
