Disney is grappling with a challenge that threatens to diminish the enchantment of its theme parks: visitors who are more captivated by their phones than the attractions around them.
In response, a leading executive at the company proposes a novel approach—not by eliminating screens, but by integrating them directly into the visitors’ experience.
During a revealing appearance on Disney’s We Call It Imagineering YouTube series, Bruce Vaughn, president of Walt Disney Imagineering, acknowledged that mobile devices are shattering the shared experience that has defined Disney parks for generations.
“When you’re with your loved ones, each glance at your phone disrupts the magic,” Vaughn explained.
He suggests that AI-enhanced smart glasses, developed in collaboration with Meta, could be the answer. These are the Ray-Ban smart glasses, specifically.
Priced between $379 and $800, these glasses are designed to keep visitors engaged without the need to constantly check their phones, offering real-time digital assistance instead.
Vaughn has confirmed that Disney is actively collaborating with Meta to trial this technology for both park visitors and designers.
‘We have a really wonderful partnership with Meta to leverage their Ray-Ban smart glasses for both guest facing applications and also behind the scenes design applications as well,’ Vaughn said.
A Disney executive believes guests being on their phones quietly kills the magic inside its parks
Bruce Vaughn, president of Walt Disney Imagineering, believes he has the answer to make park-goers experience even more immersive
He described the glasses as a way to replace constant screen-checking with voice-driven assistance.
‘What’s great about these glasses is they’ve got cameras in them, microphones, speakers for our guests,’ he said. ‘It allows us to put a virtual theme park guide in their ear.’
Instead of tapping through apps or navigating digital maps, Vaughn said guests could simply look at their surroundings and ask questions out loud.
‘The glasses can enhance the ways we tell stories for our guests, unlocking a world of information about the land that they’re in,’ he said.
‘Just by looking around, I can ask questions about some of the architectural details, and I get the answer right in my ear.’
He said the same process would apply to shopping at the theme parks.
‘Maybe I want to learn a little bit more about a merchandise item for my child. All I have to do is look at it and ask, tell me more information about it,’ Vaughn said. ‘And then right in my ear, I get all of the product information.’
Vaughn framed the shift not as adding more technology to the parks – but hiding it.
‘If you can use extended reality, I never stop looking at the environment,’ he said. ‘I’m in awe at the people I’m with. It’s going to be less disruptive.’
Vaughn confirmed Disney has got together with Meta to test the technology for both guests and park designers using AI glasses
Instead of tapping through apps or navigating digital maps, Vaughn said guests could use AI glasses and simply look at their surroundings and ask questions out loud
Asa Kalama, an executive creative director at Walt Disney Imagineering, said the glasses could also transform how guests interact with merchandise and attractions
He stressed that Disney is not chasing tech for the novelty value.
‘We’re not just using technology for technology’s sake,’ Vaughn said. ‘We’re using it in service of that story that we’re really going for.’
The idea, he explained, is that guests should remain visually immersed in the physical park – even as artificial intelligence runs quietly in their ears.
‘If we’re doing our jobs properly, all of the technology goes away and our guests get immersed in the story that we’re trying to tell,’ he said.
Asa Kalama, an executive creative director at Walt Disney Imagineering, said the glasses could also transform how guests interact with merchandise and attractions.
‘What’s great about these glasses is they’ve got cameras in them, microphones, speakers,’ Kalama said.
‘Maybe I want to learn a little bit more about a merchandise item for my child. All I have to do is look at it, ask, ‘Tell me more information about it,’ and then, right in my ear, I get all of the product information.’
Although Disney is presenting the use glasses as a way to restore connection there is a contradiction at the center of the plan.
Mark Zuckerberg, chief executive officer of Meta is seen wearing a pair of Meta Ray-Ban Display AI glasses. Meta want to turn its smart glasses into a must-have product
Guest are seen wearing Meta Ray-Ban Smart Glassed – but they don’t come cheap with prices ranging from $379 to $800
Unlike a phone that can be slipped into a pocket, the glasses actively record the environment, respond to spoken requests, deliver continuous audio prompts and process what the wearer sees in real time
Guests would remain digitally tethered at all times through cameras, microphones and real-time AI overlays worn directly on their faces.
Unlike a phone that can be slipped into a pocket, the glasses actively record the environment, respond to spoken requests, deliver continuous audio prompts and process what the wearer sees in real time.
But usually loyal Disney enthusiasts on one online forum were far from impressed with the idea.
‘To be honest a Ho-Hum. Regardless of the model and price range I ask what is the value other than as a short-term novelty. Not an exciting announcement. Very short term,’ wrote one user.
‘Because of the cost, it wouldn’t be economically feasible to think a large percentage of guest adoption. Sure you may get an adult with a pair, but then the rest of the family would be missing out. I don’t see a family of four having four pairs of these because those are expensive accessories,’ agreed another.
‘You get an A for imagination. Interesting piece of technology, sure. Practical, no. Limited applications, yes. Profitable? No. Expensive toy that will end up gathering dust on a desk or shelf or hidden in a sock drawer, either way dead because of not being recharged,’ added a third.
But Vaughn believes the effect will be the opposite of intrusive.
‘Extended reality is going to reinforce the shared experience,’ he insists.
Daily Mail has reached out to Disney for further information.
