The pandemic robbed Walt Disney (DIS) theme-park fans of many beloved experiences. Parades and fireworks went away because gathering in crowds was not consistent with social distancing.
The same issue caused all the major shows that require people congregating in theaters to shut down. That meant beloved experiences like the "Frozen" sing-along at Disney's Hollywood Studios and "Festival of the Lion King" at Disney's Animal Kingdom went dark.
In addition, live music disappeared across all the parks, and favorite events like "Eat to the Beat" at the Epcot Food & Wine Festival were canceled. Even things like character breakfasts and meet-and-greets -- a chance to take a picture with your favorite characters -- went away because Covid made them a bad idea.
Now, most of these experiences have returned or will return when their traditional place on the calendar rolls around. And one well-liked perk that's not quite as fun as a parade has a return date at one Disney Theme Park, while a new favorite -- not something lost to the pandemic -- has returned after unexpected huge demand made it a collector's item.
Disney Slowly Returns to Normal
Disney theme parks are huge and your day starts -- if you're not staying on property -- by parking in a massive parking lot. After that, in the prepandemic world, you had the choice of either making a long walk to whatever park you were visiting or boarding a parking tram.
Once the pandemic hit, parking trams were sacrificed because cleaning them between guest groups was impractical. In addition, since Disney's theme parks opened at reduced capacities, everyone got to park closer to the entrance than they normally did. It wasn't ideal, but with the smaller crowds, it was workable.
Now, with capacities increasing, parking and walking have become a bigger problem. To remedy that, one Disney theme park destination has a plan to bring back its parking trams.
"Here they come! I’m thrilled to share that our beloved trams will be returning on Feb. 23. A huge shout-out to all our Cast Members who have been working to bring them back – thank you. And to our Guests, get ready to sit back and enjoy the ride. #disneycastlife," wrote Disneyland President Ken Potrock on Instagram.
This move at California's Disneyland follows Florida's Magic Kingdom bringing its parking trams back in late December. Epcot, Hollywood Studios and Animal Kingdom have not brought their trams back, but it's expected to happen fairly soon.
Image source: Walt Disney.
In addition to the parking trams, another fan favorite has returned -- albeit due to an absence for entirely different reasons.
Epcot offered a limited-edition popcorn bucket when its annual Festival of the Arts kicked off on Jan. 14 and it's fair to say Disney underestimated the demand..
"Guests had to get in line at the stand in order to purchase one of these much sought-after Figment popcorn buckets. The line at one point was reported as being over seven hours long. As soon as they became available to purchase they instantly appeared on sites such as eBay with huge markups as much as $200," Theme Park Tourist reported.
Now, about a month later, Disney has new stock (at least for now) and Epcot guests can eat their popcorn out of a bucket that looks like the theme park's original mascot.
Why Do Disney's Parking Trams Matter?
Spending a few days, or even a single day, at a Disney theme park involves an awful lot of walking, A single lap around Epcot can deliver your 10,000 steps, and having to make the walk from a distant parking spot adds a level of hassle that some potential visitors simply don't want to put up with.
Having to walk a fairly long distance (it depends when you arrive and how crowded the park is) kicks off your expensive theme park day with a bit of unpleasantness. That may seem like a small thing, but it may be enough to cause some people to put off their visits.
Bringing back parking trams just furthers the Disney theme parks' return to normal.
With each event, show, or service that returns, a Disney vacation feels a little more like it did before the pandemic and seems like a better value for consumers (despite the company effectively raising prices). That in turn makes consumers more likely to choose to take a Disney vacation.
That's incredibly important to Disney investors, when you consider that in the most recent quarter, the company made more money off fewer guests than it did in the same quarter in prepandemic 2019.
The popcorn bucket, of course, does not factor into anyone's decision -- well, except maybe a very few diehard Figment fans, choosing to visit Epcot.
It does, however, represent a bit of a return to normal, where people are willing to pay for an admission ticket and wait hours for something that's not actually all that special.
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