Disney’s Next Era: A Fan-Centered, Creator-Driven Vision for the Company That Once Imagined the Future.

Disney is at a crossroads.

Not in the dramatic “end of an era” way people say every few years, but in a quieter, more important way. Disney has more money, more platforms, and more fandom franchises than ever before, and yet something feels off.

The magic is still there. But it doesn’t always feel felt anymore.

More often, Disney feels like a content machine instead of a storytelling company. Like a brand that knows how to monetize nostalgia, but sometimes forgets how to create wonder.

And that’s not coming from hate. It’s coming from love.

From people who grew up with these stories. From fans who still want to believe in this company. From creators, workers, and park guests who know Disney can do better because it has before.

If Josh D’Amaro really represents Disney’s next chapter, then the real question is:

What kind of Disney do we actually want for the next generation?

Not just bigger. Not just richer. But better.

Quality Over Quantity: Slow Down and Tell Better Stories

Disney’s biggest problem right now isn’t that it’s failing.

It’s that it’s making too much.

Marvel, Star Wars, Pixar, Disney Animation. Everything is constant. New shows, new movies, new spin-offs, new announcements. And somehow, fewer of them feel special.

Not because fans are ungrateful, but because audiences can feel when something is rushed, overworked, or made to fill a release slot instead of telling a story.

We don’t need Disney to stop making content.

We just need them to slow down.

To focus on:

• Fewer projects
• Stronger scripts
• Longer development time
• And creative teams that are actually supported instead of burned out.

Less content. More care.

The Magic is Made by Workers–-So Treat Them Like It.

Every time Disney talks about “magic”, what they really mean is people.

Cast members who smile through 10-hour shifts.

Animators who spend years on a single film.

Artists, designers, writers, performers.

They are the brand.

And yet so many of them are:

• Underpaid
• Overworked
• Treated as replaceable

You can’t build a company on imagination and then treat the people who create it as disposable.

If Disney wants fans to feel loyalty again, it has to start by showing loyalty to its own workers.

That means:

• Better pay
• Better hours
• Real benefits

And public respect for creative labor.

You can’t sell wonder while practicing burnout.

Accessibility Isn’t a Perk–It’s a Right

One of the most painful changes Disney has made in recent years is to its accessibility systems.

The Fast Pass changes. The weakening of DAS. The way disabled and neurodivergent guests are being quietly pushed out of the experience.

This isn’t a “guest complaint” issue. It’s an ethical one.

Accessibility is not something people should have to fight for. It’s not something that should be locked behind money, apps, or complicated systems.

If Disney says it’s “for everyone”, then it has to actually mean everyone.

The magic doesn’t count if only certain people can reach it.

Also, the ticket prices and resort packages all need to be made affordable for everyone. That includes families who are on a budget.

Tomorrowland Should Feel Like the Future Again

Tomorrowland is supposed to be about what’s next.

But for years, it’s felt more like a museum of old ideas about the future–shiny, yes, but outdated and disconnected from the world we actually live in.

It’s a problem theme park designers call “frozen futurism”, a concept in which something about “the future” gets stuck in the past.

Tomorrowland should be Disney’s most exciting land. The place where innovation, imagination, and hope live.

Instead, it often feels like the one most in need of a reboot.

A real Tomorrowland overhaul wouldn’t just be about new rides. It would be a statement: Disney still believed in imagining tomorrow–not just selling yesterday.

Disney+ Should Feel Like a Home, Not a Maze

Disney+ has one of the best libraries in the world.

And yet, it’s often frustrating to use.

Things are hard to find. Recommendations feel random. The interface feels cluttered. There’s no genuine sense of curation–just endless scrolling.

Streaming shouldn’t feel like homework.

Disney+ should feel like walking into a beautifully organized video store or library, where stories are thoughtfully grouped and easy to discover.

Not an algorithm dumping content at you until you get tired and click something.

Say No to AI–Protect Human Creativity

This one matters more than people realize.

AI is being sold as the future of creativity. Faster, cheaper, more efficient.

But what it really threatens is the people who actually make art.

Writers. Illustrators. Animators. Designers.

Disney is a company built on human imagination. On drawings, voices, stories, feelings.

If Disney replaces artists with machines trained on stolen work, it’s not strengthening. It’s hollowing itself out.

Saying no to AI exploitation isn’t anti-technology.

It’s pro-artist.

Pro-worker.

Pro-human.

2D Animation Isn’t Dead–It’s Coming Back

Here’s something hopeful: 2D animation is quietly making a comeback at Disney.

• X-Men’97
• What If…?
• Spider-Man: Freshman Year

All successful. All beloved. All proof that audiences still love this style.

And not just older fans–younger viewers too.

The problem isn’t that people no longer like animation.

It’s that people are tired of the same animation.

2D feels different. Personal. Expressive. Artistic.

It’s also:

• Cheaper
• More flexible
• Better for original stories
• And harder to automate.

Disney was built on 2D.

It deserves to be part of Disney’s future again, not just its past.

New Worlds: Old Republic, X-Men’97, and Canon Stories

Disney’s biggest franchises are feeling cramped.

Star Wars is stuck around the same few decades.

The MCU is buried under its own timeline.

The Answer isn’t more reboots.

It’s new eras.

A canon reimagining of Star Wars: The Old Republic would open up thousands of years of storytelling. New Jedi. New Sith. New Mandalorians. New conflicts. No Skywalker baggage.

An animated 2D Old Republic film would be a cultural moment.

So would:

• An X-Men’97 Excalibur spinoff
• Canon MCU novels
• And a Star Wars series about Clan Kryze.

These aren’t just fan dreams.

They’re ways to let these universes breathe again.

Stop Censoring Inclusive Stories

Disney loves to market itself as inclusive.

But too often, BIPOC and LGBTQ+ stories get watered down or quietly censored to avoid political backlash.

That hurts everyone.

• Creators feel betrayed.
• Audiences are manipulated.

And Disney looks like it doesn’t actually stand for anything.

You can’t build a brand on representation and then abandon it when things get uncomfortable.

In 2026, authenticity isn’t radical.

It’s the bare minimum.

Fan Creators Deserve to Be Paid Partners

This might be the most important idea of all.

Cosplayers, Fan Artists. Fan fiction writers. Disney bounders. Indie merch creators.

These people keep Disney alive online every single day.

They create:

• Viral content
• Emotional connections
• Community spaces
• And cultural relevance.

And most of them do it for free.

Disney should stop treating fan creativity as something to exploit or police and start treating it as something to support and pay.

Collaborations. Sponsored posts. Paid D23 panels. Fan creator programs.

Not because it’s “nice”.

But because fandom is literally Disney’s most valuable resource.

The Heart of It All

Every one of these ideas comes down to the same thing:

• People matter more than systems.
• Creators matter more than algorithms.
• Community matters more than control.
• Stories matter more than volume.

Disney doesn’t lack money.

• It doesn’t lack IP.
• It doesn’t lack talent.

What it risks losing is something much harder to get back:

Trust.

Wonder

• The feeling that this company actually believes in imagination.
• Disney doesn’t need to become bigger.
• It needs to become braver.
• Not a content factory.

But what it was always meant to be:

A place where humans tell stories that make other humans feel something.