The “M-Word” That Bob Chapek Doesn’t Like to Use

Technology is rapidly expanding every day, and millions of people use social media to keep in touch with those who matter to them. Our digital world is always growing, and now tech companies are working on how to bring people into that world. A world that combines virtual reality with augmented reality and creates a 3D climate that encourages social interaction.

Enter the metaverse.

Credit: Disney

Now, I’m not going to pretend that I fully understand what the metaverse is, but what I can tell you is that Disney is not going to be left out and is currently working on developing its own version of the metaverse. Here’s more on the Disney Metaverse in a report from The Los Angeles Times:

The Burbank entertainment giant has begun developing a strategy for its approach to a future version of the internet that blends the physical with the digital and the virtual, dubbed by futurists, tech executives and investors as the metaverse, or Web3.

This week, Mike White, the Disney executive charged with leading the company’s foray in the space, met with senior Disney leaders to lay out the broad strokes of a metaverse strategy in terms of what they’re calling “next-generation storytelling,” according to people familiar with the talks who were not authorized to comment.

White has been meeting with leaders throughout various Disney businesses in recent weeks to establish a task force and develop early models for how to best approach the emerging technology, these people said.

Credit: Disney

The metaverse is an exciting (albeit confusing) prospect. To think about being able to go into the Disney metaverse whenever you want may make you smile from ear to ear. But Walt Disney CEO Bob Chapek does not like to use the word metaverse.

Chapek was recently asked about Disney’s metaverse by Deadline and said the following:

We call it next-gen storytelling. We tend not to use the M word too often, because it has a lot of hair on it. But yes, Disney+ will not just be a movie-service platform, but it’s going to become an experiential lifestyle platform. A platform for the whole company to embody both the physical things that you might be able to experience in a theme park, but also the digital experiences that you can get through media.

Here’s how. So, we wish every person would have the opportunity to come to our parks, but we realize that’s not a reality for some people. In order to reach the 90% of people that will never ever be able to get to a Disney park, we have before us an opportunity to turn what was a movie-service platform to an experiential platform and give them the ability to ride Haunted Mansion from a virtual standpoint. The utility isn’t just to have the same experience. Maybe we’ll give them the opportunity what every single person in the park wants to do, and unfortunately too many of them do it, just to get off the attraction. See how it works, see how those ghost dancers move…

Credit: Disney

The metaverse is still a futuristic concept, but Disney is confident that they will be able to bring the world of Disney Parks, movies, and cruises to everyone, without those people needing to leave the comfort of their own homes.