Disney Unveils AI-Driven Vacation Booking Engine at Walt Disney World
Walt Disney World is testing a new way for families and fans to book their theme park vacations. The resort has redesigned its website, allowing select users in the United States and Canada to access a beta test of a 'Guided Search' option on the DisneyWorld.com home page.
The Guided Search feature enables users to browse rates by season as well as dates and utilize a newly improved chat and comparison tool to help them decide what package to book. This new system also allows for resort-by-resort comparisons for vacation package options, enabling more flexibility in browsing alternatives.
Disney has partnered with Google Cloud to implement AI-powered pattern matching and natural language search functions to drive the new vacation booking engine. The AI used is not generative, but rather trained on Disney's own database of information about its resorts, rates, and availability.
The beta test is limited in scope, and plans are to expand the functionality in phases. This redesign comes as part of a broader effort by Disney to improve its guest-facing information technology, including introducing Spanish language support on the Walt Disney World and Disneyland apps.