On paper, I’m exactly the kind of person Disney wants to see using its new collaboration with Amazon’s Alexa-enabled devices. I have Amazon’s smart speakers all over my house, which I use daily. I’m a regular visitor to Disney’s US theme parks on both the East and West Coast, and Disney Plus is my most-used streaming app by far. So when Disney asked me to pay $6 for a full year of access to a special version of the Alexa experience that starts by uttering the phrase, “Hey, Disney” instead of “Alexa,” I happily tapped the buy button and started playing around.
It’s been a little over 72 hours since I pushed the button, and while there’s a lot to love about this experience, I find myself wishing it did a lot more to cater to its user.
The new Hey Disney service was originally only for Disney Resorts but is available on most Amazon Echo devices. It’s designed to replace many of the functions you’d normally ask Alexa to perform with a Disney-fied version of the experience. Sure, you could ask Alexa for the weather, but how great would it be for Tiana from The Princess and the Frog to compare the humidity in Maryland today to the experience at her restaurant? You could ask Alexa to set a timer, or you could have C-3PO confirm that dinner will be ready to come out of the oven in 34 minutes instead.
This has been about 70% of my usage so far, enjoying that little pop of Disney magic in an otherwise mundane task to give me something to smile about. And when the Disney service doesn’t have an answer, it quickly lets you know it’s going to ask Alexa for you, and that familiar voice takes over. This isn’t a total takeover of the Alexa experience, but when it works, it’s cute.
There are some uniquely Disney experiences you can ask for as well. As I’m writing this, the speaker in my office is playing one of many available Soundscapes. I asked for the Star Wars Soundscape, and my room immediately filled with the sound of chirping insects, some light mood music and the sound of two Ewoks disagreeing about something. I have been transported to the forest moon Endor, and I suspect before too long, I’ll be whisked away to another planet with equally familiar but peaceful sounds. It’s a pleasant bit of ambiance for a quiet time, in much the same way that someone younger would use the Storybook feature to be gently read to before bed or ask for a specific character to take them on a minigame adventure. My personal favorite so far has been Rocket and Groot asking me to help them pick the right wires to diffuse a potentially explosive gadget.
What separates these features from the others is choice. I can ask for a Star Wars Soundscape or a specific story to be read, but I can’t ask for a specific character to respond when I ask for a timer or something. There are essentially no controls for this experience within the Alexa App like you might see with other services; it’s all randomized by Disney. The overall experience is pleasant enough, but being able to highlight your favorite voices would go a long way toward making this whole thing feel a little more personal.
Read more: Best Amazon Alexa Devices of 2023
It’s worth pointing out the Hey Disney service also doesn’t take advantage of the multi-user functionality built into Alexa. It doesn’t know which voice is asking and doesn’t attempt to distinguish between multiple voices. This is most present in the Trivia function, which explicitly says at the beginning that it “gets all confuse-y if everyone speaks at once, so please try to only speak one at a time.” As a result, there’s no way for the app to keep score between users playing the game, which is a fairly common feature in trivia apps on Alexa nowadays. It’s a fun trivia experience but could be a lot better with some personalization.
Overall, you get a lot from Hey Disney out of the box. There’s no doubt a lot of kids will have a lot of fun using these new features, and there’s a lot to love here for adults as well. For $6, I’m sure I will have a lot of fun over the next year as I play with all of the different voices and experiences. When the time comes for me to choose between going back to an Alexa-only experience or continue to pay for this Disney-powered upgrade, I hope there are some personalization features to help convince me to stick around.
