Disney World has been swapping out its familiar trash cans — the ones with the flat-lidded flap tops that festival-goers have long used as makeshift tables — for a new solar-powered design. The updated cans feature a curved top housing a solar panel that runs an internal compactor, allowing each can to hold more waste before it needs to be emptied. The catch: to open them, guests must press a foot pedal at the base, which means stopping mid-stride just to toss something away.
EPCOT visitors were especially vocal in their frustration. During the park's popular food and cultural festivals, those flat-topped old cans served as convenient eating surfaces throughout World Showcase. The new curved design eliminates that option entirely, and the complaints were loud enough to reach the highest level of Walt Disney World leadership.
Joe Schott, who recently became President of Walt Disney World about a month ago, brought up the trash can issue unprompted during a media briefing, framing it as an example of the resort actively listening to guest feedback. His team's solution came from a leader who had previously worked at Disneyland, where Disney California Adventure faces a similar shortage of eating space during its food festivals. That park had addressed the problem by attaching fold-out tabletops to existing railings — and Disney World is now doing the same. Pop-out counter surfaces have already been installed along fences and fixtures in EPCOT's World Showcase, with the possibility of more locations to come across other parks.
Schott, who began his Disney career as a Jungle Cruise Skipper at Magic Kingdom, indicated that the leadership team will keep trying new things — and that not every change will land perfectly on the first attempt. He said he expects his team to closely follow guest feedback just as he does, and he acknowledged the trash can rollout as something that needed to evolve rather than painting it as an unqualified success.
Planning Your Trip
Undercover Tourist is an authorized seller of Walt Disney World tickets, often at a discount off gate price.
For guests planning a visit, the new fold-out tables in World Showcase should help ease the dining-space crunch during festival events, even if the trash cans themselves remain a bit of an adjustment. This report comes from MickeyVisit.
