Designing the App Digital Experience during Disneyland’s 70th Anniversary
TEAM.
Disney Experiences (DPEP)
Area.
Product Design
Year.
2025 - 2026
Role.
Senior Product Designer
Storytelling across Disneyland and Walt Disney World—designing digital experiences that bridge online touchpoints to in-park moments, inviting guests to make memories, explore dining, and plan their visit.
As a Senior Product Designer at Disney Experiences, I led the platform experience especially for campaign, and events both the Web and App, translating the celebration’s theme into a cohesive digital brand presence. It was an incredibly rewarding experience to bring the anniversary to life digitally while partnering closely with Brand team(Yellow Shoes).
*During my time at Disney Experience Technology & Digital(DPEP), I worked on projects that I cannot disclose full transformation here due to NDA restrictions. Please contact me for more information at soyoungleestudio@gmail.com
Building the app experience used by millions of Disneyland and WDW guests
Event App Guide
Designing Disney App Guides—a centralized space where guests can engage with events, campaigns, and showtimes while creating memories. The experience keeps guests connected in real time, delivering live updates, announcements, wait times, and mobile order status directly on their phones.
*I designed 20+ in-app guides across Disneyland Resort, Walt Disney World, and Hong Kong Disneyland—including Lunar New Year FY26, Holiday and Special Events experiences, Magic Key and Annual Passholders, the Hong Kong Disneyland 20th Anniversary platform, accessibility-focused products for guests with disabilities, and multiple large-scale seasonal and festival app guides from concept through launch.
WDW Merch Platform Uplift
Starting in FY26, our team set out to reimagine the Own Your Magic platform for both desktop and mobile. With merchandise changing every month, we knew a one-size-fits-all approach wouldn’t work. Instead, we built a flexible component library that could adapt to new offerings, making it easy to showcase the latest park merchandise and create moments that invite guests to explore, discover, and engage.
Profile Avatar Selection
Improved the avatar selection and browsing experience by organizing characters into clear, intuitive categories—such as by franchise or theme. Previously, the selection relied on a single, long alphabetical list of 100+ characters, making it difficult for guests to find their favorites or discover new ones. The new structure simplifies navigation, reduces frustration, and encourages exploration.
Magic Key Launch
Magic Key is Disneyland Resort’s annual pass program, providing tiered access and exclusive benefits across web and app experiences. With the launch of the new Explore Key and retirement of the Enchant Key, we updated the app portal and web to ensure the Explore Key icon and color system were applied consistently across all touchpoints.
Consumer Insights on WDW Parks
Overall theme park technology experiences improved year over year. Theme park guests rated their digital experience as 42% Excellent, a significant increase compared with November of the prior year and stable month over month. Resort guests closed FY25 at 51% Excellent, reflecting a +2ppt year-over-year increase. Key drivers included ease of use, helpful park and wait-time information, and minimal technical issues.
Jeffrey Lee
@Product Manager at Disney
Congratulations to both the HKDL and US teams on a successful and seamless launch!
HKDL officially kicked off its 20th Anniversary Celebration on Saturday, June 28 - a significant milestone in the resort's history.
We sincerely appreciate and thank each and every one of you for being part of this legacy and for helping to create an unforgettable experience for our guests-The Most Magical Party of All!
Jenkin Ho
@Director - HKDL Marketing
This once-in-a-lifetime celebration marks a meaningful chapter for HKDL, and your contributions have been instrumental in bringing the brand’s vision to life. From strategy to execution, your teamwork and commitment have been truly inspiring.
Angel Chan
@Senior Digital Product Analyst
HKDL Technology & Digital
As of June 27, all HKDL 20th Anniversary components supported by the US teams had successfully gone live in production. This well-coordinated achievement—with meticulous attention to detail—is a true testament to the outstanding dedication, collaboration, and hard work of the cross-brand and cross-functional teams. We sincerely appreciate and thank each and every one of you for being part of this legacy and for helping to create an unforgettable experience for our guests—The Most Magical Party of All!