How to Answer My Favorite Product Interview Question

If you want to be a great Product Manager, unleash your inner child, dream big, and turn those dreams into reality.

As Product Managers, our most critical role is to bring new visions of the world to life for the people we serve. We do this by deeply understanding our company’s goals, our customers’ needs, and our team’s capabilities. Whether the solutions we create are cutting-edge digital apps or unforgettable real-life experiences, our work fundamentally changes lives.

Yet, during interviews, we often hold ourselves back. We may think our ideas need to be hyper-rational, scientifically feasible, or incremental improvements to existing products. But think about the products that transformed your life—did they feel like they were just 10% better than their predecessors? Probably not.

That’s why my favorite product interview question comes from Disney. It challenges you to dream like a child while solving for the practical realities of execution. Below, I’ll guide you through how to answer it. Before we dive in, consider reading my guide, “How to Ace the Product Sense Interview,” for a detailed framework on these types of questions.

And here’s a fun picture of me at the Museum of Ice Cream in NYC. Sometimes we go bananas when we’re dreaming… and that’s ok.

My Favorite Product Interview Question

Scenario: You’re hired as the Head of Product for all of Disney Parks & Resorts. It’s your first day at work and the CEO of Disney asks you: “How do we make our parks better?” … They have to run to an emergency Board meeting, but tell you to come back with a quick recommendation in 30-45 minutes.

This question is exciting because it allows you to think big, tackle creative challenges, and showcase your ability to prioritize, innovate, and dream—all while aligning your ideas to the company’s mission and business goals.

Let’s explore how to craft a strong response.

Common Mistakes in Product Interviews

1. Thinking only in digital terms.
   Many interviewees assume the answer must be a digital app or product. For Disney, however, physical experiences are central to the magic. Think holistically and don’t limit yourself to just software.

2. Failing to address diverse customer segments.
   Disney serves a wide range of customers—families, couples, and groups of friends—each with unique needs. There’s no single right answer, but you must justify why you chose to focus on a particular segment.

3. Not dreaming big enough.
   Disney isn’t just about fun; it’s about creating magic. Kids want to live their favorite stories. Parents want safe, unforgettable memories with their children. Couples crave the romance of Disney movies. Groups of friends want fun adventures and meaningful connections. Your answer should embrace the extraordinary.

Rodolfo’s Answer

Step 1: Define Disney’s Mission and the role of its Parks Division

Disney exists to create magical stories that inspire all generations. Its Parks & Resorts allow guests to step into those stories and experience the magic firsthand.

Proposed Goal: Deliver the most magical experiences for visitors, measured by revenue. If people are willing to spend more, it indicates they find significant value in what Disney offers.

You don’t need to recite Disney’s mission verbatim; instead, capture its essence to ground your answer in the emotional impact of the brand. Remember, storytelling drives Disney’s magic—and magic drives value.

Step 2: Identify and prioritize user segments & needs

You can see my user segmentation below. I generally recommend taking a “tree diagram” approach. That means that for any given level of analysis there are only two options, which simplifies your thinking. In this case at the highest level you have families vs. adults. If you then go a level deeper into each segment you can see that families are split up into kids vs, parents and adults can be further segmented into couples vs. friends. Since this is an interview, you don’t need to go a lot deeper into segmentation. You just need to go deep enough that you have a segment for which you can define distinct needs.

For each of my distinct customer segments, I then define an overarching goal or user need. This then will guide me in going deep into the problems I need to solve to help them achieve that visionary state.

Before diving into problems though, it’s time to prioritize a segment to save yourself time since you only have 30 - 45 minutes for this whole interview. In this case, I decided to focus on kids in the family segment. My thinking is twofold. First, families are probably a larger market for Disney than adults (and there’s likely also less competition). Second, parents are also likely willing to spend more for their kids’ experience to go from good to amazing, and our ultimate metric is revenue.

Lastly, we need to identify what problems are keeping our target customers (kids) from achieving their goal of having fun & feeling that they’re living their favorite stories at Disney. Here are some potential problems written from the perspective of the customer:

Before arriving at Disney:

• Particularly for my first time at the part, I don’t know what to expect and what fun activities and ride are available

During their time at Disney:

• Long lines leave me feeling super bored; I didn’t even get a chance to ride my favorite ride

• I can’t find my favorite Disney characters IRL; I don’t have a way to engage with them in a 1:1 manner

After they’ve left Disney:

• I don’t have a way to capture and remember the experience

• I can’t continue to experience and build on the adventure I had at the amusement park

Step 3: Brainstorm and prioritize solutions

Here is a quick brainstorm of ideas.

AR Experience

Imagine that from the moment you arrive at the park you’re given Augmented Reality (AR) glasses and gear. With this gear you can interact directly with the park and staff to unlock special experiences. The glasses also change how you see the people around you. Let’s say you decide to live a Star Wars Adventure! You and your entire family get to become Jedi, Rebels or Imperials in your eyes. For example, as a Jedi, you can go to a special lightsaber making ceremony and then get escorted via an uninterrupted journey to experience all the key rides. After the experience is over, you can continue to live the magic by viewing automatic recordings of your path. In the future, we could even develop content for people to continue to live this journey from their homes.

Guided Tour

Families can pay for packages where they are guided by a Disney employee through the park, skipping all lines, and enjoying their favorite experiences in the right order with no wait times. The guide knows details about the kids’ favorite Disney stories based on an online questionnaire that families fill out before arriving at the park.

“Your Journey” phone App

Using an AI chatbot, kids and their parents get to share their favorite characters and stories. The AI chatbot helps them customize their journey and gives them live cues so they can enjoy their favorite rides at the right time and even find their favorite characters roaming around the park.

In this case I decide to recommend the AR Experience, it’s likely the most visionary and difficult to pull off, but if successful it has the capacity to drive significantly more revenue than the rest. It also takes a bold step into bringing the virtual world into the physical world, and that connection would allow Disney to continue monetizing these families after they leave the park.

Step 4: Summarize your recommendation and thought process

We recommended that Disney invest in an AR Experience that would allow kids and their families to truly experience and live the magic of their favorite stories, hassle free, during their family vacation in the park. We decided to do so because we identified kids (and their families) as the most promising user segment for driving future revenue for Disney. Although delivering this experience would require significant technological and real life manpower investments, we believe that Disney has the team to make this happen.

When you wish upon a star…

The Disney product question isn’t just a test of your skills—it’s an invitation to dream. As Product Managers, we have the power to shape the extraordinary.

How would you answer this question? I’d love to hear your ideas—DM me on Substack or Instagram (@rodolfodays) and share your vision with our community.

Until next time, keep dreaming big and turning those dreams into reality.

This Week’s Extra 10% Assignments…

• Reflection of the week: When was the last time you felt a sense of wonder? Our childhoods are magical because we let ourselves dream and try new things. I recently started music production classes to learn how to make beautiful music. It’s never too late to start something new, embrace curiosity.

• Let me know your top questions and topics that YOU want me to write about by using this Google Form!

Disclaimer:
The views, opinions, and advice shared here are my own and do not represent the views of Spotify or any past or current employer. This content is independent and created for educational and professional development purposes only.