Company faces shift in U.S. population
By Debbie Salamone | Sentinel Staff Writer
Posted May 2, 2005
Walt Disney Co. doesn't have to look far to see the demographic challenges it faces.
The company's core audience -- the one packing theme parks -- is U.S. families with young children. But change is at hand.
The percentage of U.S. children younger than 14 has shrunk from about 28 percent in 1970 -- just a year before the Magic Kingdom opened -- to about 20 percent today. Population forecasts also show that by 2010, the over-45 population is expected to grow about five times faster than people 19 and younger.
Although Disney already has catered to the older traveler within its theme parks, particularly at Epcot and Animal Kingdom, and with other activities such as golf, spas, shopping, cruises and restaurants, marketing a theme-park-dominated resort to adults is a greater challenge.
Here's one example: Bill Covey, 42, came to Orlando in February for a photo-marketing convention. He may bring his family here on vacation some day -- his 3-year-old daughter is a big Disney fan -- but he says Orlando isn't his idea of a great vacation.
"I would come here to play golf," said Covey of Jackson, Mich. But given a choice, he would rather go to Myrtle Beach, S.C., because that's where his friends go. And while he likes amusement parks too, he would rather drive to Cedar Point in Ohio, famous for its roller coasters, than come all the way back to Florida.
Beyond the aging of the U.S. population lie other changes. Hispanic children, for instance, are a larger segment of the child population than ever before. In the 2000 census, 18 percent of children ages 5 to 9 were Hispanic. By 2010, Hispanics are expected to make up nearly 22 percent of all children in that age range.
Through the years, Walt Disney World has responded to the country's shifting demographics in a number of ways, from hiring more than 7,000 employees who speak multiple languages -- from Haitian Creole to Vietnamese -- to promoting group travel and family reunions. Marketing targets minority groups.
For example, in recent years Disney World has hosted the Tom Joyner Family Reunion, attracting hundreds of black families to the park during Labor Day weekend to celebrate with the popular radio personality.
Along with a more diverse population, Disney may be challenged by a more sophisticated one -- especially kids.
Children of earlier generations were delighted with simple toys such as Barbies and G.I. Joes, but today, more high-tech interactive activities beckon.
"This generation doesn't want to go see Cinderella," said Judy Randall, president of Randall Travel Marketing, a travel and tourism research firm based near Charlotte, N.C. "They want to be Cinderella."
That's certainly true of Katarina Martinet. On the afternoon her family flew home to Chicago, the 5-year-old went to Orlando International Airport dressed like the Disney princess.
Katarina, whose parents own a time share at one of Disney's Orlando resorts, said she didn't wear her costume every day. "I only wore it twice," she said -- once to the airport and once to meet the real Cinderella at a special breakfast in the restaurant in Cinderella Castle.
Debbie Salamone can be reached at dsalamone@orlandosentinel.com or 407-420-5456.
By Debbie Salamone | Sentinel Staff Writer
Posted May 2, 2005
Walt Disney Co. doesn't have to look far to see the demographic challenges it faces.
The company's core audience -- the one packing theme parks -- is U.S. families with young children. But change is at hand.
The percentage of U.S. children younger than 14 has shrunk from about 28 percent in 1970 -- just a year before the Magic Kingdom opened -- to about 20 percent today. Population forecasts also show that by 2010, the over-45 population is expected to grow about five times faster than people 19 and younger.
Although Disney already has catered to the older traveler within its theme parks, particularly at Epcot and Animal Kingdom, and with other activities such as golf, spas, shopping, cruises and restaurants, marketing a theme-park-dominated resort to adults is a greater challenge.
Here's one example: Bill Covey, 42, came to Orlando in February for a photo-marketing convention. He may bring his family here on vacation some day -- his 3-year-old daughter is a big Disney fan -- but he says Orlando isn't his idea of a great vacation.
"I would come here to play golf," said Covey of Jackson, Mich. But given a choice, he would rather go to Myrtle Beach, S.C., because that's where his friends go. And while he likes amusement parks too, he would rather drive to Cedar Point in Ohio, famous for its roller coasters, than come all the way back to Florida.
Beyond the aging of the U.S. population lie other changes. Hispanic children, for instance, are a larger segment of the child population than ever before. In the 2000 census, 18 percent of children ages 5 to 9 were Hispanic. By 2010, Hispanics are expected to make up nearly 22 percent of all children in that age range.
Through the years, Walt Disney World has responded to the country's shifting demographics in a number of ways, from hiring more than 7,000 employees who speak multiple languages -- from Haitian Creole to Vietnamese -- to promoting group travel and family reunions. Marketing targets minority groups.
For example, in recent years Disney World has hosted the Tom Joyner Family Reunion, attracting hundreds of black families to the park during Labor Day weekend to celebrate with the popular radio personality.
Along with a more diverse population, Disney may be challenged by a more sophisticated one -- especially kids.
Children of earlier generations were delighted with simple toys such as Barbies and G.I. Joes, but today, more high-tech interactive activities beckon.
"This generation doesn't want to go see Cinderella," said Judy Randall, president of Randall Travel Marketing, a travel and tourism research firm based near Charlotte, N.C. "They want to be Cinderella."
That's certainly true of Katarina Martinet. On the afternoon her family flew home to Chicago, the 5-year-old went to Orlando International Airport dressed like the Disney princess.
Katarina, whose parents own a time share at one of Disney's Orlando resorts, said she didn't wear her costume every day. "I only wore it twice," she said -- once to the airport and once to meet the real Cinderella at a special breakfast in the restaurant in Cinderella Castle.
Debbie Salamone can be reached at dsalamone@orlandosentinel.com or 407-420-5456.