DLR advertising

[point88]

Why doesn't Disney advertise for DLR in the northeast? Does Disney advertise for WDW on the west coast?
Just curious. I visited DLR and stayed at the Grand Californian. When checking in the attendant noticed I was from New York and said he was seeing a lot more guests from the east coast. He also said that east coast guests that usually visited WDW were looking for something different. I know its unscientific but does DLR lose out by not advertising all over the country??

 

[Wilt Dasney]

When I called to reserve my spot at the "Walk in Walt's Footsteps" tour ahead of my DL vacation last year, the girl on the phone was a little surprised when I gave her a Georgia address. I laughed and said something about it being a long trip, and she said she was about to confirm that I was coming to "Disneyland in Anaheim, California" and mentioned WDW being a lot closer.

I'm guessing very few people on the East Coast choose to go to Disneyland for its own merits, when the much larger (and therefore obviously "better," the thinking goes) WDW is so much closer. It takes a little bit of research and Disney knowledge to understand that DL isn't just an inferior, smaller WDW. I'm guessing most people don't care enough to figure out the difference.

Disney probably realizes this entrenched attitude and doesn't even try to overcome by suggesting to the average consumer in Boston or Long Island that they should pass up the huge place in Florida to visit a smaller version on the other side of the country. Most people aren't going to see any point...and you have to remember that WDW was built partially to give people in the East somewhere to visit similar to DL.

So unless you're a hardcore Disney fan who knows DL isn't just an inferior WDW (in which case why advertise to you when message boards like this will get you interested for free?), or someone visiting California on other business in the first place, Disney probably realizes you're not going to be talked into visiting DL if you live on the East Coast.

 

[napnet]

When I was last in Hawaii, they only advertised Disneyland on TV. I found it interesting being from Florida where all they advertise here is WDW.

 

[Nicole220]

Why doesn't Disney advertise for DLR in the northeast? Does Disney advertise for WDW on the west coast?
Just curious. I visited DLR and stayed at the Grand Californian. When checking in the attendant noticed I was from New York and said he was seeing a lot more guests from the east coast. He also said that east coast guests that usually visited WDW were looking for something different. I know its unscientific but does DLR lose out by not advertising all over the country??

Nope. The advertisements are all aimed at Disneyland. Some commercials are just the generic Disney Parks, like the What Will You Celebrate? or affordable Disney vacation commercials.

I think they should advertise the DLR a bit more in other areas of the country. Going to college in Colorado, everyone thought I was talking about the WDW when I mentioned Disneyland. The average person is so familiar with WDW, but not so much Disneyland.

 

[TP2000]

When I'm up in Seattle and Portland on business I see Disneyland commercials on local TV, but never WDW commercials. I've also seen Disneyland being advertised in Vancouver, British Columbia quite a bit.

Occasionally on some cable channels you can catch a WDW commercial on the West Coast, but there is some sort of invisible line drawn by Disney's marketing department somewhere between Denver and Salt Lake City where the commercials change from WDW to Disneyland.

And Alaska Airlines, as the official airline of Disneyland, has a small fleet of 737's painted in Disneyland livery that travel the Disneyland routes to John Wayne Airport from Seattle, Portland, San Francisco, San Jose, etc.

 

[primetime52]

It's just a matter of being wise with the advertising dollars. As some of you mentioned, the average potential visitor would not understand that Disneyland isn't just a smaller version of WDW. Well educated Disney nuts like us are in the minority.

Why would the Disney corporation place a Disneyland advertisement on the East Coast, when they could be spending that same money to advertise WDW, and get a greater return on that investment? (since it's infinitely more likely that someone from the East Coast will opt for the shorter, less expensive travel option).

I'm a Disney nut from Florida who takes a trip to Disneyland every year, but people down here think I'm crazy for doing so, even my own family!