Since the Fantasyland Expansion was announced, there have been a number of critics of the concept. This is to be expected. You can't please everyone. And the FLE really isn't trying to. But I have to admit I am surprised by just how vehemently the FLE is still being attacked.
After reading through a number of threads about FLE being for girls-only or suggesting that Pixie Hollow should be replaced with <fill-in-the-blank> I've decided to start a thread specifically to address the complaints I have seen about FLE so far.
If you're an FLE critic, please feel free to challenge my points. I'm all for a good debate.
Criticism #1: The Fantasyland Expansion is just for little girls
My first response to this criticism is that it is overly simplistic. There will be boys who want to visit the new Fantasyland. There will also be teens, adults and elders without little girls who will visit the new Fantasyland as well.
Yes, the target demographic of the princess and fairy-themed sections of the new Fantasyland will be little girls. But that ignores the Dumbo-themed section of the expansion. And even the princesses and fairies will have appeal beyond their target demo. Just visit the current princess or fairies M&Gs to see who lines up. It’s not just little girls.
My second response to this criticism is to say “So what if it does appeal primarily to little girls?” Frankly, there is precious little in the parks that appeals primarily to this target demo. If you look at the majority of lands, themes and attractions, you will see that most of them are currently targeted towards what would traditionally be considered male fantasies; pirates, cowboys, astronauts, dinosaurs, etc. Yes, there’s stuff that could be considered gender neutral. But you’d have a hard time arguing that the parks as a whole don’t skew towards little boys currently.
What’s more, there is an obvious un-met demand for more princesses and fairies. Currently, the only offerings for princess fans are expensive (and hard to book) character meals, expensive make-overs (for which reservations are strongly recommended), meet and greets and a dark ride which is generally considered too scary for most of its target demographic. Fairy fans have one meet and greet which typically has hour-long waits shortly after opening.
Princess and fairies are big business for Disney. I did some research on Disney’s franchises and I very quickly found out that Disney Princesses are the number 1 franchise among girls 3-6 and represent a 4-billion-dollar/year business. Disney Fairies is a younger franchise. While it reported only 2-billion dollars in revenue in 2008, it shows growth whereas the princess franchise appears to have leveled off. Disney Fairies is the number 1 franchise among girls 6-9.
Despite immense popularity, these franchises are barely represented in the parks currently. The few offerings that are available are in extremely high demand in spite of the fact that many of them are expensive. Also, these aren’t big attractions. They are extremely low cost for Disney but guests flock to them.
In summary: There is a demand for more attractions aimed at girls; specifically princess and fairy attractions. The FL expansion will help to satisfy this demand.
More to come...
After reading through a number of threads about FLE being for girls-only or suggesting that Pixie Hollow should be replaced with <fill-in-the-blank> I've decided to start a thread specifically to address the complaints I have seen about FLE so far.
If you're an FLE critic, please feel free to challenge my points. I'm all for a good debate.
Criticism #1: The Fantasyland Expansion is just for little girls
My first response to this criticism is that it is overly simplistic. There will be boys who want to visit the new Fantasyland. There will also be teens, adults and elders without little girls who will visit the new Fantasyland as well.
Yes, the target demographic of the princess and fairy-themed sections of the new Fantasyland will be little girls. But that ignores the Dumbo-themed section of the expansion. And even the princesses and fairies will have appeal beyond their target demo. Just visit the current princess or fairies M&Gs to see who lines up. It’s not just little girls.
My second response to this criticism is to say “So what if it does appeal primarily to little girls?” Frankly, there is precious little in the parks that appeals primarily to this target demo. If you look at the majority of lands, themes and attractions, you will see that most of them are currently targeted towards what would traditionally be considered male fantasies; pirates, cowboys, astronauts, dinosaurs, etc. Yes, there’s stuff that could be considered gender neutral. But you’d have a hard time arguing that the parks as a whole don’t skew towards little boys currently.
What’s more, there is an obvious un-met demand for more princesses and fairies. Currently, the only offerings for princess fans are expensive (and hard to book) character meals, expensive make-overs (for which reservations are strongly recommended), meet and greets and a dark ride which is generally considered too scary for most of its target demographic. Fairy fans have one meet and greet which typically has hour-long waits shortly after opening.
Princess and fairies are big business for Disney. I did some research on Disney’s franchises and I very quickly found out that Disney Princesses are the number 1 franchise among girls 3-6 and represent a 4-billion-dollar/year business. Disney Fairies is a younger franchise. While it reported only 2-billion dollars in revenue in 2008, it shows growth whereas the princess franchise appears to have leveled off. Disney Fairies is the number 1 franchise among girls 6-9.
Despite immense popularity, these franchises are barely represented in the parks currently. The few offerings that are available are in extremely high demand in spite of the fact that many of them are expensive. Also, these aren’t big attractions. They are extremely low cost for Disney but guests flock to them.
In summary: There is a demand for more attractions aimed at girls; specifically princess and fairy attractions. The FL expansion will help to satisfy this demand.
More to come...
