Disney preparing new marketing campaign
Announcement expected to tout 'The Year of a Million Dreams.'
Scott Powers | Sentinel Staff Writer
Posted June 7, 2006, 12:20 PM EDT
The Walt Disney Co. plans to deliver on 1 million dreams as a follow up to its hugely successful "Happiest Celebration on Earth" promotional campaign.
Jay Rasulo, chairman of Disney's parks-and-resorts segment, is to announce the new promotional campaign tonight in New York City. Disney staff were mum on the announcement, but speculation is centering on the prospect that Rasulo will roll out details of the company's new promotional campaign.
In fact, Disney already has posted a website, describing the campaign as "The Year of a Million Dreams."
The campaign would begin almost as soon as Disney's current campaign, "The Happiest Celebration on Earth," expires Sept. 30. That campaign, celebrating the 50th anniversary of the 1956 opening of Disneyland, was a huge success, boosting Disneyland's attendance more than 10 percent in the past year and adding to attendance gains at Walt Disney World.
"We think it's a great right cross following their uppercut," said Dennis Speigel, president of International Theme Park Services in Cincinnati. "They had a wonderful run with the 50th anniversary, and now they're going to put fat on the fat hog."
Disney's parks bucked national trends last year. Most theme parks saw either stale or declining attendance, and both Walt Disney Co. chief executive Bob Iger and outside analysts credited the Happiest Celebration campaign as a major reason.
The new campaign apparently will involve Disney-vacation giveaways, and perhaps upgraded Fastpasses for its theme parks called "Golden Fastpasses" as well as opportunities for people to spend a night in Cinderella Castle, according to the Disney web site.
The Year of a Million Dreams campaign was first reported on the Internet blog jimhillmedia.com. :lookaroun
Theme-park business consultant Steve Baker, of the Baker Leisure Group of Orlando, said such promotional campaigns are important to the parks' success, particularly since he and many other analysts predict that gas prices and hurricane fears are likely to keep tourists away from Orlando.
"They're very critical," he said of the campaigns. "It's just a way they're going to spend a whole bunch of money. That's what it's going to take. I've always thought that the repercussions of hurricanes was going to be felt much deeper because of fear of being here in the summer.
"These things work," Baker continued. "It gives the reason for somebody deciding what to do to say, 'Oh, why don't' we go see it, what the heck.' It's a motivator."
Speigel said the prospect of a sweepstakes giving away a night in Cinderella Castle could turn out to be the real-life equivalent of the golden tickets hidden in candy bars in the Willy Wonka book and movies.
"They're allowing them to become part of the magic," he said.
Scott Powers can be reached at
spowers@orlandosentinel.com or 407-420-5441.
) are just that, Opinions. Not fact. 
