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Showing posts with label Walt Disney World. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Walt Disney World. Show all posts
Walt Disney Company Clears Latest Safe Reopening Hurdle
PHOTO: Disney Security team saluting the American flag in Town Square at Magic Kingdom Park. (photo courtesy of Walt Disney World News)
The Walt Disney Company announced Thursday it had reached an agreement with its employee union on a new set of health and safety guidelines to protect workers from coronavirus.
According to Reuters.com, Disney and the Service Trades Council Union (STCU) agreed to a series of new preventative measures designed to safeguard employees, including social distancing practices, increased cleaning and mandatory masks for workers and guests.
The STCU represents around 43,000 workers at Disney World in Orlando.
Company officials recently announced Disney Springs would reopen on May 20 with a limited number of shops and restaurants open and altered hours of operation to control crowd size.
While the agreement with its employee union and the reopening of Disney Springs are positive steps, no date for opening Disney World back up to the public has been revealed. Earlier this week, though, the company’s official website began accepting hotel reservations for July.
Disney started closing theme parks in Asia, France and the United States in late January as a result of the coronavirus outbreak, a move that cost the company more than $1 billion between January and March.
In addition, Disney was forced to furlough around 120,000 employees, but positive signs from the reopening of Shanghai Disneyland this week has the theme park industry cautiously optimistic for the near future.
Disney World is planning a phased reopening with enhanced safety measures, but there is no set date for any official reopening.
Disney World Eyes Phased Reopening With Limited Capacity, Enhanced Safety Measures
Main Entrance to Walt Disney World Florida photo credit Dave Jones.
Disney Springs has announced it will begin a phased reopening on May 20 with limited capacity, parking and operating hours.
Under the initial phase, a limited number of shopping and dining experiences owned by third-party operating participants will open.
Walt Disney World Resort also issued an update on its overall reopening strategy on Thursday, stopping short of announcing a reopening date but confirming that it will limit capacity and encourage social distancing in an effort to slow the spread of coronavirus.
"Upon reopening, theme parks, Disney Resort hotels, restaurants, attractions, experiences and other offerings may be modified and will be limited in capacity and subject to limited availability or closure, based on direction from health experts and government officials to promote physical distancing," Disney said.
"Additionally, attractions, experiences, services and amenities may have limited availability or may remain closed. We will provide more information as it becomes available. We reserve the right to cancel any reservations, admission media or purchases and provide applicable refunds. Please also see our policies regarding cancellations by guests," the update reads. "Our focus remains on the health and safety of the entire Disney community—including the well-being of the cast members who are caring for and securing our parks and Resorts during the closure. We’re currently evaluating new and enhanced safety measures to help us all stay well."
The update comes on the heels of a message from Disney Parks Chief Medical Officer Dr Pamela Hymel outlining the steps the company will take to safely reopen.
Shanghai Disneyland is scheduled to reopen with controlled capacity on Monday.
Disney has reported massive losses since temporarily closing its parks in mid-March. However, a new report predicts a positive long-term outlook for theme parks in the wake of the COVID-19 crisis.
Marella Discovery to Sail From Port Canaveral in 2021
For the first time ever, Marella Cruises will base a ship in the United States as the Marella Discovery will sail from Port Canaveral in 2021.
The TUI-owned brand targeted at the British market will sail the Marella Discovery from the port beginning in Summer 2021, offering four new itineraries with 11 port-of-call visits.
“We’re excited that Marella Cruises has selected Port Canaveral as the homeport for its first-ever cruises from the United States,” Port CEO Captain John Murray said. “Today’s announcement is another endorsement that our ongoing investments in state-of-the-art terminals and commitment to excellence in cruise operations continue to earn the confidence of some of the world’s most successful cruise brands.”
Cruise bookings go on sale Thursday, Nov. 7, for 26 seasonal voyages from May 2, 2021, through Oct. 24, 2021.
The ship will sail from Port Canaveral’s Cruise Terminal 5.
“We’re really excited to be setting sail from the USA,” said Chris Hackney, Managing Director at Marella Cruises. “Expanding our program provides an opportunity for cruisers to sample the American Dream, and we’ve ensured there really is something for everyone, whether that’s a visit to Walt Disney World in Florida, an evening in New York, authentic jazz music in New Orleans or a rollercoaster in Busch Gardens. Offering our customers more choice and flexibility is at the heart of what we do.”
Customers sailing on Marella’s American Dream and Big Apple Adventure itineraries will enjoy an overnight stop in New York City. The Discovery will also visit Miami and Turks and Caicos on its Sunshine States and Sands itinerary. And customers can select seven- or 14-night options with an overnight stay in Tampa on the ship’s Floridian Favorites itinerary. Guests choosing one of the four itineraries also have the flexibility to extend their cruise ashore with available cruise-and-stay packages available in Orlando.
The Marella Discovery will make port-of-call visits to the Ports of Charleston, S.C., New York City, Freeport and Nassau, Bahamas, Norfolk, Va., Key West, Miami, Tampa, Fort Lauderdale and New Orleans.
Disney parks slip, but remain atop global theme park attendance report
Queues waiting to get inside the Magic Kingdom.
The 2016 TEA/AECOM Theme Index global attendance report is out, and Walt Disney World's Magic Kingdom remains the world's most popular theme park. But Disney's theme parks mostly saw their attendance slip in 2016, as rival Universal continued to see gains at most of its parks.
The top 25 most-attended theme parks worldwide in 2016:
Walt Disney World Magic Kingdom, 20,395,000, -0.5%
Disneyland, 17,943,000, -1.8%
Tokyo Disneyland, 16,540,000, -0.4%
Universal Studios Japan, 14,500,000, 4.3%
Tokyo DisneySea, 13,460,000, -1.0%
Epcot, 11,712,000, -0.7%
Disney's Animal Kingdom, 10,844,000, -0.7%
Disney's Hollywood Studios, 10,776,000, -0.5%
Universal Studios Florida, 9,998,000, 4.3%
Islands of Adventure, 9,362,000, 6.5%
Disney California Adventure, 9,295,000, -0.9%
Chimelong Ocean Kingdom, 8,474,000, 13.2%
Disneyland Paris, 8,400,000, -14.2%
Lotte World, 8,150,000, 11.5%
Universal Studios Hollywood, 8,086,000, 13.9%
Everland, 7,200,000, -3.0%
Hong Kong Disneyland, 6,100,000, -10.3%
Ocean Park, 5,996,000, -18.8%
Nagashima Spa Land, 5,850,000, -0.3%
Europa Park, 5,600,000, 1.8%
Shanghai Disneyland, New 5,600,000 (Opened in June)
Walt Disney Studios Paris, 4,970,000, -1.6%
Efteling, 4,764,000, 1.8%
Tivoli Gardens, 4,640,000, -2.0%
SeaWorld Orlando, 4,402,000, -7.9%
Also topping the four million mark worldwide were Busch Gardens Tampa (down 2.0%), Universal Studios Singapore (down 2.4%) and Knott's Berry Farm (up 3.8%). Singapore was the only Universal theme park to see an attendance dip last year. Overall attendance globally among the top 25 theme parks was down 1.1 percent, but attendance was up 1.2 percent among the top 20 parks in the United States, according to the report.
The big winner in attendance growth last year was Universal Studios Hollywood, boosted by the opening of The Wizarding World of Harry Potter in April. Shanghai Disneyland also helped turn the year positive for Walt Disney Parks and Resorts by attracting more than five million visitors in half a year of operation. All other Disney theme parks posted attendance declines last year.
The biggest losers were Hong Kong Disneyland and neighboring Ocean Park, which likely saw a loss of visitors to the new Shanghai Disneyland park, amplified by an ongoing tourism slump in Hong Kong. Disneyland Paris continued to disappoint in 2016, too, with its attendance dropping 14 percent. It's likely that many potential DLP guests put off their visit until this year, when the park is celebrating its 25th anniversary with the completion of many attraction renovations.
In the United States, Six Flags and Cedar Fair parks saw increases, while SeaWorld and Busch Gardens parks continued their slide. Busch Gardens Williamsburg fell from the U.S top 20, replaced by Six Flags Great America, north of Chicago.
Disney Cruise Line fans will have two new ports to try in 2018, when the line has itineraries scheduled to call in Bermuda and Quebec City.
The Disney Magic will sail from New York in the fall of 2018 on five-day sailings that include two full days in Bermuda and six-day sailings that include three days in Bermuda.
Seven-day itineraries will depart both New York and Quebec City, with visits scheduled at Saguenay and Baie-Comeau.
From New York, the Disney Magic will also make seven-day round trips to Castaway Cay, Disney’s private island in the Bahamas, and Port Canaveral, where a one-day Walt Disney World Park Hopper ticket plus complimentary round-trip transportation between the ship and the theme parks is included.
Disney Cruise Line altered a Mediterranean cruise next summer to eliminate port calls in Greece, Turkey and Malta.
The 12-night cruise on the Disney Magic is scheduled to depart Barcelona on Aug. 1. Its original itinerary included Athens as well as Mykonos in Greece, Kusadasi in Turkey and Valletta in Malta.
Other cruise lines have scrapped calls to the Greek island of Lesbos because of the refugee crisis and Turkey because of security concerns.
Disney has revised the itinerary almost completely, leaving only one port, Civitavecchia, from the original lineup. The cruise will now call in Olbia, Sardinia; Civitavecchia, Naples and Livorno, Italy; Palermo, Sicily; Villefranche-sur-Mer and Cannes, France; and Palma de Mallorca.
In a letter to travel agents, Disney said, “We realize this is a considerable change from the previously published itinerary and hope you and your client understand our desire to only provide the best possible experiences to our guests."
Customers have been given a choice of a refund, a change of sailings, or a $1,000 onboard credit if they stick with their original booking.
Jammed: Overcrowding at the world's most popular tourism sites
A jam-packed scene at Versailles. Photo Credit: pryzmat/Shutterstock.com
This past Christmas, Disneyland and Walt Disney World's Magic Kingdom temporarily reached maximum capacity and were forced to close their gates and turn away guests until the crowds thinned. And while these highly popular theme parks both routinely rank among the 20 most visited sites in the world, they are hardly the only destinations grappling with the challenge of how to balance a surging global traveling population with the finite capacity that tourist hot spots can sustain.
The 10 most visited tourist attractions in the world
10. Forbidden City, Beijing Annual Visitors: 15.3 M
9. Disneyland Park, Anaheim Annual Visitors: 16 M
8. Walt Disney World's Magic Kingdom, Orlando Annual Visitors: 17.5 M
7. Faneuil Hall Marketplace, Boston Annual Visitors: 18 M
6. Grand Central Terminal, New York Annual Visitors: 21.6 M
5. Niagara Falls Annual Visitors: 22.5 M
4. Union Station, Washington Annual Visitors: 32.9 M
3. Central Park, New York Annual Visitors: 37.5 M
2. Times Square, New York Annual Visitors: 39.2 M
1. Las Vegas Strip Annual Visitors: 39.7 M
This list is an excerpt of international home exchange clubLove Home Swap's 50 Most Visited Tourist Attractions in the World. Data was gathered from multiple sources. Attractions that don't sell tickets provided estimates. Attractions that could not distinguish between tourists and general visitors were not included.
In 2014, the number of international tourists reached 1.14 billion, 51 million more than in 2013, according to the World Tourism Organization, making it the fifth consecutive year of above-average growth in global tourism since the 2009 economic crisis. At the same time, the majority of the sites all those travelers are visiting aren't getting any bigger.
"Overcrowding is becoming a major issue at many global touristic destinations," said Randy Durband, president of the Global Sustainable Tourism Council. "All tourism destinations need meaningful destination-management plans and management structures that ensure sustainability in a very broad sense, and that includes [addressing the issue of] overcrowding."
Within private enterprises, such as Disney parks or museums, officials in charge of those institutions can work to implement crowd control measures however they deem fit, but when the problem spills out into public spaces, such as in the entire city of Venice or New York's Times Square, it's a bit less apparent whose problem crowding is.
"There's really nobody who has any authority or jurisdiction to manage this," Durband said.
Indeed, when the problem is not confined to a single institution, crowd management is often tackled by a patchwork of solutions and strategies.
"Who pays for it? If you're at Disney, Disney is going to pay for it," said Harold Goodwin, professor of Responsible Tourism Management at Leeds Metropolitan University and director of the International Centre for Responsible Tourism.
However, when it comes to London, where Goodwin lives, crowding has become a burden on the city and its residents.
"There are parts of London which I would now regard, as a Londoner, as a no-go area because there are too many tourists," he said.
Increasingly, the inevitable logjam of travelers during peak travel periods is creating myriad logistical and security problems for the companies, cities and institutions that manage these tourist draws. At best, travelers are often forced to visit places like Istanbul's Grand Bazaar and New York's Time Square crammed among hoards of selfie stick-toting tourists, or to wait in hours-long lines to get into places like the Eiffel Tower in Paris or Beijing's Forbidden City. At worst, they can't get in at all. The Palace of Versailles now has a "crowded days" calendar on its website asking visitors to simply stay away during those times.
"If you can, avoid the days of high attendance," the website advises. This includes the majority of June, July and August, the high-season months for travel to Europe. But if and when institutions have to actually turn away visitors, or if visitors can't get through the crowds to see what they came to see, that would appear to defeat the whole purpose of travel. That is, in fact, the moment at which the travel industry's success becomes its own downfall.
"Limiting the number of visitors must be seen as a means of last resort," Durband said. "So much can be done long before that step is even considered."
The Grand Bazaar in Istanbul consistently ranks among the most-visited sights in the world. Love Home Swap named it the 11th Most Visited Tourist Attraction in the World. Photo Credit: Michelle Baran
He said that tourism institutions need to explore methods to disperse visitors over various times in the day, seasons of the year and areas within or near the destination, which can alleviate many of the biggest problems with overcrowding. Transportation control issues often hold the key to better regulating visitor flow, Durband said, including policies and practices related to parking, the use of shuttle buses, regulating cruise ship access and requiring visitors to use a public transit system. But anyone who has been physically squeezed while trying to visit a popular museum or a jam-packed event might consider these strategies a case of doing too little too late.
"There is no one-way solution on the crowding of tourist destinations, as the issues and the resolutions are often site specific," the World Travel & Tourism Council (WTTC) wrote in an email statement in response to questions about the issue of crowd control in tourism destinations.
"With more and more people traveling, it is important that travel and tourism grows sustainably," the WTTC wrote. "Nearly 2 billion people are expected to travel internationally by 2030, with significantly more people traveling domestically. Tourism boards, governments and the private sector should work closely together in order to protect and preserve cultural heritage and traditions while accommodating this growing number of visitors at their destinations."
Sample solutions
Companies like Disney, institutions like the Louvre or destination marketing organizations (DMOs) that promote popular cities and countries live with the crowding dilemma day in and day out, and many of them have been quietly ramping up their efforts to address the issue in recent years. They are often working behind the scenes to implement a variety of tactics to improve flow, to disperse visitation over a greater area if possible and to spread attendance more evenly over the course of the year.
According to Atout France, France’s tourism development agency, Sacre Coeur in Paris welcomes some 10.5 million visitors annually.Photo Credit: Michelle Baran
Walt Disney World's Magic Kingdom, for example, has been able to accommodate a few thousand more guests per day during some peak travel periods due to its recently implemented MyMagic+ program. MagicBand radio-frequency identification bracelets enable guests to reserve time slots on attractions, vastly improving park visitation efficiency, according to Disney executives.
Walt Disney Parks and Resorts last month polled guests for their opinion on a potential three-tiered pricing strategy that theme park insiders said could be another step toward alleviating crowding. Disney asked survey participants about a system in which tickets would be sold at three pricing levels, with the highest priced tickets valid any day of the year, the middle-tier tickets valid on most days save for peak and holiday weeks, and the lowest priced tickets valid on off-peak weekdays.
"There's the possibility that such as system could reduce overcrowding on the busiest days in the parks, as higher prices, theoretically, would reduce the demand for those days," Robert Niles, editor of ThemeParkInsider.com, wrote on his site. "The downside is that the demand would shift to less popular days, increasing the crowd sizes on days that now enjoy lighter crowds."
NYC & Company, the tourism marketing arm for New York City, home to several of the world's most-visited tourist attractions, including Times Square, Central Park and Grand Central Terminal, continues to push toward its target of welcoming 67 million visitors by 2021. But it is also looking for ways to get those travelers to sprawl out across the entire city, not just congregate in tourism choke points.
"NYC & Company has a five-borough promotional strategy, and our goal is to spread visitors out across the entire city," said Chris Heywood, the DMO's senior vice president for global communications. "This strategy has been in place for several years. For two and a half years, we have put a stronger focus on neighborhood travel."
The campaign, initially called Neighborhood X Neighborhood, was rebranded earlier this year as NYCGO Insider Guides. Recent neighborhood spotlights have included the Flatiron District and Coney Island, with NYC & Company providing itineraries and insider tips via documentary-style short films about these lesser-known areas of the city. Next, it plans to promote Governors Island, St. George on Staten Island and Jackson Heights in Queens.
"We also have marketing strategies in place to shift demand to slower periods like January and February," Heywood said. "We run programs like Restaurant Week and Broadway Week during those times, for instance."
The trend of DMOs promoting off-season travel and off-beat locales has been gaining momentum in recent years.
Robin Johnson, head of overseas operations for VisitBritain, said, "A big part of our work going forward will be to address the issue of regional dispersal. Only recently, we set a number of targets to counter London-only travel."
Throngs of tourists crowd the entry to Buckingham Palace in London to get a glimpse of the changing of the guards ceremony. Photo Credit: Michelle Baran
In an attempt to address crowding head-on, the Louvre in Paris in the fall released details of an ambitious Pyramid Project, a $59 million initiative scheduled to be completed by 2017 that is intended to improve traffic flow, reduce noise and better accommodate the mounting number of guests who pass through the I.M. Pei-designed crystal pyramid that serves as the Louvre's reception area.
"At the time of their inauguration in 1989, the museum's reception areas were designed to receive 3 to 5 million visitors," said Jean-Luc Martinez, the Louvre's president and director. "Twenty years on, annual museum attendance has reached 9.5 million visitors."
Martinez said that the new project would double the entry points to the pyramid, which should help alleviate the frustrations and challenges of crowding significantly. The museum is attempting to reduce noise pollution through the installation of sound-absorbing partitions and a sheltered ticket office and to offer visitors better access to information through improved signage.
An age-old problem
The crowding problem is as antiquated as some of the ancient treasures tourists are trampling all over one another to see.
The Grand Palace in the Thai capital of Bangkok is said to welcome some 8 million travelers each year. Photo Credit: Michelle Baran
Tom Jenkins, president of the European Tour Operators Association, said, "This is a very old subject. It's been going on forever. Famously, Rome had a major problem with visitor overcrowding in [the year] 1300 when there were too many Jubilee pilgrims. People have been complaining about the crowds at European tourists sites for over 100 years."
Jenkins predicts that the crowding issue will ultimately sort itself out.
"This is a problem of success and has a pattern of being self-regulating," he said. "When people see it's too crowded, they have a tendency to stay away. ... It's not news that popular places are very crowded."
Jenkins represents a segment of the marketplace that in some ways stands to gain from the crowding. Tour operators often benefit from their ability to get groups past the lines and into popular sites after hours.
Likewise, Trafalgar President Paul Wiseman said, "We overcome the crowding with our VIP entrance program," which gets guests past the lines and straight into popular attractions. "That part actually is a huge selling point for us on the guided side."
Wiseman said the crowding of popular destinations during the busy summer months is also beginning to have another effect: increasing bookings in the off-peak travel season. The autumn, winter and spring programs are now upwards of 15% of Trafalgar's business, said Wiseman, who added that the shoulder or off-peak seasons offer three essential selling points: "Beat the crowds, beat the heat, the prices are lower."
Companies like Trafalgar are also seeing more demand for off-the-beaten-path destinations. And while that's as much about repeat travelers searching for new experiences as it is about crowding, a byproduct of extreme crowds in popular destinations is that they can make lesser-known attractions suddenly seem more appealing to the crowd-averse traveler.
A crowd touring the grounds of Beijing’s Forbidden City. Visitors are often forced to wait in hours-long lines to gain access to the attraction, which was named the 10th Most Visited Tourist Attraction in the World by Love Home Swap, a home exchange club that offers 70,000-plus properties in 160 countries.
"There are lots of very cool, very appealing destinations that are being developed," Durband said of up-and-coming destinations that see overflow elsewhere as an opportunity to attract more travelers. "There are places getting ready for more mainstream travel."
Still, the fact remains that many travelers, especially first-time globe trotters of which a whole new crop is emerging from developing source markets such as China, will want to visit trendy locales during the summer, when the weather is likely to be best and, consequently, when the crowds are biggest.
"First-time travelers, they still want to see the icons," Wiseman said. "It can be Rome in the middle of summer, 100 degrees on the busiest day of the year, and they want to see the Colosseum."
That means that the crowding issue is going to continue to challenge the travel industry well into the foreseeable future. According to one industry veteran, it is in fact the single biggest challenge.
"We used to say in the land-tour business that the cruise business was our competition," Arthur Tauck Jr., chairman of Tauck, said recently. But today, he said, "the competition of the entire travel industry is crowds. The world is becoming jammed."
Walt Disney Co. and its cruise line are on a roll.
The entertainment and media giant reported earnings rose 10% for the second quarter of this year with the fastest growth at its Parks and Resorts unit (which includes Disney Cruise Line), where operating income grew 24%.
What is Disney doing right?
First and most directly, it is raising prices. Disney said its earnings growth at parks and resorts was “primarily due to increases in average ticket prices at our theme parks and cruise line,” along with more spending on food and merchandise and higher average hotel rates.
Single-day tickets at Walt Disney World in Orlando cracked the $100 barrier last year. And Disney Cruise Line prices are generally much higher than competitors on similar routes.
Tom Stieghorst
A random comparison shows a balcony cabin on a 7-day Eastern Caribbean cruise departing Port Canaveral on Dec. 5 listed at $1,814 per person on Disney’s website and $912.50 on Carnival Cruise Line’s site.
Several things that underlie Disney’s pricing power are qualities that other cruise lines are also trying to achieve.
One is brand strength. On a 2014 ranking compiled by Interbrand, a unit of ad giant Omnicom, Disney held the 13th strongest global brand, just behind Intel and just ahead of Cisco Systems. Interbrand said Disney’s power as a brand stems from its “use of technology and data to understand what customers want and personalize their experiences.”
A second pillar of pricing power is capacity control. Disney has resisted the temptation to expand its fleet of four ships, the last of which was delivered three years ago. Unlike many lines, Disney has no ships on order. That helps keep supply scarce and drives demand.
But that doesn’t mean Disney gets stale. It frequently upgrades the experience, especially with new entertainment including shows from hit movies like Frozen and Tangled.
And Disney has a pipeline to first-time cruisers through its theme parks, where much of the programming on a Disney ship can be experienced. Disney cruise customers know what they’re getting even if they've never been on a cruise ship before.Of course, we don’t know exactly how Disney’s higher pricing translates into profits, as those vital numbers are buried in the results of the overall parks and resorts division.
My guess is that Disney Cruise Line makes a solid contribution.
I had the chance last week to spend some time at a Central Florida theme park, one of the cruise industry’s competitors for the vacation dollar.
Universal Studios Orlando offers a formidable array of attractions, including an evening entertainment complex, three luxury hotels with a budget-priced resort in the wings and a pair of theme parks chock full of roller coasters, rides and faithful backlot reproductions of New York, San Francisco and even Homer Simpson’s hometown, Springfield.
The latest project at Universal is a re-creation of London for an attraction devoted to literary wizard Harry Potter. Sometime this summer The Wizarding World of Harry Potter — Diagon Alley will open, bringing the Wyndham Theater and other landmarks of the city to more than 6 million Universal Studios visitors annually.
Cruise lines have one crucial edge in the competition. While theme parks must re-create the world in Central Florida, cruise ships can actually bring guests to all of the fascinating destinations that can only be represented at land-based parks.
It seems almost too obvious to mention, but “destination” sometimes gets lost in the cruise industry’s sales initiatives.
One of Wizarding World’s marvels will be a train, the Hogwarts Express, running between the new attraction in Universal Studios and the original Harry Potter theme area in the adjacent Islands of Adventure park.
Although Universal is withholding details, executives hint that the train will have video screens instead of windows to project images of London and the British countryside on the journey from Diagon Alley to the imaginary Hogsmeade village in Scotland. It will be exciting to see, and I’ll look forward to it as much as the next theme park fan. But on a cruise excursion one could see the real thing in all of its glory. That has to trump seeing the facsimile in Orlando, no matter how clever the reproduction.
The same applies to the themed re-creations of France, China and Morocco in Walt Disney World’s Epcot or the Bavarian beer hall at Busch Gardens in Tampa. How much better to drink some locally brewed beer in Hamburg, or see the quays of Shanghai from the deck of a cruise ship.
Orlando has its advantages, too. Plenty of people who struggle to afford going abroad can see a version of distant lands there. But cruises can take guests to the real thing, and that’s a selling point agents ought to play up.
Disney plans Star Wars and Marvel attractions for theme parks
By Michelle Baran
On the heels of announcing the date for the next Star Wars movie — Dec. 18, 2015 — and that it would begin developing a Marvel-themed series for Netflix, executives at the Walt Disney Co. said that its two most recently acquired franchises will eventually have a greater presence at the company’s theme parks.
“Both of today's announcements underscore the value of two of our major acquisitions, Marvel and Lucasfilm,” Disney CEO Bob Iger said during the company’s fourth-quarter earnings call on Thursday.
“As you know, over the last several years, we've made a number of major acquisitions and capital investments to drive growth and create shareholder value. Now that some on those investments have been completed and the acquisitions are fully integrated, their positive impact is clear in our results, especially in parks and resorts.”
Iger said that the Disneyland Resort in California had record attendance, revenue and profitability during Cars Land’s first full year of operation at Disney’s California Adventure. It was an example of how the Pixar franchise enhanced the parks experience.
As for integrating the newer franchises, Hong Kong Disneyland will become home to the company’s first Marvel themed attraction, the Iron Man Experience, in late 2016.
Disney’s Parks and Resorts division continues to be a strong and growing segment of the company’s business. Revenue for the fourth quarter, which ended on Sept. 28, increased 8% to $3.7 billion, and segment operating income increased 15% to $571 million. For the year, Parks and Resorts revenue grew 9% to $14.1 billion and segment operating income increased 17% to $2.2 billion.
Walt Disney World set attendance records for the year, assisted by the Magic Kingdom’s Fantasyland expansion, which will be fully completed in 2014. Disney has also begun construction on an Avatar-themed area at the Animal Kingdom park in Florida, and is continuing to work on a full rollout of the MyMagic+ program.
The Tokyo Disney Resort and Hong Kong Disneyland also had record attendance this year.
The Walt Disney Co.’s fourth-quarter revenue grew 7% to $11.6 billion, and net income grew 12% to $1.4 billion.
Full-year revenue increased 7% to $45 billion, and full-year net income increased 8% to $6.1 billion.
Disney Magic cruise cancelled to complete renovations
By Tom Stieghorst
Disney Cruise Line has cancelled a sailing of the Disney Magic in order to complete extensive renovations to the 15-year old ship.
The five-day cruise was scheduled to depart Miami Oct. 20, but bad weather during a transatlantic crossing from Spain made it impossible for workers on board to finish needed refurbishment work on time. The ship had been undergoing renovations in dry dock in Spain following its Mediterranean season.
Passengers booked on the cruise will get a full refund and a complimentary Disney Magic sailing between now and May 16. Airline change fees will also be covered.
Alternately, they can opt for a 35% discount on a Bahamas or Caribbean cruise any time in the next two years, excluding holiday dates.
The Disney Magic is getting new restaurants, children's play areas, water slides and other features, along with a complete overhaul of furnishings, fixtures and colour schemes.
Disney Magic renovation aims for 'something for everybody'
By Tom Stieghorst
GALVESTON, Texas -- The 15-year-old Disney Magic will get new water features and more exciting slides in a September refurbishment that will be the biggest in the ship's history.
The tone is set by the AquaDunk, a thrill slide in which riders step into a chamber, a door closes, the bottom falls out, and a plunge of 40 feet ensues before riders loop out over the ocean in an enclosed tube.
Also new will be "Twist N' Spout," which Disney executives describe as a family slide.
It will replace the tamer slide that goes into the Mickey Pool, which will be reborn as AquaLab after the renovations.
The general idea is to make the pool and water areas on the Disney Magic less age-specific, said Joe Lanzisero, senior creative vice president at Walt Disney Imagineering.
Lanzisero, the ship's chief designer, led a preview tour of upgrades for a handful of journalists during a recent turnaround, using iPads to display renderings of the new features.
He said families on Disney ships prefer to stay together rather than be broken up into smaller units (although the Quiet Cove pool remains adults-only).
"We think now, between the family slide, the AquaLab, the thrill slide, that there should be something for everybody out there," Lanzisero said.
Currently sailing from Galveston, the Disney Magic will spend the summer in the Mediterranean before its six-week drydock in Cadiz, Spain. Afterward, it will head to Miami to replace the Disney Wonder for the rest of 2013.
The pool deck will get the most noticeable makeover, but Disney is making changes throughout the ship to freshen it, change the predominant color scheme and replace some of the more dated concepts.
One area in need of an update, Lanzisero said, is the casual restaurant now called Parrot Cay, which has a quasi-tiki design. Under its new name, Carioca's, it will get a more contemporary and "timeless" look, he said.
The children's play areas will be redone, in part to accommodate Disney's $4 billion acquisition of Marvel Entertainment, whose stable of superheroes, including the Avengers, will be represented for the first time at sea on the Disney Magic, Lanzisero said.
"We definitely wanted to do something with Marvel, especially for boys," Lanzisero said.
Another big change will be additional space for Topsider, the upper-deck buffet restaurant, which will gain seats by enclosing some walkways and adjacent exterior deck areas. It will be rechristened Cabanas, given an Australian beach theme and have serving stations rather than cafeteria-style lines.
Two areas that won't change much are Animator's Palette and the adult restaurant Palo's, which are both so popular that Disney plans to leave them essentially as they are.
The Magic will keep its art deco design elements but have a lighter, more aquatic color scheme.
The pool changes include building stairs beside the ship's forward funnel to access the AquaDunk, a follow-on to the bigger AquaDuck water coaster developed for the Disney Dream and Fantasy.
The Disney Magic's pool changes will also include adding waterplay features from newer Disney ships, such as bucket dumps and, for children under 3, an interactive Nephew's Splash Zone with pop jets and bubblers similar to Nemo's Reef on the Disney Dream.
Downtown Disney to be transformed into Disney Springs
By Jerry Limone
Disney on Thursday unveiled plans to transform Downtown Disney, a shopping and dining district at the Walt Disney World Resort in Florida, into Disney Springs.
The re-imagined destination will “draw inspiration from Florida’s waterfront towns and natural beauty,” Disney said.
Construction is slated to begin next month, with new areas opening in phases. The entire project is scheduled to be completed in 2016.
Disney Springs will include four outdoor neighborhoods: Town Center, The Landing, Marketplace and West Side.
The Town Center will offer shopping and dining along with a promenade. Disney describes The Landing as a commercial district “with inspired dining and beautiful waterfront views.”
Marketplace will feature an over-the-water pedestrian causeway and an expanded World of Disney store.
Disney said the West Side neighborhood will “provide an exuberant atmosphere with lively entertainment, along with a series of new elevated spaces that provide both shade and an overlook to the activity below.”
Neighborhoods will be interconnected by a flowing spring and lakefront. Disney also plans a new gateway and a signature water tower for the destination.
Disney Springs will have twice as many shops, restaurants and other venues (about 150 establishments) as Downtown Disney, the company said.
Disney introduces ID bracelets for park entry and more
By Michelle Baran
Within the next few months, guests to Walt Disney World will be able to enter the parks, purchase food and merchandise, enter their hotel room and access certain rides using MagicBand bracelet, which will serve as an optional payment account.
The MagicBand bracelet is part of a larger, technological initiative called MyMagic+ that Walt Disney Parks and Resorts is rolling out over the next several months in an attempt to improve the guest experience.
“Imagine booking guaranteed ride times for your favorite shows and attractions even before setting foot in the park,” Tom Staggs, chairman of Walt Disney Parks and Resorts, wrote on theDisney Parks Blog. “With MyMagic+, guests will be able to do that and more, enabling them to spend more time together and creating an experience that’s better for everyone.”\
Staggs wrote that MyMagic+ will be rolled out over the next several months at the Walt Disney World Resort in Florida.
They will include the MagicBand as well as a new website and mobile app called My Disney Experience.
Through an enhanced FastPass system (FastPass is the current system that allows guests to skip attraction lines) called FastPass+, guests will be able to book dining and other activities, and reserve times for certain attractions and shows. They will also be able to use their smartphones to change their plans while at the park.
They will also be able to reserve viewing areas for fireworks and parades, as well as Disney character meetings.
The MagicBand will provide access to all the FastPass+ experiences selected and will serve as a connection to Disney’s PhotoPass program (PhotoPass is a photo taking, storing and sharing service).
The MagicBand will initially be made available to select Walt Disney World Resort hotel guests and guests who purchase other products, though Disney didn’t elaborate on which products those are.
Other guests will be able to use their standard ticket to access the benefits of MyMagic+, such as making FastPass+ selections on My Disney Experience.
“The MagicBand does not store any personal information — it contains a code that securely links to an encrypted database that associates the MagicBand with the benefits a guest has purchased,” Disney said in a statement. “Extensive measures are in place to protect the privacy of guests and the security of the personal information they choose to share.”
Guests are not required to participate in the MyMagic+ program or use the MagicBands, which can be disabled if lost. There is no additional charge for the MyMagic+ program.
“We’ll be testing, adjusting and adding features to MyMagic+ and My Disney Experience over time and will continue to make improvements based on our guests’ feedback,” wrote Staggs.
