Creating the vision of the Most Magical Place On Earth

Now in my continued deep dive of the marketing aspects of Disney, the parks and their hotels are a part of the company in which I am most intrigued by and have the most pre-knowledge of. From just 4 years old I had been grateful enough to have had the chance to travel to the Disney Parks, having visited Disney Land, California and most notably Disney World, Florida. Having been invested in the parks and the 'happiest place on earth' atmosphere they create from a young age, I have had a passion to learn all of the smallest secrets they contain possible, to find out how in fact they are able to create this image. For this blog post, I hope, to my best attempt, to cover the marketing tactics of the parks, with a focus on Florida's Disney World, but also with a note to other parks outside of the United States.

The doors to Disney World opened officially on 1st October 1971 bringing to Florida the alternate to the world famous Disney Land in California. However, from the get go Disney World was set up to be very different and was created in a way that separated the magic of Disney from the outside world. Walt, after seeing how quickly the price of land rose around the California Park, which forced Disney land to be confined to a certain amount of space, decided that this time round he would secretly purchase a large amount of land under a different name. This was in order to prevent other businesses from deciding to buy the land and therefore prevented businesses increasing the prices or limiting the amount of land he could buy. This decision was a successful strategy, as the ambience of Disney World was created in a way that removes customers from the stress of the outdoor world, with the Florida site even having its own special Disney highway due to the amount of land Walt bought. This can help with increased amount of customers returning to the parks, as they see it as a place to step away from real life stress. This moreover, was successful as it allowed for more room for more Disney parks, refurbishments and hotels to be made on site, something that was limited in California, thus encouraging consumers to stay on the property instead of in cheaper alternatives outside and therefore a successful marketing strategy.

Another way that Disney has continued to establish a magic stress free ambience is within smaller marketing strategy's in its' parks. Within each land music is catered based around the specific theming. Frontierland, in Magic Kingdom, presents a western orchestral remake of Disney songs; Hollywood Studios exhibits a old Hollywood with Disney music sounding as if it is from the 1st half of the 20th century and Tomorrowland, in Magic Kingdom, gives an electronic, futuristic feel of beloved songs to the area. Other parks and other areas within parks moreover contribute to the theming, for example within each different country in Epcot. With not only the music, but also with the design of the buildings, the food and drinks, the products they sell and even the staff coming from and being catered around the country presented in the World Showcase. But why do this? Well this is a clear marketing strategy to make consumers feel immersed in the area they are in and feel included within what Disney are presenting to them, so even when they know they are in Florida, U.S.A they can feel like they are in Japan or France or in Canada, whilst never having travelled there before. And this idea carries on even to parks like Animal Kingdom, with its' Avatar area, whilst a fictional feel can still make the guest feel like they are truly in Pandora, even with their ride, the Flight of Passage. The use of rides, is another way to remove consumers from the stress of the outside world. The Flight of Passage not only uses 4D screens, but also seats, which make the rider feel like they themselves are on a Navi with movements to feel like breathes from the animal. Moreover, scents sprayed at certain parts of the ride are used to create a more immersive feel. 

This scent technique is not only used in other rides like Soarin', in Epcot, but also in stores. Why? Well for stores that sell confectionary, the sweet desert like scent can encourage people to come into stores they may not otherwise have and buy goods like their candied apples and pastries. Other small details, can add to the stress free perception, with trash cans 30 feet from whether you walk, to keep the parks clean and the feel of Disney alive. With even the design of trash cans being specially made to prevent any nasty smells, which could take away from the magical feel of the parks. In addition, employees use well hidden back tunnels and entrances, which are clearly hidden from guests in order to not ruin the happy display, this system is also used to ensure that no two of the same character is in the same area at the same time, which could spoil the sense of magic. Moreover, the idea of keeping things hidden from the guests as a marketing strategy is within the use of paint weirdly enough. The two colours coined 'Go Away Green' and 'Blending Blue' or 'Bye-Bye Blue' are used throughout the parks with big buildings that Disney do not want guests to see, which could hold rides and be used as storage area, again not to spoil the authenticity of the feeling the company wants to bring. They even use these colours on items like construction fences, as they are seen as easily unnoticeable to viewers. 

Another strategy that attributes well to Disney financially, through its products, is in its revolving availability of different items. While the Disney parks do keep classics in its stores, due to sheer popularity, Disney will also take what is already known and loved and mixed it up in order to retain interest and cause a rush to buy goods, as items are seen as 'limited' or 'rare'. For example, spirit jerseys. The sweatshirt like item has been redone and remade multiple times, all to fit different themes and colours, for example most noticeably Halloween and Christmas. The use of holidays is another big way in order to retain and attract more consumerism due to the idea of limited time not just limited products. Within the holiday periods, not only are food, drinks and rides changed accordingly, but also the outside of buildings and the music played. This encourages, customers to specifically  come back to Disney within these periods, in order to get the festival feel that Disney deliberately attempts to give, with the Halloween period starting at the parks as early as late August. For example, within the period of Halloween, the Haunted Mansion is changed to instead suit the story of Jack the Skeleton in the Nightmare before Christmas, rather than its usual ghost story, which can appeal to guests who want to experience the ride within the time available. Moreover, other popular items like Mickey ears, Starbuck cups and Popcorn buckets are other great examples. With the themed Starbuck cups and Popcorn buckets even causing hour queues and a limit of 1 item per paying customer due to the number of resellers and interest in the products.

Another way that Disney retains interests within its parks is with the creation of new rides and areas within the parks. For example, the creation of Star Wars land, added to the old Star Tours area in Hollywood Studios, which not only brought 2 new immersive rides to the park, but also 2 immersive experiences, with the ability to make your own droid and lightsaber in a special show. Moreover, even a bar designed like Oga's Cantina was created in order to cater to die har Star Wars fans, or other guest who wanted to try out the special drinks only found there. On top of this the area was designed specifically around the movies, with a life-size Millennium Falcom and characters, like Rey and Chewbacca, walking around. This was a successful marketing strategy, as it appealed directly to Star Wars fans and created hour long queues for the 2 rides.

However, sometimes there is a risk in the creation of new rides, as sometimes rides are instead refurbished instead of made completely new. An example of this is with the Guardian's of the Galaxy Cosmic Rewind, which replaced the old Ellen's Energy Adventure. At first this created a lot of disappointment with fans who viewed the ride as a classic, however overall since the opening the overwhelming review has been positive. With this marketing strategy as adhering to what is seen as 'trendy', with the popularity of Marvel and the new Guardians of the Galaxy movie. Another example can include the creation of the land of Avatar, when the production of Avatar 2 was underway, in order to re-spike interest. But, all of this change can strike the idea that sometimes not everything new or every marketing strategy is good. Another ride classic ride which is set for refurbishment is Splash Mountain, themed instead to be based around the bayou from the Princess and the Frog. While, Splash Mountain was viewed as an untouchable classic, the ride has been closed for refurbishment due to the discriminative undertones. Though this has caused some uproar in fans and can be seen as a risky marketing decision, the company does also have a duty to uphold a level of corporate social responsibility (CSR), and in this case with the racist connotation that Song of the South, the film the ride was base off of, presented. However despite all of this, the new idea for Splash will do little to affect the ambience of the area it is in, due to it keeping the same structure, concept (of the drops) and with it still fitting in nicely to the theming of Frontierland, but all whilst removing the old controversial story.

A marketing strategy, which is less physical, like a product or service, is in the use of Disney employees or rather as they are called by the company, 'Cast Members'. The name itself pushes the company away from the idea of a normal stressful 9-5 job and encourages people to want to come back to the parks, due to the stress free aspect established. Another example can be how consumers are called 'guest' rather than customers, to take away from the stress of price. Moreover, cast members are expected to always show a happy exterior in order to maintain the happy feel of the parks for these guests and they can even create what are known as 'magic moments' for certain people. While in some eyes this can be viewed as a waste of money and time, it is actually encouraged within employees, as due to the use of social media, it can boost views and likes and encourage others to come to the parks. Social media is a clear marketing strategy within today's modern age, with influencers even invited by Disney itself to come to the parks and try out new products or services, due to the positive influence they have on their views. Moreover, iconic Insta-grammable photo opportunities even are used in order to boost attendance, with images like outside Castle on Main Street USA being notorious in the parks. Even smaller areas like the purple wall as you enter Tomorrowland and the Bubble Gum Wall outside the exit of Spaceship Earth being wildly popular and used.

Now quickly looking outside of Disney World, the expansion of the parks into other countries has been a very prevalent marketing strategy, but also a very rocky one. The movement of the idea of Disney land into Florida was a very successful one, however this was within the same country and both with a Western market. The creation of Tokyo Disney was the first to come outside of the United States, in 1983, and whilst not entirely a failure caused some disappointment as the company realised the guests were more interested in taking pictures outside of rides then actually using them. Further, they realised that the country did not want an exact replica of the US parks, but one that catered to their culture. And this is where Disney's marketing group and imagineers had to learn how to balance their US Western Disney with the culture of the country they were entering. Another clear example of this is the creation of EuroDisney in 1992, which at first saw mass failure due to the revolt from the locals, who did not want to be Americanised in any sense. Therefore the marketing team had to take a step back and rebrand eventually as Disneyland Paris. Since the company has established its theme parks in over 5 different countries, with a total of 12 parks and has dominated itself in theme park market and as a brand, with I'm sure many more marketing strategies in the future to come.

Now thats all for now, hope you enjoyed a small insight of the mind behind the business decisions behind Disney, see you next time. x

S.S