ANAHEIM, Calif. — Themed food? Check. Special drink? Check. Exclusive merchandise? Check. Limited size entertainment? Check and check again.
Special themed festivals at theme parks offer visitors a unique experience, usually at no additional cost beyond park admission (except for snacks and T-shirts, of course).
For consultants selling theme parks, limited-run festivals and events not only provide the opportunity to collect and publish fresh marketing content that may appeal to a specific group of visitors, but can also be a final part of closing the sale.
These festivals take many forms and vary from year to year.Some of the most popular festivals, such as the Walt Disney World Resort Epcot International Food and Wine Festival, occur every year, but some occur more sporadically. Most recently, the Disneyland Resort here hosted Pixar Festival for the first time since it first took place in 2018.
Brew-Wing Lab’s pickle shake and incredible buffalo chicken tenders at the 2023 Epcot International Food and Wine Festival. Photo credit: Jamie Biesiada
“We love giving our trade partners something new to share with their customers, especially a limited-time product or a limited-time event,” said Lynn Clark, Disneyland Resort vice president of sales and service. “
Many trade partners were invited to preview Pixar Festival before it officially began, gathering content to share with customers and potential customers. Disney also provides travel advisor content for marketing and social media, and Clark said the company hosts agency groups on social media family trips.
Disneyland Resort is taking a different tack this year: It is providing trade partners with an early 2024 events calendar to help organizations plan marketing campaigns.
“They could sell further ahead of time,” Clark said. “It’s been really, really popular.”
Susanne Hays, owner and president Fairy Tale Journey Tourism A doctor in Alexandria, Alabama, says it helps to have a calendar ahead of time. Pixar Festival in particular offers a unique selling point for Disneyland. Hayes predicts this will help improve customers who live on the East Coast, who typically choose to spend their summer vacation at Walt Disney World in Orlando. A film festival centered around such popular films and characters might be enough to lure them to the West Coast.
In Fairytale Journey, consultants can draw from a central catalog of content collected at events like the Pixar Film Festival, she said. While the content has the agency logo on it, advisors can customize the messaging around it, often with links to their own quote forms etc.
“Not everyone can participate in all of these things,” Hayes said. “That’s one of the great things about our agency – we’re passionate about sharing content with our advisors and they’re passionate about sharing content with us. It’s a win-win for both parties.”
exist small world vacation Trip reports are also shared among advisors, says Sue Pisaturo, president and founder of Washington Township, N.J. (No. 61 on Travel Weekly’s power rankings).
Pisaturo will share her report from the Pixar Festival, and while her agents aren’t mandated to share their own trip reports agency-wide, they often do so. And the content often has legs.
For example, “It’s a Small World,” a video released at Pixar’s Buzz Lightyear Festival during “Together Forever—Pixar’s Nighttime Spectacular,” has been viewed more than 1 million times.
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Adam Duckworth, President and Founder Travel Information Visitors to Fort Lauderdale (No. 55 on Travel Weekly’s Power List) say that in addition to providing a marketing boost, special festivals can draw niche groups to the parks.
“I think any additional marketing resources or marketing pieces that can be given to travel advisors would be beneficial,” he said.
Woody from “Toy Story” at the Better Together: Pixar Pals Celebration Parade at Disney California Adventure.Photo credit: Jamie Bisjada
Marketing of specific festivals can attract others: Garden and gardening enthusiasts may want to visit Epcot International Flower and Garden Festival In the spring, or Pixar fans might be drawn to events at Disneyland, he said.
Holidays also help close sales. “When you’re talking about people who might be on the fence, they can be a clear selling point,” Duckworth said.
For example, with Pixar Festival, a family might have kids who love the Toy Story movies or The Incredibles. Characters from both have appeared at Pixar Festival in various forms. Disneyland is also currently hosting Seasons of the Force, which offers special Star Wars-themed events such as a nighttime experience with Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge.
“The Disney fanbase is so niche right now in the things they love because Disney has so much [intellectual property],” Duckworth said. “It provides different opportunities. “
He added that this is also a strategy adopted by Disney Cruise Line on its ships, including themed cruises such as Marvel Day at Sea, Pixar Day at Sea and Star Wars Day at Sea.
