ANAHEIM, Calif. — Themed food? Check. Special drink? check. Limited goods? check. Do you have limited-time entertainment, big or small? Check it out.
Specially themed festivals at theme parks offer unique experiences for guests and often cost no additional fees beyond park admission (minus snacks and T-shirts, of course).
Additionally, for advisors selling theme parks, pop-up festivals and events not only provide an opportunity to collect and post fresh marketing content that may attract a specific subset of travelers; It can also be the final element in closing the sale.
Festivals take many forms and vary from year to year. Some of the most popular, such as the Epcot International Food & Wine Festival at Walt Disney World Resort, are held annually, while others are held sporadically. Most recently, Pixar Fest was held here at the Disneyland Resort for the first time since its debut in 2018.
Brew Wing Lab's Pickled Milkshake and Impossible Buffalo Chicken Tenders at the 2023 Epcot International Food & Wine Festival. Photo credit: Jamie Biesiada
“We love giving our business partners something new to share with their customers, especially when it comes to limited-time products or limited-time events,” said Lynn Clark, vice president of sales and service for Disneyland Resort. Ta.
Before Pixar Fest officially begins, many business partners were invited to preview Pixar Fest and gather content to share with customers and prospects. Disney also provides content to travel advisors for use in marketing and social media, and Clark said the company hosts a social media family travel agent group.
Disneyland Resort took a different tack this year. A calendar of events for early 2024 has been provided to trading partners to help agents plan their marketing activities.
“There may be further sales up front,” Clark said. “It was really, really well received.”
Suzanne Hayes, owner and president of Fairy Tale Journeys Travel in Alexander City, Alabama, said it's helpful to have a calendar in advance. And Pixar Fest in particular provides Disneyland with a unique selling point. Hayes predicted this would be a catalyst for customers who live on the East Coast and typically spend their summer vacations at Walt Disney World in Orlando. A festival centered around such popular films and characters should be enough to attract them to the West Coast.
With Fairytale Journeys, advisors can pull information from a central directory of content collected at events like Pixar Fest, she said. The content bears the agency's logo, but advisors can customize the message around it, often including links to things like their own quote forms.
“Not everyone can participate in all of these things,” Hayes said. “That’s one of the great things about our agents: we’re enthusiastic about sharing content with our advisors, and our advisors are enthusiastic about sharing content with us. It’s a win-win. is.”
At Small World Vacations in Washington Township, N.J. (No. 61 on Travel Weekly's Power List), travel reports are also shared among advisors, said Sue Pisaturro, president and founder.
Pisaturo shares his Pixar Fest report. Agents are not required to share their trip reports company-wide, but they often do. And the content often has legs.
For example, the video “Small World” posted by Pixar Fest, which features Buzz Lightyear flying during the “Together Forever — A Pixar Nighttime Spectacular” show, received more than 1 million views.
Marketing tools for advisors
In addition to boosting marketing, special festivals bring niche groups to the park, says Adam Duckworth, president and founder of Fort Lauderdale's Travelmation (No. 55 on Travel Weekly's Power List). He said he could.
“I think anything that we can provide to travel advisors as an additional marketing resource or marketing element is beneficial,” he said.
Woody from Toy Story during the Better Together: Pixar Pals Celebration Parade at Disney California Adventure Park.Photo by Jamie Biesiada
Festival-specific marketing may attract others. Fans of gardens and topiary may want to visit the Epcot International Flower and Garden Festival in the spring, he said, while Pixar fans may be drawn to events at Disneyland.
Festivals also help increase sales. Duckworth said they are “a clear selling point when you're talking about people who may be suffering from anxiety.”
For example, at Pixar Fest, a family might have a child who is a fan of the Toy Story and Incredibles movies. Both characters appear at Pixar Fest in various forms. Disneyland is also currently hosting Season of the Force, which features special Star Wars-themed offerings, including a nighttime experience at Star Wars: Galaxy's Edge.
“The Disney fan base is now very niche in terms of what they like, because Disney has so much to offer.” [intellectual property]”It provides a variety of opportunities,” Duckworth said.
This is also a strategy that Disney Cruise Line uses on its ships for themed cruises such as Marvel Day at Sea, Pixar Day at Sea, and Star Wars Day at Sea. he added.
