Why For WDW’s 40th anniversary celebration is kind of a modest affair

Jim Hill

13 years ago

Brent SD writes in to ask about JHM's 40^th-anniversary-of-Walt-Disney-World
coverage. Or lack thereof.

I can't help but notice that while many of the other Disney
news sites have been doing article after article this week about Disney World's
40^th birthday, JimHillMedia has been posting stories about Knott's
Berry Farm, The Chew and the Disney Channel. Am I reading too much into this
situation? Or is JHM deliberately steering away from covering Disney World's
birthday?

Dear Brent SD,

Not deliberately, no. But that said … Well, I guess that I
have to admit that I do share WDW management's somewhat lackadaisical attitude
when it comes to the Resort's 40^th anniversary.

The face art from the 40th anniversary limited edition artisan watch
which will be sold in the Magic Kingdom on Saturday. Copyright
Disney Enterprises, Inc. All rights reserved

Don't get me wrong, folks. I recognize that October 1, 2011 is a pretty
significant milestone in the history of the Company. But is the fact that Walt
Disney World turns 40 tomorrow really a good enough excuse to stage a full-on
celebration at the Resort?

Based on the relatively modest festivities that have been
planned for the Magic Kingdom tomorrow (i.e. a character-heavy moment in front
of Cinderella Castle in the morning, some limited edition 40^th
anniversary merch being offered for sale over the course of the day plus a
slightly beefed-up version of the "Wishes" fireworks show at night), I'd say
that WDW management kind of feels the same way that I do. That this date in the
history of the Walt Disney World Resort is definitely worth celebrating in a
small sort of way … But let's not get crazy about this, okay?

Besides there's actually a reason that WDW has taken a
somewhat muted approach to celebrating its birthdays over the past couple of
years. And that's because – in the mid-1990s or thereabouts – The Walt Disney
Company kind of went anniversary crazy for a while there. With seemingly any
milestone in the Company's history (EX: "100 Years of Magic," that year-long
celebration which was built around the 100^th anniversary of the
birth of Walt Disney) then being used as an excuse to launch yet another
promotional campaign for Walt Disney Parks & Resorts. With the hope that
this time-sensitive celebration (i.e. "You have come down to Disney World now.
Otherwise you'll miss out the birthday / anniversary") would then convince
those who were still on the fence about booking their next WDW vacation. Or
else they'd miss out on this once-in-a-lifetime chance to party with Mickey.

And what the Mouse found was, after a few years of running these
sorts of anniversary-based promotional campaigns for the Walt Disney World
Resort back-to-back, they then found themselves entering an era of diminishing
returns. With would-be WDW visitors now responding with far less enthusiasm to these "Don't miss the celebration of a lifetime" -type marketing ploys.

In short: The Walt Disney Company had now become like the
boy who cried Wolf. Only in this case, they were the corporation that had cried
birthday and/ or anniversary way too often. After all, when once-in-a-lifetime
then becomes every-day-of-the-week … Well, what's so special about that?

So given that The Walt Disney World Resort actually does
have some anniversaries coming up that the Company does indeed want the public to
think are truly special … That's why there's kind of an unofficial moratorium
now on making a big deal about WDW's birthday.

Which brings us to the real reason that Walt Disney World is
having a relatively modest 40^th birthday celebration tomorrow.
That's because plans are already in the works of WDW's 50^th
anniversary. Which – using Disneyland's hugely successful (more importantly, incredibly
profitable) year-long celebration of the 50^th anniversary of that
theme park's opening as their template – Disney World officials want to turn this
into the ultimate family reunion. Putting out the message on a global scale that
anyone who's ever been to WDW really needs to come back for this Resort's
Golden Anniversary. That this is a celebration that WDW visitors, past and
present, just can't afford to miss.

So – again – if you're kind of underwhelmed by what you see
at the Magic Kingdom tomorrow, don't worry about it. It's all part of the plan.
One that will pay off in October 1, 2021. When a celebration that will kind of
redefine the term "over-the-top" will then get underway. With brand-new parades
and shows being staged in all five of the Disney World theme parks.

And – no – that's not a typo. I did say five.

But that's a topic for a future Why For column. In the
meantime, I'm down at Disney World for the next few days. I'll be covering the
opening of this year's International Food & Wine Festival at Epcot as well as checking out what's going on tomorrow
at the Magic Kingdom. And inbetween all that, I'll be working with Len Testa on
the next couple of installments of our "Unofficial Guide's Disney Dish
with Jim Hill" iTunes series.

So it's going to be a busy couple of days. But hopefully
come Monday, I'll be able to share some images & stories that I picked up
along the way while wandering around WDW.

Anyway … That's it for now. You guys have a great weekend,
okay? And please remember that – if you have a Disney-related question that
you'd like to see answered in a future Why For column – you can send those
queries along to whyfor@jimhillmedia.com.