Disney World for Generations

The diversity that makes Walt Disney World ideal for the rapidly growing multi-generational market also means that consumers need to look to a travel agent to get the best vacation from this very complex product. The sheer extent of Disney World, which is twice the size of Manhattan, is mind-boggling. When you factor in the different kinds of experience that can be crafted and combined, the commissionable add-ons that give your clients good value and the tips that allow the visitor to enjoy the least crowded and most comfortable schedules, your roll in advising your clients becomes crucial.

The benefits of selling Disney World include very strong client satisfaction and a straight 10 percent commission on all aspects of the trip, including air and dining. But that means you need to be well-versed through continuing education – such as the Disney College of Knowledge - on the changes that constantly happen at the resort. Even park veterans will find plenty of new features in 2008, with Disney-MGM Studios now renamed Disney Hollywood Studios to better reflect today’s movies, theater and television.

For example, the new Toy Story Mania attraction at Disney Hollywood Studios coming this summer brings a high-tech experience to a nostalgic carnival midway. Guests wearing 3-D glasses ride in cars with revolving seats, pausing at each game booth where they aim for animated targets using a special spring-action shooter.

Also at Disney Hollywood Studios, the spirited new Block Party Bash replaces the Disney Stars and Motorcars parade this spring. With retro songs and dancing, flying acrobats and more than 20 Disney-Pixar film pals, the rolling spectacle features favorite characters from “The Incredibles,” “Toy Story 2,” “Monsters, Inc.” and “A Bug’s Life.”

At Disney’s Wide World of Sports, the 220 -acre Jostens Center opens this summer. With 45,000 square feet of competition space that can accommodate six basketball courts, 12 volleyball courts or two roller hockey rinks plus lockers and meeting rooms, the new center effectively doubles the number of indoor sports Disney can offer.

In addition, four themed restaurants are opening in the park during 2008. Landry's Restaurants, which just introduced a taste of Asia to Disney’s Animal Kingdom with the opening of Yak & Yeti Restaurant, will bring T-Rex to Downtown Disney, the resort’s entertainment zone. The new venue combines table-service dining and retail in an interactive prehistoric environment built around water, fire and ice. At Disney’s Contemporary Resort, The Wave, opening in the spring, will serve up a suitable melting pot of American cooking. Meanwhile, this fall at Epcot, China’s Nine Dragons table-service restaurant makes way for a new dining room featuring five cooking stations where guests can interact with chefs from China. In Italy, Tutto Italia Ristorante will be expanded in late 2008 as the newest restaurant for California-based Patina Group, which has a portfolio of nearly 30 restaurants.

Your clients also can benefit from being in the right place at the right time, as part of Disney’s second “Year of a Million Dreams” giveaway. As part of this promotion, Disney World guests are awarded prizes at random, including a private day at Castaway Cay, a New Year’s Eve night stay inside the Cinderella Castle Suite at Walt Disney World Resort, and a trip to the “High School Musical 3” film premiere. Disney also will award hundreds of thousands of “Dream” FastPass badges, gourmet dining packages, Disney shopping sprees and more.

There are a number of compelling reasons to book your multi-generational family clients into Disney World’s resorts, which range from rustic cabins to luxury suites. Advantages start at the airport, where the complimentary Magical Express bus transfers guests to and from the resort. Better still, luggage is checked at the home airport and arrives in guests’ rooms. At departure, a check-in counter in every resort property provides airline boarding passes and luggage checks, so your clients can walk directly to security at the airport.

Once inside Disney World, there is complimentary transportation everywhere by bus, train or ferry, and any purchases made are sent to the guests’ accommodations – no lugging them around or going back to drop them off. For multi-generational travel this is particularly useful, allowing various members of a family group to pursue their own interests and rendezvous for time together as well.

Rita Lewis, CTC, a former travel agent and now a training, development and facilitation manager for Disney World’s travel industry marketing, emphasizes the scope of the experience multi-generational groups can get at the resort. “Family members can use facilities everywhere,” she says. “They can golf or fish, visit the attractions, use the spa, shop, go boating, bicycle or ride horses, independently using the free transportation, and then get together for a group meal or a swim.”

Lewis says families with children can easily take a breather and catch a rest or a swim or have a meal in their accommodations, then return to the attractions when they are ready. Each resort also has coin laundries and both individual babysitting and kids’ clubs are available for a very reasonable fee. Resorts also are pet-friendly, with expanding kennel service; pets can stay right with their owners in parts of Fort Wilderness.

Yet another feature that is great for multi-generational family groups is the expanded park hours exclusively for resort guests. On select days guests can enter a theme park an hour early and up to three hours after regular closing time when lines are usually shorter and the weather can be more comfortable in the summer.

In terms of value for larger family groups, roughly a third of all Disney hotel rooms are priced at only $82 per night for much of the year. Packaged with theme park tickets through Magic Your Way, a family of four can book six nights in a Disney hotel and seven days in the theme parks for less than $1,600, or just $58 a day per person. For more information on value vacations, visit www.disneyworld.com/affordable.

Among the value choices are the 2,880 rooms in the Pop Century Resort in the Wide World of Sports area near Animal Kingdom. The resort’s “time capsules” pay homage to 20th century pop culture and there is a food court area, lounge and pool bar, not to mention an enormous pool. In addition, more than 400 guestrooms at the value-priced All-Star Music Resort have been transformed into 215 family suites, a new concept offered along with the remaining 1,489 rooms. The suites can accommodate a family of six with two full bathrooms, a kitchenette, two flat screen TVs, a sleep sofa for two, a sleep chair for one, an ottoman that turns into a rollaway bed and a separate bedroom for two. The resort also features a food court, retail store, game room and pizza delivery.

Another resort that can accommodate multi-generational groups is moderately priced Port Orleans French Quarter resort offers a charming alternative filled with lacy ironwork and the scent of beignets. The resort’s 1,008 rooms are located on a 325-acre woodland site between Epcot and Downtown Disney and Disney Marketplace. Besides the food court and pizza takeout, there is a themed pool, boat rentals, lounges, game room and retail shops.

Disney’s BoardWalk, another good option for multi-generational groups, resembles a 1930s Atlantic seafront town, with some unusual touches like the bicycling piano players, strolling sword swallowers and fire-eaters. The moderately priced 372-room BoardWalk Inn is located beside Crescent Lake, with a children’s activity center, health club, tennis courts and themed pool. Along the waterfront street there are two specialty restaurants, a sports bar and a brewpub, the Atlantic Dance nightclub, a dueling piano bar, a sweet shop and a bakery. Rentals also are available at 383 luxury Disney Vacation Club accommodations at the BoardWalk, which features studios and one-, two-, and three-bedroom villas offering kitchens, living areas and a variety of amenities.

The same is true in the luxury Disney's Saratoga Springs Resort & Spa, the newest addition to the Disney Vacation Club family featuring 828 vacation homes that recall the late 1800s heyday of one of America's first vacation destinations – Saratoga Springs, N.Y. There’s an impressive heated central pool and smaller pools for each room unit within the resort. The resort offers a full-service spa, a central health club, a dining room and The Artist's Palette, a counter-service restaurant and market.

Finally, in a category all its own, with pricing starting at $255 per night for one of the 409 individual cabins each sleeping six, Fort Wilderness is like very well appointed 700-acre national park. There are 784 campsites (tents are available if needed) and services for RVs. Cabins have full kitchens, full bath, TV, VCR, outdoor grills, picnic tables and private patio decks. Groceries and camping supplies are at area trading posts, and guests can bring a car if they wish.

Groups of eight or more staying at a park resort can book Grand Gatherings experiences that include a Safari Celebration Dinner, a Magical Fireworks Voyage or a Good Morning Character Breakfast.

Your multi-generational clients also can take advantage of four different commissionable dining packages at Disney resorts. “The amount for the Dining Plus package is less than we know people actually spend a la carte,” says Lewis. “And they can double up their points for dinner shows or gourmet signature restaurants or use them for character breakfasts. They can be arranged up to 180 days before arrival now.”

For more information email me at jod@zanza.com.