So I’m not sure if this alone is intended to replace the Year of a Million Dreams promotion beginning in 2009, but today Disney announced a new Celebrate with Disney Parks promotion to highlight all of their guests who celebrate birthdays and honeymoons and anniversaries and so forth with their vacations. Apparently a study was done that showed 7 out of 10 people using such a celebration as the reason for at least one of their vacations as a family.
I heard something musing about this a while ago and wasn’t terribly excited about the idea, but now that something official has been released, I think it could be kind of cool – namely because there are presents involved! That’s right, this isn’t just a name-only promotion – the driving force behind this marketing campaign will be Disney offering a free one-day ticket to any of its Walt Disney World or Disneyland parks on anyone’s birthday throughout 2009. Sounds like an easy excuse to celebrate your birthday at Disney right off the bat!
But it gets better, at least for people like me who just so happen to be annual passholders and are thinking, “Unless my birthday is during a blackout date, how does this help me?!” Well, just for the record, neither my nor my fiancee’s birthdays fall during the seasonal passholder blackout dates and, in fact, we’ve both already spent birthdays there in the past already. Fortunately, the Mouse has gone and went the extra mile even for folks like us, too…
[ from the Free Admission on Your Birthday FAQ at disneyparks.com ]
Q: I am a Passholder (or have a valid Multi-Day Ticket or a Seasonal Pass that I will use for admission on my birthday in 2009), so I don’t need to take advantage of this offer. If I register, is there anything else I could receive on my birthday?
A: Yes, you have several options which are available for you to select once you arrive at the Park with your confirmation message and your proper ID. You can receive:
· A birthday fun card in an amount equal to the price of a 1-day Magic Your Way base ticket* for you to use on your birthday for merchandise, recreation or fun activities at select participating locations at Walt Disney World® Resort; or
· A special birthday FASTPASS® badge+ for certain attractions at the Theme Park you visit on your birthday; or
· A 1-day Magic Your Way base ticket for you to use any time until your next birthday.
So basically, spend your birthday at Disney World or Disneyland in 2009 and get a $75 birthday gift from Mickey Mouse himself … not too shabby! As I read the specific verbiage over and over again, I’m starting to wonder if the birthday fun card is simply a Disney gift card or something more limited, but even if so, I still wouldn’t mind taking the 1-day MYW base ticket and either applying it towards my pass renewal the following year or using it for a Christmas Day trip or something.
I wouldn’t have guessed it until I saw it for myself, but it looks like this might make for quite the nice little promotion for the Mouse after all! I think I can pretty much already guarantee at least two birthdays right in this household being spent over in Orlando, and as I’m sure they’re hoping, no doubt we’ll end up putting up for a night or two at the resort and dinner and everything else, too. Like they say, just get ‘em in the door and watch the money come rolling in!