Page 69 - The Disneyization of Society

THE DISNEYIZATION OF SOCIETY

as a result the company was losing a huge revenue stream. Also, if people went off
Disney property at the end of the day, they would be less likely to be spending
60 their money in theme park restaurants and on merchandise. As a result, over the
succeeding 20 years Eisner and his team have massively increased the number of
Disney hotel rooms and in the process pursued an accelerating hybrid consump-
tion strategy. This has been done by building less-expensive hotels, as well as the
more traditional upmarket ones.
In addition to being themed (see previous chapter), there has been a clear
attempt to increase the number of guests staying in its hotels by emphasizing
their advantages over non-Disney ones. For example, Disney guests are able to
enter the parks earlier and can therefore get to the main attractions before the
arrival of hordes of off-site tourists. They are also able to secure tables for the
sought-after restaurants (especially the Epcot ethnic ones) from their hotels rather
than having to take a chance on their availability when they turn up at the parks.
Also, for some time now Disney has been offering its hotel guests inclusive
length-of-stay passes to the parks. It is striking that it was recognized during the
days when the financial troubles at Disneyland Paris were common knowledge
that one of the reasons for its problems was not the number of visitors to the
parks but the fact that they were not spending as much on food, souvenirs and
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Disney hotels as had been predicted. Thus, we see in the Disney parks a tendency
for shopping, eating, hotel accommodation and theme park visiting to become
inextricably interwoven. Any distinctions are further undermined by the fact that
Disney have created what is essentially a mall in the centre in Disney World
(Disney Village, formerly called Disney Marketplace), a strategy that has been
followed through at Disneyland and Disneyland Paris.
An extension of this strategy at Disney World is that Disney have turned it into
a resort. Disney World is not a theme park – it is a resort with four major theme
parks, some water parks, a nightclub area, hotels, restaurants, an educational
venue (Disney Institute), a sports area, and a shopping district. Essentially, the
strategy is one of seeking to give guests as few reasons as possible for wanting or
needing to leave Disney property. This strategy has also been followed at
Universal Resort Orlando, which not long ago was just Universal Studios Orlando.
Since then it has added a new theme park (Universal Islands of Adventure), a
nightlife area (Universal CityWalk including clubs, restaurants, a cinema, and shops),
and themed hotels. Disney has adopted its own strategy at Disneyland, which is
now Disneyland Resort. By opening a new theme park – Californian Adventure –
and a new hotel and shopping area, it has given guests more reasons for staying
on Disney property and more opportunities to spend their money. The point is
simply made by Kerry Hunnewell, a former Walt Disney Co. vice-president: ‘The
Orlando philosophy is to get you there, keep you there, and to make sure you
spend all your money with them. …In Anaheim, we needed a reason for folks to
stick around’. 10