I'm Going to Disney World!

"I'm going to Disney World!" and "I'm going to Disneyland!" are advertising slogans used in a series of television commercials by The Walt Disney Company that began airing in 1987. [Disneyland Resort: " [http://www.reuters.com/article/pressRelease/idUS53064+04-Feb-2008+PRN20080204 Dreams Come True as Super Bowl XLII MVP Eli Manning Proclaims, 'I'm Going to Disneyland!'] ", PR Newswire, 4 February 2008] Used to promote the company's theme park resorts in Florida and California, the commercials most often are broadcast following the Super Bowl and typically feature an NFL player shouting the phrase while celebrating the team's victory immediately after the championship game. [FitzGerald, Tom: " [http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/c/a/2008/02/03/MNN8UQCNF.DTL Super Bowl cameraman juggles to catch jingle] ", "San Francisco Chronicle", 3 February 2008]

Format

Disney refers to the campaign as "What's Next?" in reference to the commercial's usual format, which has the star appear to be answering a question posed by an unseen narrator—"What are you going to do next?"—after his or her moment of triumph. The narrator is Mark Champion, a veteran radio play-by-play announcer for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Detroit Lions, Detroit Pistons, and Westwood One. [" [http://www.nba.com/pistons/multimedia/radio_television_announcers.html Pistons Announcers] ", NBA.com] Most ads feature the song "When You Wish Upon a Star" and end with a shot of fireworks over Cinderella Castle or Sleeping Beauty Castle.

Typically the star records two versions of the commercial—one for each phrase—so that the ads can be broadcast in different American media markets to strategically promote either the Walt Disney World Resort in Florida or the Disneyland Resort in California. In most cases, Disney arranges for its star to appear in a parade at either Disneyland or one of the Walt Disney World theme parks the day immediately following the victory in order to fulfill the spoken promise in one version. [Vacchiano, Ralph: " [http://www.nydailynews.com/sports/football/giants/2008/05/07/2008-05-07_eli_manning_floats_in_for_disney_parade.html Eli Manning floats in for Disney parade] ", "Daily News", 8 May 2008]

History

In his 1998 memoir "Work in Progress", Disney CEO Michael Eisner credited his wife, Jane, with the idea for the campaign. [Eisner, Michael with Tony Schwartz, "Work in Progress", Random House, 1998. ISBN 0-375-50071-5] According to Eisner, during the January 1987 grand opening for the Star Tours attraction at Disneyland, the couple dined with Dick Rutan and Jeana Yeager, who in December 1986 had piloted the first aircraft to fly around the world without stopping or refueling. After Jane Eisner asked what the pilots planned to do next, they replied, "Well, we're going to Disneyland." She later told her husband the phrase would make a great advertising campaign.

Weeks later, Disney launched the series following Super Bowl XXI on January 25, 1987 with a commercial featuring New York Giants quarterback Phil Simms. Simms was paid a reported $75,000 for his participation. [Litsky, Frank: " [http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9B0DE3DE163EF931A25754C0A961948260&sec=&spon=&pagewanted=all Different Fortunes for Two Champions] ", "New York Times", 12 July 1987] The company later aired three more ads that year with other athletes following major sports championships.

In subsequent years, Disney reportedly has offered $30,000 to athletes and other stars for participating in the ads and appearing at one of its theme parks. [Jolly, Tom: " [http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9F02E4DA103BF935A15752C0A96E958260 Not Going to Disneyland] ", "New York Times", 26 January 1998]

2005 hiatus

The commercials aired after each Super Bowl for 17 consecutive years until 2005, when Disney announced it would not produce a new ad following Super Bowl XXXIX. [McCarthy, Michael: " [http://www.usatoday.com/money/advertising/2005-01-26-disney-usat_x.htm?csp=34 'I'm going to Disney World' takes vacation] ", "USA Today", 26 January 2005] Disney spokesman Craig Dezern explained that the company's advertising efforts were focused instead on its global Happiest Celebration on Earth event in honor of the 50th anniversary of Disneyland. [Clarke, Susan Strother: " [http://media.www.kaleo.org/media/storage/paper872/news/2005/01/31/Sports/Commentary-2798607.shtml Disney's Super Bowl absence clears the air] ", "Orlando Sentinel", 31 January 2005]

2006 return

In 2006, the campaign resumed before Super Bowl XL as Disney projected scenes from the 20-year history of the campaign onto a Detroit skyscraper in the days before the game. [Walt Disney World Resort: " [http://www.prnewswire.com/cgi-bin/stories.pl?ACCT=109&STORY=/www/story/01-25-2006/0004267714&EDATE= For Super Bowl XL, 'I'm Going to Disney World' Goes X-tra Large On Detroit Skyline] ", PR Newswire, 25 January 2006] During the television broadcast, Disney aired a commercial showing members of the Pittsburgh Steelers and Seattle Seahawks practicing how they would deliver the famous phrase while preparing for the game. The following day, the company began airing a traditional "What's Next" commercial featuring Steelers Hines Ward and Jerome Bettis. [Bouchette, Ed: " [http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/06038/651246-66.stm Ward's MVP performance in Super Bowl XL puts him in special class] ", "Pittsburgh Post-Gazette", 7 February 2006]

tars and celebrations

The commercials generally star a single NFL player immediately following the Super Bowl but the campaign also has featured athletes from other championship games and several non-celebrities.

1987
* Phil Simms, New York Giants, Super Bowl XXI
* Dennis Conner, "Stars & Stripes", America's Cup
* Magic Johnson, Los Angeles Lakers, NBA Finals
* Frank Viola, Minnesota Twins, World Series

1988
* Doug Williams, Washington Redskins, Super Bowl XXII
* Gretchen Carlson, Miss America
* Orel Hershiser, Los Angeles Dodgers, World Series
* Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Los Angeles Lakers, NBA Finals

1989
* Joe Montana, San Francisco 49ers, Super Bowl XXIII
* Al MacInnis, Calgary Flames, Stanley Cup Finals
* Joe Dumars, Detroit Pistons, NBA Finals

1990
* Joe Montana, San Francisco 49ers, Super Bowl XXIV
* Jim Thompson of Temple University, and Matt Kaldenberg, Phyllis Kaldenberg and Laura McEwen of Simpson College, college graduation

1991
* Ottis Anderson, New York Giants, Super Bowl XXV
* Michael Jordan, Chicago Bulls, NBA Finals

1992
* Mark Rypien, Washington Redskins, Super Bowl XXVI

1993
* Troy Aikman, Dallas Cowboys, Super Bowl XXVII
* Patrick Roy, Montreal Canadiens, Stanley Cup Finals

1994
* Emmitt Smith, Dallas Cowboys, Super Bowl XXVIII
* Nancy Kerrigan, U.S. figure skater, Winter Olympics
** While appearing in a subsequent parade at Walt Disney World Resort, Kerrigan was recorded saying "This is dumb. I hate it. This is the most corniest thing I have ever done." [Lowitt, Bruce: " [http://www.sptimes.com/News/112999/Sports/Harding__Kerrigan_are.shtml Harding, Kerrigan are linked forever by skating incident] ", "St. Petersburg Times", 29 November 1999]

1995
* Jerry Rice and Steve Young, San Francisco 49ers, Super Bowl XXIX

1996
* Emmitt Smith, Dallas Cowboys, Super Bowl XXX

1997
* Desmond Howard, Green Bay Packers, Super Bowl XXXI
* Santa Claus, Christmas

1998
* John Elway, Denver Broncos, Super Bowl XXXII
* Mark McGwire, St. Louis Cardinals, Major League Baseball home run record

1999
* Terrell Davis and John Elway, Denver Broncos, Super Bowl XXXIII
* U.S. Women's National Soccer Team, FIFA Women's World Cup

2000
* Kurt Warner, St. Louis Rams, Super Bowl XXXIV

2001
* Trent Dilfer, Baltimore Ravens, Super Bowl XXXV
* Barry Bonds, San Francisco Giants, Major League Baseball home run record

2002
* Tom Brady, New England Patriots, Super Bowl XXXVI

2003
* Jon Gruden and Brad Johnson, Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Super Bowl XXXVII

2004
* Tom Brady, New England Patriots, Super Bowl XXXVIII
* Curt Schilling, Pedro Martínez and David Ortiz, Boston Red Sox, World Series [Elliott, Stuart: " [http://www.nytimes.com/2004/11/01/business/media/01adcol.html With Curse Reversed, Marketers Love Red Sox] ", "New York Times", 1 November 2004]

2006
* Hines Ward and Jerome Bettis, Pittsburgh Steelers, Super Bowl XL

2007
* Tony Dungy and Dominic Rhodes, Indianapolis Colts, Super Bowl XLI [Associated Press: " [http://nbcsports.msnbc.com/id/16996762/ Who's going to Disney World? Dungy, Rhodes] ", 5 February 2007]

"'2008
* Eli Manning, New York Giants, Super Bowl XLII
* David Cook, Season 7 "American Idol" winner [Powers, Scott: " [http://blogs.orlandosentinel.com/business_tourism_aviation/2008/05/american-idol-c.html American Idol coming to Disney World - now and later] ", "Orlando Sentinel", 22 May 2008]

In popular culture

Because of its iconic status, the "I'm going to..." phrase has been parodied or copied many times in films, TV shows and live interviews, including:

* Near the end of the 1991 film "Hot Shots!", fighter pilot Lt. Topper Harley (Charlie Sheen) is cheered by his fellow pilots and carrier crew after completing a mission to bomb Iraq:
**Reporter: "Hey Topper Harley, now that you've killed the bad guy and made the world safe for democracy, what are you going to do to cash in on your newfound fame?"
Harley: "I'm going to Disneyland!" He then receives a large stack of cash and cheers loudly. [" [http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0102059/quotes Memorable quotes for 'Hot Shots!'] ", "IMDB.com", 1991]
* The phrase appears in the Timbuk 3 song "Disneyland (Was Made For You & Me)" from their 1991 album "Big Shot in the Dark", and the song "Dizz Knee Land", a 1993 hit by Dada.
* Midway through Disney's 1992 animated film "Aladdin", Genie asks Aladdin, "You've just won the heart of the princess; what are you going to do next?" (as "When You Wish Upon a Star" swells in the background). Aladdin does not respond. While holding a script, Genie attempts to prompt him by saying, "Your line is 'I'm going to free the Genie.' "
* In the 1997 television episode of "Ellen" in which Ellen DeGeneres' character came out as a lesbian, she quipped "I'm going to Disneyland" when asked by a psychologist what she planned to do next. [" [http://www.cnn.com/SHOWBIZ/9705/01/ellen.out.reax/index.html Audiences debate Ellen's coming out] ", "CNN.com", 1 May 1997]
* Several episodes of "The Simpsons", including:
** "Sunday, Cruddy Sunday": After winning the Super Bowl, a football player shouts, "Woo! I'm going to Disneyland!", to which a travel agent replies, "Really? You know, I'm a travel agent and I've heard nothing but bad things."
* In the 2007 comedy "Balls of Fury", protagonist Randy Daytona says "I'm going to Disneyland" just before he collapses after tripping over a barrier in the Olympic ping-pong semifinals. This phrase comes back to haunt him when ping-pong patron Feng acknowledges Daytona with the question "How was Disneyland?"

References