disney The world has become a repeat vacation destination second home Perfect for a group of adults who love Disney. Now, the company appears to be trying to replicate that magic in its international properties, using U.S. influencers and bloggers to lure U.S. fans to Disney theme parks in China and Japan.
Professional content creators are some of Disney’s most valuable fans, making a living by sharing travel tips, updates and snippets of park life with their legions of online followers.
On June 6, Tokyo Disney Resort will undergo a massive expansion that will include new lands and attractions modeled after the hit movies “Frozen,” “Tangled” and the animated classic “Peter Pan.” During a media preview event in May, the resort invited several well-known American Disney content creators to view the expansion, some experiencing Tokyo Disney for the first time and sharing it with fans. In 2023, select creators were invited to participate in media previews of Frozen and Zootopia attractions in Shanghai and Hong Kong.
The invitation to U.S. fan media shows who Disney seems to be trying to attract into its international parks. According to the original concept, the purpose of Disney International Park was to “bring unforgettable Disney magic to international audiences.” company.But the number of international parks has never quite caught up Attendance at Disneyland in California and Disney World in Florida. While the international parks themselves have been taking steps to adapt to different audiences, offering shows and attractions in multiple languages, Disney appears to be marketing its international parks to U.S. audiences in a more direct way.
In addition to the efforts of content creators, Disney has also begun incorporating international parks into its own content that Americans consume. In the 2021 premiere of the Disney+ show Behind the Attraction, U.S. viewers discuss and digest the many changes to rides at U.S. International Parks.
While Tokyo Disney Resort has always been popular with locals, Disney and other U.S. entertainment groups have recently discovered that Americans are willing to engage with familiar cultures when traveling abroad, increasing numbers in both foreign and domestic markets and creating new ones. Target group for international projects.
Social media content showcasing the new expansion has resonated with Western audiences online. some youtube video blog Featuring New Tokyo Attractions The English-language creator received more than 100,000 views on the first day it was published.Disneyland official Instagram account, posts content content from all locations, already repeatedly full of Americans comment on how eager they are to experience everything the international park has to offer.
“Disney gave us the opportunity to cover it and get it covered for our audience because we do have such an important audience for Disney,” said Quincy Stanford, who works for AllEars, the Disneyland fan media operations company, and was invited to attend the Tokyo media preview. Quincy Stanley said, telling NBC News.
“People looking for AllEars are looking for Disney programming information, which means they are looking for opportunities to spend money at Disney,” Stanford added. “We have an opportunity to reach their target audience outside of broader media.”
Disney has been inviting fan-run and traditional media outlets to cover its new attractions at U.S. parks for years, but Stanford said Tokyo’s invitation came as a “surprise” to AllEars staff, who have been posting online since late last year Content 1990s.
“It’s a very rare experience to see American media invited to Tokyo,” Stanford said.
Tokyo Disneyland opened in 1983. In recent years, social media has shown American football fans what they are missing on the other side of the world.
While Tokyo Disneyland shares many aspects with California’s Disneyland and Florida’s Magic Kingdom, it has some unique rides.Tokyo DisneySea, another park at Tokyo Disney Resort, is largely unique and considered by many fans to be Best Disney Theme Parks in the world.
Emma Kenner, another AllEars employee who traveled to Tokyo with Stanford University, said: “As COVID-19 and COVID-19 have spread, social media has grown beyond our imagination and it has exposed people to Disneyland as they’ve never seen it Disneyland social media content has undergone a transformation. attention rises Following the reopening of U.S. parks in late 2020, people were eager to visit after the only extended closure in Disney history. As the following of Disney creators around the world continues to grow, so does the demand for international Disney Parks content.
“It makes people want to experience it for themselves,” Kenner said.
Stanford and Kenner said Disney has been “hands-off” with fan coverage beyond exclusive preview invitations. They don’t get paid by Disney, and the company doesn’t tell them what to cover or how to cover it. Disney fan media is known for its candid and sometimes scathing coverage of what Disney does, but the overall tone remains warm and positive. The Walt Disney Co. did not respond to a request for comment.
Disney isn’t the only American entertainment company to lure local fans to other countries, either.more than quarter Paris’s La Défense stadium told Rolling Stone that Taylor Swift’s Paris tickets were purchased by Americans, and social media content celebrated the two shows’ cheaper tickets and merchandise fast and disney internationally.
The influx of Americans into other countries has not been without controversy.Overtourism is serious concern Japan is taking steps to limit crowds at some popular tourist spots.But after the lockdown International Tourism Years after places like Disneyland reopened, the phenomenon continues to thrive.
“I think people find comfort in finding those American artists and opportunities when they travel,” Kenner said. “Having something that feels familiar can make the journey more comfortable or less stressful.”
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