These were just some of the highlights of the annual Disney Days travel trade briefing held in Sydney last night.
More than 150 agents and select travel media gathered to hear Disney representatives outline plans for 2025 and beyond following similar events in Melbourne and Auckland.
“We hope you’re going to walk away with some fresh insights, some new inspiration and hopefully more reasons than ever before to invite your clients on a Disney holiday,” said Andrea Robinson, Disney Destinations Director of Travel and Business Development APAC.
“You’re the reason why the Australian market continues to perform so well and remains so important.”
Agents heard that Australia is the third-largest international market for Disneyland, with a longer average stay (2.8 days) compared to other international visitors. The world-famous theme park will mark its 70th birthday this year with a range of special events.
Multi-generational and luxury travel are major trends while adult travellers are becoming increasingly important, with couples, friend groups and Disney fans without children all booking trips.
“That goes to show you that Disney isn’t just for the kids. It’s got the power to connect all ages,” added Ms Robinson.
Disney developments announced for 2025 and beyond include:
# A new Australian resident ticket offer, with significant savings for three-, four-, and five-day tickets until October 2026.
# Pixar Place has reopened after a full reimagination and Downtown Disney District is undergoing significant expansion.
# The Paint the Night Parade has returned, featuring Pixar characters, innovative floats and more than one million LED lights.
# Walt Disney: A Magical Life will feature the first-ever audio animatronic of Walt Disney.
# The expansion of Avengers Campus at Disney California Adventure Park with two new attractions added: Avengers Infinity Defence and Stark Flight Lab.
# New Villains Land and Cars Land at the Magic Kingdom while Monsters Inc. Land is being built at Disney’s Hollywood Studio.
# The expansion of the Disney Cruise Lines fleet to 13 ships, including the 6,700 guest Disney Adventure, setting sail from Singapore in December.
“With Disney Cruise Line, we had a sell-out season one, season two was really strong and of course we’re back for a third season, which actually speaks volumes about the importance of this market,” said Ms Robinson.
Described as “the elephant in the room”, speakers were asked to share their views on whether recent U.S. policies had negatively impacted Australian travel to the States.
“We all know there’s been a lot of negative sentiment in the media,” said Tim Wallace, Tim Wallace, United Airlines Regional Manager for the Pacific.
“We’ve seen a really strong selling period for the month of April so that negative sentiment is not resonating in our numbers yet, so all things point to positive flight performance and demand for the U.S.”
Echoing Mr Wallace’s sentiment, Ms Robinson said there had been an eight per cent increase in travel to Los Angeles in April from the Australian market.
“There are headwinds out there that we can’t control but we need to cut through the negative news,” she added.
“You (agents) hold the superpower. Your knowledge, your expert advice, your insider tips are so important right now and you play a critical role in helping clients fulfil their Disney dream.”
