Disney vs. Universal: New Tickets, Alcohol, and Marketing Wars

Disney's New Ticket Strategy

• 🎟️ Disney is testing a new one-day ticket that includes pre-selected Fastpass options, a departure from the traditional personalized Fastpass selection.
• 💡 This move is seen by some as catering to guests who prefer a less hands-on approach to planning their park day, akin to a "lazy man's lobster."
• ⚠️ Critics, however, view this as a potential precursor to tiered Fastpass pricing, where guests might pay extra for access to more popular attractions.

Alcohol at Crystal Palace

• 🥂 Alcohol is now available at the Crystal Palace, a character dining location, following its successful introduction at Be Our Guest.
• 💰 The decision to add alcohol suggests that the profit margins on drinks are high enough to offset potential decreases in table turnover.
• 🍽️ While lucrative, serving alcohol in a character dining environment like Crystal Palace, which is not ideally designed for it, may create challenges for servers and characters.

The Disney-Universal Marketing Battle

• 🚀 Universal Studios opened its Fast & Furious attraction while Disney simultaneously launched a major marketing push for Toy Story Land.
• 📺 This timing highlights a fierce rivalry, with Disney's media outlets (ABC News) covering Universal's opening while also promoting its own upcoming attractions.
• 📣 Universal's counter-strategy includes a campaign called "Be Bolder," targeting older children and teens by emphasizing thrill rides and more sophisticated adventures, contrasting with Disney's perceived focus on younger demographics.

Disney Marketing Inconsistencies

• ✨ Disney's "Imagine the Magic" campaign, promoting deluxe villas, featured inaccurate on-screen locations and visuals, such as showing fireworks over Animal Kingdom Lodge and a poorly maintained Chewbacca costume.
• 🏰 This echoes past marketing blunders, like a 1992 commercial that inaccurately depicted Cinderella's Castle being visible from hotel rooms, causing significant guest service issues.
• 🎯 Universal views Disney's upcoming 50th-anniversary campaign as an opportunity to leverage nostalgia, while planning to counter with their own major announcements in 2022.