:I'm going to Disney World!
{{Short description|Advertising slogan}}{{Use mdy dates|date=October 2024}}
File:Patrick Mahomes in the Chiefs Super Bowl Disney Parade (49607469982) (cropped).jpg MVP Patrick Mahomes in the parade at the Magic Kingdom the day after the game]]
"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.{{cite press release |last1=McClintock |first1=John |title=Dreams Come True as Super Bowl XLII MVP Eli Manning Proclaims, 'I'm Going to Disneyland!' |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090208035919/http://reuters.com/article/pressRelease/idUS53064+04-Feb-2008+PRN20080204 |publisher=Disney |date=February 4, 2008 |url=https://www.reuters.com/article/pressRelease/idUS53064+04-Feb-2008+PRN20080204 |archive-date=February 8, 2009 |url-status=dead |access-date=December 25, 2017 }} 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 (usually the Super Bowl MVP) shouting the phrase while celebrating the team's victory immediately after the championship game.{{cite news|last=FitzGerald|first=Tom|url=http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/c/a/2008/02/03/MNN8UQCNF.DTL|title=Super Bowl cameraman juggles to catch jingle|newspaper=San Francisco Chronicle|date=February 3, 2008}} These commercials have also promoted champions from other sports, athletes setting records, and winners of non-sport competitions such as American Idol.
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.{{cite web|url=http://www.nba.com/pistons/multimedia/radio_television_announcers.html|title=Pistons Announcers|work=NBA.com|url-status=dead|quote=Most recognized among NFL announcing circles for his work with the Lions and Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Champion serves as the voice for Disney in their yearly commercial each season asking the Super Bowl MVP “where are you going to next?”|publisher=Detroit Pistons|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20040407065643/http://www.nba.com/pistons/multimedia/radio_television_announcers.html |archive-date=April 7, 2004 }} 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.
File:"I'm going to Disney World!" Merch Being Sold at Magic Kingdom.jpg
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.{{cite news|last=Vacchiano|first=Ralph|url=https://www.nydailynews.com/sports/football/giants/2008/05/07/2008-05-07_eli_manning_floats_in_for_disney_parade.html|title=Eli Manning floats in for Disney parade|newspaper=Daily News|date=May 8, 2008|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080510050623/https://www.nydailynews.com/sports/football/giants/2008/05/07/2008-05-07_eli_manning_floats_in_for_disney_parade.html |archive-date=May 10, 2008 |url-status=dead}}
History
=Original campaign=
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In his 1998 memoir Work in Progress, Disney CEO Michael Eisner credited his wife, Jane, with the idea for the campaign.{{cite book|last1=Eisner|first1=Michael|first2=Tony|last2=Schwartz|title=Work in Progress|publisher=Random House|year=1998|isbn=0-375-50071-5|url-access=registration|url=https://archive.org/details/workinprogress00eisn}} 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.
Following Super Bowl XXI on January 25, 1987, a Disney commercial starred New York Giants quarterback Phil Simms, in which he was asked "Phil Simms, you've just won the Super Bowl. What are you doing next?". Simms, who replied "I'm gonna to go to Disney World!", was paid $75,000; John Elway was paid the same amount, in case the Denver Broncos won.{{cite news|last=Litsky|first=Frank|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1987/07/12/sports/different-fortunes-for-two-champions-giants-have-a-quiet-off-season.html?sec=&spon=&pagewanted=all&pagewanted=print|title=Different Fortunes for Two Champions|newspaper=New York Times|date=July 12, 1987}}
Following Super Bowl XXV in 1991, Ottis Anderson, the game's MVP, was given the choice to say "I'm going to Disney World!" or to dedicate his victory to American troops serving in the then-ongoing Gulf War. Anderson chose the latter, and the line was once again given to Phil Simms.
While appearing in a subsequent parade at the Walt Disney World Resort, 1994 Winter Olympics figure skater Nancy Kerrigan was recorded saying to Mickey Mouse, "This is dumb. I hate it. This is the most corniest thing I have ever done."{{cite news|last=Lowitt|first=Bruce|url=http://www.sptimes.com/News/112999/Sports/Harding__Kerrigan_are.shtml|url-status=dead|title=Harding, Kerrigan are linked forever by skating incident|newspaper=St. Petersburg Times|publisher=sptimes.com|date=November 29, 1999|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20000816004825/http://www.sptimes.com/News/112999/Sports/Harding__Kerrigan_are.shtml |archive-date=August 16, 2000 }} Kerrigan, however, claimed that her remarks had been misinterpreted. She claimed that while participating in the parade was not corny, wearing her Silver Medal was because her parents had taught her not to boast or flaunt her accomplishments. Kerrigan also went on to say that she had nothing against the Disney Company or Mickey Mouse and said, "Whoever could find fault with Mickey Mouse? He's the greatest mouse I've ever known."{{cite web|url=https://www.courant.com/1994/03/07/more-will-be-heard-from-kerrigan/|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250119111000/https://www.courant.com/1994/03/07/more-will-be-heard-from-kerrigan/|url-status=dead|archive-date=January 19, 2025|title=More Will Be Heard From Kerrigan|date=March 7, 1994 }}
Ray Lewis was named Super Bowl XXXV MVP, but because of a murder trial he was involved in the previous year, the phrase "I'm going to Disney World!" was given instead to quarterback Trent Dilfer.{{Cite news |url=http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/football/nfl/2001/playoffs/news/2001/01/31/lewis_endorsements_ap/ |title=Endorsement exile: Disney, Wheaties among those passing on MVP Lewis |date=January 31, 2001 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20010208083434/http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/football/nfl/2001/playoffs/news/2001/01/31/lewis_endorsements_ap/ |archive-date=February 8, 2001 |url-status=dead |publisher=CNNSI.com |agency=Associated Press}}
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.{{cite news|last=Jolly|first=Tom|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1998/01/26/sports/super-bowl-xxxii-notebook-not-going-to-disneyland.html?pagewanted=print|title=Not Going to Disneyland|newspaper=New York Times|date=January 26, 1998}} {{Update inline|date=April 2024|reason=Misleading and inconsistent with what athletes are likely paid now.}}
=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.{{cite press release |title=For Super Bowl XL, 'I'm Going to Disney World' Goes X-tra Large On Detroit Skyline |url=http://www.prnewswire.com/cgi-bin/stories.pl?ACCT=109&STORY=/www/story/01-25-2006/0004267714&EDATE= |website=PR Newswire |date=February 22, 2008| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080222025927/http://www.prnewswire.com/cgi-bin/stories.pl?ACCT=109&STORY=/www/story/01-25-2006/0004267714&EDATE= | archive-date=February 22, 2008 }} 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.{{cite news|last=Bouchette|first=Ed|url=http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/06038/651246-66.stm|title=Ward's MVP performance in Super Bowl XL puts him in special class|newspaper=Pittsburgh Post-Gazette|date=February 7, 2006|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070829095121/http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/06038/651246-66.stm |archive-date=August 29, 2007 |url-status=dead}} Even though it was not part of the ad buy in 2016, Peyton Manning said the famous phrase in an interview after Super Bowl 50.{{cite web|url=https://disneyparks.disney.go.com/blog/2016/02/peyton-manning-going-to-disneyland-to-celebrate-super-bowl-victory/|url-status=dead|title=Peyton Manning 'Going to Disneyland' to Celebrate Super Bowl Victory|publisher=Disney Parks Blog|first=Erin|last=Glover|date=February 8, 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160209174503/https://disneyparks.disney.go.com/blog/2016/02/peyton-manning-going-to-disneyland-to-celebrate-super-bowl-victory/ |archive-date=February 9, 2016 }}
Although Tom Brady was named MVP of Super Bowl LI, he gave the Disney trip to teammate James White.{{cite web|url=http://nesn.com/2017/02/james-white-celebrates-in-disney-world-after-patriots-win-super-bowl-li/|title=James White Celebrates In Disney World After Patriots Win Super Bowl LI|date=February 7, 2017}}
=2020 overhaul=
For Super Bowl LIV in 2020, Disney Parks, Experiences and Products was the official sponsor of that game's MVP ceremony;{{cite web|url=https://disneyparks.disney.go.com/blog/2020/01/disney-parks-to-make-dreams-and-wishes-come-true-during-super-bowl-liv/|url-status=dead|title=Disney Parks To Make Dreams – and Wishes – Come True During Super Bowl LIV|last=Fry|first=Darrel|date=January 31, 2020|publisher=Disney Parks, Experiences and Products|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231208085749/https://disneyparks.disney.go.com/blog/2020/01/disney-parks-to-make-dreams-and-wishes-come-true-during-super-bowl-liv/ |access-date=February 3, 2020|archive-date=December 8, 2023 }} Patrick Mahomes' announcement of the phrase was thus embedded into the broadcast post-game show, which included appearances by Mickey and Minnie Mouse alongside 10 year-old Make-a-Wish child Nathaniel from Austin, Texas.
{{cite news|title=Patrick Mahomes after Super Bowl: 'I'm going to Disney World'|url=https://www.orlandosentinel.com/travel/attractions/the-daily-disney/os-et-im-going-to-disney-world-super-bowl-ad-20200203-uuaxsbgarnaplbyoierpcccf4i-story.html|last=Bevil|first=Dewayne|date=February 2, 2020|newspaper=Orlando Sentinel|access-date=February 3, 2020}} During the Disney World parade honoring Mahomes, Nathaniel also took part, representing the Make-a-Wish Foundation.{{Cite web|url=https://1063thebuzz.com/patrick-mahomes-heading-to-disney-world-with-make-a-wish-child-from-texas/|title=Patrick Mahomes Heading to Disney World With Make-A-Wish Child from Texas|website=106.3 The Buzz|date=February 3, 2020 }}{{Cite web|url=https://www.yahoo.com/entertainment/super-bowl-mvp-patrick-mahomes-205704685.html|title=Super Bowl MVP Patrick Mahomes Joined by Make-A-Wish Recipient at Disney World Parade|website=www.yahoo.com|date=February 3, 2020 }}{{Cite web|url=https://www.cbsnews.com/dfw/news/super-bowl-mvp-patrick-mahomes-disney-world-make-a-wish-child-texas/|title=Super Bowl MVP Patrick Mahomes Heads To Disney World With Make-A-Wish Child From Texas|website=CBS News |date=February 3, 2020}}{{Cite web|first=Melissa|last=Greenstein|url=https://www.kshb.com/sports/patrick-mahomes-going-to-disney-world-after-super-bowl-win|title=Patrick Mahomes 'going to Disney World' after Super Bowl win|date=February 3, 2020|website=KSHB}} Nathaniel also posed with Mahomes, Disney Parks, Experiences and Products Chairman Bob Chapek, Mickey and Minnie, NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell and Make-A-Wish America President/CEO Richard K. Davis when Chapek announced a $1 million donation to the Make-a-Wish Foundation in Mahomes' honor.{{Cite web|url=https://disneyparks.disney.go.com/blog/2020/02/disney-parks-donates-1-million-to-make-a-wish-in-honor-of-super-bowl-liv-mvp-patrick-mahomes/|url-status=dead|title=Disney Parks Donates $1 Million to Make-A-Wish in Honor of Super Bowl LIV MVP Patrick Mahomes|website=Disney Parks Blog|date=February 3, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200203220035/https://disneyparks.disney.go.com/blog/2020/02/disney-parks-donates-1-million-to-make-a-wish-in-honor-of-super-bowl-liv-mvp-patrick-mahomes/ |archive-date=February 3, 2020 }} 17 other children from the Make-A-Wish Foundation also got free passes to attend the parade as well.{{Cite web|url=https://people.com/sports/super-bowl-mvp-patrick-mahomes-joined-by-make-a-wish-recipient-at-disney-world-parade/|title=Super Bowl 2020: MVP Patrick Mahomes Attends Disney World Parade|website=PEOPLE.com}}
Stars 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.
References
{{Reflist|30em}}
{{Super Bowl commercials}}
Category:The Walt Disney Company
Category:Super Bowl commercials