Here are the details, from the press release:
To receive free admission to one of the Walt Disney World or Disneyland theme parks on your birthday in 2009, guests must bring valid ID including proof of birth date. Guests who already hold a valid multi-day ticket they will use on their birthday may choose from other birthday treats instead, however, no cash refunds or credits will be given. To register your birthday and find out more details, visit www.disneyparks.com.
So there's no one-day credit on your multi-day pass if you want to use it on your birthday. (So... if you have a no-expire option on a WDW ticket, just leave it in your pocket and pretend you don't have it, okay? Save the extra day for another time.) I see this being a bigger deal in Anaheim, though, where people can pop over to the park easily on their B-day.
The upside for Disney? Who wants to go to Disneyland by themselves on their birthday? Celebrants likely will bring along the family, who'll pay to get in. Plus, they'll net the cash spent in the park on food, souvenirs, etc.
Still... a free Disneyland ticket. That's a sweet deal.
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A birthday fun card in an amount equal to the price of a 1-day Magic Your Way base ticket* for you to use on your birthday for merchandise, recreation or fun activities at select participating locations at Walt Disney World® Resort
A special birthday FASTPASS® badge+ for certain attractions at the Theme Park you visit on your birthday
A 1-day Magic Your Way base ticket for you to use any time until your next birthday.
So it seems that they have nicely covered that contengency.
Something tells me this will really benefit the "townies" which tend to not go as much!
Still, its pretty decient.
Just out of curiosity, does this only apply to US Citizens, or International visitors too?
International guests just need to take a passport to the ticket counter to receive free entry.
No registration is required.
BUT, is this a parkhopper, or one park, one day?
I had an AP to all other parks because of the Flex Pay options!
Kudos, Disney.
A) they will benefit from more locals in Anaheim and Orlando going on their birthdays, and Jay Rasulo pointed out that local tourism is very important with gas and airline prices and the overall crappy economy and B) people arent going to celebrate their birthday alone, so they will bring family and friends with them who WILL pay, which Rasulo also pointed out, and of course, you still have to pay for food and merchandise, and this celebration should attract people to go on their BDay and spend this money
Will other Orlando parks (Universal, Sea World) foillow Disney's lead?
Is this similar to the Year of a Million Dreams Fastpass badge? Can you use them in multiple parks in one day?
I think that people do go to the parks as a "celebration" whether it's a family vacation, anniversary, birthday, etc. So to run a Disney-ized promotion to highlight this - it's nice. It's based on market research. It'll be a hit....
Of course familites budgetting for a trip will then be able to do something extra for the kids.
As for older people its a free pass woohoo we know we love it.
my problem is all my family's birthdays are in the winter when school/college/university is in full swing. So the time constraints for us are not so good, but you can't detract from a great offer, instead if we visited during December we would have two people get free entry in the same 2 week vacation (from the UK see :) )
Hats off to Disney for a great offer
The real risk of this strategy is that other parks will follow Disney's lead. If Universal and Sea World do the same thing then a family might choose to visit one of those parks over Disney. Of course when families bring the birthday kid (old or young kid:o) ) to the park they will still drop some cash -- not only on food and gifts but also gas, parking, etc.)
The thing is if the other parks match the offer these families may only be able to budget for one trip a year -- and that trip might end up being to a park other than Disney.
But I am nit-picking ... and I still think it is a BRILLIANT idea! And Disney thought of it first so they can claim the brand.
I really dont think Disney expects anybody to plan a vacation just to get the birthday perk, BUT it is a "feel good" offer that is pretty substantial.
As an annual Preferred Passholder I have longed for Disney to design a loyalty program that rewards passholders for continuous years of purchasing them. I think that would be a great way to show thanks. This is a great start to that!
KUDOS DISNEY!!! The post Eisner era just keeps getting better!
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However, I will not be planning a trip to WDW/DLR just to get free admission to one park for one day.
As a Midwesterner, I am somewhat underwhelmed by this "Big Announcement."