"I'm/We're going to Walt Disney World!" and "I'm/We're going to Disneyland!" are advertising slogans used in a series of television commercials by the Walt Disney Company that began airing in 1987. 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 shouting the phrase while celebrating the player(s) and their team's victory immediately after the championship game. They have also promoted champions from other sports, 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—"(name of Team Player(s)), you and (name of team) have just won (name of event)! 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. Most ads feature the song "When You Wish Upon a Star", which was sometimes sung by David Cook and Idina Menzel at various points during the campaign, and end with a shot of fireworks over Cinderella Castle or Sleeping Beauty Castle.
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.
History[]
In his 1998 memoir Work in Progress, Disney CEO Michael Eisner credited his wife, Jane, with the idea for the campaign. According to Eisner, during the January 1987 grand opening for the Star Tours attraction at Disneyland, they 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 asked what the pilots planned to do next, they replied, "Well, we're going to Disneyland." She later told Michael the phrase would make a great advertising campaign.
Weeks later, Disney launched the series following Super Bowl XXI on January 25, 1987 with a commercial featuring New York Giants quarterback Phil Simms. Simms was paid a reported $75,000 for his participation. The company later aired three more ads that year with other athletes following major sports championships.
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.
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. 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.
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.
1987
- Phil Simms, New York Giants, Super Bowl XXI
- Dennis Conner, Stars & Stripes, America's Cup
- Magic Johnson, Los Angeles Lakers, NBA Finals
- Frank Viola, Minnesota Twins, World Series
1988
- Doug Williams, Washington Redskins, Super Bowl XXII
- Gretchen Carlson, Miss Minnesota, Miss America
- Brian Boitano, U.S. figure skater, Winter Olympics
- Orel Hershiser, Los Angeles Dodgers, World Series
- Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Los Angeles Lakers, NBA Finals
1989
- Joe Montana, San Francisco 49ers, Super Bowl XXIII
- Al MacInnis, Calgary Flames, Stanley Cup Finals
- Joe Dumars, Detroit Pistons, NBA Finals
1990
- Joe Montana, San Francisco 49ers, Super Bowl XXIV
- Jim Thompson of Temple University, and Matt Kaldenberg, Phyllis Kaldenberg, and Laura McEwen of Simpson College, college graduation
1991
- Ottis Anderson, New York Giants, Super Bowl XXV
- Michael Jordan, Chicago Bulls, NBA Finals
1992
- Mark Rypien, Washington Redskins, Super Bowl XXVI
1993
- Troy Aikman, Dallas Cowboys, Super Bowl XXVII
- Patrick Roy, Montreal Canadiens, Stanley Cup Finals
1994
- Jeff Gordon, NASCAR Hendrick Motorsports No. 24 Chevy, 1994 Brickyard 400 winner
- Emmitt Smith, Dallas Cowboys, Super Bowl XXVIII
- Nancy Kerrigan, U.S. figure skater, Winter Olympics
- While appearing in a subsequent parade at Walt Disney World, Kerrigan was recorded saying "This is dumb. I hate it. This is the most corniest thing I have ever done." However, she said her comments were taken out of context. She said that being in the parade was not corny, but wearing her silver medal during the parade was since her parents taught her never to brag or show off her accomplishments. She also went on to say that she had nothing against the Walt Disney Company or Mickey Mouse and said, "Whoever could find fault with Mickey Mouse? He's the greatest mouse I've ever known."
1995
- Jerry Rice and Steve Young, San Francisco 49ers, Super Bowl XXIX
1996
- Emmitt Smith, Dallas Cowboys, Super Bowl XXX
1997
- Desmond Howard, Green Bay Packers, Super Bowl XXXI
- Santa Claus, Christmas
1998
- John Elway, Denver Broncos, Super Bowl XXXII
- Mark McGwire, St. Louis Cardinals, Major League Baseball home run record
1999
- Terrell Davis and John Elway, Denver Broncos, Super Bowl XXXIII
- U.S. Women's National Soccer Team, FIFA Women's World Cup
2000
- Kurt Warner, St. Louis Rams, Super Bowl XXXIV
2001
- Trent Dilfer, Baltimore Ravens, Super Bowl XXXV
- Barry Bonds, San Francisco Giants, Major League Baseball home run record
2002
- Tom Brady, New England Patriots, Super Bowl XXXVI
- Scott Spiezio, Anaheim Angels, World Series
2003
- Jon Gruden and Brad Johnson, Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Super Bowl XXXVII
2004
- Tom Brady, New England Patriots, Super Bowl XXXVIII
- Curt Schilling, Pedro Martínez, and David Ortiz, Boston Red Sox, World Series
- Dave Andreychuk, Tampa Bay Lightning, Stanley Cup Finals
2006
- Hines Ward and Jerome Bettis, Pittsburgh Steelers, Super Bowl XL
- Dwyane Wade, Miami Heat, NBA Finals
2007
- Tony Dungy and Dominic Rhodes, Indianapolis Colts, Super Bowl XLI
- Teemu Selanne, Anaheim Ducks, Stanley Cup Finals
2008
- Eli Manning, New York Giants, Super Bowl XLII
- David Cook, Season 7 American Idol winner
2009
- Santonio Holmes and Ben Roethlisberger, Pittsburgh Steelers, Super Bowl XLIII
- Kris Allen, Season 8 American Idol winner
- Bruce Springsteen during the Super Bowl XLIII halftime show
2010
- Drew Brees, New Orleans Saints, Super Bowl XLIV
- Lee DeWyze, Season 9 American Idol winner
2011
- Aaron Rodgers, Green Bay Packers, Super Bowl XLV
- Scotty McCreery, American Idol Season 10 champion, American Idol (Season 10)
2012
- Eli Manning, New York Giants, Super Bowl XLVI
2013
- Joe Flacco, Baltimore Ravens, Super Bowl XLVII
2014
- Malcolm Smith, Seattle Seahawks, Super Bowl XLVIII
2015
- Malcolm Butler and Julian Edelman, New England Patriots, Super Bowl XLIX
2018
- Nick Foles, Philadelphia Eagles, Super Bowl LII
2019
- Tom Brady and Julian Edelman, New England Patriots, Super Bowl LIII
2020
- Patrick Mahomes, Kansas City Chiefs, Super Bowl LIV
2021
- Tom Brady, Rob Gronkowski, Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Super Bowl LV
2022
- Matthew Stafford, Cooper Kupp, and Aaron Donald, Los Angeles Rams, Super Bowl LVI
2023
- Patrick Mahomes, Kansas City Chiefs, Super Bowl LVII
2024
- Patrick Mahomes, Kansas City Chiefs, Super Bowl LVIII
Parodies[]
The campaign was very ripe for parodies, even within Disney's own properties. For example:
- In Tiny Toon Adventures:
- In "Fields of Honey", a fake commercial featuring Babs as a football player parodies the advertising campaign.
- In "Buster at the Bat", after Buster scores a homer (contrary to the original poem being served as the basis), Babs Bunny asks Buster what he will do next, to which Buster replies, "I'm going to build my own amusement park!"
- In Animaniacs:
- In "King Yakko", Dot asks Yakko what he will do next after defeating the bad guy, with Yakko saying, "I'm going to Di—", but doesn't finish the sentence before being interrupted by the still very alive villain.
- In two "Tower Ending" sequences, an unseen announcer asks, "Hey, Warner Brothers, and the Warner Sister, you just finished another great show! What are you gonna do next?", with Yakko replying "We're going to... sleep." And in another one, the announcer asks the same question with Yakko's response, "We're going to... the bathroom."
- At the end of "The Warners' 65th Anniversary Special", an announcer asks the Warners what the plan to do now that they've finished the special, to which they reply, "We're going to Euro Disneyland!".
- In The Simpsons:
- In "Selma's Choice", the campaign is parodied in the Duff Gardens commercial.
- In "A Fish Called Selma", when MacArthur Parker tells Troy McClure he is being offered the role of McBain's sidekick, Troy happily shouts, "Hot damn! I'm going to SeaWorld!" in a continuation of a running gag of an implication of Troy's fish fetish.
- In "Sunday, Cruddy Sunday", after winning the Super Bowl, a football player declares that he's going to Disneyland, to which a travel agent replies, "Really? You know, I'm a travel agent and I've heard nothing but bad things."
- In Aladdin, the Genie, making his fingers like a TV screen around the titular character's face asks, "Aladdin, you just won the heart of the Princess! What're you gonna do next?", while the first four notes of "When You Wish..." play. After getting no response from Aladdin, the Genie as a script prompter whispers to him, "Psst! Your line is 'I'm going to free the Genie.'... Anytime."
- In Snow Dogs, Olivier Trajean declares in his victory speech, "I'm going to Disneyland Paris."
- When Michael Eisner left The Walt Disney Company in 2005, it was reported that when asked what he would be doing afterward, Eisner said, "I'm going to Disneyland."
- At some performances of Aladdin: A Musical Spectacular, after being freed, the Genie would say, "I'm going to Disneyland!", in reference to the park being next door to where it was playing, Disney California Adventure.
- Bruce Springsteen concluded his halftime show performance at Super Bowl XLIII by shouting, "I'm going to Disneyland!"
- In The Peanuts Movie, after Sally wins the talent show with her rodeo act, the school newspaper states that Sally claims she's going to Disneyland.
- In The Loud House episode "Sponsor Tripped", Carla (who was being sponsored by Dairyland, a Walt Disney World parody), after her soccer game, says "After an udderly amazing game like this, I'm going to Dairyland!"
- In The Fairly OddParents:
- In "Odd Ball", after the Dimmsdale Ballhogs win the basketball game, one player says "We're NOT going to Alaska."
- In "That Old Black Magic", the president is asked what he plans to do after almost causing a nuclear war, to which he replies, "I'm going to Escalator Land!"
- In Deadpool & Wolverine, when Wade Wilson is offered to join the Marvel Cinematic Universe, he grabs the camera and microphone and declares, "Suck it, Fox! I'm going to Disneyland!"
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This page uses content from the English Wikipedia page I'm going to Disney World!. The list of authors can be seen in the page history. Text from Wikipedia is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License; additional terms may apply. |