Brittany Blue

Dr. Hill
08 December, 2015
A Metaphor Analysis of Disney World

A young entrepreneur named Walter Elias Disney, born in 1901, is better known
by the world as Walt Disney. He and his infamous imagination changed the world of
entertainment in both film and attraction by devising never before seen family
experiences. After the creation of popular family features such as Snow White (1937) and
Pinocchio (1940), Walt turned his attention to bigger plans. Fast forward a few decades
and Walt is the successful owner and president of a multi billion-dollar company. He has
created some of the most beloved movies of his time, and is the proud owner of Disney
Land, a theme park in Anaheim California, where families could experience the same
kind of whimsy in his films, in person. The ultimate plan however, was a much larger
park. For years, Walt bought acres of land in secret using several development
companies names to hide his intention. What Walt called The Florida Project broke
ground in the 1960s and took nearly 10 years to complete. Unfortunately, Walt didnt
live to see his dream come true. He died in 1966, leaving the company to his brother Roy.
In 1971 the long awaited Disney World Resort opened in Orlando Florida. After the
earlier success of Disney Land in California, and the death of Walt, Walt Disney World
served as a memorial for Walt as well as an extension of what would become the largest
entertainment empire in the world. Disney World sees over 19 million tourists each year

from all over the world. Families flock to Disney, making it their annual vacation
destination.
The Disney Company has released dozens of advertising campaigns to gain
interest and visitors. Using phrases like the most magical place on earth, and where
dreams come true, these advertisements feature diverse families staged in whimsical
moments throughout the parks. In showing moments differing from proposals to
reunions, the commercials display dreams coming true for the families who are visiting
the Walt Disney World Resort. With 19 million visitors a year, it is important to consider
the accuracy of these obviously idealized commercials. As a mogul in family
entertainment, it is often difficult to associate Disney with manipulating their audience,
but it could be useful to consider the subliminal messaging that is handed to us as
consumers.

Any advertising campaign has a desired affect, audience, and message to convey.
As the most successful entertainment company in the world, studying the advertising of
The Disney Company could potentially aid in understanding the success as well as the
mission of the company. In this paper I will look at two specific advertisements through
their use of metaphor. Advertisements have been held under microscope lenses for the
sake of their purpose and subliminal messaging for years. Disney World, mainly
appealing to families, especially with young children, have to construct their advertising
in such a way that excites children, and at the same time convinces parents to spend the
money to make dreams come true in travelling from around the world to The Walt
Disney World Resort.

The first advertisement that I will explore was part of their Year of a Million
Dreams campaign that lasted from 2006 to 2008. As part of the campaign, The Disney
Company vowed to make a million dreams come true for guests of the parks. From free
hotel stays, to participation in parades, to fast passes for rides, Disney worked to select
families at random for extra magic during their stay. This commercial opens with a shot
of a family of three in a canoe on a river. As the shot closes in, the young boy in the boat
looks up to have a large shadow eclipse his face. A pirate ship appears out of the mist and
a few shots later he is on the ship as a pirate. Without dialogue, the commercial takes us
through a few more examples of this kind including three children jumping on a bed who
end up flying much like the well recognizable Disney character Peter Pan. In another, two
children in the back of a convertible look up to see a shooting star. Their mother looks up,
smiles, and turns the car upward and into the sky, following the star. At this point, the
dialogue of the commercial is added. There is a place where nothing is ever as it seems.
Where the ordinary is always extraordinary. And where once upon a time happens once
upon a day. Come live your dream this year during the year of a million dreams at Disney
Parks, the place where dreams come true.

Of the two advertisements I am examining, this is the one that has less metaphor
in word and more in what is represented visually. As far as words, where dreams come
true, is the most striking concept that this commercial explores. Disney is known for this
phrase, emphasizing and implying often that by coming to Disney, your dreams will
come true. To explore this idea I need to define the terms. A dream is defined as
successions of images, ideas, emotions, and sensations that occur usually involuntarily

in the mind during certain stages of sleep. This is obviously not a term that Disney
coined, but it is an important idea to consider for its literal meaning. If we are following a
literal definition of dream, Disney is implying that the dreams of their park will come true
in going. Even one step further, they are claiming that dreams come true, referring to
the possibility of more than one dream. Since I have never heard of two people having
the same dream, this blanket statement applies to all people as well. Whatever the dream
is, there is some part of it coming true at Disney. The metaphor itself requires a shift in
the phrasing, but the idea stands. The metaphor would be my life is a dream come true.
With children being their main source of income, they are gearing their commercials
towards them as well. In this particular commercial, all of the dreams coming true are
that of children. The dreams of children are different than that of adults, so the idea of
Disney being the place where dreams come true is perhaps geared at children. With
many adult dreams being about to do lists and practical daily matters, this cant be the
metaphor message that Disney is trying to make. Rather, in the images shown in the
commercial, we are shown the sorts of dreams that Disney believes they can help to make
come true.
One dream answered in this commercial shows a small girl in her school
uniform opening a door. Suddenly as she goes through the door she is in a Cinderella
princess gown on the steps of a grand palace, surrounded by trumpeters and rose petals
falling from the sky. The juxtaposition of this girl becoming royal would be one such
dream that comes true at Disney. In Disney World, the staff is taught to refer to little girls
as princess. These princesses can also meet the Disney princess and parents can pay

to have their little girls turned into princesses at The Bippity Boppity Boutique. I DO
NOT KNOW HOW TO CONTINUE!!!! AGGGGHHHHHHHH!!!!

In this essay I will argue that the advertising of Walt Disney World, the company
juxtaposes a family structure to create a personal relationship with customers that goes
beyond that of a simple monetary exchange.

Why does it matter?

Turning the family into a commodity to be sold
Disney uses relational metaphors to turn the family into a commodified unit.
Disney is worth it and your family is worth it.
Bring up prices of Disney tickets
If you dont have a family join ours, and if you domake it better.