“You can dream, create, design, and build the most wonderful place in the world, but it requires people to make the dream a reality.” – Walt Disney
It also requires an engaging Twitter strategy.
The suits and imagineers behind Lake Buena Vista, Florida’s Walt Disney World (WDW) take many steps to stay current: attractions are built and updated, Starbucks are popping up everywhere, gluten-free and vegetarian food options have been added aplenty, craft beer selections have grown, and last year they even rolled out the MyMagic+ program, an app-and-wristband combination resulting in some serious online magic.
But what they boast in factory-created fantasy, they lack in thorough social media presence.
Yes, most major Disney hubs around the world are at least on Twitter: @WaltDisneyWorld, @DisneyParks, @Disneyland, @DisneylandParis, @DisneyCruise, etc. Even Tokyo Disney and Hong Kong Disneyland have accounts, although they’ve been inactive since May 2014 and September 2009, respectively.
But when it comes to the individual parks of WDW themselves, the very place wishes come true for mini Elsas, Belles, and Walt Disney Company CEO Bob Iger alike (the theme parks alone accounted for a third of last year’s total $45 billion revenue), social media is anything but a dream.
You’d think with nearly 18.6 million people visiting Magic Kingdom in 2013, some percentage of those folks would appreciate real-time updates from the six themed lands that comprise the park. You could even suggest each land (all centered around Cinderella’s infamous home) has enough content to fill its own @handle, but that’s another storybook ending.
The fact being hidden under all this Disney geekery is that Magic Kingdom, EPCOT, Hollywood Studios, and Animal Kingdom all need their own Twitter accounts. Point blank. There’s even two water parks in WDW, Typhoon Lagoon and Blizzard Beach, that could benefit from a Twitter presence.
Just think: real-time ride updates (attractions tend to temporarily close midday for random maintenance), debuts of new menu items at the many quick-stop or sit-down restaurants, magical giveaways, scavenger hunts, and live-tweets during new parades like the phenomenal Festival of Fantasy at Magic Kingdom. An elusive dining reservation just opened up at Be Our Guest? One tweet and that’s an empty table filled, family fed, and vacation #MADE.
One could argue most of these updates could be announced with the My Disney Experience app (more on that here), but there’s one thing the app can’t do: share the photos taken by WDW’s millions of annual attendees, and thank them for taking them in the first place.
What’s more special and magical and full of warm fuzzies than the photo you snapped being tweeted out by @MagicKingdom or @EPCOT? Answer: nothing. It’s the fairytale equivalent of Beyonce responding to something you tweeted at her – except this could actually happen.
Let’s look at some of @WaltDisneyWorld’s recent tweeting action:
Learn how to draw Oswald the Lucky Rabbit with our latest Disney character animation tutorial: http://t.co/qRxcBaRsRY
— Walt Disney World (@WaltDisneyWorld) August 6, 2014
Learn how to make Smoked Salmon Carpaccio from @DisneyCruise Line with this new summer recipe: http://t.co/g4mJC8kelI — Walt Disney World (@WaltDisneyWorld) August 5, 2014
These two tweets are cool, behind-the-scenes content that absolutely should continue on the account.
Here are 15 fun facts about Rock ‘n’ Roller Coaster, in honor of the attraction’s 15th anniversary: http://t.co/CiihUutkk9
— Walt Disney World (@WaltDisneyWorld) August 2, 2014
Listicles! Everyone loves super-shareable, easy-to-absorb content.
Who’s your favorite #DisneyFrozen character and why? pic.twitter.com/oeWnptDWWa — Walt Disney World (@WaltDisneyWorld) August 4, 2014
Here we see a step toward engagement as @WaltDisneyWorld moves outside of one-sided content and starts a conversation. Good Disney, conversations are what Twitter is all about! Now all we need is direct sharing of park-goers’ photos and we’ll really be showing how much we appreciate and love all those Disney fans, especially because photos tagged with #MagicKingdom seem to pop up every minute. Here’s some prime examples of what @WaltDisneyWorld should be retweeting and/or sharing:
I learned from Peter Pan today that all you need is faith, trust and pixie dust. #MagicKingdom pic.twitter.com/k1UOmh90ah — Angela Zatopek (@AngelaZatopek) August 3, 2014
The Pineapple Dole Whip float. #WaltDisneyWorld #magickingdom pic.twitter.com/jd40Kv9XJB
— Tara Gergacs (@TaraGergacs) July 30, 2014
Wow! We love Mickey and Minnie!!! #magickingdompic.twitter.com/dIyfjwJUo1
— Steph Haridopolos (@Dr_Haridopolos) August 2, 2014
En conclusión:
Once upon a time there was a redhead who was particularly infatuated with Disney World. Daily, she’d browse her whimsical Tweetdeck thinking of all the ways her favorite place in the world could be better connecting with the rest of its dedicated fans. Then WDW hired that redhead’s company, Metter Media, to run their parks’ social media. And they all lived very happily ever after…
