On April 11, 2006, at the 6th Annual Global Travel and Tourism Summit's gala dinner in Washington, D.C., that tradition continued when Walt Disney Parks and Resorts (WDP&R) laid out a vision to further implement cutting-edge technology to entertain and connect with its guests and consumers.
"At Walt Disney Parks and Resorts, we are using emerging technologies to entertain and connect with people all over the world, whether they are guests in our theme parks or at home thousands of miles away," said Jay Rasulo, Chairman of Walt Disney Parks and Resorts, which sponsored the Summit's Gala Dinner at the National Building Museum.
Legendary stage and film star Julie Andrews, who also serves as the Honorary Ambassador of Disneyland's 50th anniversary, together with The World Children's Choir, composed of children from backgrounds spanning the globe, entertained hundreds of guests at the Gala Dinner with a rousing ensemble performance of "it's a small world (after all)."
In an entertaining demonstration of how the Disney magic is being extended beyond the gates of the Magic Kingdom through technology, Verizon Wireless customers throughout the United States could stream video coverage of the evening's performance through the company's award-winning V CAST multimedia service.
In the spirit of uniting people around the world, the evening also featured a donation by The Walt Disney Company Foundation of $1 million to the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) to help advance the organization's key priorities for the world's children: child protection, immunization, early childhood support, fighting HIV/AIDS and girls' education.
Said Rasulo: "On behalf of The Walt Disney Company Foundation, I am delighted to present UNICEF with this donation of $1 million to help it make the world a better place for children. Bringing smiles to children is what Disney is known for, and working with UNICEF to help achieve this goal is something we are very proud to do."
Rasulo began the evening highlighting the fact that Disney vacation guests are early adopters of new and emerging consumer electronics and technology trends.
"We're at the dawn of a whole new era, and increasingly sophisticated mobile devices will usher in an entirely new kind of vacation experience," Rasulo said. "Wherever you might be, you'll be able to plan out every last detail of your vacation -- hotel and restaurant reservations, park tickets, perhaps even choice of menus -- right from the handset."
Disney, for one, is already extending new media efforts past solely entertaining guests at the parks to reaching them at home through the media channels they use daily. These channels include popular services such as video-on-demand, podcasting, video games, Internet and mobile phone functions.
The following initiatives below are just the beginning of how Disney is connecting with consumers to spread the Disney experience beyond the borders of its theme parks.