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Q&A – Could Disney’s Wokeness Hurt Florida’s Tourism?
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Today’s Entry: Hey Brian, I’ve got one for your Q&A. I want to know how much Disney’s wokeness could hurt Florida tourism. I can promise you my family is done with Disney and I’m sure that’s the case with a lot of families. With all of the don’t say gay national attention that’s happened I’d think some families will opt not to go to Disney’s properties this summer from out of state. If they’re not going to Disney they might not come to Florida.
Bottom Line: Obviously there’s a lot about this scenario that’s unquantifiable. We never know the full impact of flash points like this until after the fact. That said there’s enough info out there nationally to be able to pull together a view of the possible regarding the potential impact of Disney’s decision to oppose Florida’s Parental Rights in Education law. The law which they lied about along with leftist activists by falsely suggesting that it prohibits the saying of “gay” in schools. As I’ve covered throughout the debate over this law – there’s overwhelming support for this legislation in Florida, which prohibits the teaching of sexual orientation to students through third grade and requires sexual education to be “age appropriate” thereafter. In context, to oppose this law is to literally suggest that children in grades K-3rd grade should be taught sex ed and there shouldn’t be any consideration for a child’s age as to what’s taught. As I recently stated, anyone who thinks that’s acceptable is a sick disgusting freak. I firmly stand behind those words. That makes Disney a sick, disgusting, freaky company and while I don’t call for boycotts, as I believe in consumer choice, I do personally vote with my wallet and encourage others to do so...so congratulations for choosing to do so. The best way to send a message to woke companies is to have them see the financial impact of their decisions. So, about that...how significant could Disney’s decision be?
As the debate over Florida’s Parental Rights in Education law has been nationalized, so too has the feedback over it. Public Opinion Strategies polled on our new parental rights law nationally and found 61% of Americans are supportive of it compared to only 26% who are opposed. When only parents were included in the sample support increased to 67%. With two-thirds of parents standing with Florida, and thus against Disney, Florida’s Democrats and other wokesters – we have a view of the possible of those who might be inclined to choose not to patronize Disney. Orlando’s Magic Kingdom is the most visited theme park in the world. With now over 21 million visitors per year. Most recently Florida has 118 million visitors to the state. That means about 18% of Florida’s tourists are specifically drawn here for Disney. That’s obviously a big number with the potential to have a significant impact on the state. Now, already we’ve determined 39% of people aren’t necessarily opposed to Disney’s stance. That places the potential impact of Florida’s impact at about 11% of our state’s visitors.
Now, just because someone feels strongly about an issue, in opposition to a company they’d otherwise do business with, doesn’t mean they’re going to alter their vacation plans over it. So how many visitors might be willing to take it that far? There’s no specific accredited data regarding would-be Disney World visitors yet... But I can get you pretty close to an answer. A 2020 study by CompareCards aimed at determining how many of us really do get fed up enough with companies to stop doing business with them, found 40% of us do personally “boycott” at least one brand. And the top two reasons cited for the boycotting of those brands – a disagreement with the company’s political stance & a disagreement with the company’s social stance. Well, there’s no doubt Disney’s wokeness touches both of those themes. So now we can put all of this together to see the view of the possible when it comes to the potential impact on Florida’s tourism....
- 4.4% or 5.2 million visitors
That’s approximately how many people will alter their plans to go to Orlando and patronize Disney’s properties. The percentage doesn’t sound big, but the total number of people certainly does. Now, the question becomes whether those who’d otherwise go to Disney’s parks will opt not to come to Florida at all, or instead perhaps prioritize their trip with the non-Disney owned theme parks in the state. My money is on the latter. Florida is Florida and families that want to come here aren’t going to feel the same about going to Six Flags over Georgia, for example. I think Disney’s mostly just hurting themselves and not our state with this one. Something that will be interesting to watch is the growth in attendance in non-Disney owned theme parks compared to Disney’s parks this year. That will be a tell in the end. Otherwise, I fully expect the Free State of Florida to have a record year for tourism this year.