IT'S SHIP AHOY DISNEY MAGIC TO COME FOR MEXICAN CRUISES.Byline: Gregory J. Wilcox Staff Writer BURBANK - The Walt Disney Noun 1. Walt Disney - United States film maker who pioneered animated cartoons and created such characters as Mickey Mouse and Donald Duck; founded Disneyland (1901-1966) Disney, Walter Elias Disney Co. is bringing its brand of seagoing sea·go·ing adj. Made or used for ocean voyages. seagoing Adjective built for travelling on the sea Adj. 1. magic to the Pacific Ocean for the first time next year as part of the Magic Kingdom's golden anniversary, the company said Monday. The company cruise ship Disney Magic, based at Port Canaveral This article is about the port of Port Canaveral. For the city, see Cape Canaveral, Florida. Port Canaveral is a major cruise and cargo port located in Brevard County, Florida. Port Canaveral is the second busiest cruise port in the world with 4. , Fla., since 1998, will make the Port of Los Angeles The Port of Los Angeles is located on San Pedro Bay in the San Pedro neighborhood of Los Angeles, approximately 20 miles (30 km) south of downtown. Also called Los Angeles Harbor and WORLDPORT LA in San Pedro its temporary base for a dozen seven-night cruises to Mexican costal resorts beginning May 28, 2005. It will be part of an extensive celebration of company co-founder Walt Disney's July 17, 1955, opening of Disneyland in Anaheim. Details of that event, called the ``Happiest Celebration on Earth,'' will be released on Wednesday but they will include all the Burbank-based company's 10 theme parks. Jay Rasulo James A. "Jay" Rasulo is the chairman of Walt Disney Parks and Resorts, the division of The Walt Disney Company that operates or licenses 11 theme parks at five sites around the world. Rasulo became president of the theme park division in September 2002, replacing Paul Pressler. , president of Walt Disney Parks and Resorts, said in an interview Monday that cruise packages will start at $1,399 with bookings commencing Wednesday. Marketing will be tied in with the theme park celebration to capitalize on Cap´i`tal`ize on` v. t. 1. To turn (an opportunity) to one's advantage; to take advantage of (a situation); to profit from; as, to capitalize on an opponent's mistakes s>. the Disney brand name. ``This is a completely new audience for Disney Cruise Line Disney Cruise Line is owned by The Walt Disney Company and headquartered in Celebration, Florida. The business is run by President Tom McAlpin as part of the Walt Disney Parks and Resorts division. ,'' Rasulo said of the West Coast operation. ``We are very bullish that ... the ships will sail full every day.'' Disney Magic, which will transit from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific via the Panama Canal, will make port on its West Coast cruises in Puerto Vallarta, Mazatlan and Cabo San Lucas Cabo San Lucas (popularly known as just Cabo) is a small city at the southern tip of the Baja California peninsula at , in the municipality of Los Cabos in the state of Baja California Sur, Mexico. . The ship will return to Florida in August 2005. Analyst Dennis B. McAlpine, head of McAlpine Associates in Scarsdale, N.Y., is not surprised that Disney is bringing a ship to the Disneyland party. ``They have a 50th anniversary just about every other year. Give them credit for marketing everything that has a 50th anniversary,'' he said. He also gives the company credit for carving out a niche in the competitive cruise industry. ``They've done well and had good capacity. It's probably worked a lot better than many things that have been done in the name of synergy, not just by Disney but by everyone,'' he said. The company is not a major player since its two ships account for just 2.5 percent of the cruise ship market, said Oivind Mathisen, editor and publisher of Cruise Industry News based in New York City New York City: see New York, city. New York City City (pop., 2000: 8,008,278), southeastern New York, at the mouth of the Hudson River. The largest city in the U.S. . While Disney's ships have a following, they will face increased competition in the Mexican cruise market, which has seen passenger capacity increase an annual 41 percent this year. ``The Disney product is unique. They offer the Disney experience at sea with all the cartoon figures. It's the whole Disney atmosphere and if you are into that, you will feel very much at home on that ship,'' Mathisen said. The company today opens a new attraction, the ``Twilight Zone Tower of Terror'' at struggling California Adventure theme park. Riders are strapped into seats on an elevator that free-falls 13 stories. The ride is already in use at Disney-MGM Studios park in Florida. Gregory J. Wilcox, (818) 713-3743 greg.wilcox(at)dailynews.com CAPTION(S): photo Photo: (color) Disney Magic will head to California in 2005 to offer a dozen seven-day cruises to Mexico. |
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