Disney's Pandora Land Guest Experience Survey

RESEARCH PROPOSAL
Ashley Santore

THE WALT DISNEY COMPANY
MARKETING RESEARCH PROPOSAL | 2
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TABLE OF CONTENTS
I. INTRODUCTION
II. BACKGROUND
III. SITUATIONAL ANALYSIS
A. MANAGERIAL PROBLEM
B. RESEARCH PROBLEM
C. RESEARCH OBJECTIVES
IV. RECOMMENDED METHODOLOGY
A. RESEARCH DESIGN
B. DATA COLLECTION METHOD
C. SAMPLING PLAN
D. ANALYTICAL PLAN
V. DELIVERABLES
VI. TIME TABLE
VII. CONCLUSION
VIII. APPENDIX
IX. REFERENCES
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I. INTRODUCTION
The Walt Disney World Resort, located in Orlando, Florida is one of the most visited
locations in the world. In 2016 alone the four theme parks (Magic Kingdom, EPCOT,
Disney’s Hollywood Studios and Disney’s Animal Kingdom) that make up the resort saw
an attendance of 53.7 million visitors, and 4.4 million between the resort’s two water parks
(Typhoon Lagoon and Blizzard Beach) (TEA, 2017).
The Walt Disney World Resort spans 40 square miles in Central Florida, and is roughly
the size of San Francisco. Walt Disney Parks are constantly in the state of change, after
all, Walt Disney once said during his dedication speech for Disneyland that “Disneyland
will never be completed. It will continue to grow as long as there is imagination left in the
world.” This quote holds true to the east coast theme park as well, and Walt Disney World
has seen ample changes over the years. Most recently, Disney’s Animal Kingdom will be
opening its third land: Pandora – The World of Avatar, based on the 2009 James Cameron
film starring Sam Worthington, Zoe Saldana and Sigourney Weaver.
Pandora – The World of Avatar was the last key of the nighttime expansion of Disney’s
Animal Kingdom Park, and was created in hopes of converting the theme park to an all-
day park. This nighttime expansion included nighttime safaris on Kilimanjaro Safari, a new
nighttime spectacular show: Rivers of Light, a projection show on the park’s icon: The
Tree of Life, and finally, Pandora – The World of Avatar. During its inaugural weekend
drew tens of thousands of guests from all over the world, boding an average wait time on
its E-Ticket Attraction, Flight of Passage, of 250 minutes.

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II. BACKGROUND
Even when Pandora: The World of Avatar was first unveiled at D23 in 2013, the film was
already old news. The film did win awards for its spectacular special effects, and
cinematography, but with an ever changing landscape of technology, these special effects
became the norm, making it all but memorable. Avatar (2009) set the bar high for what
was to follow, but would the brand new land at Disney World follow suit with setting the
bar equally high? Pandora: The World of Avatar was slated to cost Disney approximately
$500 million to build (Chimielewski & Keegan, 2011). The land is slated to open in May
2017, 8 years after the release of the original movie.
The idea of Pandora: The World of Avatar was innovated directly in response to
Universal’s Wizarding World of Harry Potter. Will this be enough to compete with
Universal’s Wizarding World of Harry Potter, which when it first opened, caused
Universal’s annual attendance to spike by 17% in the first year (Pedicini, 2015). And will
Pandora: The Land of Avatar be enough to retain its consumer’s interest and turn Disney’s
Animal Kingdom from a half-day park, into a full-day experience? As of 2015, Disney’s
Animal Kingdom is the fourth most visited theme park in the world, having 10.9 million
guests enter its gates annually (TEA, 2017). Will this land be enough to push this park
past the other Disney parks in the ranking? And if so, what effect will it have on the
consumer experience? With such a large expansion, consumers are definitely going to
be interested, which will lead to overcrowding, long lines for both attractions, food and
merchandise.

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III. SITUATIONAL ANALYSIS
A. MANAGERIAL PROBLEM
Disney’s Animal Kingdom recently opened a new land dedicated to the world of James
Cameron’s Avatar (2009). What are our guests saying about it? What is the overall guest
experience? What can we do to draw consumers to purchase a ticket to Disney World to
see Pandora: The World of Avatar? And what affect will it have on the rest of Disney’s
Animal Kingdom when it comes to guest experience?
B. RESEARCH PROBLEM
Determine guest experience within Disney’s Animal Kingdom pertaining to Pandora – The
World of Avatar.
C. RESEARCH OBJECTIVES
Determine awareness of new area, and the key demographics. Determine guest
experience – what do people like, what do people not like. Determine if guests will return
to experience Pandora: The World of Avatar. Determine the selling points, why are people
coming to see this land? Finally, determine the effect that this land has on the guest
satisfaction throughout Disney’s Animal Kingdom.

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IV. RECOMMENDED METHODOLOGY
A. RESEARCH DESIGN
The Walt Disney Company will need to focus on a strict array of surveys through
quantitative research in order to truly understand their issue regarding Pandora – The
World of Avatar. Utilizing quantitative research allows for the brand to provide control,
and mathematical statistical research of the analysis (Reed College of Media, 2017). This
type of research will allow for Disney to understand the success, or failures of this new,
fully immersive land, and understand its consumer to continue to provide a world class of
guest service. For this study, Disney’s marketing research will utilize self-administered
surveys, which will be sent out to a specific population through e-mail. Through utilizing
online, internet based surveys the brand will be able to amplify their speed, access, ability
to personalize, all while decreasing cost of the study (Reed College of Media, 2017).
Disney will be able to utilize this data to fully understand the consumer’s perception of
this brand new land, and see what they can do in order to increase guest satisfaction.
B. DATA COLLECTION METHOD
In order to acquire the data that will be needed to complete this survey, Disney will utilize
My Disney Experience to reach out to these guests. When signing up for My Disney
Experience, park visitors need to register with a valid email. If the consumer registered a
FastPass selection using My Disney Experience for Disney’s Animal Kingdom Park within
the select dates, they will receive a survey in their e-mails for them to fill out about their
experiences within the new land relating to consumer experience, food, merchandise, and
overall satisfaction with the land.
C. SAMPLING PLAN
With this study in mind, The Walt Disney Company will utilize non-probability sampling,
which will allow the brand to not rely on, or conform to mathematically based subsets of
population. Disney will utilize convenience sampling in order to reach their specific
demographic – the consumers who have visited Disney’s Animal Kingdom during the
allotted dates of the research study.
1. SAMPLING FRAME & UNITS
The researchers will focus on all guests who utilize park tickets to enter Disney’s
Animal Kingdom within the select dates. This will include the following guests: Single
Day Park Admissions, Multi-Day Park Admission, Park Hopper Passes, Disney
Platinum Plus Pass, Disney Platinum Pass, Disney Gold Pass, Disney Silver Pass,

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Disney Weekday Select Pass, EPCOT After 4 Annual Pass, Cast Member Main Gate
Passes (Self-Admission), Cast Member Guest Passes, Seasonal Cast Member One-
Day Park Hopper Tickets, Winter Complimentary Tickets, Summer Complimentary
Tickets, and Disney Holiday Celebration Complimentary Tickets.
2. SAMPLE SIZE
The average attendance for Disney’s Animal Kingdom in 2016 was 10.9 million visitors,
which on average will equate to approximately 29.5 thousand visitors per day. This
study will reach out and aim to study any consumer that has visited Disney’s Animal
Kingdom within this month time frame to understand their experiences within the new
theme park area. Within that month period, it’s approximated that 914.5 thousand
visitors will have entered the Disney’s Animal Kingdom theme park, and thus, will
receive the guest experience survey through their email. This number does not take
into account the number of children that are traveling with their parents, and does not
also include the amount of surveys that will actually be distributed due to the fact that
not everyone will have a My Disney Experience account.
3. SAMPLING ERROR
Since this study is a nonprobability sample, error cannot be calculated.
D. ANALYTICAL PLAN
For this study, the marketing research team will utilize the following three methods in
order to analyze the data acquired from their study on Pandora – The World of Avatar:
1.) Descriptive Statistics 2.) Differences Analysis and 3.) Cross Tabulations (Crosstabs).
1. DESCRIPTIVE STATISTICS
The first means of analyzing the data, would be descriptive statistics, which are one of
the most basic responses, and typically starts with a one-way frequency table, which
shows the number of respondents who chose each individual answer (Reed College
of Media, 2017). This method would give the market researchers a median, and means
of acquiring an overall sense of the set of data presented from the research. It would
give researchers a general idea of where the data was pointing, for example, if a
majority of guests rated the wait time for Flight of Passage as 1 (bad), then it would be
something for researchers and marketers to look at in the future without really having
to dive into the data.
2. DIFFERENCES ANALYSIS
The second mode of analysis that The Walt Disney Company should utilize in this
study is differences analysis, which would allow market researchers to understand

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differences between two specific groups such as male versus female, or Annual
Passholders versus non-Annual Passholders (Reed College of Media, 2017).
Difference analysis utilizes t tests, f tests, crosstabulations and ANOVA to test the
differences between the sample versus differences within the population. This type of
research relies heavily on a p value, or probability value. The higher the p value, the
lower the statistical significance and vice versa.
3. CROSS TABULATIONS (CROSSTABS)
The third and final method that the market researchers will be utilizing crosstabs. Since
this study focuses on the satisfaction of the guests that visit Pandora – The World of
Avatar, crosstabs offer the researchers the unique opportunity to dive into their world,
and understand the park guests on a different level. Crosstabs allow market
researchers to break down one question, with another question. For example, age
versus satisfaction with the new land. One interesting aspect that market researchers
should dive into with the idea of Pandora would be the ideas of Age (Question #1)
versus Satisfaction (Question #10), Passholder versus non-Passholder’s (Question
#2) versus their Satisfaction (Question #10).
Market researchers would be able to utilize the scale shown above as a means of
acquiring new data about the various attractions across Pandora – The World of
Avatar, and lead to them understanding the strengths or weaknesses of the new land.
By understanding these areas, The Walt Disney Company can utilize their knowledge
going forward with the two new park areas that they are working on at Disney’s
Hollywood Studios: Toy Story Land and Star Wars Land. Understanding this data, can
lead to researchers understanding correlations between data. For example, do females
prefer a calming ride such as Na’Vi River Journey over a fully immersive experience
such as Flight of Passage? Utilizing crosstabs will allow the researchers to easily
understand and see the data that was acquired.

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V. DELIVERABLES
Since this is an online survey, the only thing that the consumer’s will be provided with are
the link to partake in the survey, which will arrive through e-mail. Since this is a voluntary
survey, Disney will however provide a raffle prize of a $250 Disney gift card to a maximum
of 10 random guests who participated in the survey as an incentive.
VI. TIME TABLE
Pandora – The World of Avatar opened on May 27, 2017. This survey will focus on
surveying guests who have visited the area between the dates of May 27, 2017 and July
31, 2017. Those guests will receive the survey in their e-mails that are linked to Disney’s
My Disney Experience application, and will have until the August 30, 2017 to fill out the
survey and submit it online. Researchers will aim to have the data analyzed approximately
two months after the closing date, which would target October 31, 2017.
VII. CONCLUSION
Through this survey, The Walt Disney Company will hope to understand its consumers,
and how they interact with Disney Animal Kingdom’s new land of Pandora – The World
of Avatar. The brand will hope to employ a web based online survey (Appendix B) which
will focus on guest experiences revolving around this new land. The Walt Disney
Company will then be able to utilize this information to improve the new land, and
understand what guests enjoy about the immersive experiences that they have witnessed
during their visit to Disney’s Animal Kingdom Park, and what they did not. The parks can
then utilize this information in future expansions such as with Toy Story Land and Star
Wars Land expansions at Disney’s Hollywood Studios park.

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VIII. APPENDIX
APPENDIX A - GOOGLE TRENDS REPORT (LINK)
This report focuses on the interest over time for Pandora – The World of Avatar
throughout social media accounts. We can see that the interest spiked in December of
2016, and has continued to increase, whereas prior to that the interest was null. Data
such as this will help market researchers monitor the data over social media, and see
what people are talking about, and their interest level, and where they’re from. With such
a huge, and costly expansion, Disney needs to ensure that their overall cost is being
returned. This data allows market researchers to view brand awareness, and analyze the
data in an easy to view chart.
APPENDIX B - QUESTIONNAIRE
Kaltxi! This survey will look to evaluate the success of Pandora - The World of Avatar,
and seek to understand what The Walt Disney Company could do in order to improve
consumer satisfaction for both this land, as well as future expansions for its theme parks
across the world. Guest service is a huge part of The Walt Disney Company, and we
strive to provide the best experience to every single guest. We want to know what we can
do to make your experience better.

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Pandora – The World of Avatar is a brand new land at Disney’s Animal Kingdom, and it
is one of the first of the newly immersive lands to be introduced to the general public. By
taking this survey, you are taking part in Disney history by assisting us in making every
day, the best day for our guests. Sivako! (Rise to the challenge!)
1. Are you an Annual Passholder?
 Yes
 No
2. Are you a current Disney Cast Member?
 Yes
 No
3. How often have you watched Avatar (2009)?
 0
 1-5
 6-10
 11+
4. How many times have you visited a Walt Disney World theme park as a guest in
the past 10 years?
 1-3
 4-6
 7-10
 11-14
 15+
5. In the past 30 days, how many times have you visited Disney's Animal Kingdom?
 0
 1-2
 3-4
 5+

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6. In the past 30 days, how many times have you visited Disney's Animal Kingdom
to exclusively visit Pandora - The World of Avatar?
 0
 1-2
 3-4
 5+
7. What time did you visit Pandora - The World of Avatar?
 Morning Extra Magic Hours (6:00 AM - 7:00 AM)
 Morning (8:00 AM - 12:00 PM)
 Afternoon (1:00 PM - 5:00 PM)
 Evening (6:00 PM - 11:00 PM)
 Extra Magic Hours (11:00 PM - 1:00 AM)
8. During your visit to Pandora - The World of Avatar, did you experience the
following attractions? (Choose all that apply).
 Flight of Passage
 Na'Vi River Journey
 Satu'li Canteen
 Pongu Pongu
 Windtraders
9. On the following scale, mark how satisfied you were with the following
experiences at Disney’s Animal Kingdom’s Pandora – The World of Avatar.
Flight of
Passage
Very
Dissatisfied
Dissatisfied Unsure Satisfied Very
Satisfied
N/A
Na’Vi River
Journey
Very
Dissatisfied
Satisfied
N/A
Satu’li
Canteen
Very
Dissatisfied
Satisfied
N/A
Pongu
Pongu
Very
Dissatisfied
Satisfied
N/A
Windtraders Very
Dissatisfied
Satisfied
N/A

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10. Sivako! You rose to the challenge to experience Flight of Passage, and were
able to partake in the rite of passage in Na'vi tradition and became one with a
banshee. Please rate your experiences on Flight of Passage within the following
categories on a scale of 1 (bad) to 5 (great).
Cast Member Interactions 1 2 3 4 5 N/A
Attraction Wait Time 1 2 3 4 5 N/A
Queue
Immersion/Experience
1 2 3 4 5 N/A
Attraction Seating 1 2 3 4 5 N/A
Ride Experience 1 2 3 4 5 N/A
11. What changes would most improve Flight of Passage?
12. What did you enjoy most about Flight of Passage?
13. Did you enter the Na'Vi River on your visit to Pandora - The World of Avatar?
On a scale of 1 (bad) to 5 (great), please rate your experience on Na’Vi River
Journey.
Attraction Wait Time 1 2 3 4 5 N/A
Queue
Immersion/Experience
1 2 3 4 5 N/A
Attraction Seating 1 2 3 4 5 N/A
Ride Experience 1 2 3 4 5 N/A
14. What changes would you make to this Na'Vi River Journey?
15. What did you enjoy most about Na'Vi River Journey?

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16. Did you visit Satu'li Canteen during your visit to Pandora - The World of Avatar?
Please rate your experiences at the restaurant on the following scale: 1 (bad) to 5
(great).
Wait Time to Receive Food 1 2 3 4 5 N/A
Food/Beverage Selection 1 2 3 4 5 N/A
Taste of Food and
Beverages
1 2 3 4 5 N/A
Condiment Availability 1 2 3 4 5 N/A
Portion Size 1 2 3 4 5 N/A
Value 1 2 3 4 5 N/A
Mobile Ordering 1 2 3 4 5 N/A
17. What time did you visit Satu'li Canteen?
 Breakfast
 Lunch
 Dinner
18. What food items did you order during your visit(s) to Satu'li Canteen?
 Slow-Roasted Sliced Grilled Beef Bowl
 Chopped Wood-Grilled Chicken Bowl
 Sustainable Fish Bowl
 Chili-Spiced Crispy Fried Tofu Bowl
 Cheeseburger Steamed Pods - Bao Buns
 Vegetable Steamed Curry Pods - Bao Buns
 "Teylu" All-Beef Hot Dog Wrapped in Dough
 Cheese Quesadilla
 Blueberry Cream Cheese Mousse
 Chocolate Cake
19. What changes would you make to Satu'li Canteen? Whether it's the menu,
dining experience, or guest service?
20. What did you enjoy most about your dining experience at the Satu'li Canteen?

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21. Pongu pongu! (Party party!) Did you get a drink at Pongu Pongu during your
visit to Pandora- The World of Avatar? Please rate your experience on the following
scale 1 (bad) to 5 (great).
Wait Time to Receive
Drinks
1 2 3 4 5 N/A
Beverage Selection 1 2 3 4 5 N/A
Value 1 2 3 4 5 N/A
Mobile Ordering 1 2 3 4 5 N/A
22. What beverage items did you order from Pongu Pongu?
 Night Blossom - Non-Alcoholic Specialty Beverage
 Mo'ara Margarita
 Mo'ara High Country Ale
 Hawkes' Grog Ale
 Draft Beer
23. What changes would you make to Pongu Pongu?
24. What did you enjoy the most about your visit to Pongu Pongu?
25. Did you visit Windtraders during your visit to Pandora - The World of Avatar?
Please rank your experience on a scale of 1 (bad) to 5 (great).
Shop atmosphere and
theming
1 2 3 4 5 N/A
Selection of merchandise 1 2 3 4 5 N/A
Merchandise in-stock 1 2 3 4 5 N/A
Value of merchandise 1 2 3 4 5 N/A
Overall experience 1 2 3 4 5 N/A
26. What changes would you make to Windtraders?
27. What did you enjoy the most about your visit to Windtraders?

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28. How likely would you be to visit Disney's Animal Kingdom to visit Pandora -
The World of Avatar?
 Not likely
 Somewhat likely
 Very likely
29. How likely are you to recommend Pandora - The World of Avatar to a friend?
 Not likely
 Somewhat likely
 Very likely
30. Finally, rate your overall experience at Pandora - The World of Avatar on a scale
of 1 (bad) to 5 (great).
Bad 1 2 3 4 5 Great
31. How old are you?
 Under 18
 18-25
 26-35
 36-45
 45+
32 . What is your sexual identity?
 Male
 Female
 Transgender
 Prefer not to identify
 None of the above

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X. REFERENCES
Chmielewski, D., Keegan, R. (2011). Disney to license rights to ‘Avatar’ for theme park
attractions. Retrieved from http://articles.latimes.com/2011/sep/21/business/la-fi-
ct-disney-avatar-20110921
McDaniel, C., Gates, R. (2015). Marketing Research. 10th ed. Wiley & Sons Inc.
Pedicini, S. (2015). Universal Orlando’s visitation spikes, Sea World’s plunges report
says. Retrieved from http://www.orlandosentinel.com/business/os-theme-park-
attendance-2014-20150603-story.html
Reed College of Media. (2017). IMC 611 – Marketing Research & Analysis, Week 4
Lesson: Quantitative Research: Sampling, Surveys & Experiments. [eCampus
Document].
Reed College of Media. (2017). IMC 611 – Marketing Research & Analysis – Week 6
Lesson: Data Processing & Statistical Analysis. [eCampus Document].
Themed Entertainment Association. (2017). Theme Park Index 2016. Retrieved from
http://www.teaconnect.org/images/files/TEA_235_103719_170601.pdf

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