Disney, Gowalla Deliver the Magic of Disneyland Resort, Walt Disney World Resort, in a New Way

GLENDALE, Calif., Nov. 18, 2010 /PRNewswire/ -- In its first foray into location services, Disney Parks has teamed up with Gowalla – the social network that inspires people to keep up with friends and share the places they go – to provide park-goers a new way to explore the magic of Walt Disney World and Disneyland Resorts.  Starting today, visitors to these parks can engage with family and friends around the world through the custom Disney Gowalla pages and Passport Stamps, and track their experiences at Disney like never before.

"Gowalla is the perfect complement to the park visit by rewarding guests with exclusive digital stamps, and by suggesting new ways to explore the parks with fun trip itineraries," said Leslie Ferraro, executive vice president, Global Marketing for Disney Destinations.  "We are excited to work with Gowalla to enhance the check-in experience for our guests.  As we encourage our guests to make memories at Disney parks, Gowalla is a great way for them to share their Disney memories as they happen."

Capturing and Sharing the Magic of Disney

People are able to view park happenings with custom Gowalla Disney Passport pages for Disneyland and Walt Disney World Resorts that include maps featuring a check-in stream, a list of popular places, exciting Trips, special Items and more.

Hundreds of locations within Disneyland and Walt Disney World Resorts will feature custom Stamps created by Gowalla – the largest number of custom Gowalla Passport Stamps ever developed for a brand.  The Stamps can be collected in their Gowalla Passports and kept as a virtual scrapbook by park-goers of their experiences at Disney.  In addition, park visitors will discover and collect Pins as a special reward for visiting featured Spots, and Virtual Items will be placed around the parks.  "Beware of the hitchhiking ghost taking residency in your Gowalla Passport," added Tom Aronson, digital marketing director, Global New Media, Walt Disney Parks and Resorts.

Discovering the Magic of Disney

For guests looking for a creative way to explore the parks, Disney has developed Gowalla Trips that "bundle" attractions by age or interest.  A sampling includes:

• "For the Little Ones (under 44 inches)" is a dream track fit for pint-sized park-goers to Magic Kingdom in Florida.  It includes "Mickey's PhilharMagic," Dumbo the Flying Elephant, Peter Pan's Flight and more.
• "Characters in the Wild" treats Disney's Animal Kingdom guests to a show track that includes "Festival of the Lion King," "Finding Nemo-The Musical," "Flights of Wonder" and more.
• Just in time for the holidays at the Disneyland park, "Santa's Reindeer Roundup," "Believe...in Holiday Magic" fireworks and Sleeping Beauty Winter Castle are on the menu for the "Seasons Greetings" Trip.

Throughout the year, Disney will be highlighting special events at its parks via Gowalla.  This feature allows park-goers to secure unique Passport Stamps for checking in at custom events to record all of their Disney Parks' experiences

"Part of what makes Gowalla special is our vision to inspire people to discover and explore truly remarkable places around the world and then share those experiences with friends and family worldwide.  Disney has consistently created this kind of wonder and excitement with its park-goers, so teaming up to create something new has been a thrill for us," said Andy Ellwood, business development director, Gowalla.  "This is the first time we've developed a partnership this comprehensive with a brand and it's only possible because of the remarkable number of places and experiences the Disney parks have to discover."

To participate, guests are encouraged to join Gowalla via the web or download the free application onto their smartphone.  All the custom Stamps and Items guests collect will be added to their Gowalla Passport and each check-in can be shared via Facebook and Twitter.  Guests can start their new Disney Parks adventure by going to Gowalla.com/WaltDisneyWorld, Gowalla.com/Disneyland or Gowalla.com/Disney.

SOURCE Walt Disney Parks and Resorts