DISCLAIMER: This is a WDW Press Release with my color commentary (ala Dave Barry) and 2 years worth of first hand knowledge working at WDW Marketing. Please know that I mean these things lovingly as I hold Disney to a different standard.

LAKE BUENA VISTA, Fla., May 2 /PRNewswire/ — (if they are sending out a release to Latinos, why would then not use the “tilde”…hello!! I will fix it for them for them from here on out) Quinceanera parties, the traditional Latin coming-of-age celebrations, have arrived at Walt Disney World Resort.

From a fully customized celebration based on a family’s ideas to pre-designed, themed Quinceañera events that take away all the worry of planning, Disney is offering these tradition-steeped extravaganzas for girls turning age 15 — a passage from flat-soled shoes and dolls to high heels, elaborate gowns and young womanhood. (LOL Spaceship Earth sounds like a perfect setting for the “bird and the bees” conversation with Mama don’t you think? I can see Cubanitas - and I’m Cuban-American so I can- from nearby Miami wanting to come out of the fountains atop the Swan and Dolphin Hotels. After all, Latinas dream big.)

For Disney, already experienced in creating lavish occasions such as weddings (these truly are amazing, I’ve attended a few), offering Quinceañera celebrations to the Hispanic community is a natural. (It is now only because they’re battling Telemundo’s sibling Universal up the street who is doing an amazing job integrating the two properties.) With more than a million Latinas turning 15 in an average year, many may want to combine this tradition with the family fun of Walt Disney World Resort while celebrating their Quinceañeras at the Vacation Kingdom. (And we know Latinos with bling want to give their little princess everything).

Working with Disney event planners, guests can enhance any event with memorable options such as superb elegance befitting a real princess, Cinderella’s enchanted crystal coach, and much more. (A little over the top if you ask me. What will “hijita” do for her wedding?) And with a variety of magical settings and venues — from grand ballrooms to intimate spaces in resort hotels to one-of-a-kind locations at the Disney’s MGM Studios (on the Tower of Terror?) and Epcot theme parks, Walt Disney World Resort offers nearly limitless possibilities.

Disney-designed Quinceañeras include everything from Disney-style entertainment and food-and-beverage (no burgers from Pecos Bill Cafe in front of Splash Mountain…please) menus to fairy tale linens and specially designed centerpieces, with three choices of theme:

• A Reflection of You — (They are DISNEY…could they have not been more creative?) Your Quinceañera in the midst of the world’s most spectacular fireworks displays; “Illuminations: Reflections of Earth” at Epcot. Here the quince girl and her closest friends will enjoy decadent desserts while experiencing Disney’s premier nighttime spectacular in a private setting overlooking majestic World Showcase Lagoon. Guests will be captivated by the magical merging of eleven different cultures from around the globe (don’t they know our world revolves around our own culture?) in this unique setting for the ultimate Quinceañera gathering, starting at $1,800 (OUCH!)
• Dancing with a Star — Your Quinceañera celebration dazzles at a designated Disney resort hotel or theme park with a hip, multilingual (Will they also send over a UN interpreter?) DJ spinning the latest tunes. With a variety of delicious menu options available, this Quinceañera party can be either reception-style or light buffet dinner with talented Disney chefs preparing an unforgettable meal for the group, at a starting price of $6,900 (Honey…we’re selling the house. I can’t wait to hear what George Lopez will say).
• Belle of the Ball — A Quinceañera dream-come-true, when she becomes princess of this majestic ball. Trees lavished with twinkle lights, floor-length linens pixie dusted with organza, chair covers with sash, artistic centerpieces at the tables, tiered cake, photography, and other elements will make the dining and dancing guests feel like they are in a true royal gathering. Available to groups of 100 or more celebrants, Belle of the Ball is priced starting at $20,000. (Enough said)

This traditional (traditional to whom exactly?) ceremony of the Quinceañera can be enhanced by a Cinderella Castle facade, storybook entrance, horse-drawn carriage and favorite Disney characters.

To celebrate the launch of this new offering, the resort treated a group of lucky debutantes to a memorable Quinceañera on Tuesday, May 1. A part of “The Year of a Million Dreams” celebration, WDW honored 15 girls selected from all over the United States and Puerto Rico through an essay contest with the help of Hispanic media partners.

For this very special occasion, Walt Disney World Resort created the most magical Quinceañera party ever planned in any Disney park. It was an unprecedented all-Spanish language-event at the Magic Kingdom Cinderella Castle stage, where dads ceremoniously changed flat shoes for high heels and waltzed with their daughters as they reached young womanhood. The memorable evening included a dinner reception in Fantasyland with mariachis, hip DJ music, a serenade by Grammy Award-winning pop sensation Fonseca and a nearly eleven-foot tiered cake. A fabulous fireworks finale lit up the skies as the Quinceañeras were whisked away in horse-drawn carriages down Main Street, U.S.A. with the rising sun.

The popular “Show de Cristina” on the Univision Spanish language network will air a special edition, A Dream Come True Quinceañera, on May 28 at 10 p.m. ET. Talk show host Cristina Saralegui had the honor of being the Madrina (Godmother) of the enchanted celebration. (God help us if she feels controversial and has on a midget transvestite on that episode as she often does).

We are really proud to bring to life an event as significant as A Dream Come True Quinceañera during the celebration of ‘The Year of a Million Dreams’ at the Disney parks,” said Denise Godreau, senior vice president of Global Multicultural Marketing for Disney Parks. “This event, without precedent, combined the magic and the enchantment of Disney with the beautiful tradition that has so much significance for Hispanic families.”

POV:

I predicted (in previous postings) that Disney had a lot more in store for us….but this? I expect more. I know and have had the pleasure to work with Denise Godreau (mentioned above) personally and happen to think she is an amazing professional. I also believe she was stuck working with a group in Marketing and in Imagineering that had no idea what a Quinceañera was. However, I believe this program is a bit out of touch with the realities of a 15 year old Latina. Regardless of country of origin or social status.

I DO believe WDW is a great vacation destination that makes you feel like NO WHERE ELSE ON EARTH…and I mean it. However, the themes, the price tags and most other elements of this program are an unrealistic, unattainable and not reflective of our market. Disney is trying to forcibly infuse itself into a tradition it has no idea about. Much like the Goofy and Friends menorah I saw at the Disney Store last year. Out of touch.

- Commentary by Miamiadguy