IN THE PICTURE
Disney fans core to cruise T
ravel agents have been urged to tap into their databases of Disney customers to drive sales
for Disney Cruise Line as the UK prepares for six departures from Southampton next year. As part of Disney Destinations International’s promotion of new trade platform PixieDust HQ, Torey Kings-Hodkin, trade sales and marketing director EMEA, highlighted the opportunities in the growing cruise sector. She said: “For agents who have a Disney database, whether it be guests who have been to Walt Disney World before, or Disneyland Paris, my top tip is to work those databases, because that’s where you’ll find your Disney Cruise Line customers.”
About 80% of Disney Cruise Line passengers have already visited one of the Disney parks, according to Disney research.
Ex-UK departures The Southampton sailings, on board Disney Dream, are expected to be “super popular”, with three departures for Spain, two for Belgium and one for the Netherlands. “These sailings resonate really well with the UK audience,” said Kings-Hodkin. The line, which currently has six ships, will add Disney Destiny to its fleet in November, with Disney Adventure joining in March next year. The fleet is set to grow to 13 ships worldwide by 2031. Twenty agents from the EMEA
region will sail on Destiny’s inaugural voyage, Kings-Hodkin said.
PixieDust HQ is a hit with agents
More than 2,000 UK travel professionals joined a virtual event to learn about Disney’s new PixieDust HQ trade platform, which launched on September 26. Torey Kings-Hodkin said: “We are delighted with our first week since launching PixieDust HQ. We have seen triple the number of sign-ups versus our expectation in week one, and we’re on track to double our target for month one.” The web and app-based platform replaces several previous resources and features interactive courses, live events, campaigns, news and agent offers.
pixiedusthq.com
travelweekly.co.uk
is very much on those six sailings out of Southampton,”
Kings-Hodkin added. O Speaking at the PixieDust HQ launch, Kings-Hodkin also branded 2026 the “most exciting year in the history of Disneyland Paris”, with the opening of World of Frozen in spring and the transformation of Walt Disney Studios Park into
Disney Adventure World. O Mark Pilkington, UK head of commercial for Disney Destinations, also outlined elements of Disney’s decade-long $60 billion investment across its ships, parks and experiences. Developments include Walt Disney World’s new night-time Disney Starlight parade, forthcoming Tropical Americas land at Animal Kingdom and the expansion of Magic Kingdom to add Cars
and Disney Villains lands. iWatch videos about PixieDust HQ at
travelweekly.co.uk and on Instagram or TikTok @travelweeklyuk
AGENTS’ VIEWS
In its first season, the ship will sail four and five-night cruises from Fort Lauderdale to the Bahamas and the western Caribbean, while Adventure will be homeported in Singapore. “Our key focus in the UK
Sarah Gooding, Live the Magic, InteleTravel
“Bringing all the training
into one platform is going to be a game-changer. I train a team of about 130 Disney specialists and we have to send them to five different places. Our agents will love that it’s all in one place now.”
Amy Keough, Holiday Floridas
“I think staying up to date with all the
training will give us so many more resources, but I’m also looking forward to having one place to go for all the live events to stay connected with the community.”
Kieran Miller, Magical Traveller
“The most exciting thing is the news updates
because customers are always asking what’s new. It’s a great way to sell Disney to customers who’ve been before. This remind them of the new attractions as well as the seasonal events, so it’s great to be able to access it quickly and easily.”
9 OCTOBER 2025
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PICTURES: Will Ireland Photography
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