Disney says birthdays are free

<p>Walt Disney Parks and Resorts on Thursday announced a new promotion to admit visitors free on their birthdays next year.</p><p>"Every guest gets in free to one of our parks on their birthday in 2009," Jay Rasulo, chairman of Disney Parks and Resorts, said at a news conference in Manhattan.</p><p>Visitors will have to show valid identification and proof of birthdate to qualify. Details are available at www.disneyparks.com, where birthday visits can be registered in advance.</p><p>Mike Lynn, a professor of consumer behavior at Cornell's School of Hotel Administration, said admitting guests free to the parks on their birthdays could very well make money.</p><p>"The only thing they lose is the revenue from those people whose birthdays it is who might have come anyway," he said.</p><p>"Having an extra customer in the park doesn't cost them anything. Those people are still a benefit because they have to buy food and drinks, and their friends and family are accompanying them."</p><p>The birthday offer is part of a larger Disney promotion announced Thursday called "What will you celebrate?" Disney will also start running "What will you celebrate?" TV ads featuring kids blowing out candles and brides in limousines.</p><p>The parks will offer buttons to wear that identify guests with phrases such as "Just Married," "Just Graduated," and "First Visit."</p><p>"Our goal is to mark the special moments in your life in a way that your family will remember forever," Rasulo said.</p><p>The birthday promotion is only good at U.S. parks.</p><p>-- Associated Press</p>