Why Do Super Bowl Winners Go To Disney?
The advertisements typically feature a single NFL player right following the Super Bowl, but the campaign has also included athletes from past championship games and various non-celebrities.
| Year | Person and affiliation | Event | “I’m going to.” | Sources |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1987 | Phil Simms ( New York Giants ) | Super Bowl XXI | Walt Disney World | |
| Dennis Conner on the yacht Stars & Stripes | America’s Cup | |||
| Magic Johnson ( Los Angeles Lakers ) | NBA Finals | Disneyland | ||
| Frank Viola ( Minnesota Twins ) | World Series | Walt Disney World | ||
| 1988 | Doug Williams ( Washington Redskins ) | Super Bowl XXII | Walt Disney World and Disneyland | |
| Gretchen Carlson ( Miss Minnesota ) | Miss America | |||
| Brian Boitano, U.S. figure skater | Winter Olympics | |||
| Orel Hershiser ( Los Angeles Dodgers ) | World Series | Walt Disney World | ||
| Kareem Abdul-Jabbar ( Los Angeles Lakers ) | NBA Finals | Disneyland | ||
| 1989 | Joe Montana ( San Francisco 49ers ) | Super Bowl XXIII | Disneyland | |
| Al MacInnis ( Calgary Flames ) | Stanley Cup Finals | |||
| Joe Dumars ( Detroit Pistons ) | NBA Finals | Walt Disney World | ||
| 1990 | Joe Montana ( San Francisco 49ers ) | Super Bowl XXIV | Walt Disney World and Disneyland | |
| Jim Thompson | Temple University graduation | |||
| Matt Kaldenberg, Phyllis Kaldenberg, and Laura McEwen | Simpson College graduation | |||
| 1991 | Ottis Anderson ( New York Giants ) | Super Bowl XXV | ||
| Michael Jordan ( Chicago Bulls ) | NBA Finals | Walt Disney World | ||
| 1992 | Mark Rypien ( Washington Redskins ) | Super Bowl XXVI | ||
| 1993 | Troy Aikman ( Dallas Cowboys ) | Super Bowl XXVII | Walt Disney World | |
| Patrick Roy ( Montreal Canadiens ) | Stanley Cup Finals | Disneyland | ||
| 1994 | Jeff Gordon ( Hendrick Motorsports ) | Brickyard 400 | ||
| Emmitt Smith ( Dallas Cowboys ) | Super Bowl XXVIII | Walt Disney World and Disneyland | ||
| Nancy Kerrigan, U.S. figure skater | Winter Olympics | |||
| 1995 | Jerry Rice and Steve Young ( San Francisco 49ers ) | Super Bowl XXIX | ||
| 1996 | Emmitt Smith (Dallas Cowboys) | Super Bowl XXX | ||
| 1997 | Desmond Howard ( Green Bay Packers ) | Super Bowl XXXI | ||
| Santa Claus | Christmas | |||
| 1998 | John Elway ( Denver Broncos ) | Super Bowl XXXII | ||
| Mark McGwire ( St. Louis Cardinals ) | Major League Baseball home run record | |||
| 1999 | Terrell Davis and John Elway ( Denver Broncos ) | Super Bowl XXXIII | ||
| United States women’s national soccer team | FIFA Women’s World Cup | |||
| 2000 | Kurt Warner ( St. Louis Rams ) | Super Bowl XXXIV | ||
| 2001 | Trent Dilfer ( Baltimore Ravens ) | Super Bowl XXXV | ||
| Barry Bonds ( San Francisco Giants ) | Major League Baseball home run record | |||
| 2002 | Tom Brady ( New England Patriots ) | Super Bowl XXXVI | ||
| Scott Spiezio ( Anaheim Angels ) | World Series | |||
| 2003 | Jon Gruden and Brad Johnson ( Tampa Bay Buccaneers ) | Super Bowl XXXVII | ||
| 2004 | Tom Brady ( New England Patriots ) | Super Bowl XXXVIII | Walt Disney World | |
| Curt Schilling, Pedro Martínez, and David Ortiz ( Boston Red Sox ) | 2004 World Series | Walt Disney World | ||
| Dave Andreychuk ( Tampa Bay Lightning ) | Stanley Cup Finals | |||
| 2006 | Hines Ward and Jerome Bettis ( Pittsburgh Steelers ) | Super Bowl XL | ||
| Dwyane Wade ( Miami Heat ) | NBA Finals | |||
| 2007 | Tony Dungy and Dominic Rhodes ( Indianapolis Colts ) | Super Bowl XLI | Walt Disney World | |
| Teemu Selänne ( Anaheim Ducks ) | Stanley Cup Finals | |||
| 2008 | Eli Manning ( New York Giants ) | Super Bowl XLII | Walt Disney World and Disneyland | |
| David Cook | American Idol season 7 | Walt Disney World | ||
| 2009 | Ben Roethlisberger and Santonio Holmes ( Pittsburgh Steelers ) | Super Bowl XLIII | Walt Disney World | |
| Kris Allen | American Idol season 8 | Walt Disney World | ||
| Bruce Springsteen | Super Bowl XLIII halftime show | Disneyland | ||
| 2010 | Drew Brees ( New Orleans Saints ) | Super Bowl XLIV | Walt Disney World | |
| Lee DeWyze | American Idol season 9 | Walt Disney World | ||
| 2011 | Aaron Rodgers ( Green Bay Packers ) | Super Bowl XLV | Walt Disney World and Disneyland | |
| Scotty McCreery | American Idol season 10 | Walt Disney World | ||
| 2012 | Eli Manning ( New York Giants ) | Super Bowl XLVI | Walt Disney World | |
| 2013 | Joe Flacco ( Baltimore Ravens ) | Super Bowl XLVII | Walt Disney World and Disneyland | |
| 2014 | Malcolm Smith ( Seattle Seahawks ) | Super Bowl XLVIII | Walt Disney World | |
| 2015 | Malcolm Butler and Julian Edelman ( New England Patriots ) | Super Bowl XLIX | Disneyland | |
| 2018 | Nick Foles ( Philadelphia Eagles ) | Super Bowl LII | Walt Disney World | |
| 2019 | Tom Brady and Julian Edelman ( New England Patriots ) | Super Bowl LIII | Walt Disney World | |
| 2020 | Patrick Mahomes ( Kansas City Chiefs ) | Super Bowl LIV | Walt Disney World | |
| 2021 | Tom Brady and Rob Gronkowski ( Tampa Bay Buccaneers ) | Super Bowl LV | Walt Disney World | |
| 2022 | Matthew Stafford, Cooper Kupp, and Aaron Donald ( Los Angeles Rams ) | Super Bowl LVI | Disneyland |
Do Super Bowl champions actually visit Disney?
Al Bello/Getty Images for News Athletics/Getty Images Since 1987, at the conclusion of nearly every Super Bowl game, Disney has shown a commercial depicting top players from the victorious team excitedly announcing their plans to visit a Disney theme resort.
- Although this advertisement is a Super Bowl tradition, you may be wondering if Super Bowl champions actually visit Disney.
- As it turns out, many of them do, and there’s a humorous tale behind the origin of this popular expression.
- As noted by SB Nation, Disney has broadcast a commercial immediately following the conclusion of every Super Bowl game since 1987, with a few exceptions.
Typically, the ad involves a narrator asking one of the winning team’s players (often the quarterback or Super Bowl MVP) “You’ve just won the Super Bowl; what’s next?” The player responds, “I’m going to Disney World and Disneyland!” and “I’m going to Disney World!” Notably, as the news source noted, separate advertisements broadcast in various sections of the country, with the player citing the Disney theme park nearest to that location.
ABC News said that athletes who are selected to repeat the phrase typically go Disney World or Disneyland and are subsequently included in a celebration parade. Indeed, the New England Patriots quarterback Tom Brady and Super Bowl MVP and wide receiver Julian Edelman were featured in Disney’s advertisement this year, and both players will soon be visiting Disney World.
Monday afternoon will see a Patriots parade in Disney World’s Magic Kingdom, according to the Disney Parks Blog. ABC reported that former Disney CEO Michael Eisner claimed in his 1998 memoir that his wife, Jane, first suggested using the tagline “I’m going to Disney” for the firm.
According to the source, Eisner said in his memoir that the concept was conceived over a meal with George Lucas, the creator of Star Wars, and Dick Rutan and Jeana Yeager, the first people to fly around the world nonstop. As the former CEO of Disney noted, as we waited for our dinner, the discussion grew quiet.
Therefore, I said to Dick and Jeana, “Now that you’ve reached the summit of your ambitions, what could you possible do next?” Without hesitation, Rutan replied, “I’m going to Disneyland.” And naturally I exclaim, “Wow, that’s cool!” You made the correct decision.
- However, my wife interjects, “That’s a terrific motto.” SB Nation stated that Phil Simms, a former New York Giants quarterback and Super Bowl MVP, was featured in the first Disney post-Super Bowl advertisement in 1987, stating that he wanted to visit Disneyland after his team’s triumph.
- Since since, the advertisement has become a mainstay of Super Bowl advertising, according to the source.
As Brady and Edelman depart for Disney World on Monday, it is certain that this tradition will continue for the foreseeable future, much to the apparent joy of the successful players. 
The REAL REASON Super Bowl Winners Say “I’M GOING TO DISNEY WORLD!”
Jessica In 2013, Mahomes tweeted, “I imagine it feels incredible to be the Super Bowl-winning quarterback who says, ‘I’m going to Disney World.'” It’s astonishing to believe that he would fulfill this ambition and become the youngest player to win Super Bowl MVP at age 24 in only seven years.