Why do Super Bowl winners go to Disney World? Explaining history behind iconic phrase

The Philadelphia Eagles will face a dominant Kansas City Chiefs at Super Bowl LIX at Caesars Stadium on Sunday. While Jalen Hurts will be looking for his first championship victory after coming close two years ago, Patrick Mahomes is on a quest to add another victory to cement his legacy as one of the best quarterbacks in history.

Although it will be hard to predict the winner of the upcoming game, one thing is for sure: the winner will be going to Disneyland. The fans may have heard the iconic catchphrase, “I’m going to Disneyland,” from several Super Bowl MVPs, but what is the history behind the famous line?

In 1987, the New York Giants quarterback Phil Simms led his team to a 39-20 win over the Denver Broncos. He also earned the game's MVP honors. After his win, he was asked by a voice behind the camera about his plans post-Super Bowl victory, to which he replied,

“I'm going to go to Disney World!”

Simms later admitted that he was paid $50,000 for the line, which was aired the next day as part of the commercial. It was a marketing gimmick, a popular ad campaign designed by former Disney CEO Michael Eisner and his wife, Jane Breckenridge.

The couple hosted aviators Dick Rutan and Jeana Yeager, who were asked about the most adventurous thing imaginable. In response, they replied,

“Well, we're going to Disneyland.”

Jane suggested her husband use the line as their marketing campaign, which gave birth to the iconic “What’s next?” campaign that paved its way to the Super Bowl.

Since then, the catchphrase has made it to every instance except in 2005 due to a brief hiatus for the ad campaign, but it was later resumed.

When Do Super Bowl Winners Go to Disney World?

Despite the commercial background related to the origins of the catchphrase, NFL athletes visit Disneyland soon after their wins. Usually, the day after winning, a few players from the winning team, mostly the NFL MVP, join in a parade at Disneyland. However, there have been a few exceptions to this unspoken rule.

In 2021, Tampa Bay Buccaneers Tom Brady and Rob Gronkowski couldn’t attend the parade due to COVID-19 protocols. Hence, they visited the Magic Kingdom with their families for celebration. Another case happened during the 2017 Super Bowl, as Brady skipped his visit to Disneyland by gifting the opportunity to RB James White.