TORONTO — The prospect of cancelling a vacation is tough enough. Cancelling a U.S. theme park vacation, with all the months of planning and anticipation involved, would be unthinkable for many, especially for families with young kids.

And yet that’s exactly what’s happening in some households as Canadians make good on the new ‘elbows up’ approach to cross-border relations.

Even the B.C. Premier is cancelling a much-anticipated family trip to Disneyland in California. “Not the easiest conversation we had at home, to be honest,” said Premier David Eby back in March, adding that he and his family have opted to spend their summer vacation “in some other way” after he urged B.C. residents to vacation in Canada this year.

Adding to the frustration for theme park fans, the rift in relations is happening just as the most popular U.S. theme parks make big headlines with major openings, celebrations and record-breaking expansion plans.

Starting tomorrow, May 22, Universal Orlando will officially roll out the red carpet to its brand new Universal Epic Universe. The entirely new theme park offers five worlds: Celestial Park, The Wizarding World of Harry Potter-Ministry of Magic, SUPER NINTENDO WORLD, How to Train Your Dragon-Isle of Berk and Dark Universe. Universal has called Universal Epic Universe the most ambitious theme park Universal Destinations and Experiences has ever created, and the next game changer for theme park entertainment.

Meanwhile The Walt Disney Company has embarked on the largest expansion in history for the Magic Kingdom at Walt Disney World Resort in Florida. Among the many announcements at the August 2024 D23 fan event were plans for six new themed lands and areas including Cars Land and Villains Land.

While those plans won’t come to fruition for several more years, in California Disneyland just kicked off its 70th anniversary celebrations on May 16, running through summer 2026.

Typically Canadians can’t get enough of vacations to Universal Orlando, Walt Disney World Resort and Disneyland (not to mention Disney Cruise Line). And in normal times they sell like hotcakes for Canada’s travel advisors.

Travelweek checked in with Dave Power, President, Pure Magic Vacations to find out how 2025’s turn in travel preferences are impacting his agency.

Dave Power, President, Pure Magic Vacations

Travelweek: How well does Pure Magic Vacations know the Florida theme park market?

Power: “Pure Magic Vacations was founded in Georgetown, ON in 2011 and now has approximately 90 agents across Canada. We are the Canadian market leader for both Disney Destinations and Universal Parks Resorts and Vacations reaching Platinum level sales for both suppliers, an extremely rare accomplishment in Canada.”

Travelweek: Thereʻs a lot of talk about U.S. trip cancellations. What are you seeing at your agency?

Power: “Cancellations are definitely higher than what we have seen in prior years. That being said, we had more people travel in the first three months of 2025 than in any previous year.”

Travelweek: What’s your view of travellers cancelling trips to favourite theme parks? 

Power: “Families that were scheduled to travel this winter for the most part did travel during the early part of this year. It would be a difficult conversation to have with young children telling them that their highly anticipated trip to Walt Disney World Resort and/or Universal Orlando Resort is cancelled as a result of issues they would never be able to understand. In many cases, flights were already booked and itineraries planned so cancellation would have been an extreme option.”

Travelweek: What are you hearing from clients who would normally be booking Florida theme park vacations, and what sort of advice is your team offering?

Power: “As expected, there has been a significant decrease in future bookings during the first few months of this year. Obviously, we have heard many different opinions from our client base. Some are having a wait-and-see approach [while] others are a little more adamant about delaying travel for a while. I wouldn’t say that we have specific advice, but we are here to listen to their concerns.

“We do have a lot of clients coming back from Florida travels and we have not heard a lot of negative feedback. Many have shared stories of how they have received apologies and supporting comments from those they have met on their travels.”

Travelweek: Florida theme parks are typically an incredibly solid specialty. What sort of pivots has Pure Magic Vacations either already made, or looking at for the near future, to protect the business against volatility? 

Power: “We are a full-service travel agency and can offer alternatives to those that are looking to amend their near-term plans. We are seeing more interest from those considering European travel and more southern destinations and we are happy to help with those plans.

“As for protecting the business, I would say that we have had many challenges over the last few years, and this is just one more to face. Our expectation is that the temperature level will decrease at some point in the future (hopefully sooner as opposed to later) and we will be there to help our clients maximize their experience when they are ready to travel to our favourite destinations again.

“We will always have a certain amount of volatility due to many things (seasonality, global pandemic, declining dollar, recessions and more); our business is designed to withstand those challenges, and we are ready to pivot in good times and bad.”

“Our primary suppliers create extremely positive experiences for Canadian families of all shapes and sizes. Parents have a limited number of years when they can experience their children basking in the excitement of theme parks and/or family cruises. We are confident that current events will not permanently eliminate those joyful experiences.”