Disney in Texas

[Pirate princess 2]

I wonder about this Texas plan because I feel that it would take profits away from both DL and WDW. I'm always up for a new Disney park. We'll have to wait and see.

 

[jimmytammy]

Building a park in TX. makes perfect sense, weather is ideal in some locations, plenty of space, and it would help take some load off WDW. But 6400 acres wont go far in Disney proportions. Hope this leads to something bigger.

 

[lockedoutlogic]

May countries/geographic regions tend to look at themselves in a "special" mirror...as in they see something that nobody else really sees.

The old US of A is heading that route...

But at the top of that list...is Texas. Always a bigger deal to Texans than anybody else.

Sorry


But back to the real impact of this...to build in texas would be the ultimate form of park cannibalization...while they would gain a local market (to a certain extent...disney's pricing will continue to become more cost prohibitive - just because you have 5 million people within 2 hours...doesn't mean that more than a small percentage can actually AFFORD to go) - any gains would be offset by diverting traffic from Disneyland or WDW.

Disney will only develop where they can reasonably bank on new revenues or clientele...and with their overhead/operations costs being so high - that means adding on to their existing sites...augmenting for more days/ spending. Squeezing from the margins at near total profit - but across the board.

Maybe some type of "daytrip" smaller venue/DVC/new concept small attraction....i could definitely see that at some point. But after the failure of Disneyquest it is along way off.

 

[Castle2Castle]

Of all the rumored places for Disney the Houston area has a lot going for it; huge population w/i half a day's drive, nearly same weather as Orlando(100 miles south would be better weather but there would be huge water issues and no airports), cruise ship port w/i 90 minutes, 2 airports w/i an hour's drive, plentiful water, very popular with Latin American travelers, and about as close to midway between DL and WDW as possible with the year round weather and water needed.

Maybe Disney or another theme park could find a way around it, but I was pretty sure Houston and Texas have been struggling with drought conditions since at least 2011, at times implementing water restrictions in many areas.

Regardless, whether Disney ever would consider such a move, I highly doubt the OP article given the source and the supposedly open leak of negotiations while simultaneously saying nobody would talk until a deal was completed; I agree that nobody involved would likely say anything until the deal was completed, and even then it seems more likely that Disney would be the one controlling the release of information -- through reputable news organizations.

 

[Birdman1511]

I highly doubt a theme park is planned. I would guess like other poster's have said, IF its true, and thats a big IF...it would be like DisneyQuest up in Chicago or maybe a resort like they put in Hawaii and Vero Beach,FL...6,400 is really not a significant amount of land for a Disney theme park. However, being from Texas and all..I would LOVE to see a Disney theme park here lol

 

[billybob069]

How convenient. For what it's worth, that piece of land does look large:

UPDATE: an inside confidential source has disclosed that Disney negotiations have stalled because of the Hempstead/Prairie View Regional Garbage Dump. Disney officials have serious concerns about the impact on the groundwater and other health hazards associated with a regional dump. The groundwater from the Chicote/Evangeline Aquifer flow in the direction of the Rice University property and would be their primary source of water.

 

[billybob069]

I highly doubt a theme park is planned. I would guess like other poster's have said, IF its true, and thats a big IF...it would be like DisneyQuest up in Chicago or maybe a resort like they put in Hawaii and Vero Beach,FL...6,400 is really not a significant amount of land for a Disney theme park. However, being from Texas and all..I would LOVE to see a Disney theme park here lol

Not that I believe this rumor, but why do people keep saying this? 6400 acres is larger than every other disney project outside of WDW. Also, who is building a resort in rural SE Texas?

 

[lmgideon]

Just saw an article on an ABC news website about a new Texas themed park slated to open in a nearby area in 2015. (Dis boards won't let me post the link because I am too new to the board). Is Disney trying to get in on the competition? Google "The Grand Texas" theme park in Montgomery county.

 

[RSWA2]

Just saw an article on an ABC news website about a new Texas themed park slated to open in a nearby area in 2015. (Dis boards won't let me post the link because I am too new to the board). Is Disney trying to get in on the competition? Google "The Grand Texas" theme park in Montgomery county.

Here you go

http://www.grandtexas.net/

 

[rteetz]

I agree with many on this thread that it may just be a hotel or small excursion type thing. I think because they are trying to get more disney cruisers to go to Galveston they are going to open a hotel not too far from the dock so people can stay at a disney hotel before going on a disney cruise. I do not think this is anything major especially because Texas has been a rumored site for a park for many years now.

disney lover at heart

 

[snarlingcoyote]

Here you go

http://www.grandtexas.net/

There's going to be a Commanche village. Perhaps they'll show the kids how to torture your prisoners for maximum effect.

(Seriously, the Commanches and the Texans were both in competition for the same land each had immigrated to, and both groups had some of the best fighting horsemen the world has ever seen. The Commanches just had the bad habit of slowly torturing people to death, unfortunately. The Texans, of course, had the great good luck of getting hold of the first Colts.)

 

[WenInTexas]

Not that I believe this rumor, but why do people keep saying this? 6400 acres is larger than every other disney project outside of WDW. Also, who is building a resort in rural SE Texas?

Everyone must remember that Walt Disney purchased a LOT of property under pseudo companies to buy the land for WDW without raising suspicion in the late 1960's in Orange County, FL.
Central Florida was just big empty swamp land. This part of Texas has corn fields, cows and a university.
The Waller area is not the 'big city' life. People actually do wear cowboy hats because it is a necessity. I'm not saying everyone is a rancher but you will find the more stereotypical depiction of "Texas" in a smaller town like this. The skyscrapers, congested freeways, big business commerce, hustle & bustle is 1 hour to the east in Houston on Hwy 290.

Hopefully, there will be an 'official announcement' from the Walt Disney Company soon.

See article below:
http://wallercountynews.blogspot.com/2013/05/disney-rice-university-close-to-land.html

 

[JoWiJo]

Setting aside the fact that the source link looks questionable....

Is there a valid reason to look for a Disney park in Texas? Well, yes and no.

On the plus side, the major Disney parks are a 2-day drive away from where I live (in Texas). Well, at least a day and a half. Not only is that a tiring drive, but that eats up precious vacation time. And flying is usually too expensive, especially if you're not going solo. Put those two together, it's hard to justify a trip to Florida or California when time and/or money are an issue. Others in the central US have the same issue: too far to drive, too costly to fly. Travel issues are a major reason that, for some, Disney is a once-in-a-lifetime vacation.

A third central location that puts more people only a day's drive away would make Disney a more likely vacation spot for those of us a little more removed from the resorts. It could be enough of a difference that the ticket sales in a 3rd park would offset the losses for their two current resorts. A site near Houston, specifically, would be close to their Galveston cruises, allowing them to do more of those cruise + park packages.

Now, in the past, I remember reading rumors about mini parks placed throughout the US. They would be too small to compete with the two major resorts, but attract people looking for something a little more local. If there was any truth in these rumors, it's possible they are looking for locations now.

On the down side, I have heard Disney in Texas rumors since I was a kid. Supposedly, Disney owned land somewhere just south of Dallas and was sitting on it until the time was just right to build. From reading others' posts in this thread, the rumor mill clearly has locations in other locations as well. I suppose it's plausible that Disney bought land in these other locations in preparation for these alleged smaller parks, but if so, Disney sure is dragging feet. My guess is it's all untrue.

Moreover, let us be real, shall we? EPCOT needs multiple improvements. And many others have mentioned in the rumor forum that they feel the same about DHS and DAK. If Disney can't commit the bucks to refurbish the park blemishes in Florida, do you think they'll commit to building a full park at another location? Perhaps New Fantasyland in MK is an indication that Disney wishes to improve their Florida parks, but until EPCOT is also improved and DAK has more development, I wouldn't expect a new gate in the States unless it is in Anaheim. This is especially true while they are still working hard to draw people to DL and WDW.

Now if Disney were looking for land for a new park, I'm thinking that they would probably try the same stunt they did for WDW, though it would be even harder to pull off now that the internet has been invented. They'd probably buy land under a pseudonym owned by Disney, not their own big name.

Of course, I'd love a Disney park over here and would go if they built it, but I'm not getting my hopes up, even by wishing on a star

 

[sweetie1996]

The "Disney in Texas" rumor has been around for so many years, I think it qualifies for urban legend status.

Disney does business in all sorts of sectors, not just theme parks and travel, and they buy land for many reasons other than to build theme parks. Sometimes they buy just for investment purposes.

I've been hearing this for years!
I wish, but I'm not buying it.

 

[Chuck S]

Well, not an awful location, if you want to be fairly near Houston. It is about 35 miles from the airport, 20 Miles from I-45, 30 miles from I-10. But Disney would be threatening to cancel any project if someone besides the Walt Disney Company made any sort of property sale announcement, and they'd be pressuring that website to come down. Remember the company the released the plans for Bay Lake Tower on their website? Those plans disappeared from the website pretty quickly. I looked up the location on Google Earth.

But, also remember that Disney's prior locations, Disneyland and WDW, were built directly on major interstate highways, Interstate 5 in California and Interstate 4 in Florida. 20 miles from the nearest major freeway intersection is a bit of a stretch to make it a major theme park area, even 6 Flags Fiesta Texas (San Antonio) is right on I-10.

 

[billybob069]

Everyone must remember that Walt Disney purchased a LOT of property under pseudo companies to buy the land for WDW without raising suspicion in the late 1960's in Orange County, FL.
Central Florida was just big empty swamp land. This part of Texas has corn fields, cows and a university.
The Waller area is not the 'big city' life. People actually do wear cowboy hats because it is a necessity. I'm not saying everyone is a rancher but you will find the more stereotypical depiction of "Texas" in a smaller town like this. The skyscrapers, congested freeways, big business commerce, hustle & bustle is 1 hour to the east in Houston on Hwy 290.

Hopefully, there will be an 'official announcement' from the Walt Disney Company soon.

See article below:
http://wallercountynews.blogspot.com/2013/05/disney-rice-university-close-to-land.html

Yes, I am well aware of this, I live in the area. My point was that this is not a small amount of land, and if true this is not the area you build a hotel only (like Aulaini), it would be something much more significant.

 

[jliehr]

. A site near Houston, specifically, would be close to their Galveston cruises, allowing them to do more of those cruise + park packages.

DCL is pulling out of Galveston at the end of the year

 

[JoWiJo]

DCL is pulling out of Galveston at the end of the year

Interesting. I haven't followed their cruise lines all that much. At the cost of one of their cruises, I'd rather just go to WDW. But what you say is another reason to question the rumor about a site in Texas.

 

[Q-man]

But back to the real impact of this...to build in texas would be the ultimate form of park cannibalization...while they would gain a local market (to a certain extent...disney's pricing will continue to become more cost prohibitive - just because you have 5 million people within 2 hours...doesn't mean that more than a small percentage can actually AFFORD to go) - any gains would be offset by diverting traffic from Disneyland or WDW.

You can't say that unless you have the AP revenue numbers for SoCal and Florida. A DL Deluxe AP is the same cost as a good price airfare alone from Houston to LAX or MCO. Being in Houston, we could go multiple times a year for the same cost as round trip airfare to either of the other 2 parks instead of going once every 2-3 years. Another number you would need is how many lower income families go for 1-3 days because they live w/i an affordable drive to the other 2 parks that couldn't do it otherwise? Then you need to know if guests can get there for hundred$ or thousand$ less how much of that do they spend on Disney luxuries, food, and merchandise instead of with an airline?

There 6 million people w/i 2 hours of that location, go to 3 hours and you pick up another 2 million from the Austin metro area, take that to 4 hours and you pick up over 2-3 million more with San Antonio and the southern Dallas suburbs. 5-6 hours and you can pick up the whole DFW metroplex's 7 million. Not a whole lot of mid America locations with ~ 20 million people w/i a 5-6 hour drive with suitable year around weather.

I too am doubtful it will happen. I was just pointing that locale has a lot more rational reasons than most of the rumored sites. local population size, weather, 2 local airports(Austin's Bergstrom airport would be 2 hours away for 3rd), Latin American travel hub, east-west and north-south interstate intersection w/i 1 hour, plentiful labor, cruise terminals, one of the top hotel restaurant management programs at UH, etc.

I would think if it ever happens it would only be a Disneyland type property plus a water park only and not a WDW. Then there is still a pull to go to WDW.

 

[Reddy]

it would need to be big enough to complete with 6 Flags over Texas (might make them step their park)

I would get to go more often if it is made - something along the lines of DL would be wonderful - would still want to go to WDW to see AK