$1.5B-$2B - try to spend it better than Disney

[Ted C]

My point, when it gets busy at all over there it becomes extremely hot and claustrophobic. Anybody who really understood park layout from a guest point of view would have realized that. They did with EPCOT. AK is not a fun park to go to on a hot, busy, day. I don't feel "connected", I feel overwhelmed. And you can bet they saved millions on concrete costs.

And "They" are exactly who I'm talking about, the same genius's that brought us FP+ and Nex Gen, and themselves, a multi-billion dollar bill. these are the pencil pushers, the ones who have little true park experience from a guest point of view. What works on paper doesn't necessarily work in reality. Its like, "Avatar Land", I mean "Avatar" is old news. I don't see it working like they think it will.

And yes WL followed the same "knee cracking" model. Both are too small for what you're paying for. We'll see what the "Four Seasons" does to the mix since they'll have the largest rooms on property.

 

[tndisneyfan]

I do like the OP's idea of gutting Future World in Epcot. I would like to see more rides in every park. More rides that older kids and adults can enjoy instead of being geared towards little kids. I feel like the whole Fantasy Land expansion is for little kids. The extra Dumbo ride and the Little Mermaid ride(I CANNOT for the life of me think of the name) don't really appeal to me. I would like to see more rides like Jungle Cruise and PoC that the whole family could enjoy. Also maybe rides like Star Tours that are wild but mild enough for most people. Even more of the 3D shows would be fine for me. Just more rides and attractions.

I would also like to see some refurbs or redesigns or current rides. I would like to see the TOmorrowland Speedway totally redone and turned into a better driving something. Also a reburb of Buzz Lightyear would be great. Fix some of the guns and slap some paint on the cars, this ride has been in bad shape for several years.

 

[Ted C]

Please, I'm not trying to start trouble, just pointing out the leaders of this bunch may not be as savvy as one would expect and hope. We love Disney and hate to see them loose any ground on such an important and legendary legacy. I really think there is much dis-rest in the top of the management food chain right now, things going on we'll likely never know about. They're playing with fire, and fire burns, nobody who or how big you are....

If you concentrate on the guests, and you're consistent, they will come. I built a very successful restaurant business this way over 20+ years starting from $0. You have to focus on the guests and their needs, period.

Rule#1 You are never bigger than your guests....

 

[Ted C]

Some of those rides are kept for legacy sake but they sure could add more for sure. DCA has it right. You don't read this kind of stuff about where they are at the moment. The guest/park mentality planners lead that bunch... You have to know what works or doesn't work in business or you'll break it... This takes true visionaries, not college degrees.

 

[agavegirl1]

So, I decided to look at my copy of Disney's 2013 financial report. If I chose to read all of it, I'm sure I could glean lots of fun information. As far as it relates to the thread, MM+ spending is buried in various categories and the stockholders don't get details. Interviews with financial publications have resulted in quotes from Disney of 1.2 billion so far with additional expenditures expected.

Also interesting, capital investment in domestic parks and resorts went down by 1.102 Billion between 2012 and 2013. In 2011 and 2012, Disney spent around 2.2 billion. In 2013, they spent 1.14 billion. Don't forget, Parks and Resorts also includes the cruise line.

I do believe MM+ spending is having a substantial impact on park improvements regardless of what Disney spokespersons say.

 

[Sparkly]

I think retheming the Speedway in Tomorrowland to Cars would be cute.

I would also improve MM+ by adding technology to personalise rides and experiences to guests further. I was really impressed by Test Track and think more along that line would be great.

 

[W.E.D.]

I don't want to think as hard about it as you did. I'm going with three words: Star Wars Land.

Precisely what I was going to say!

Oh, and upkeep on the stuff they already have.

 

[Viva Las Disney]

If you concentrate on the guests, and you're consistent, they will come. I built a very successful restaurant business this way over 20+ years starting from $0. You have to focus on the guests and their needs, period.

Rule#1 You are never bigger than your guests....

"Give the public everything you can give them, keep the place as clean as you can keep it, and keep it friendly." - Walt Disney

It's not a difficult concept but very rarely does anyone get it right, especially now with so much focus on short term profit and shareholders rather than customer service and long term customer retention. To me that's the cart before the horse. If businesses would remember to take care of their customers first they would thrive and the shareholders will benefit as a result. By focusing on the short term profits and dividends they are shooting themselves and their business in the foot.

 

[TwoMisfits]

I agree with the person that says Disney characters don't have to be integrated all over EPCOT...in my idea, the Body Wars reimagining would focus on the original concept pushed to the 21st century (delivering a nanotech cure to an infection site and jetting out, maybe - an thrill E-ticket with no character tie in.

But I will also say, it can't hurt to have a few more themed sites in Epcot. Disney has a lot of character properties that fit and that are not represented anywhere, and some of the genius of Disney is letting us interact with the worlds they've already created...for those who know Kingdom Keepers, an EPCOT attraction where we could become the DHIs (Disney Host Interactive holograms) along with the book's DHIs and battle the Disney park villains to save the day would be amazing to me...and maybe another good fit for EPCOT (say in a High Tech pavilion or Science as Fiction pavilion)...Star Wars could also be integrated into a Science as Fiction site...