5th Park at WDW

[OnSpaceshipEarth]

Yeah, I think a billion was the number a heard. But, then again, the word is they are over budget.

I think once again, though, the New Fantasyland project gets downplayed on these boards. Put side by side, New Fantasyland is every bit as big as Wizarding World and bigger. Combine that with the DVC, Avatarland project getting started, new location for Festival of the Lion King, and all the other projects that get no attention, and it's easy to see Disney is spending a TON of money on their parks.

New Fantasyland really does get short shrift on these boards. I think it's been a huge success(especially with the Mine Train which is about to open). Magic Kingdom is absolutely sizzling right now as far as attendance. New Fantasyland HAS to get the bulk of the credit.

 

[JeremyGNJ]

~I totally agree! Epcot's "Future World" is nice but in such a sad state to me. It could use a serious jolt of energy just by adding new rides & attractions with a more cohesive theme! The "Future" World thing is incredibly difficult for Disney to keep up with -- maybe "Retro World" is more fitting. DHS is a close second, this park is in desperate need of more family fun rides -- so expanding on the uber popular Pixar themes seem like a no brainer! And of course, Star Wars land.

You've nailed part of the problem here. You have these 3 things:

Tomorrowland - more like "tired" land
Future World - more like "what we thought today would be like in the 80's"
StarWars - a tiny area that will SURELY get more attention very soon.

So you have 3 different "futuristic" areas of Disneyworld (maybe soon to be 4 with Avatar land?) Future world was awesome because it seemed like those things might happen one day. Tomorrowland was sort of like that too. They had almost radical ideas of "what could be", from true creative thinkers. But that was 20-30 years ago.

Today imagineers are more like artists than thinkers.

They need some real futurists. They need people talking about teleportation, genetic engineering for medicine, fuel cell technology, mining the moon for resources, ....that sort of thing. Something that would make people's jaws drop and inspire curiosity and optimism in the kids that see it.

 

[beer dave]

~LOL.

Hey! You're back!

I think they will have a hard time figuring out where to start. I would like to see the bumps taken out of SSE.

 

[Son of Gadsden]

New Fantasyland really does get short shrift on these boards. I think it's been a huge success(especially with the Mine Train which is about to open). Magic Kingdom is absolutely sizzling right now as far as attendance. New Fantasyland HAS to get the bulk of the credit.

Seriously. We don't even have the TEA numbers for 2013 yet, unless I'm just looking in the wrong place, but I'd imagine you'll see a higher than average increase at MK...and considering MK has an absolutely ridiculous attendance at 17.5 milllion (10 million more than all competitors in the US), an increase in attendance there is significantly harder than increasing attendance at competing parks.

I really think the new expansion is catching the flack it is because of people's dissatisfaction with MyMagic+. Like I said before, NFL wasn't my theme park dream world or anything, but I do enjoy the area. Wizarding World was on about the same level. It was neat. But, I didn't find myself spending any more time there than I did NFL, and I am a Harry Potter fan. The Three Broomsticks was awesome. Be Our Guest was awesome. Under the Sea was enjoyable, the queue was really cool. The castle ride's line was ridiculously long for what it was, so we just walked through the queue type area which was really neat. The shops were cool, but I was disappointed that most of the storefronts and buildings were false storefronts. I was expecting a Main Street USA type experience. Instead, I got a Hollywood Studios backlot type experience. I enjoyed the few shops NFL had, but I really expected more of a village than it is. Butterbeer was a highlight of the time there. Storybook Treats is one of our favorite snack shops on Disney property. I look forward to trying out Gringotts about as much as I look forward to trying the Mine Train. Not into the shows at WW, not really into Belle's Tales or the Meet & Greets in NFL. The train sounds fun at Universal, but I don't know that I'm willing to pay for a Universal hopper to ride it. Yeah, WW has two old rollercoasters repainted. One the equivalent of Barnstomer, and the other is Universal's thing. Disney would never make a thrill ride comparable to Dragon Challenge. Disney's thing is more like Dumbo. NFL is more for children, there's no mistaking that. That's where it gets not so black and white in comparison. There are comparable rides, but for different genres. As two adults, we spend the same amount of time in both expansions. If we had kids, we would spend much more time in NFL, I'm sure.

I don't expect everyone else to have the same opinion as me, however, objectively, the areas are extremely comparable.

 

[mbrou24]

Seriously. We don't even have the TEA numbers for 2013 yet, unless I'm just looking in the wrong place, but I'd imagine you'll see a higher than average increase at MK...and considering MK has an absolutely ridiculous attendance at 17.5 milllion (10 million more than all competitors in the US), an increase in attendance there is significantly harder than increasing attendance at competing parks. I really think the new expansion is catching the flack it is because of people's dissatisfaction with MyMagic+. Like I said before, NFL wasn't my theme park dream world or anything, but I do enjoy the area. Wizarding World was on about the same level. It was neat. But, I didn't find myself spending any more time there than I did NFL, and I am a Harry Potter fan. The Three Broomsticks was awesome. Be Our Guest was awesome. Under the Sea was enjoyable, the queue was really cool. The castle ride's line was ridiculously long for what it was, so we just walked through the queue type area which was really neat. The shops were cool, but I was disappointed that most of the storefronts and buildings were false storefronts. I was expecting a Main Street USA type experience. Instead, I got a Hollywood Studios backlot type experience. I enjoyed the few shops NFL had, but I really expected more of a village than it is. Butterbeer was a highlight of the time there. Storybook Treats is one of our favorite snack shops on Disney property. I look forward to trying out Gringotts about as much as I look forward to trying the Mine Train. Not into the shows at WW, not really into Belle's Tales or the Meet & Greets in NFL. The train sounds fun at Universal, but I don't know that I'm willing to pay for a Universal hopper to ride it. Yeah, WW has two old rollercoasters repainted. One the equivalent of Barnstomer, and the other is Universal's thing. Disney would never make a thrill ride comparable to Dragon Challenge. Disney's thing is more like Dumbo. NFL is more for children, there's no mistaking that. That's where it gets not so black and white in comparison. There are comparable rides, but for different genres. As two adults, we spend the same amount of time in both expansions. If we had kids, we would spend much more time in NFL, I'm sure. I don't expect everyone else to have the same opinion as me, however, objectively, the areas are extremely comparable.

Agree completely with this. Also think universal learned their lesson with the shops as diagon is expected to have an insane amount of shops, with an interactive wand thing along the lines of sorcerers of the magic kingdom. From a magic kingdom standpoint, Disney has nothing to be concerned about. However, if the trends remain the same I do think that their other parks primarily HS and maybe even Epcot could have problems down the road. The thing with Epcot is many people love it.

My main gripe with Disney is dtd. They went from one extreme to the other by having pleasure island then getting rid of any trace of it. I would've liked to see them limit the club experience to strictly the weekend. That way there is some form of night life for people looking for it. I am probably in the minority for this but I wish that adults had more to do besides food or shopping, or the cirque show that's never changed.

 

[Son of Gadsden]

My main gripe with Disney is dtd. They went from one extreme to the other by having pleasure island then getting rid of any trace of it. I would've liked to see them limit the club experience to strictly the weekend. That way there is some form of night life for people looking for it. I am probably in the minority for this but I wish that adults had more to do besides food or shopping, or the cirque show that's never changed.

Yeah, I've always been unimpressed by DTD. My wife is another story. I don't have that shopping gene and she does, so maybe that has something to do with it.

I definitely wish there was more of a night life. In my opinion, World Showcase is better as far as nightlife than DTD, which is not the way it should be.

I think DTD's purpose has been heavily debated here, so I don't think you're in the minority. The biggest thing it has going for it I believe is that it's the only real attraction location on property that does not require admission.

 

[DRDISNEYMD]

You've nailed part of the problem here. You have these 3 things:

Tomorrowland - more like "tired" land
Future World - more like "what we thought today would be like in the 80's"
StarWars - a tiny area that will SURELY get more attention very soon.

So you have 3 different "futuristic" areas of Disneyworld (maybe soon to be 4 with Avatar land?) Future world was awesome because it seemed like those things might happen one day. Tomorrowland was sort of like that too. They had almost radical ideas of "what could be", from true creative thinkers. But that was 20-30 years ago.

Today imagineers are more like artists than thinkers.

They need some real futurists. They need people talking about teleportation, genetic engineering for medicine, fuel cell technology, mining the moon for resources, ....that sort of thing. Something that would make people's jaws drop and inspire curiosity and optimism in the kids that see it.

~Fabulous post! Very funny, too! I totally agree with all of this --these are all really great ideas!

~"Futurists!" Hmmm.... I really like your line of thinking here! Disney should put you on the payroll asap!

Hey! You're back!

I think they will have a hard time figuring out where to start. I would like to see the bumps taken out of SSE.

~Um, I've been here -- alone. You're the one "who's back" stranger. You're in a much better mood , though -- just the way I like you!

~What bumps?

 

[beer dave]

~What bumps?

If you are seriously asking-- I can remember when the ride, just like peter pan, was gliding through history, kind of like floating in time. ( or flying above london) Now with the condition of the tracks, there is a bump at every junction or weld. Sorry to point this out if you have never noticed, cuz now you will.

 

[disneycrazi]

Add Muppet Land for the win.

Yes perfect these two ideas combined would so rock

 

[lockedoutlogic]

Yes perfect these two ideas combined would so rock

Muppets most wanted has flopped...

I like the muppets as much as the next guy...but that's not gonna bring them themepark bank the way they require new park investment to do.

Star Wars sure would...as would more classic princess based stuff.

I have always been fascinated when people call for more muppets...but they were strong 75-85 and have not really scratched the surface since.