5th Park at WDW

[Son of Gadsden]

....... Is that serious? in 2010 when the boy wizard showed, he single handedly caused attendance to skyrocket. Without that universal would be struggling to stay afloat... Then the transformers ride caused a boost in attendance, minions, and the list goes on. All these new attractions have caused significant boosts in attendance. Look at the numbers from 2009 compared to now and it's staggering.

I don't know what park you're talking about, but since 2006, Universal has rose attendance by 195,000 visitors. Magic Kingdom saw an increase of 394,000 just last year. Epcot is the lowest increasing attendance of Disney's parks and it has increased by 603,000 since 2006. Animal Kingdom is the highest at 1,088,000.

I think you're confusing Universal Studios with Islands of Adventure. Islands of Adventure has seen attendance skyrocket by 2,681,000.

 

[mbrou24]

I don't know what park you're talking about, but since 2006, Universal has rose attendance by 195,000 visitors. Magic Kingdom saw an increase of 394,000 just last year. Epcot is the lowest increasing attendance of Disney's parks and it has increased by 603,000 since 2006. Animal Kingdom is the highest at 1,088,000. I think you're confusing Universal Studios with Islands of Adventure. Islands of Adventure has seen attendance skyrocket by 2,681,000.

More of a combining of both parks. Ioa has seen attendance increases and with despicable me and transformers the studios side has also seen fairly decent increases as well. My overall point was that the Your post saying theme park attendance at universal has gone unchanged for that long is incorrect. Because they have seen spikes due to their new attractions, summer concert series, Marci gras, and so on. We have to remember the studios was on the verge of bankruptcy as late as 2009, so clearly they've seen a boost in attendance to be able to not only stay afloat but be profitable.

 

[rteetz]

Mine Train has to be stunning after the huge disappointment that is Ariel's Undersea Adventure. As for BoG, I really want to eat there, but the food choices leave me non-plussed. I would consider lunch, but I haven't heard good things about quality of food for lunch.

That's interesting I've heard many good things about BoG.

 

[rteetz]

There was a write up in my recent DVC publication about the animatronics-- They say " when you see the dwarves, you won't understand what you are seeing" or something like that. Like cartoons come to life. Some blend of animatronic and projection mapping I guess. Should be cool. I hope the ride slows sufficiently for the "story" portions of the ride. or even stops like Everest.

from the video animations they have shown they do seem to slow the ride down during the indoor scenes.

 

[Figmentforever24]

once the mine train is done I think it will be great what's so bad about it. Be our guest is arguably the best restaurant in MK. Everything is so detail oriented. I don't see why some people dislike it so much.

Yu haven't seen the comments about it. people will tell you straight up that they think it is cheap. That the forced perspective of the Beasts castle looks cheap, that they should have built a ride instead of a restaurant, that the little mermaid ride sucks, that Storybook Circus is cheap ect. I mean the list goes on and on. Even Seven Dwarfs Mine Train is being dubbed stupid before the ride even opens! I personally like NFL. I think it fulfills the purpose of easing congestion and capacity problems for Fantasyland like it was meant to be. That was one reason Little Mermaid was added as the ominmover. Yes it would be cheaper to clone the ride, but also they could fit more people on the ride within the hour. They were looking for things like this to put in Fantasyland.

 

[Figmentforever24]

We had a VERY good lunch at BOG. Honestly before that we never ate meals at MK because the food was lets be blunt....crap. Yet we now plan to eat at BOG once every trip for lunch from now on.

The Little Mermaid attraction was a huge let down to me, it just seemed idk? lazy? the best part is the exterior lol. I do have high hopes for the mine train. I really hope the new mine train shows imagineers have not lost the “magic” factor. Please for the love of god let some amazing things happen by the end of the decade. Maybe Universal’s big push with lightning boy plus the huge success with Frozen will put Disney back in the spotlight.

You can tell that the reason the ride was there was to help with congestion issues. The ride has a great hourly capacity which makes it perfect for a land like Fantasyland where most of the people hang out. You can notice that even with a ride like that the line for Little Mermaid is still long. I do agree that there are some things they could have fixed in the ride like the Under the Sea portion of the room could use better lighting. The ending could also be better. Overall though I will say some of the AA's in the ride are amazing. (Ursula)

 

[Chuckers]

You can tell that the reason the ride was there was to help with congestion issues. The ride has a great hourly capacity which makes it perfect for a land like Fantasyland where most of the people hang out. You can notice that even with a ride like that the line for Little Mermaid is still long. I do agree that there are some things they could have fixed in the ride like the Under the Sea portion of the room could use better lighting. The ending could also be better. Overall though I will say some of the AA's in the ride are amazing. (Ursula)

The Kiss The Girl scene is awful.. the fake water spouts really ruin it. They couldn't use real water? After seeing the AMAZING indoor parts at Radiator Springs Racers in DCA, you know that Disney knows how to do fantastic live animation. And before you say that RSR was done after Ariel, the animatronics in RSR are akin to Mr. Potato Head in TSM.. which was way before Ariel.

I am hoping there's that magic in the Mine Ride.

 

[rteetz]

Yu haven't seen the comments about it. people will tell you straight up that they think it is cheap. That the forced perspective of the Beasts castle looks cheap, that they should have built a ride instead of a restaurant, that the little mermaid ride sucks, that Storybook Circus is cheap ect. I mean the list goes on and on. Even Seven Dwarfs Mine Train is being dubbed stupid before the ride even opens! I personally like NFL. I think it fulfills the purpose of easing congestion and capacity problems for Fantasyland like it was meant to be. That was one reason Little Mermaid was added as the ominmover. Yes it would be cheaper to clone the ride, but also they could fit more people on the ride within the hour. They were looking for things like this to put in Fantasyland.

I agree some areas they could have done better but overall it's great it's fantasyland not tomorrow land where you have new big time technology or something. Fantasyland you tell stories.

 

[Figmentforever24]

The Kiss The Girl scene is awful.. the fake water spouts really ruin it. They couldn't use real water? After seeing the AMAZING indoor parts at Radiator Springs Racers in DCA, you know that Disney knows how to do fantastic live animation. And before you say that RSR was done after Ariel, the animatronics in RSR are akin to Mr. Potato Head in TSM.. which was way before Ariel.

I am hoping there's that magic in the Mine Ride.

I didn't say the ride was great. I said the ride has some great AA's. SOME not all. I was referring to the Scuttle, Ariel and Ursula. (Not the Ursula cutout.) There goal here wasn't to make some sort of innovative ride that would draw in tons of guest. The point was to make a ride that could hold ALOT of capacity. The little mermaid ride at DCA was capable of doing that and could fit inside Fantasyland perfectly. The Mine Train was added because people were complaining of not enough rides. The Mine Train will be the anchor of the land.

 

[Figmentforever24]

I agree some areas they could have done better but overall it's great it's fantasyland not tomorrow land where you have new big time technology or something. Fantasyland you tell stories.

I really like the new area. I think it is pretty and I feel like I am in a forest. I love to sit at Gaston's and drink the brew. I like the little mermaid ride for what it is, and I think Storybook Circus is whimsical and fun for little kids. I don't see the hate either, but you know haters are going to hate.

 

[OnSpaceshipEarth]

More of a combining of both parks. Ioa has seen attendance increases and with despicable me and transformers the studios side has also seen fairly decent increases as well. My overall point was that the Your post saying theme park attendance at universal has gone unchanged for that long is incorrect. Because they have seen spikes due to their new attractions, summer concert series, Marci gras, and so on. We have to remember the studios was on the verge of bankruptcy as late as 2009, so clearly they've seen a boost in attendance to be able to not only stay afloat but be profitable.

Not only that, Universal's parks and property are much more efficiently run. With the skyrocketing business they are not only "profitable", but more profitable than WDW in it's totality.

Disney has got to be looking across town green with envy over the major coin that Comcast is pocketing. Packed parks and packed hotels, while Disney is running 3 parks that are way under capacity(MK being the sole bright spot) and one empty resort after another. That's expensive. And just THINK how expensive it is to operate the AK, with most visitors staying there only a few hours and with almost all of the table service restaurants near empty. MK can't continue to carry the water for all the rest of WDW forever. Something's got to give.

 

[OnSpaceshipEarth]

WDW is 45 square miles of property that needs to be constantly maintained to very high standards. Empty resorts that have to be immaculately cared for...half-empty parks that have an even higher cost to maintain. 45 square miles and there is only one hot spot buzzing with guests amid all of the empty resorts/restaurants/parks...the Magic Kingdom.

Universal Orlando? Tiny by comparison, with only a few resorts(which are totally booked) and only two parks bursting at the seams with guests...almost all restaurants overflowing with guests and dollars.

Yes...WDW has the higher attendance on the whole(IOA is rapidly closing in on the floundering 3 non-MK parks, though) but...WOW...at what cost?

 

[sfbntpc]

I totally agree with this UK mommy my son is almost six and not really into the Disney Jr experiences, but likes Toy Story, Cars, Incredibles, Muppets, Marvel, P&F, Star Wars and he even likes the dining experiences with characters like Chip and Dale whom he is not too familiar with. There will probably always be more for girls, which is fine, but would like to see a little more for boys.

 

[sfbntpc]

First time quoting and did it wrong...

 

[SkaGoat]

Disney still spends a lot more, on a per park basis in capital investments than Universal.

Disney's reporting that it spent $539 million on capital investments for its theme parks during the quarter. Remember that Universal's been earning widespread praise from theme park fans for declaring that it will be spending $500 million a year in new capital on its parks. If Disney continues to invest at the same rate it has this quarter, that would put Disney on pace to be spending more than $2 billion a year on its theme park and resort expansions and improvements.

 

[surferdave]

First time quoting and did it wrong...

Edit it and stick a ] after your first QUOTE, remove the =

 

[anthony2k7]

Disney still spends a lot more, on a per park basis in capital investments than Universal.

But what was that Disney money actually spent on? I assume it was mainly the new DVC projects?

 

[surferdave]

But what was that Disney money actually spent on? I assume it was mainly the new DVC projects?

I'm sure NextGen is a capital project, the biggest at WDW right now.

 

[lockedoutlogic]

I really like the new area. I think it is pretty and I feel like I am in a forest. I love to sit at Gaston's and drink the brew. I like the little mermaid ride for what it is, and I think Storybook Circus is whimsical and fun for little kids. I don't see the hate either, but you know haters are going to hate.

i thinks its adequate/solid...not inventive or fantastic...

that's ok...except its the kind of thing that should have been shoehorned into 18-24 months (very possible...don't even go there with the excuses)...

which means they were robbing you to the tune of $90 a day with that pitiful pace.

Any takers on this one?

 

[Son of Gadsden]

I'm sure NextGen is a capital project, the biggest at WDW right now.

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.