Matt, and particularly his wife, had made it no secret to friends and coworkers that they really miss central Florida and the better standard of living they enjoyed out there. And so the rumor that Matt might pack up and go back to Florida suddenly made sense to a few people. But the good news is that the rumor has turned out to be wrong, at least for now. While Matt was said to have briefly considered the WDW scenario, he's been adamant with many in TDA that he is staying in Anaheim for the time being and that he is focused on the work he still has cut out for him here.
WDW has hit a major plateau in recent years, and there's a school of thought gaining popularity in Burbank that WDW has almost fully matured and is no longer an area of potential growth for the company. The WDW hotel occupancy rates have been stuck in the 70's for several years now, and the massive marketing campaign trying to tie in with Disneyland's 50th has fallen a bit flat and hasn't driven the expected attendance gains they were hoping for. (We already told you how poorly the "Happiest Celebration On Earth" merchandise was selling out at WDW.)
Anaheim, on the other hand, has surprised Burbank with the incredible strength of the 50th promotion and the record attendance it's brought in. The three Anaheim hotels Disney owns have seen their occupancy rates hover above 95% for quite a while now, and the plans for an additional Disney hotel in Anaheim are moving forward. There's also plenty of work underway, and soon to begin, at DCA as part of the attempt to retheme and rebrand that struggling theme park. Matt is determined to see DCA succeed on its own, rather than just being the extra theme park next door where people go as a consolation prize when Disneyland gets too crowded or when they shut down the turnstiles for the day.
In addition, the popularity of Downtown Disney has continued, and even during the brief recession of '01 and '02 the upscale mall couldn't get people in to its stores and restaurants fast enough every weekend. A major expansion of Downtown Disney is slated to begin just as soon as the 50th events end next year. The west coast premiere of the
Disney Cruise Line went over very well this past summer, and it's currently planned as the next location for Disney's third ship, for at least 6 to 8 months out of every year.
And of course there's all of the attention Matt has given Disneyland over the past 24 months, with a major new E Ticket set to open in '07, and plans for an additional Disneyland E Ticket by the end of the decade, plus a few smaller rides and major new entertainment for both Disneyland and DCA. Matt is excited about all of those growth opportunities for the Anaheim property, and he sees a lot of potential in the 30 Million affluent locals who live within two freeway hours of Disneyland, in addition to the very strong numbers Disneyland has seen this year from the western domestic markets like the Bay Area, Portland, Seattle and Phoenix.
While Matt may privately grouse about how much his new smaller house cost, at the same time he sees a lot more opportunity for growth and activity at Anaheim in the next few years than what he sees for the Orlando property. And so for now, we get to keep Matt Ouimet.
