Disney Expansion Plans??

[keishashadow]

Received this yesterday in investor newsletter...aka blue sky concepts.


Disney Parks eyes stand-alone hotels
Wednesday February 7, 10:23 pm ET

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - The Walt Disney Co. (NYSE:DIS - News) is considering "blue sky concepts" of creating smaller theme parks and stand-alone hotels, retail, dining and entertainment centers, Jay Rasulo, chairman of Disney's Parks and Resorts told analysts at a conference on Wednesday

Building stand-alone hotels in urban areas where families already travel would give Disney the chance to reach out to parents who feel their children are still too young to appreciate a trip to a Disney theme park, Rasulo said.
Along those lines, Disney could locate versions of its Downtown Disneyland, a high-end retail, dining and entertainment district, in urban areas far from its parks, he said. The company also was exploring alternatives to full-size theme parks, including "a smaller, deeply immersive park" that would offer consumers a more interactive experience at higher prices.


These ideas are "blue sky concepts" that will not be executed unless the new businesses could achieve a high return on invested capital, Rasulo said.
Disney also was looking into expanding its water park offerings beyond Typhoon Lagoon and Blizzard Beach and possibly adding ships to its two-vessel cruise lines, Rasulo said.
Rasulo had little to add about the lackluster performance by Hong Kong Disneyland, which opened in September of 2007, and failed to meet first-year attendance target of 5.6 million.
"Hong Kong Disneyland developed a little more slowly than we expected in 1999 when the deal was put together" but the company was confident of its growth trajectory, he said. "We identified some challenges to be addressed in the near future in sales and marketing and seasonality," he added.

 

[Luckymommyx2]

I had just read something similar on the Orlando Sentinel website. As much as I love Disney I don't think it's a good idea. It wouldn't be Disney to me if it's outside of Disney...you can't create that same magic outside of the parks IMO. I'd rather they invest the money back into the parks.

The only thing I think everyone would be on-board with is the addition to their cruise line. People have been wanting more ships with new places for quite some time.

I'm interested in reading what other DIS'ers have to say.

 

[PatriciaH]

They kind of tried that with Disney Quest and it those closed pretty fast.

 

[ziggystardust]

They kind of tried that with Disney Quest and it those closed pretty fast.

I was going to say the same thing

 

[keishashadow]

Hard Rock Hotel is opening a small theme park w/hotel in Myrtle Beach next year...

bet Disney sets up one too, either w/hotel/DVC or stand alone.

 

[bicker]

This article is explicitly about "blue sky concepts" -- it isn't about what Disney is planning to do, but rather just about what they're thinking about considering.

 

[quiltymom]

"offer consumers a more interactive experience at higher prices."

Now, why doesn't that surprise me?

I know that they had a Club Disney located in Newberry Park, CA a few years back, but it closed after a while. I wanted to take a peek inside to see if it was too "big for DS (who was one at the time), and they wouldn't allow it without paying for an hour of playtime first.

Who knows if it would work, but as someone already posted, it just wouldn't be Disney somewhere else!

 

[CanadianGuy]

I could see this working if it was done properly.

The problem with DisneyQuest is that it was a brand extension that didn't follow. Kinda like Kelloggs H-2-0 water. It didn't follow logically. It HAD to be a destination unto itself. And it was too darned costly.

DisneyQuest was the wrong idea at the wrong time.. poorly executed and it didn't fulfill any easily understood or conveyed 'need' in the consumer's mind. Bad strategy from start to finish.

Now.. if Disney were to look at building something with a hotel and indoor entertainment complex that could be ported to different cities..

Imagine a Disney themed hotel with an entertainment area featuring a few ride type things like the Buzz Lightyear Spin ride... maybe a short 25 minute show like they have at the theme parks (Beauty & The Beast, Aladdin or Voyage of the Little Mermaid.) It could have a version of "One Man's Dream" ... maybe even Pirate and Princess themed attractions? An indoor tea cups ride.. A Haunted Mansion type attraction where you target ghosts a la Buzz Lightyear... A "Toy Story" play area.. whatever.

Perhaps an indoor mini-Main Street USA would anchor each hotel with stores in a street setting with the facades done up like Main Street USA.

Such an attraction could feature props, sets or costumes from the latest Disney theatrical aimed at families. It could feature character meet & greets from time to time.. Pin trading.. It would of course house a Disney store with a larger-than-the-average-mall selection of items. In fact, they could and probably would have exclusive merchandise just for these 'Resort-Attractions' .

Eventually they could port things like the Soap Weekend at Disney World.. into a bit of a touring show running for a weekend at each of these hotels. Meet your favorite soap star -- closer to home.

They could use naming from well known Disney restaurants as part of the draw.

Something like that could be a draw both for hotel guests and for locals. It could be an adults' romantic evening out.. it could be a teenager's first date... it could be an afternoon with the kids or a weekend outta town shopping and spending time with the family in a Disney atmosphere.

Done properly -- the vertical branding Disney has between the parks, the movies, the ABC-TV, the ESPN brand.. could carry over to these locations. It could be logical brand extension.

Think of it like 'Disney Lite'. Marketed like "A taste of that Disney feeling when you can't go all the way to Florida."... or "Experience the Magic .. Closer to Home"

THAT is a very different concept from DisneyQuest. And I believe if properly executed and if it was to draw on the logical brand feelings about Disney already in the consumer's mind ...

It COULD work very well... AND it could wet the appetite for those who haven't taken the plunge of a full-on WDW vacation.. and urge them to do so.

[EDIT: Just reading thru this again - I can almost SEE the commercials for this in my mind! ]

 

[micksterlee]

I have always wondered why Disney hasn't opened some Disney themed restaurants featuring animatronics and occasional visits from characters.Seems like places like Chucky Cheese have great success with this concept.

 

[CanadianGuy]

OMG Yes..

Imagine having the TimeKeeper greet you at the entrance to the restaurant and have him doing a running spiel till your server was able to seat you!

J

 

[Mickey28]

Why would you want to water down the brand? Bad idea from the get go. What makes going to Disney so special is that if you don't live in close proximaty(sp) to the parks and you're a big fan it's a big deal when you do get to go. I use to work for Hard Rock Cafe and when I started they were just opening the 50th store after 25yrs. As soon as they were bought out by a larger corporation they began a massive expansion and went to over a hundred units in the next 5 years. Now I know many of you have been to a HRC and at one time probably only got to go to one when you were on vacation. However, most of you probably have one close to your hometown or in your hometown now, and it is no longer a big deal to go to one. That's why their business has dropped more than 50% in the last 5 years. Noone cares if they go to a HRC because they can go anytime. If they even care to go at all. Sorry to make this so long, but if you water down the brand and make it too available it removes the element of making it special. JMHO.

P.S. Please don't compare Disney and Mickey to Chuck E Cheese.

 

[ransom]

It'll be interesting to see what, if anything, comes of this.

There are three main concepts outlined in the article.

1) A Disney Hotel Line: "Building stand-alone hotels in urban areas where families already travel would give Disney the chance to reach out to parents who feel their children are still too young to appreciate a trip to a Disney theme park, Rasulo said." I'm not sure how this plays to Disney's core competency. Having hotels near the theme parks makes sense, because it allows the company to better control the guest experience (and capture the guest dollars). But expanding that into arbitrary cities all over the world?

2) Disney Retail Line: "Along those lines, Disney could locate versions of its Downtown Disneyland, a high-end retail, dining and entertainment district, in urban areas far from its parks, he said." Too bad they sold off the old Disney retail stores, eh?

3) DisneyQuest Line: "The company also was exploring alternatives to full-size theme parks, including 'a smaller, deeply immersive park' that would offer consumers a more interactive experience at higher prices." Too bad DisneyQuest had to be closed everywhere outside of Orlando due to unprofitability.

Ah, well. It's all blue sky stuff, but it's sort of disheartening to learn that they're apparently thinking of revisiting their failed past rather than moving into the future.

 

[CanadianGuy]

Well I agree that it *COULD* be watering down the brand...

But done properly .. it could serve as a feeder experience to the theme parks.

I gotta be honest, when they launched the cruise ships.. I had my doubts. But that seems to have worked VERY well.

Yes... something like this could go horribly wrong.

That's what they said about Walt's original idea for an animated mouse.. Disneyland.. then Disney World...

Disney still takes chances. I like that. Of course not everything works (LightMagic at DL anyone?)

J

 

[jayandstacey]

I could see this working if it was done properly.

.....

Now.. if Disney were to look at building something with a hotel and indoor entertainment complex that could be ported to different cities..

Imagine a Disney themed hotel with an entertainment area featuring a few ride type things like the Buzz Lightyear Spin ride... maybe a short 25 minute show like they have at the theme parks (Beauty & The Beast, Aladdin or Voyage of the Little Mermaid.) It could have a version of "One Man's Dream" ... maybe even Pirate and Princess themed attractions? An indoor tea cups ride.. A Haunted Mansion type attraction where you target ghosts a la Buzz Lightyear... A "Toy Story" play area.. whatever.

I'm tracking with you. A multi-use building complex (retail, hotel, even office space) mixed with entertainment would be a draw. And on that scale (even with smaller rollercoasters) the whole thing could be indoors, allowing year-round operation in any climate.

Many posters complained with "If I want to do Disney, I want to do it right" and fear saturation. But given Disney's breadth, you might go for different experiences. So you might only go to your new local Disney spot for an adult dinner and a movie, but take the kids to Orlando for the "big show."

Yes, Disney Quest failed and Disney will have future failures. But as with any business, growth should always be explored, and Disney has always succeeded in the long run.

 

[keishashadow]

For my family a smaller type of any disney park would be a great diversion.

Since we live too far to comfortably drive to the world, we're lucky if we get to go 2 - 3 X year, even with ap's

We visit other local (within couple hundred mile) parks & attractions additionally each year. If a smaller one was built in that range, we'd be there instead.

There is a saturation point (for some, the rest of us are mouse junkies).

 

[ReggieB]

There was talk of Disney doing something in Singapore a year or so back, in terms of some sort of entertainment center. However I do know they have opened an animation branch out there, so I'm thinking the rumors got the nature of the venture a little wrong. But the idea of some sort of entertainment complex has been out there for a bit.

 

[keishashadow]

An additional Wall Street Journal article has come out as to more details...

as in mini-parks w/accompanying hotels/DVC both in US & Caribbean; link on DVC boards.

Interesting to see what transpires.

Do hope they don't foresake upgrading the existing parks w/new attractions, etc. in this endeavor.

 

[MJMcBride]

Do hope they don't foresake upgrading the existing parks w/new attractions, etc. in this endeavor.

now there in lies the problem

 

[Luv2Roam]

I think this is a good idea all they way around.
First, Disney is already in the hotel business. They are all set up and can be ready to go in no time.
They bring Disney to their guests. Remember how we all use to write or say we would go to a Disney Store for our Disney fix? Guests will just check in to a hotel to be immersed. No need to take a cruise. Just stay over night if need be, without having to travel to FL, CA or overseas.
And the brand name will mean security and quality to travelers.
And think of the marketing they could do! Almost endless possibilities between the parks, DCL and Adventures by Disney.
The parks are a different segment than what these will be. I don't see not having this new brand means more park perks.
I think it is a plus all the way around.

 

[doubletrouble_vb]

This could possibly work even if old plans were recycled...provided it was implemented outside the US. I keep stumbling over the notion of "urban areas". In what urban area that is a tourist destination in the USA could this possibly be done affordably? Atlanta maybe...but why not continue on south a few hundred miles.