Disney Quest

[Ohana90]

So when is Disney Quest officially closing? According to Jim hill media late January. Has anyone heard? That was my husbands favorite place.

 

[Horace Horsecollar]

So when is Disney Quest officially closing? According to Jim hill media late January. Has anyone heard? That was my husbands favorite place.

There is absolutely no official word. The Walt Disney Company has not made any announcement that DisneyQuest at Downtown Disney will close.

It's only a Jim Hill rumor at this stage. And this isn't the first time Jim Hill has predicted the closing of DisneyQuest.

Jim Hill published an article about this on April 25, 2006. See Game Over: WDW's DisneyQuest to close in early 2008 by Jim Hill.

DisneyQuest at Downtown Disney is stagnating. There's no business case to develop exciting, fresh, new attractions for the lone DisneyQuest.

DisneyQuest was originally supposed to expand to dozens of metropolitan areas, but that didn't happen (except for a Chicago location that didn't last long). There are no other DisneyQuest locations that can absorb development costs.

So, yes, it's possible the DisneyQuest will close at some point. I would hope that Disney would provide at a least a full year's notice, so that buyers of Premium Annual Passes can make informed choices. Also, that would give them a year to generate traffic at DisneyQuest with a "final year" promotion.

I read anything that Jim Hill writes with healthy skepticism. Jim sometimes seems to combine sketchy rumors with his own logical conclusions and present the result as facts.

 

[MJMcBride]

At this piont, the rumor is the Virgin Megastore, not DQ, will be closing.

http://www.mouseextra.com/2008/02/2...tore-at-downtown-disney-on-the-chopping-block

Who knows. DQ is rather stagnant at this point, but with these leases running out, it might stick around awhile

 

[Ohana90]

There is absolutely no official word. The Walt Disney Company has not made any announcement that DisneyQuest at Downtown Disney will close.

It's only a Jim Hill rumor at this stage. And this isn't the first time Jim Hill has predicted the closing of DisneyQuest.

Jim Hill published an article about this on April 25, 2006. See Game Over: WDW's DisneyQuest to close in early 2008 by Jim Hill.

DisneyQuest at Downtown Disney is stagnating. There's no business case to develop exciting, fresh, new attractions for the lone DisneyQuest.

DisneyQuest was originally supposed to expand to dozens of metropolitan areas, but that didn't happen (except for a Chicago location that didn't last long). There are no other DisneyQuest locations that can absorb development costs.

So, yes, it's possible the DisneyQuest will close at some point. I would hope that Disney would provide at a least a full year's notice, so that buyers of Premium Annual Passes can make informed choices. Also, that would give them a year to generate traffic at DisneyQuest with a "final year" promotion.

I read anything that Jim Hill writes with healthy skepticism. Jim sometimes seems to combine sketchy rumors with his own logical conclusions and present the result as facts.

Thanks for that information. Looks like the article I saw was the same one. just didnt have the actual print date. hopefully it will stick around. we love that place.

 

[dolphingirl47]

I don't know if this has anything to do with the rumored closure of the Virgin Mega Store at DTD, but there are no more Virgin Mega Stores in the UK. The whole chain has been bought out by a consortium and have been rebranded as Zavvi just before Christmas.

dolphingirl47

 

[Tink's Tormentor]

Cheesecake Factory will be leaving and the Food and Beverage department taking over the food stand there... DQ is not going anywhere for the foreseeable future....

 

[TSR6]

Poop in one hand, and then put all the rumors that Jim Hill has been correct in the other hand.

Tell me which one fills up first.

I seriously wish DIS would just add that guy to the censor on here. He's no better than any curse word..

 

[MJMcBride]

Poop in one hand, and then put all the rumors that Jim Hill has been correct in the other hand.

Tell me which one fills up first.

I seriously wish DIS would just add that guy to the censor on here. He's no better than any curse word..

thats a rather odd metaphor

 

[Mr. & Mrs. Smith]

I'm surprised that DQ has made it this long actually. Granted, I haven't ever visited but it's reputation indicates that it's quite overpriced and out of place.

 

[ChrisFL]

I'm surprised that DQ has made it this long actually. Granted, I haven't ever visited but it's reputation indicates that it's quite overpriced and out of place.

Difficult to make assumptions if you've never visited. It actually isn't overpriced at all when compared to similar, yet lesser places such as Gameworks in Tampa.

 

[daver]

I'm surprised that DQ has made it this long actually. Granted, I haven't ever visited but it's reputation indicates that it's quite overpriced and out of place.

I disagree on the overpriced aspect. My kids absolutely love it. We only found DQ at the end of our 1st trip and wish we had more time there.

Since it is part of "waterparks and more", I believe it offers a full day of value vs the water parks which quite frankly, you can only get so wet!
But it depends on what you want, I'm in Disney, so no time to lay at the beach.... fun fun fun

 

[Mr. & Mrs. Smith]

Difficult to make assumptions if you've never visited. It actually isn't overpriced at all when compared to similar, yet lesser places such as Gameworks in Tampa.

I'm not making assumptions. I'm just telling you what I've heard from others who have visited.

 

[MJMcBride]

From someone who has been there a few times, I agree with whoever has been talking to the Smiths

 

[figment1986]

I herd it will not close... they are at the point where they make enough money to be getting upgrades and continue operating... Though I would not be surprised if ESPN does move into West side...

 

[TSR6]

Last I knew - and I had some pretty good connections with Downtown Disney - all the rumors floating around were 100% false, and DisneyQuest had just spent quite a large sum of money around the 2005 time frame ( rumors first started in approx 2004 ).

Yes - Some people do not like DisneyQuest. Thats a fact, just like some people don't like a certain park, don't like a certain ride, or don't like Disney World at all. You can't win them all. I know when I was "familiar" with Quest, the crowd that loved Disney Quest was mostly kids who had done everything at the parks, and/or kids & fathers that let the women go off and do some shopping at downtown disney. It's pretty popular on rainy days or extremely hot days. The day after a tropical storm in 2005, the building hit capacity a few hours after opening. Fact of the matter is, on an ideal nice "florida" day, on the average person's vacation, Disney Quest is not the average guest's first option. Many people plan their vacation out to the number of days spent in the parks. Disney Quest is great for those that plan in an empty day, those who love arcades, and is also great to the "average park guest" on a nasty day, giving them an option other than being wet, or staying in the hotel room.

That being said, Jim Hill disgusts me. You can be wrong many times, and people won't care. It drives people to his website to read about it, and he knows that. These baseless and factless rumors that he starts drives a lot of attention to both himself, and his website. Mean while, it only hurts the people that know the truth, fans of Disney, DisneyQuest and/or potential DisneyQuest guests.

...but hey, he's getting internet traffic!

 

[Jason71]

Last I knew - and I had some pretty good connections with Downtown Disney - all the rumors floating around were 100% false, and DisneyQuest had just spent quite a large sum of money around the 2005 time frame ( rumors first started in approx 2004 ).

If they did, they didn't spend it on new attractions or upkeep.

I actually like DQ in theory, for the reasons you state. But as a practical matter, it hasn't been updated in years and has simply been allowed to deteriorate. Any given night, at least 1/3 of the video games and pinball machines do not work--some nights, more than 1/2. The carpets are stained, and the whole place has kind of a funky smell. No one bothers to bus the tables outside the restaurant (honestly, that place is such a black mark on The Cheesecake Factory's otherwise stellar reputation I am surprised it wasn't pulled out years ago). While it may be fine as a "free" way to spend a rainy afternoon, I can't see anyone actually shelling out $40 and feeling they got value for their money.

 

[mitros]

Close the Virgin store and Disney Quest? Wouldn't miss either, although the Disney Quest does keep the screaming "pinball players" indoors and out of the parks......

 

[TSR6]

If they did, they didn't spend it on new attractions or upkeep.

I actually like DQ in theory, for the reasons you state. But as a practical matter, it hasn't been updated in years and has simply been allowed to deteriorate. Any given night, at least 1/3 of the video games and pinball machines do not work--some nights, more than 1/2. The carpets are stained, and the whole place has kind of a funky smell. No one bothers to bus the tables outside the restaurant (honestly, that place is such a black mark on The Cheesecake Factory's otherwise stellar reputation I am surprised it wasn't pulled out years ago). While it may be fine as a "free" way to spend a rainy afternoon, I can't see anyone actually shelling out $40 and feeling they got value for their money.

Well, They took out the old score zone, put some new arcade games in there. They did a lot of advertising for it also.

While I do think that $36 is expensive, it's pretty cheap compared to other comparable places. Then for the people who have the Plus or Water Park & more packages it appears to be a lot cheaper.

 

[Mr. & Mrs. Smith]

I think they spent money on painting the outside of the building and that's about it. At least it won't be a waste of money because when they close DQ, they can use the nicely-painted space for something else.

 

[Sorahana]

I went to DisneyQuest for the first time last month with a friend. We were disappointed. They really need to update the stuff they have there.

Virgin Records store is nice, and very large. I don't think they should close DisneyQuest, but they need a serious overhaul on what they have there.