Disney's Animation Inn and Suites

[rodkenrich]

,

 

[Kristineamb]

http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=2006779

 

[CanadianGuy]

Construction work is much cheaper to get done during a recession .. when nobody else wants to do it.. than after when the economy strikes up again.

I just bet that Disney will be watching to get the timing just about right.

Knox

 

[rodkenrich]

,

 

[KYMickey]

I agree. I just hope the instability of the economy doesn't interfere with the Flamingo Crossings project.

What's the big deal? Flamingo Crossings is nothing special and will just create more traffic problems on that side of Disney. This certainly hasn't been anything announced to be built there that's new or different. The only possible exception would be if a new PI was going to be there but I don't believe that rumor has much validity!

 

[deej696]

Yea I wouldn't be heartbroke if they spared us the Holiday inn expresses of the world for a while. Although I won't stay there, I would like to see them finish pop if for no other reason than to please everyone here on the boards that want it so bad.

 

[FireDancer]

I would love to see the other half of POP finished in some guise. I don’t want them to totally abandon the decade by decade theme but could see them altering the themeing to add animation. The other half of POP could be updated so that the decade building show less about the POP culture and more about what the animation trends were during those decades. Just like the Lady and the Tramp buildings do now the other buildings could lose their Rubik’s cubes and 8-tracks and be changed to animated features or technology of the day.

 

[crazy4wdw]

I read a rumor on another Disney fan site that said that Disney has told employees at Pop Century that they plan to close down the entire resort in the very near future. Whether this has anything to do with the conversion to Animation Inn or is a reuslt of the slowling ecomony, I have no idea. Supposedly the story aired on one of the local Orlando TV stations a few days ago but I have not been able to locate it on the different websites.

 

[doconeill]

I read a rumor on another Disney fan site that said that Disney has told employees at Pop Century that they plan to close down the entire resort in the very near future. Whether this has anything to do with the conversion to Animation Inn or is a reuslt of the slowling ecomony, I have no idea. Supposedly the story aired on one of the local Orlando TV stations a few days ago but I have not been able to locate it on the different websites.

Mayyyyyyybe...if "very near future" is sometime after June or whenever the 4/3 offer expires. I would expect that POP is pretty well booked at this point.

 

[jfinke]

Why would they close Pop vs. the Allstars?

 

[Condorman]

Disney is not closing down Pop Century. Don't believe any of the rumors. Nor would Disney tell its everyday CMs this, as if in a memo posted in the employee cafeteria. Pop is booked well into next year and has far too many rooms to simply be "relocated" to another value or moderate resort. Any interest Disney has in the Animation Inn & Suites is strictly in completing the Legendary Years on the other side of Houseglass Lake, and even that would not happen for a long time. They are merely in the testing phase.

In this economy, and the recession that will last well into the middle of 2010, the upkeep costs of Pop and the All Stars is much less than what it takes to manage the Deluxe resorts -- never-mind the size. You can be sure visitors are more likely to scratch their stays at GF and BWI and do POR instead. Disney is preparing for that, which is why it's considering a new Value resort.

If you still don't believe me, answer this: Why would Disney shut down Pop, lose that much revenue on a quantity of rooms they couldn't possibly hope to relocate, and in the meantime spend 75-150 million+ on revamping the whole resort? The answer is they wouldn't. But they would take advantage of a weak economy to get new construction going on the Legendary Years.

 

[deej696]

You can be sure visitors are more likely to scratch their stays at GF and BWI and do POR instead. Disney is preparing for that, which is why it's considering a new Value resort.

.

While I agree many people will downgrade their resort in order to make the trip more affordable in this economy, Disney building another value is not a response to make room for these people. It will take quite a while to build another value, and by the time it is completed the economy will be back on track, and those guests who may have skipped GF in 2009 will be back there in 2010. The reason Disney is perhaps considering this is not to make room for people who downgrade, its to take advantage of cheaper construction costs during a weak economy as Knox stated above...

 

[WDWFan4Life]

I haven't read all the posts, but whether they are changing the theme of POP or creating a new value resort I think the name Disney's Animation Inn and Suites is horrible. It sounds so cheap and unimaginative and they really need to stop putting "Disney's" in front of anything. We are already in WDW do we need to be reminded whose park or hotel it is.

 

[jeanylaser]

me too! I don't like the name of this hotel!

 

[DC7800]

While I agree many people will downgrade their resort in order to make the trip more affordable in this economy, Disney building another value is not a response to make room for these people.

The problem is that people have long been downgrading their resort choices even in a prosperous economy. We've at least mentioned here before how current All-Star/Pop guests used to stay at a moderate or deluxe before a cheaper (Disney) option came along. Much better to have you in a $200 room than the $99 property, which is not considered profitable enough (to Disney's perspective) anyway. The thing I have never been able to understand is why Disney would have trouble filling value-resort rooms at all, particularly at discounted prices which are about the same - and occasionally even lower - than competing off-site properties (excluding resorts such as Grand Cypress and other 'deluxe' properties, of course) like Hampton or Fairfield Inn.

But Disney is continuing to have (apparently worsening) trouble filling its resorts, and they have closed entire resorts in the past when bookings were soft. Depending on how long and how deep they expect the current economic trends to continue, I would not be at all surprised to find a plan exists to shutter Pop Century should circumstances ever warrant. Plenty of capacity to relocate guests if reservations at the All-Stars and moderates ever get soft enough to justify a closure. No, they wouldn't just announce it to cast members unless closure was imminent, but it's not impossible either. Back in late 2001 and 2002, I remember arguing that Disney greatly overreacted in making draconian cutbacks to cut costs, so I can easily see them doing so again.

What I have trouble believing is that Disney - especially Disney of all companies - would possibly spend money now, at a time when they are trying to contain costs even at the expense of quality and the guest experience, on a project which won't produce returns for some time. I'll agree such a strategy makes perfect sense; I just have trouble believing that Disney senior management is capable anymore of such a strategy. Indeed, if you really wanted to boost attendance at Walt Disney World during slow periods - specifically next spring and summer - opening multiple and/or major new attractions might well accomplish that (and literally produce returns for decades). Disney, however, has essentially nothing planned for 2009 except, perhaps, more and deeper discounts which cut into the bottom line, and of course further cost-cutting which cheapens the experience for which guests were once willing to pay big bucks.

 

[mitros]

What's the big deal? Flamingo Crossings is nothing special and will just create more traffic problems on that side of Disney. This certainly hasn't been anything announced to be built there that's new or different. The only possible exception would be if a new PI was going to be there but I don't believe that rumor has much validity!

EXACTLY!

 

[Michael623]

I love the term re-theming? What is the theme now, Michael623 in giant cell phone land?

 

[Tink rules]

After 9/11 Disney closed down POFQ and used that time to do the refurb to the resort...

&&&&& they just lost $92 Million when Lehman Bros. went under...

They'll weather the storm... they learned after 9/11 that the Disney brand alone won't bring people in if times are tough.

 

[goalie5hole]

Disney is not closing down Pop Century. Don't believe any of the rumors. Nor would Disney tell its everyday CMs this, as if in a memo posted in the employee cafeteria. Pop is booked well into next year and has far too many rooms to simply be "relocated" to another value or moderate resort. Any interest Disney has in the Animation Inn & Suites is strictly in completing the Legendary Years on the other side of Houseglass Lake, and even that would not happen for a long time. They are merely in the testing phase.

In this economy, and the recession that will last well into the middle of 2010, the upkeep costs of Pop and the All Stars is much less than what it takes to manage the Deluxe resorts -- never-mind the size. You can be sure visitors are more likely to scratch their stays at GF and BWI and do POR instead. Disney is preparing for that, which is why it's considering a new Value resort.

If you still don't believe me, answer this: Why would Disney shut down Pop, lose that much revenue on a quantity of rooms they couldn't possibly hope to relocate, and in the meantime spend 75-150 million+ on revamping the whole resort? The answer is they wouldn't. But they would take advantage of a weak economy to get new construction going on the Legendary Years.

Somebody correct me if I'm wrong but didn't Disney close down French Quarter or Riverside recently. I can't remember if it was after 9/11 or if it was for refurb. Sorry-didn't see last post.

 

[crazy4wdw]

Somebody correct if I'm wrong but didn't Disney close down French Quarter or Riverside recently. I can't remember if it was after 9/11 or if it was for refurb. Sorry-skipped over last post.

Yes, Disney did close down POFQ after 9/11. People who had ressies at POFQ during its closure received great deals on upgrades to other resorts. Disney did use the time that POFQ was closed to refurbish the rooms. Pop Century was scheduled to open in November 2001 but its opening was delayed until 2003 (I think!).