Do you think there will ever be a 5th gate?

[PhoenixStrength]

Disney World property is huge and a large part of it isn't "developed". But then again, that undeveloped part is mostly a nature preserve. As much as people want to think of Disney World being a greedy business, those undeveloped parts are being used to study and understand nature. If there were to be a fifth park, all the animals would have to be relocated safely to build something so big.

Not totally true. Approximately 1/3 of the land they own is set aside for wildlife conservation and study. Of the 2/3 left, they have only developed about half of that, so they could almost double in size without impacting their wildlife area at all. They have a ton of room to expand, but they are (rightly so, imo) focusing on improving the existing parks. I agree with the PPs that they probably will add a fifth gate, but not for many years.

 

[TwinPrincessMermaids]

Yeah I totally wish they wouldn't ditch the ENTIRE Hollywood theme as I don't think anything is wrong with it. I love the street performers, the look, the rides. Just update and keep going. It didn't need a complete rebranding. It doesn't need to be Hollywood Land or Hollywood Kingdom either....

Anyway, the new night time safari and night show at AK should add a lot to it when all the cranes and construction walls do eventually go... It's gonna be a while though....

Disney does have touches of villains to appease a bit of everyone's tastes, but an entire park is hitting way off the mark as to appeal to everyone and their sensitivities. I for one will not even look at HM when I have to walk by it. I have not been to U IOA or US since they Pottered it. An entire park themes for villains will be very uncomfortable for me. And as costly as it would be to build it, would reflect in my tix prices, and then Id have to figure out if I felt comfortable going. Etc. Just my own personal preference, no reflection on anyone else. It's part of the reason Universal are literally the only Central FL parks we not only don't have AP for, but havent been to in over ten years... It's just too much $ to have to sit out so much...

So anyway a Pixar, SW or Space park would be fine, but they already have huge elements of these in HS, MK and EP, so I don't really see a new separate theme anytime soon. Pandora fitting inside AK also a dead giveaway.

Whatever it is, let it not be Villains...

 

[massmickeypal]

I agree with those who say nothing in the near future. This could change however, if outside forces push Disney to act. It could certainly be argued that Disney built MGM to keep guests away from Universal, built Animal Kingdom to keep guests from going to Busch Gardens and, maybe a stretch, built the Living Seas to combat Sea World migration. Keeping guests within Disney World may be what motivates Disney to build a fifth park based on a perceived threat to guests leaving property.

 

[Tonka's Skipper]

There is likely 4 or 5 different prel. designs for the 5th park, and I am sure there will be a 5th park, but it will not open at least 10 years....

AKK

 

[AP1209]

I could see Disney going to 5 if Universal goes to 3. I'd be surprised it they didnt have an idea or two of what number 5 would be. Magic Kingdom was opened in 1971, Epcot in 1982 (11 years later), DHS in 1989 (7 years after Epcot) and DAK in 1998 (9 years after DHS). Its been 17 years since there has been a new gate. It should be on the Horizon if they want to keep Universal at bay.

 

[Turk February]

I agree with many previous responses. Probably not for a very long time.

 

[DisneyPrince1982]

5th gate, yes will happen at some point. If the crowds continue to grow, Disney will need to build a 5th park just to sustain the growth. I would expect to see it in the next 30 years.

 

[karly05]

I'm in the camp that thinks we won't see a 5th gate for a LONG long time - and seriously, Disney, work on the parks you have first! If they're going to spend a bunch of money, they need to finish the AK work and whatever the DHS plans are, and give Epcot another country or two and get all the FW pavilions up to speed.

I can't see them doing a "villains" park because I just can't see them doing a park that doesn't have appeal to all ages. (I guess my image of a "villains" park would be more thrill/teen/adult-oriented, and potentially "too scary" for at least some little kids even if there are tamer attractions.)

I am also in the camp that really wants to see the "old Hollywood" elements of DHS stay, and have a new "Star Wars Land" built from Star Tours around to the back on the left side and "Pixar Land" built from the TSM and now-closed Animation Bldg area around to the back on the right side.

 

[SimonSez]

I tend to agree with most of the above. Maybe some day, but not anytime soon. Just looking back at the years between gate openings is telling--Magic Kingdom 1971, Epcot 1982, DHS (MGM Studios at the time) 1989, and Animal Kingdom 1998. This is the longest Disney has gone without opening another gate, 17 years and counting. Even if they decided today to build #5, it would have to go thru planning stages and construction, etc. It would still be years before we saw it. Bottom line, don't hold your breath. It will be interesting to watch the upcoming changes unfold however

 

[DVCcurious]

I was told to never say never. So instead I will say "not in the 21st Century".

Let's face it, 3 of the 4 parks are...well...just not up to par. There is no point investing in a new park when HS, AK, and EP need so much work.

Existing parks have parking lots. They have bathroom facilities. It's much easier and cheaper to add 20 attractions to HS, EP, and AK then building a 5th park with 20 attractions.

Frankly I'd be upset with a 5th park when I consider MK the only "finished" park. We go for one week. EP, HS, AK all get one half day and MK gets 5.5 days of our trip. Until you can improve those three parks to the point where I'm spending 1 day each and 4 days at MK, or (imagine this) MORE than one day at those other parks I don't want to see any planning on a 5th park.

 

[AP1209]

I was told to never say never. So instead I will say "not in the 21st Century".

Let's face it, 3 of the 4 parks are...well...just not up to par. There is no point investing in a new park when HS, AK, and EP need so much work.

Existing parks have parking lots. They have bathroom facilities. It's much easier and cheaper to add 20 attractions to HS, EP, and AK then building a 5th park with 20 attractions.

Frankly I'd be upset with a 5th park when I consider MK the only "finished" park. We go for one week. EP, HS, AK all get one half day and MK gets 5.5 days of our trip. Until you can improve those three parks to the point where I'm spending 1 day each and 4 days at MK, or (imagine this) MORE than one day at those other parks I don't want to see any planning on a 5th park.

You can do Epcot in half a day? I guess we tour differently, lol. I agree that all the other parks need a lot of work except for MK. Seems like DAK and DHS plans are in the works. Epcot should be next. Then a 5th gate? It's gonna take a while.

 

[jec6613]

Disney has one major problem that nobody's brought up yet with a fifth gate: labor. It takes thousands to staff a park, and WDW is already the largest single site private employer in US history, surpassing Kodak's previous 1982 record. Re-building the Epcot pavilions and adding countries to World Showcase is in the hundreds, it's literally an order of magnitude difference in labor required, and the labor pool for the skilled and semi-skilled in the Orlando metro area is pretty well tapped out.

Will they eventually open a fifth gate? Yes, they will, and hopefully in my lifetime (I'm in my 30's), but not anytime soon. Recently (in the last 5 years or so) Disney has been making major investments to its parks to refurbish them, the biggest one being the $Bn MM+ IT infrastructure upgrade obviously, but starting with the New Fantasyland, and now Avatar land, and next up with DHS, they're rolling through parks and modernizing them and adding attractions, but not significantly increasing employee headcount. They're also trying to even out demand with aggressive pricing and better usage of big data metrics (see: MM+) so that the off seasons are fewer and farther between, and increase hotel occupancy so their workers are better employed without adding more hotel rooms.

 

[gkrykewy]

Another problem that Americans have is that our country started out as thatched roof huts in the early to mid-1600's so people forget that 'civilization" is much older and more advanced. The Pilgrims left behind London, a city of 500,000 people with buildings on a grand scale. Notre Dame in Paris was built in the 1100's and 1200's and is almost a thousand years old. Rome was a metropolis of over 1,000,000 in 100 AD. That was 2,000 years ago. Hagia Sophia is 1,500 years old. People (particularly Americans) have a hard time envisioning things 100 years out, let alone 1,000. When viewed in this perspective, "ever" becomes impossible to pin down. In many respects, technological leaps make it impossible to predict what something like WDW will look like in 3015. On the other hand, buildings today haven't changed all that much from Notre Dame and Hagia Sophia from more than a thousand years ago.

Sadly much/all of Florida will be underwater in much less than 1,000 years.

 

[DisneyPrince1982]

In many respects, technological leaps make it impossible to predict what something like WDW will look like in 3015.

Disney World will absolutely not exist in 3015. Of that much I am sure.

 

[JimmyV]

Disney World will absolutely not exist in 3015. Of that much I am sure.

What event do you think would take place to make this so? Asteroid? Epidemic? Deterioration? Would you have said in 1250 that in 2015, people would not be climbing to the top of Notre Dame? And going to mass there? Daily. Will the company go bankrupt and just shutter its doors? No other company would step in and buy the assets and keep the parks running? I can't imagine a scenario whereby thousand year old buildings all over the world are still in use, but WDW sits rotting and growing cobwebs like River Country. Will Manhattan still exist in 3015? Chicago? Will the United States still exist? Will Washington DC still be our capital? Will the White House and the Capitol Building still exist? How is it that Paris, London and Beijing can all last for thousands of years, but WDW cannot survive for 1050 years? Go ahead and map this out in your mind as far into the future as you think Disney World will exist, and then imagine the press release where they announce that the parks will be closed permanently. In what year will that take place? What would the international reaction be? Would there be nothing or no one to intervene to prevent this from happening?

 

[Dr.Mickey]

Sadly much/all of Florida will be underwater in much less than 1,000 years.

It is a strange topic indeed on Disboards that includes the impending loss of the state of Florida right along side a discussion on the best location for Star Wars land.

 

[DisneyPrince1982]

What event do you think would take place to make this so? Asteroid? Epidemic? Deterioration? Would you have said in 1250 that in 2015, people would not be climbing to the top of Notre Dame? And going to mass there? Daily. Will the company go bankrupt and just shutter its doors? No other company would step in and buy the assets and keep the parks running? I can't imagine a scenario whereby thousand year old buildings all over the world are still in use, but WDW sits rotting and growing cobwebs like River Country. Will Manhattan still exist in 3015? Chicago? Will the United States still exist? Will Washington DC still be our capital? Will the White House and the Capitol Building still exist? How is it that Paris, London and Beijing can all last for thousands of years, but WDW cannot survive for 1050 years? Go ahead and map this out in your mind as far into the future as you think Disney World will exist, and then imagine the press release where they announce that the parks will be closed permanently. In what year will that take place? What would the international reaction be? Would there be nothing or no one to intervene to prevent this from happening?

Dude too many questions, lol. Think about the business landscape over the past century and how much has changed just during that period.

How many companies that were around 1000 years ago are still in business today? I'll give you the answer, 3. One is a hotel in Japan that has been around for more than 1300 years. The other 2 businesses are a restaurant in Russia and a small bar in Ireland.

The average life of a business is 40 to 50 years. What leads you to believe that Disney World is somehow magically different and will survive? Pixie Dust?

 

[LOL!]

I can't imagine a scenario whereby thousand year old buildings all over the world are still in use, but WDW sits rotting and growing cobwebs like River Country.

I think you answered your own question.

 

[msdaisy]

This is such an interesting thread since I was just reading about Dogpatch USA this morning. That place fascinates me. I visited it as a child when we went to Arkansas. It closed down sometime in the 90's. Someone bought it a few years ago and is attempting to turn the abandoned theme park into an arts and crafts river walk type thing. The almighty dollar shut Dogpatch down. That can happen to any company. Stranger things have happened. It creeps me out to think about WDW being abandoned.

It is even creepier to think about someone trying to resurrect it by turning it into a huge flea market. They could sell vintage mouse ears by the rusty dumbo ride. See - creepy! It will happen, though. I don't think any company can survive a 1000 years.

 

[jec6613]

I don't think any company can survive a 1000 years.

You'd be surprised.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_oldest_companies

This one has been making firearms basically since they were invented, 14th generation family owned: http://www.beretta.com/en-us/world-of-beretta/since-1526/