Hawaii???

[DisFlan]

With the current economy (including Asia), I wouldn't be surprised if Disney "sits" on this one for awhile. Hawaii is seeing a drop in tourism and projects worse for 2009. We won't know what's really happening until the ground breaking actually takes place. But I'm not holding my breath - we had high hopes for Eagle Pines, too.


DisFlan

 

[raidermatt]

Yes, they maybe hoping to get a chunk of the Asian market, but they are definitely going to need a heavy dose of the brand loyal American market to make the Hawaii project work. Airfares to Hawaii from the continental US are skyrocketing right now. Aloha and ATA were major carriers to the Islands and they have gone under.

I wouldn't be surprised at all if nothing happened for quite some time.

Also, that location isn't a no-brainer. The developer has struggled to make the area a thriving tourist destination, and has been unable to lure a new resort operator for quite a few years now. Deals with various companies have fallen through. They are counting on Disney to help the area reach the "critical mass" needed to attract other builders/operators. But that is a significant risk for Disney. If people still don't respond, it could be a huge problem for Disney.

I think the problem is the area is not very close to the major tourist destinations on the island. It's reasonably close to Pearl Harbor, but Waikiki is quite a drive, especially on the sometimes congested highways. Hanauma Bay (a major snorkeling spot) and Diamond Head are on the other side of Waikiki. It's a lot more convenient for most people to just stay in Waikiki where they can literally fall out of bed onto the beach and can easily walk to dozens of restaurants and shopping areas.

Sure, the Ko'olina resort area offers a more quiet place to visit, but that's what most people already get from Maui, Kauai and the Big Island, and to a greater degree.

I also happen to think Disney is going to struggle when they go up against other highend operators in places that are nowhere near Disney parks. As rinkwide alluded, Disney's DVC's rely extensively on their proximity to the parks. The accomodations themselves, and frankly the level of service, do not match up to what the other highend operators do in Hawaii. Disney has a tendency to overestimate the power of their brand sometimes when they venture into new areas. Not always, but it's happened before with DVC. We'll have to see if they've learned their lesson.

 

[Starr W.]

When a long time timeshare owner is suprised by the # of HI deposits in Interval I think that tells us something.

I think DVC HI will be put on the back burner for awhile.

 

[raidermatt]

Eagle Pines was announced by Disney several years ago and then shelved and then last year they announced the land would be given (Okay, probably sold) to Four Seasons (along with the Eagle Pines and Osprey Ridge golf courses). Four Seasons will build a hotel, vacation homes and fractional ownership villas/homes along with a new golf course to replace Eagle Pines and Osprey Ridge.

Don't quote me on this, but I believe the likely reason Eagle Pines got shelved was because the Disney Institute became available to build SSR, and I'm sure it was cheaper to develop an area that already had roads and utilities.

Obviously, WDW offers a draw for Four Seasons to develop, but there is no way that Disney could do a similar deal in Hawaii. We'll see what happens if the economy continues down and fuel prices continue up.

Nothing official, but I agree that cost was the biggest reason for dropping the Eagle Pines project in favor of SSR.

On the Four Seasons thing, part of the land is being sold. The fractional ownership (i.e. timeshare) units will be sold. Disney is de-annexing that land from Reedy Creek and it will be part of Orange county.

It's not yet clear about the rest of the land. Most likely a VERY long term lease. Long enough so that for most practical purposes, a sale. The Four Seasons isn't going to built a resort and sign a 10 year lease.

Most people don't seem to care, but I think it's very unfortunate that Disney feels selling/leasing such a large portion of their land to another company is a better option than doing something with it themselves.

It probably has nothing to do with the fact that the Saudi prince who is a major shareholder in The Four Seasons has also invested heavily in Euro Disney in recent years.