Holy Diagon Alley Batman!

[Mad Hattered]

Yes that's what I meant, WDW is slacking IMO-but not Disney Parks overall, at least since TOT at WDW anyway.

TOT is amazing - one of my all time faves. Carsland, while not new technology per say because of TT, has a great level of detail and themeing. It was just like stepping into Radiator Springs.

 

[jade1]

TOT is amazing - one of my all time faves. Carsland, while not new technology per say because of TT, has a great level of detail and themeing. It was just like stepping into Radiator Springs.

Mad we missed Carsland by a couple months at DL-looks soo good. Still hoping DHS one day-can dream. But prob not back to DL-just not enough for us.

 

[wilkeliza]

What does FOTL stand for it is not on the Acryonym list..... I feel like I can't go a thread without having to look up an acryonym. NO MORE SHORTENING PLEASE

No need to yell. You can politely ask for clarification. Many of the active posters use acronyms because it is something that is used often.

FOTL usually means front of the line. I could not find where someone used FOTL but based on the fact they are giving Diagon Alley (DA) entrance passes. I assumed that is what FOTL they were speaking of.

 

[jade1]

For the most part, I would say WDW. That's not to say WDW hasn't hit home runs or come close to hitting home runs since then. Their home runs, for the most part, have been built around a core of proven technologies. If the Yeti was working, I'd rank EE a home run. As it is, it's still a stand up triple. For a restaurant, Be Our Guest is a home run. These weren't necessarily groundbreaking in terms of innovation. But in both cases, instead of stopping at good, they shot for great.

Around the world, Poohs Hunny Hunt in TDL is an innovative hit. And, Mystic Manor at HDL further refined and expanded on the innovation.

Good points-but I think innovation is only part of it. Tron is looking pretty amazing, but I doubt it's super innovative, however I would choose that far ahead of FJ (Forbidden Journey)-and it's sounding like Gringott's as well-again from a semi HP fan only.

DD (sorry-Dueling Dragons now Dragon Challenge) is still the best thing at US/IOA IMO-but got reduced to an inside the park home because of a questionable call when they eliminated the "dueling" spacing-sucks.

 

[lockedoutlogic]

I would define it as would you take a trip to Florida to exclusively visit Disney? Many, many people do. Would you do the same to exclusively visit Universal? Most would probably not. Even if you didn't visit Disney, you would probably have to combine Busch Gardens, Seaworld, and various water parks to fill out a trip that included Universal.

That is what I mean by "vacation destination". Exclusivity. Disney has that dialed in. They bring you into the Disney bubble and you don't want to leave.

I think the part your missing is that "Orlando" is not a destination without themeparks...

Orlando is like Pittsburgh with some gators and warmer weather...

The other cities and parts of Florida offer much more to fill "destinations" than central Florida.

You HAVE to do the parks because the entire area was built specifically for it and you get sucked in.

A couple nights in Miami, followed by a week with a tank of air strapped to my back somewhere off Largo, Marathon, and Key West is more of a Florida "destination" to me.

 

[lockedoutlogic]

I think it depends on how far you are travelling to get there, how often you think you will be back and your financial situation.

Excellent points

 

[jade1]

I think the part your missing is that "Orlando" is not a destination without themeparks...

Orlando is like Pittsburgh with some gators and warmer weather...

The other cities and parts of Florida offer much more to fill "destinations" than central Florida.

You HAVE to do the parks because the entire area was built specifically for it and you get sucked in.

A couple nights in Miami, followed by a week with a tank of air strapped to my back somewhere off Largo, Marathon, and Key West is more of a Florida "destination" to me.

No need to leave WDW for that.

 

[agavegirl1]

I found Carsland to be very detailed and immersive. However, I am not a car so it kind of fell flat as far as "story" goes. Just being there was pretty cool however. I did not get to ride Radiator Springs Racers though. The ride was down the entire day. It never even opened. I am hoping in four years to get to Tokyo for some touring and some Disney. Disney Sea looks amazing!

 

[johde]

TOT is amazing - one of my all time faves. Carsland, while not new technology per say because of TT, has a great level of detail and themeing. It was just like stepping into Radiator Springs.

Radiator Springs Racers in Carsland, to me, seems to be the ideal example of the modern successful Disney formula for a "home run". Take a proven technology, in this case test track, and ramp the theming up to 11.

It kind of reminds me of the comparison between Six Flags and Cedar Point. Six Flags has many "first of their kind" rides. Cedar Point in general waits a few years for the technology to mature a little bit before trying to build the "best of it's kind". Both can be successful strategies. If you're Six Flags, always pushing the envelope, you end up with one of a kind rides like X2. I rollercoaster unique to everywhere except for 1 other one in China. But a ride plagued with downtime and low throughput. If you're Cedar Point, you end up with a roller coaster like Raptor. It's wasn't the first inverted coaster, but now 20 years later, still ranked amongst the best.

 

[clsteve]

I don't consider that even close compared to walking out one park and into the other and back and forth like US/IOA's proximity provides. I can easily see doing IOA and then just the new Rip Rocket at US only.

But this is a whole new level.

If every time you rode the mine train added a park entry-that would move MK from 17 million a year to about 25 million. 4 would make it about 50 million?

I haven't heard for sure, but if you only went over to US to ride the train both ways (as each has different scenes) and then left, one ride might be 5 park entries.

1) swipe into US
2) swipe to get on the train (prove you have a hopper)
3) swipe to get into IOA (unless they just let you walk in)
4) swipe to get back on the train (prove you have a hopper)
5) swipe to get back into US (unless they just let you walk in)

Sounds hard to believe-and I currently can't really believe that-but hoping somebody can walk through and find out.

Who knows, and it doesn't really matter much.

It's why attendance figures, no matter which company you look at, are only relevant when taken in context: how does that extra attendance increase top line revenue and profitability growth percentages. Heck, if both companies could keep attendance flat but still continue to increase rev and profit, they would. Who wouldn't? Life's much easier that way...

But just for fun, try your Mine Train example this way: what if the MK to EPCOT monorail was an E-ticket attraction instead and you could only ride it with hoppers. How many guests (with the resulting revenue/profit) are now going to buy hoppers just to ride and then probably stay longer in the Parks after buying a little food and drink for the ride....?

That's the beauty of HE - a great attraction, plus Park-to-Park transportation, that directly increases rev and profit. Value for Uni and value for the guest and I'll bet a "how can I copy that..?" for the rest of the industry

 

[lockedoutlogic]

No need to leave WDW for that.

Yeah...

At $25 a minute

 

[kay1864]

We can easily lose well over an hour sitting outside behind the Three Broomsticks... And on our last trip, getting to meet Evanna Lynch by chance!

Amazing that there wasn't a swarm of people around her...she just wandered into the pub, and you went up to her?

From her video interviews it appears she doesn't adopt a "Luna voice" for the movies...it's just her natural Irish lilt?

 

[lockedoutlogic]

Radiator Springs Racers in Carsland, to me, seems to be the ideal example of the modern successful Disney formula for a "home run". Take a proven technology, in this case test track, and ramp the theming up to 11.

It kind of reminds me of the comparison between Six Flags and Cedar Point. Six Flags has many "first of their kind" rides. Cedar Point in general waits a few years for the technology to mature a little bit before trying to build the "best of it's kind". Both can be successful strategies. If you're Six Flags, always pushing the envelope, you end up with one of a kind rides like X2. I rollercoaster unique to everywhere except for 1 other one in China. But a ride plagued with downtime and low throughput. If you're Cedar Point, you end up with a roller coaster like Raptor. It's wasn't the first inverted coaster, but now 20 years later, still ranked amongst the best.

Ok...

I just have to say that raptor is still an awesome ride....

I rode it like 6 times in a day the year it opened...

I'm also big fans of alpengeist and Montu as well...
But that's the same formula as you described...Busch gardens built better rides 5 years into the technology

Disney does not have to be cutting edge as universal has tackled...
But more so than toy story mania, soarin, and even Everest...
Those are techno lightweights for their ages...

And I'm not talking speed, G's, or screams...just the ability to effectively maximize what you are building

Like tower and splash mountain...
More than the sum of their parts

 

[jade1]

Who knows, and it doesn't really matter much.

It's why attendance figures, no matter which company you look at, are only relevant when taken in context: how does that extra attendance increase top line revenue and profitability growth percentages. Heck, if both companies could keep attendance flat but still continue to increase rev and profit, they would. Who wouldn't? Life's much easier that way...

But just for fun, try your Mine Train example this way: what if the MK to EPCOT monorail was an E-ticket attraction instead and you could only ride it with hoppers. How many guests (with the resulting revenue/profit) are now going to buy hoppers just to ride and then probably stay longer in the Parks after buying a little food and drink for the ride....?

That's the beauty of HE - a great attraction, plus Park-to-Park transportation, that directly increases rev and profit. Value for Uni and value for the guest and I'll bet a "how can I copy that..?" for the rest of the industry

I thought of the monorail but it stops too many places to be relevant.

Considered a roller coaster from S Wars DHS to a S Wars land in AK-it's a straight shot and not that far.

But yea attendance is irrelevant to profits-but even scan through this thread and notice how many folks inject attendance with success.

I'm just saying the next US/IOA attendance will skyrocket with this ride-even if the same amount of folks actually visit.

Partly the needed "hopper" and partly the inflated entries.

 

[fairyprincess88]

I thought of the monorail but it stops too many places to be relevant.

Considered a roller coaster from S Wars DHS to a S Wars land in AK-it's a straight shot and not that far.

But yea attendance is irrelevant to profits-but even scan through this thread and notice how many folks inject attendance with success.

I'm just saying the next US/IOA attendance will skyrocket with this ride-even if the same amount of folks actually visit.

Partly the needed "hopper" and partly the inflated entries.

I don't think there will be that much inflated entries. No more than typical park to park entries. Yes there will be a bit of an uptick because more people will probably buy a park hopper than it the past. But I doubt it will be a massive amount. The entries are only scanned once per day per park so it's not like if a person rides the HE back and forth 5 times in a day it will count as 10 entries to the parks or something. Yes there will be an increase with more hoppers sold but it probably won't be massive.

 

[sjw211]

I'm looking at going to US and IOA on the 19th & 20th August..
I've not been to US since '96 and have never been to IAO. I can remember very little about US - Jaws was there when I went and apparently is no longer there...
This appears to be a bit off the topic of Disney v Universal bashing but could somebody give me some tips on how best to approach the two days?
Of particular interest is times to get there, which park(s) to do each day and which rides to do and when. We could get there early so a Universal 'plan' of rides and priorities would be awesome!
We love all the fast, action types of rides especially.

 

[Mad Hattered]

I'm looking at going to US and IOA on the 19th & 20th August..
I've not been to US since '96 and have never been to IAO. I can remember very little about US - Jaws was there when I went and apparently is no longer there...
This appears to be a bit off the topic of Disney v Universal bashing but could somebody give me some tips on how best to approach the two days?
Of particular interest is times to get there, which park(s) to do each day and which rides to do and when. We could get there early so a Universal 'plan' of rides and priorities would be awesome!
We love all the fast, action types of rides especially.

This section of the DIS boards will be able to help you out. There are a lot fine folks over there. Just post a question and a lot will help you out. It would get lost in this thread.

http://www.disboards.com/forumdisplay.php?f=30

 

[clsteve]

I thought of the monorail but it stops too many places to be relevant.

Considered a roller coaster from S Wars DHS to a S Wars land in AK-it's a straight shot and not that far.

But yea attendance is irrelevant to profits-but even scan through this thread and notice how many folks inject attendance with success.

I'm just saying the next US/IOA attendance will skyrocket with this ride-even if the same amount of folks actually visit.

Partly the needed "hopper" and partly the inflated entries.

It just wouldn't pass the "sniff test" for the Board, stockholders and the Analysts to have it inflate attendance by a huge percentage. Look at it this way. There's no better way for an Exec Team to turn an Earnings Call or a Board Meeting into an exit interview than to do this:

Exec's: "We've increased our attendance numbers by 35%...!"

Board/Analysts: "Excellent! What were the Rev, Profit and Per Guest Spend increases - 30% or better..?"

Exec's: "Ummm.... actually around 4%. We kinda kept counting all those guests re-riding HE over and over each time they re-entered the Parks"
​

And you're right, everybody does love attendance figures. It's why I try to avoid those discussions even more than the ECV ones. Send me a "What the heck were you thinking..?" PM the next time I jump in either one

 

[jade1]

The entries are only scanned once per day per park so it's not like if a person rides the HE back and forth 5 times in a day it will count as 10 entries to the parks or something.

I'm not so sure, and also how do you know this as fact? It would really help bring up attendance in slow months.

It just wouldn't pass the "sniff test" for the Board, stockholders and the Analysts to have it inflate attendance by a huge percentage. Look at it this way. There's no better way for an Exec Team to turn an Earnings Call or a Board Meeting into an exit interview than to do this:

Exec's: "We've increased our attendance numbers by 35%...!"

Board/Analysts: "Excellent! What were the Rev, Profit and Per Guest Spend increases - 30% or better..?"

Exec's: "Ummm.... actually around 4%. We kinda kept counting all those guests re-riding HE over and over each time they re-entered the Parks"
​

And you're right, everybody does love attendance figures. It's why I try to avoid those discussions even more than the ECV ones. Send me a "What the heck were you thinking..?" PM the next time I jump in either one

Yea I agree the attendance is super gray. Doesn't mean its not a fun discussion IMO. But a computer could easily compute an attendance vs spending scenario that maxes out each to whatever the desired result. But I don't think it can add park entry scans (attendance) only delete a desired amount of duplicates if they chose to.

I mean if profit per guest is all they care about-WDW could not count park hops as attendance, and per guest spending will dramatically increase.

 

[jade1]

From what my friend just explained to me they scanned their pass to enter Hogsmeade, and that before boarding the train they were checked that they had the correct media to enter IOA.

Also since your were asking about the train affecting daily attendance counts.
I also recall that some media folks were discussing how this would affect attendance numbers with people scanning in and out to ride HE during the media event. If I remember correctly what I heard was that the ticket scan only counts once per ticket. Meaning that if you use your ticket to enter the Studios then travel to IOA on the HE then your ticket will be scanned for one day entry into the Studios and then one day entry into IOA(just as park hoppers have always done) any other back and forth HE trips do not count in daily attendance counts. Basically only the first initial scans count, any other scans are no more than basic reentry scans similar to if you left to go into City Walk for lunch or back to the hotel for a break. If that makes sense.

If this is accurate it makes perfect sense-"IF". Sounds like a lot of scans at their disposal if they want.