Is Disney World ready for a fifth theme park?

[wdwdano@yahoo.com]

I think so, the parks are so darned crowded. Even during the slow times it seems to be crowded. Does anyone else experience this? Once Art of Animation opens there will be 2000 more rooms.

What theme do you think Disney should go with IF they built a new park?

Story here! http://goo.gl/IS01j

 

[ASteelersMidget]

I think so, the parks are so darned crowded. Even during the slow times it seems to be crowded. Does anyone else experience this? Once Art of Animation opens there will be 2000 more rooms.

What theme do you think Disney should go with IF they built a new park?

Story here! http://goo.gl/IS01j

DEAR G*D NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

NOT THIS CONVERSATION AGAIN!!!!!!!!!!!!

Right on time this kind of thread appears at least 3 times a year.

Be warned. The number of responses and The amount of flaming about to happen will be in large amounts.

To summarize, They can't maintain the parks they have. Adding a fifth park Will not happen in the next 10 years likely 20 years and Potentially never.

This will be the beggining of the end. again.................

 

[lockedoutlogic]

I'm so excited for the new park!!!

I'm booking my package for the opening weekend right now!!! maybe i'll combine it with an intimate wedding also! just have to fake the marriage license so the wife doesn't find out!!!

WISHES MAGIC DREAMS WONDER!!!!

 

[wdwdano@yahoo.com]

DEAR G*D NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

NOT THIS CONVERSATION AGAIN!!!!!!!!!!!!

Right on time this kind of thread appears at least 3 times a year.

Be warned. The number of responses and The amount of flaming about to happen will be in large amounts.

To summarize, They can't maintain the parks they have. Adding a fifth park Will not happen in the next 10 years likely 20 years and Potentially never.

This will be the beggining of the end. again.................

Whoooops. I did not know this was a big topic. I was just pondering the crowds during the times that are supposed to be slow.

This would be a nice topic to revisit.

 

[wdwdano@yahoo.com]

I'm so excited for the new park!!!

I'm booking my package for the opening weekend right now!!! maybe i'll combine it with an intimate wedding also! just have to fake the marriage license so the wife doesn't find out!!!

WISHES MAGIC DREAMS WONDER!!!!

Not a new park, just speculation. . . it is fun to speculate.

 

[Faldred]

No matter what you may experience on certain peak dates, the parks are not filled to capacity for most of the year. From that perspective, there is no point adding a 5th gate.

Labor is also a problem. WDW and the rest of the tourism industry has pretty much tapped out the Orlando area for cheap labor. The amount of staff required for a 5th gate would be enormous, and it's simply not there.

It's also a capital expense that Disney seems to be in no position to want to make right now.

Maybe there'll be a 5th gate by the time my kids have kids, but I wouldn't hold my breath.

 

[ASteelersMidget]

Here is a link to the other thread

http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=2651621

I'd also like to be clear. I'm not trying to be mean, It's just this comes up a lot and it always ends up the same way. A flame war.

 

[DizCaptain]

Hey guys, just to clear things up here. I got back from Disney a week and a half ago or so. I didn't take any buses this time so I surely missed out on the good juicy future plans, however a college program CM at Casey's Corner in MK told me that they're about to start building a new park. She said it'll be themed more towards Adults with thrill rides and such. Aspects from the rumored Villains park and Night Kingdom will be brought in, and also ideas with characters from the hit European series "The Adventures of TinTin" will be utilized. She said that apparently the film was such a success that they're already planning to obtain licenses to use the characters and themes in a park and even do a Disney crossover of sorts. There were a few other rumors I heard too, like how they're fixing the Yeti this in the coming months and also that they're getting rid of both the hat and the stage in front of the hat at Hollywood Studios. Oh, and keep an eye on Space Mountain, a Janitor in Tomorrowland told me it may have a twin soon! Ok, that's all for now, DizCaptain out!

 

[wdwdano@yahoo.com]

Villains park would be pretty awesome huh? Elephant boneyard, evil castle, action stunt shows, Inverted coasters, Nightime fireworks, blacklight tron shows. c'mon you know you want one! LOL

 

[nytimez]

I heard the new park is going to be based on "Twilight." Also, Disney's animal breeding program is working on unicorns.

 

[lockedoutlogic]

Whoooops. I did not know this was a big topic. I was just pondering the crowds during the times that are supposed to be slow.

This would be a nice topic to revisit.

I think part of the problem here is your assertion that it's "supposed to be slow"

WDW management has spent much of the last 15-20 years attempting to market and promote to flesh out the entire calender year into a consistently crowded scenario...

some of it has come from promotions...some from marketing to direct areas or segments...some from special events...some from focus on conventions or group travelling events...and some because people now fly as easily as they drive and there needs to be little reason for people to pick up and fly to florida..

Case in point this week...it should be a dead travel month, but the one federal holiday yesterday is enough to have a wave of locusts descend on WDW from the Upper Midwest and Northeast...because they have one stinking day off from school...

the walt disney world marathon is specifically designed to be in the weeks following new year...because they normally were dead.

food and wine festival in october was a brilliant move...it used to be slow...now its packed.

september is traditionally the slowest month of the year...but lo and behold...they roll out "free dining" in 2005 and all of the sudden everyone "finds the time" to spend a week in WDW in september...

october through january are big for conventions...

may through august are big for school groups...having the cheerleading championships there is another stroke of genius

then you have golf season...six weeks of halloween and two months of christmas...six weeks of spring break...fall breaks...thanksgiving breaks

British month (september)...brazilian months (their spring summer...where its 100 there...our fall/winter...where is 75-85)

presidents day...columbus day...mardi gras...bastille day...canadian boxing day...and on and on and on


so i guess...don't let any one week of crowds influence your ideas about the need for additional gates...there really aren't that many slow times anymore.

And second, we don't have our kids in school enough


and i wholeheartedly agree with faldred....labor is THE ISSUE at wdw...there isn't enough...its never cheap enough for them...and there is no way that problem can be fixed short of huge population boom or outsourcing...
the real estate bubble really exasperated this situation...as florida is still tanked and probably was set back 10-15 years by it...because theres no way to reverese the effects of housing gambling in the sun belt...as is now painfully obvious going on 5 years later...with some aspects still getting worse.

 

[wdwdano@yahoo.com]

I think part of the problem here is your assertion that it's "supposed to be slow"

WDW management has spent much of the last 15-20 years attempting to market and promote to flesh out the entire calender year into a consistently crowded scenario...

some of it has come from promotions...some from marketing to direct areas or segments...some from special events...some from focus on conventions or group travelling events...and some because people now fly as easily as they drive and there needs to be little reason for people to pick up and fly to florida..

Case in point this week...it should be a dead travel month, but the one federal holiday yesterday is enough to have a wave of locusts descend on WDW from the Upper Midwest and Northeast...because they have one stinking day off from school...

the walt disney world marathon is specifically designed to be in the weeks following new year...because they normally were dead.

food and wine festival in october was a brilliant move...it used to be slow...now its packed.

september is traditionally the slowest month of the year...but lo and behold...they roll out "free dining" in 2005 and all of the sudden everyone "finds the time" to spend a week in WDW in september...

october through january are big for conventions...

may through august are big for school groups...having the cheerleading championships there is another stroke of genius

then you have golf season...six weeks of halloween and two months of christmas...six weeks of spring break...fall breaks...thanksgiving breaks

British month (september)...brazilian months (their spring summer...where its 100 there...our fall/winter...where is 75-85)

presidents day...columbus day...mardi gras...bastille day...canadian boxing day...and on and on and on


so i guess...don't let any one week of crowds influence your ideas about the need for additional gates...there really aren't that many slow times anymore.

And second, we don't have our kids in school enough


and i wholeheartedly agree with faldred....labor is THE ISSUE at wdw...there isn't enough...its never cheap enough for them...and there is no way that problem can be fixed short of huge population boom or outsourcing...
the real estate bubble really exasperated this situation...as florida is still tanked and probably was set back 10-15 years by it...because theres no way to reverese the effects of housing gambling in the sun belt...as is now painfully obvious going on 5 years later...with some aspects still getting worse.

I wasn't talking about surges. I just think that the parks are way more crowded. I also think Disney would benefit from an additional park. As for the labor issue. Disney always makes it happen. They could definitely find ways to fill those positions. They do it with the resort hotels, they could do it with the parks. They are putting in a 2000+ room hotel that requires people to work there 3 shifts. There is always a way and if Disney wanted to they would find a way. "It's kind of fun to do the impossible" ~WED

 

[wdwdano@yahoo.com]

Back to the burning speculative question.

Soooooo

What theme do you think Disney should go with IF they built a new park?

 

[tjkraz]

I wasn't talking about surges. I just think that the parks are way more crowded.

They may be...although attendance numbers don't really suggest that they are "way" more crowded. Disney doesn't disclose individual park numbers anymore. If memory serves, the unofficial industry-generated numbers showed slight declines in 2010 while 2011 is generally expected to see a modest increase.

I also think Disney would benefit from an additional park. As for the labor issue. Disney always makes it happen. They could definitely find ways to fill those positions. They do it with the resort hotels, they could do it with the parks. They are putting in a 2000+ room hotel that requires people to work there 3 shifts.

It's not a question of whether they could...it's a question of whether they should. Remember, when Disney expands their workforce by 1000, it means the last 1000 they normally would have rejected now get hired.

There isn't some high-quality, untapped labor market in the central Florida area.

There is always a way and if Disney wanted to they would find a way. "It's kind of fun to do the impossible" ~WED

Problem is they don't want to.

Stop for a moment and think about all of the non-revenue generating infrastructure that goes into a park. Roads, parking lots, toll booths, cast member services, utilities, security, guest relations...all of that has to be duplicated in a 5th location.

Attendance at parks like Hollywood Studios and Animal Kingdom is half of what Magic Kingdom draws. A better investment would be expanding those parks. Animal Kingdom is reportedly getting such an expansion (Avatar.)

Disney has learned a number of lessons in recent years. Via California Adventure, they learned you can't build a half-assed park and expect the crowds to simply materialize. And Animal Kingdom--WDW's 4th park--demonstrated that people won't simply expand their trip durations in droves to visit a new gate. Instead they just cut down on their time elsewhere. No benefit to Disney in building a new park if people still take vacations of the same duration, merely allocating their time differently.

 

[wdwdano@yahoo.com]

Problem is they don't want to.

How can you answer for a fortune company? How would you know any of this?

People did go into Animal Kingdom after it opened. I know because I was there.


Currently this is all rumor and speculation, but it is fun to play on possibilities.

 

[ASteelersMidget]

How can you answer for a fortune company? How would you know any of this?

People did go into Animal Kingdom after it opened. I know because I was there.


Currently this is all rumor and speculation, but it is fun to play on possibilities.

Well The fact that most people consider AK and MGM (It will always be MGM in my mind) half do parks if that and that disney's attendance reports show signifiantly less people go AK and MGM than go to MK and Epcot. Because Disney is a company they have to release these numbers to shareholders and that is often how we learn about many things.

(I'm surprised I know so much about these things. I am after all proudly a member of the under 21 crowd)

 

[wdwdano@yahoo.com]

Well The fact that most people consider AK and MGM (It will always be MGM in my mind) half do parks if that and that disney's attendance reports show signifiantly less people go AK and MGM than go to MK and Epcot. Because Disney is a company they have to release these numbers to shareholders and that is often how we learn about many things.

(I'm surprised I know so much about these things. I am after all proudly a member of the under 21 crowd)

Hollywood studios is definitely not a half day park. There are over 20 attractions at the Hollywood Studios plus a night time Fantasmic. Animal Kingdom can be a half day if you have been there and choose to do only a couple of things but can take most of the day to complete. In the beginning it was a half day but now with Expedition Everest and Nemo there is more to do.

 

[ASteelersMidget]

Hollywood studios is definitely not a half day park. There are over 20 attractions at the Hollywood Studios plus a night time Fantasmic. Animal Kingdom can be a half day if you have been there and choose to do only a couple of things but can take most of the day to complete. In the beginning it was a half day but now with Expedition Everest and Nemo there is more to do.

However The majority of people consider them a half day park whether you do or not. That's just how it is. Add that to the economy and less people staying for long trips, and you get what we have now.

 

[DizCaptain]

Villains park would be pretty awesome huh? Elephant boneyard, evil castle, action stunt shows, Inverted coasters, Nightime fireworks, blacklight tron shows. c'mon you know you want one! LOL

True, it would be very cool. Too bad there'd be no backing for it at this point... Disney's focus on mainland is on expansion and improving, while their new theme park expeditions are focused abroad, most significantly Shanghai Disneyland...

I personally would like Disney doing more on mainland America, however that statement will get flamed to a crisp because "They're a company and must look for opportunities that best interest them", "The parks we have now are good enough, who would want to go to a park in (Insert state/area here)." I'm not saying they're going to build a 5th gate in Florida, or a new park on mainland, just that I think it'd be nice if they did...

 

[ASteelersMidget]

True, it would be very cool. Too bad there'd be no backing for it at this point... Disney's focus on mainland is on expansion and improving, while their new theme park expeditions are focused abroad, most significantly Shanghai Disneyland...

I personally would like Disney doing more on mainland America, however that statement will get flamed to a crisp because "They're a company and must look for opportunities that best interest them", "The parks we have now are good enough, who would want to go to a park in (Insert state/area here)." I'm not saying they're going to build a 5th gate in Florida, or a new park on mainland, just that I think it'd be nice if they did...

It would be nice to get new parks. Maybe even a new waterpark. However I agree they are a company and they will try to get the most money possible. That's their goal. We just have to live with that :/