New Disney park in Branson?

[Dis13]

Surprised no one has posted this yet. Very interesting... but Branson????????
Has anyone ever been?

From the News-Leader, Springfield, MO:

Disney rumor reignited

Newton County officials told of possible theme park plans.

Kathryn Buckstaff
News-Leader


A request for road improvements for a $1.1 billion theme park in Newton County has led to new speculation about the Walt Disney Co.'s interest in southwest Missouri.

Rumors that a Disney attraction was coming to Branson were rampant in the mid-1990s. Now, Newton County Commissioners are investigating whether Disney could be linked to a theme park proposal made earlier this month.



Jerry Carter, Newton County Presiding Commissioner, said the notion arose after Todd Marshall, who said he represented a Springfield company called ARM Risk, attended the April 12 commissioners' meeting. Carter asked about changes on county roads leading to the location the company is considering for a theme park.

A list of specifications Marshall gave the commissioners included first-phase construction costs of $1.1 billion, land purchases of 1,000 acres with the park taking 100 acres, six hotels, 95 shops, 27 rides, 12 stages and 18 restaurants.

"We want to be cautious and careful," Carter said. "We live in an opportunistic world and sometimes things come along we can't even conceive of."

A possible Disney connection was raised when commissioners checked the company owners. On a form called "Registration of Fictitious Name" filed with the Missouri Secretary of State's office in March for ARM Risk, three owners are listed. Corporations routinely file such forms.

The owners are Michael Hill of Wilmington, Del.; Robert Brown, who lists his address as 500 South Buena Vista St., Burbank, Calif.; and Jason Johnson, who lists his address as Corporate Office, Lake Buena Vista, Fla.

On the Internet, commissioners found that the Burbank address is corporate headquarters of the Walt Disney Co. Lake Buena Vista, Fla., is headquarters of Walt Disney World Resort.

Officials at Disney headquarters in Burbank said the company would not comment on the matter.

The secretary of state's office has only an administrative role in filing business registrations, said communications assistant Ryan Hobart.

When someone signs the registration, he or she is legally bound to give correct information, Hobart said.

ARM Risk's address is listed as 1926 S. Glenstone Ave., Suite 353, Springfield, on the registration.

Todd Marshall could not be reached for comment. No phone listing could be obtained for ARM Risk.

Carter, who is 71, is a Newton County native. He said that such a project would forever change the county. The area where the company is seeking to buy land is mostly small acreage and some farms of 60 to 100 acres, Carter said. It is in the southwest quadrant of the junction of U.S. 71 and Interstate 44.

Some residents would be interested in the project, and some wouldn't, he predicted.

"We're right between two of the largest growth areas in southwest Missouri and northwest Arkansas, so we are becoming accustomed to shock here," Carter said. Just to the south is the Bentonville area and to the north is Joplin.

"It'll never be what it used to be."

In Branson, Herschend Family Entertainment spokes- woman Lisa Rau said they had not heard of the plans. The company owns the Silver Dollar City and Celebration City theme parks and other attractions.

Ross Summers, director of the Branson Lakes/Area Chamber of Commerce, said he also had heard of no such plans by Disney.

"These Disney rumors have floated around here for as long as I can remember," Summers said.

Developer Glenn Patch heard lots of Disney rumors after he purchased 7,000 acres of land just south of Hollister in the early '90s. His land is now the site of two golf courses, upscale homes and a commercial airport in development.

"When I was first coming here, I thought about painting a pair of black ears on my plane just for the fun of it," Patch said.

 

[OKW Lover]

We had a similar rumor posted about a week ago for a place in Tenn. I seriously doubt this will happen. There are lots of these rumors speculating about various places around the country. I suspect most are wishful thinking, with a dash of land speculators thrown in.

 

[Microcell]

MY DH called and told me that! I guess I will stay in Kansas City if there is a park 4 hours away from us!

The winters should be interesting there though!

 

[DancingBear]

The filing thing is interesting (and true, BTW). If this really is Disney, seems like pretty sloppy work if you're trying to keep something secret. If it isn't Disney, the filing could be a pretty clever piece of fraud--file something, allow it to be "discovered," and then cash in on the sale of some adjoining property that becomes the subject of related land speculation.

 

[Microcell]

I wonder if the acrage sizes are the same for Hong Kong Disney, Paris Disney etc...

That is a hilly area there and lots of work to be done to level it out enough to build a large scale park. I just don't know that 100 acres for the park alone is big enough for a Disney park.

 

[DancingBear]

Magic Kingdom is about 100 acres.

 

[OKW Lover]

I wonder if the acrage sizes are the same for Hong Kong Disney, Paris Disney etc...

That is a hilly area there and lots of work to be done to level it out enough to build a large scale park. I just don't know that 100 acres for the park alone is big enough for a Disney park.

Good point. The MK alone at WDW is just under 100 acres if I recall correctly.

 

[mommeoftwin]

I just heard on our local news that Disney may be building a new park in Branson Mo. They said it would include a theme park, 27 rides, 6 stage shows, 18 restaurants and 6 hotels. PLEASE LET THIS BE TRUE!!!!!!

 

[perd]

I live in Kansas City and the local news is reporting that Disney bought 1000 acres near Branson and that Branson has requested money for road construction into and out of a park that will include rides, restaurants and hotels. Disney is not commenting. Hmmm....Apparently a Springfield, Missouri contractor is involved.

I looked on the news website of the news station I keep hearing it on (KCTV5.com) so I could link a story here, but I can't find a story. But I have heard it twice now on the news, last night and this morning.

 

[disneyjunebug]

It might be...

I know that several years ago (I can't remember how many, but I know it was more than 10) Disney had plans on building "mini" parks around different parts of the country at already established tourist areas. The only definite plans that were announced were for a mini-park near Manasas, VA, but those were scrapped when there was a public outcry about commercializing the historic area.

I had heard through several sources (both in Disney and in local government) that Disney had bought about 1000-1500 acres around Gatlinburg to build one of the "mini" parks, with a theme of Appalachia, etc. Again, these rumors there were initially started over 10 years ago, but they continue even today. It would definitely give Dollywood a run for the money!

 

[OKW Lover]

There is a similar thread running here:
http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=1429597

Lots of wishfull thinking.

 

[MJMcBride]

These rumors pop up all the time. Disney has reportedly bought property in Texas about 8000 times. I'll believe it when Disney has the press conference

 

[MJMcBride]

i believe it when Disney makes it official. Disney would own the actual state of texas if you believed every rumor that bought property there.

 

[perd]

These rumors pop up all the time. Disney has reportedly bought property in Texas about 8000 times. I'll believe it when Disney has the press conference

I found two articles online:

http://www.neoshodailynews.com/articles/2007/04/19/news/01fun.txt


http://www.news-leader.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070421/NEWS02/704210360/1007/NEWS01

The second link I can't get to come up now. I wonder if everyone is clicking on it and the server is overloaded?

 

[Dancemom]

I live in the St. Louis area and 2 of our news stations are reporting this also.
Disney is not commenting. This rumour has been floating around for quite awhile but this is the first time the news has picked it up.


Cheryl

 

[happygirl]

I live in Branson, and I havn't heard anything lol

If they did buy land my guess it would be some sort of hotel

 

[perd]

I live in Branson, and I havn't heard anything lol

If they did buy land my guess it would be some sort of hotel

The plans include three 300-room hotels and three 400-room hotels - per the article above.

From the article:

"A document submitted to the county commission listed the proposed fun park as including 95 shops, 27 rides, 12 stages, 18 restaurants, three 300-room hotels and three 400-room hotels. The park itself would encompass 100 acres, as well as a 100-acre parking lot accommodating 9,000 vehicles.

Construction cost of those elements is estimated at $1.1 billion and would involve two years for completion.



Another $600 million in a second building phase would finance the construction of four additional 1,000-room hotels, 65 villas and 50 more acres of parking."

And they state 100 acres but later in the article they say 1000 acres. Our local news says 1000 acres. Obviously 100 acres is not enough for all that stuff so must be a mistake in the article. Hacks me off that journalism students are not taught as well as they used to be. You never woulda seen a mistake like that in an article in days gone by. Don't they have copy editors anymore?

 

[I'mNoPrince]

The news will run anything Disney related as it will sell big time and have people tuned in.

Yes they might have purchased it and yes they might be looking into the Urban Entertainment centers that were in my Stockholders book I was sent.

 

[bookgirl2632]

My guess is a DVC property. DVC properties in tourist areas would make sense for Disney. I highly doubt they'd be building more parks in the U.S. DL and WDW are enough.

 

[perd]

My guess is a DVC property. DVC properties in tourist areas would make sense for Disney. I highly doubt they'd be building more parks in the U.S. DL and WDW are enough.

Did you read the plans? 27 rides, 18 restaurants, 6 hotels, 1000 acres.