New Things Coming to Disney!!

[angelmav]

Wow. Restaurants and stores.

Yes, it certainly makes going cross country seem worthwhile doesnt it? Weve already canceled one trip and just cant seem to get excited anymore with all the changes for the worse. PI was a real nail in the coffin for us. Just glad that we didnt buy DVC.

 

[Padrepride]

I hope to believe that there will be a Monsters Inc. ride. Maybe a roller coaster or eticket ride but I was not that inspired of the DCA dark ride and i hope they don't just copy that. A second DTD would be a weird thing for Disney to do and it is probably the Western Gateway expansion.

 

[ChrisFL]

The idea of a new DTD-like shopping area sounds exactly like part of my theory a few months ago......

I've been going over the recent posts about what's rumored and what's actually happening around WDW.

Here is what we know:

*Major Hotel Expansion happening in the Western Way near AK
*Pleasure Island may be going through some changes to make less night clubs, more shopping
*Animal Kingdom, on average, is open until early in the evening, not late at night
* Disney currently has approximately 55,000 employees working at WDW, making any addition of more quality employees for a full-scale 5th park difficult.

Here is what has been rumored in the past several years/recently:

* Thrill rides/Villains park to attract the people who might prefer other parks for those kinds of rides (IOA)
* Recent talk of an exclusive, later hours park for a few hundred dollars that's all inclusive (meals/drinks, etc.) similar to how Sea World runs Discovery Cove.

Now taking all of that into consideration, it could be that Disney is planning a smaller park with more adult themed areas, more exclusive, limited to a small number of guests daily, with possibly using some of AK's daytime staff to work this park. Thus, it would be bypassing the need for hiring more employees, and potentially even having some of the things that Pleasure Island has had.

This was back in February and now we see that PI is closing completely...possibly they are looking at putting something similar in this new area? The Night Kingdom project might not be announced yet, but it's still a possibility if they can figure out how to market it right.

 

[mitros]

I hope to believe that there will be a Monsters Inc. ride. Maybe a roller coaster or eticket ride but I was not that inspired of the DCA dark ride and i hope they don't just copy that. A second DTD would be a weird thing for Disney to do and it is probably the Western Gateway expansion.

Yes, I mentioned that in my post #11

 

[Horace Horsecollar]

The idea of a new DTD-like shopping area sounds exactly like part of my theory a few months ago......

Please reread my post #13 in this thread.

There is no "DTD-like shopping area." It won't be Disney-branded. It won't be like Downtown Disney.

Flamingo Crossings (at State Road 429 and Western Way) is a simple real estate play. It's a way for Disney to make money off Comfort Inn or Days Inn or Holiday Inn Express or whatever chains end up building there. And it it's a way for Disney to make money off of retailers and restauranteurs catering to those "value" hotel guests.

Unlike Downtown Disney, Flamingo Crossings is not meant to be a shopping and dining experience for on-site WDW resort guests.

 

[ChrisFL]

Please reread my post #13 in this thread.

There is no "DTD-like shopping area." It won't be Disney-branded. It won't be like Downtown Disney.

Flamingo Crossings (at State Road 429 and Western Way) is a simple real estate play. It's a way for Disney to make money off Comfort Inn or Days Inn or Holiday Inn Express or whatever chains end up building there. And it it's a way for Disney to make money off of retailers and restauranteurs catering to those "value" hotel guests.

Unlike Downtown Disney, Flamingo Crossings is not meant to be a shopping and dining experience for on-site WDW resort guests.

Sorry, it's a non DTD like area with retail and dining that isn't Disney branded.....but most of DTD isn't Disney branded either....what's the difference?

 

[Horace Horsecollar]

Sorry, it's a non DTD like area with retail and dining that isn't Disney branded.....but most of DTD isn't Disney branded either....what's the difference?

Disney designed Downtown Disney as a Disney destination within WDW.

Even with the elimination of the clubs at Pleasure Island, the area is still home to the World of Disney store, other stores that you won't find at your local mall, Cirque de Soleil, Disney Quest, and a bunch of dining-as-entertainment restaurants that are either one-of-a-kind or only have a limited number of other locations. Yes, most of the restaurants are run by outside companies, but they're still part of Downtown Disney -- which is clearly Disney-branded.

And Disney operates and promotes Downtown Disney as a destination. There are WDW Transportation buses from all WDW resort to Downtown Disney.

On the other hand, Flamingo Crossings is an "off-site" tourist development, even though Disney owns the land. This isn't the first time Disney has done something like this. The Marriott Village across I-4 and Crossroads shopping center are Disney real estate developments. There's no WDW bus service to Bahama Breeze or Golden Coral, even though they're on Disney property.

Flamingo Crossings will larger than Disney's earlier "off-site" real estate plays, and it might look nicer when it's done. But anyone who expects Flamingo Crossings to be a second Downtown Disney or a replacement for Pleasure Island will be disappointed when it opens.

 

[DC7800]

There's no WDW bus service to Bahama Breeze or Golden Coral, even though they're on Disney property.

Disney still owns this property? I thought it was sold off (years ago) once the projects had been fully developed.

Regardless, the point remains that while Downtown Disney remains a 'Disney destination', instead of remaining a 'Disney-marketplace' (like the Walt Disney World Village) it has become a (very nice) shopping complex filled with tenants - not Disney's own projects - who otherwise have little or no connection to the Mouse. While there are some nice shops and restaurants that you won't find everywhere (Earl of Sandwich, etc.), these establishments would be just as appropriate for an off-site development (Crossroads or Flamingo Crossings, for instance).

DTD has become a little more like Flamingo Crossings or Crossroads, with space "rented" to outside companies, and somewhat less like the Disney-destination it once was (there are exceptions, and it's still much more than a strip mall, of course). Still, People don't spend thousands and take the family all the way to Disney to eat at McDonald's and shop at Lego. They travel to Disney to experience Disney developments and projects (although you have to be careful what you mean by that; Not every restaurant is supposed to be a character meal, for instance).

You are quite correct that Flamingo should not be thought of as a second Downtown Disney, but the way it is being talked up on Disney message boards, many people may indeed be disappointed in the result.

 

[Horace Horsecollar]

Disney still owns this property? I thought it was sold off (years ago) once the projects had been fully developed.

My understanding is that Disney originally developed and owned (and later sold) the Crossroads shipping center.

And Disney, through their Little Lake Bryan Development Company, masterplanned and coordinated the development of Little Lake Bryan, including Marriott Village, apartments, and chain restaurants (but never owned these projects). The Little Lake Bryan property was part of the 27 thousand+ acres that Walt Disney acquired in the mid-1960s, but was the other side of I-4 from the main portion of the Disney property.

It's my understanding that Disney de-annexed the property from their "private government," the Reedy Creek Improvement District, but that Disney still owns the land itself. Less than a year ago, a manager at the Courtyard at Marriott Village told me they pay an annual lease for the land to Disney.

But it really doesn't matter if Disney now owns the land or not. The main point is how Disney subsidiaries developed the property, not who now holds the deed to the land.

Now, getting back to Flamingo Crossings...

From the Orlando Sentinel blog link I posted earlier:

"Plans call for 4,000 to 5,000 rooms in low- to mid-rise lodges -- priced to compete with moderate hotels and motels off Disney property."

"The 300,000 to 500,000 square feet of retail space at Flamingo Crossings would target merchants of practical wares and services that tourists, Disney employees and area residents might need, such as groceries, toiletries or basic clothing -- thereby competing with area shopping centers and outlet stores that draw many visitors off Disney property. The restaurants might include a mix of fast-food and casual-dining franchises not common on Disney grounds."​

In other, Flamingo Crossings has more in common with the Crossroads shipping center and Little Lake Bryan than with Downtown Disney. And it may have even more in common with Irlo Bronson Highway 192 in Kissimmee.