Ever since I read Jim Hill’s article a few weeks ago about the supposed new after dark park/adventure idea that’s in development right now and being called “Disney’s Night Kingdom” (DNK), I’ve been struggling with the concept. I know that this idea is supposedly in development, and details are sketchy at best, but still the whole idea left too many unanswered questions for me and overall it just didn't sound like a good fit for WDW. Two of the bigger questions for me, 1) Why only operate after 4pm? If this is supposed to be a unique sort of adventure or park even, with new attractions and offerings, what’s stopping it from being open during the day during regular hours? 2) Why on earth will it require 4000+ cast members to run this new attraction? That’s a lot of people, what will they all be doing?
In pondering these two questions about this supposed new park/adventure, and taking into consideration a few of the other things Disney is working on, as well as the rebuttal comments that Lance Hart at Screamscape had, I believe I may have an answer or at least an alternate idea. Mind you, this is pure speculation on my part. I have no inside information and no contacts at Imagineering, but thru some deductive reasoning and creative thinking, I’ve come up with an alternate idea of what Disney’s Night Kingdom just might be. But first, let me try and expand on how I conjured up my idea.
It’s no secret that Disney has been looking at new ways to generate more revenue, and reach the more affluent clientele who have a lot more disposable income and think nothing of dropping $10-50K for a lavish, and exclusive vacation. Obviously, the new Four Seasons will help address some of this by giving these more affluent guests luxury accommodations. According to an article in the Orlando Sentinel, March 28th, written by Scott Powers, there may be another level of accommodations the affluent will be able to stay in if the plan to allow private homes on-property moves forward.
So then, the question comes up, with these more affluent guests coming to Walt Disney World, what then can Disney offer them that would meet their expectations and draw some of the cash out of their deeper pockets to give them the kind of experience they would expect and cherish? First, we need to understand their expectations. While I’m not among the affluent, I’m just guessing they don’t want to be surrounded by 50,000 other guests with screaming kids, strollers, body odor, cutoff t-shirts, etc, and waiting in line for an hour with “common folk” to ride It’s a Small World. No, I’m thinking they’re going to want their own front of line experience that everybody else visiting WDW in the middle of July could only dream about and they’re willing to pay for it. I think they’re also going to want a restaurant or two to eat at that’s not overly crowded and has something to offer that can’t be found elsewhere.
So, how can Disney offer this kind of exclusive VIP experience to the affluent 1 percent visiting without upsetting the other 99 percent? The only feasible way that I can see them doing this is to offer an after regular-hours kind of experience. They already do something like this in the form of Extra Magic Hours (EMH), where they allow only resort guests to stay in the parks for extra hours after they close to non-resort guests. In theory, it shouldn’t be too difficult to offer a similar kind of experience, but even more exclusive than EMH.
Why not offer something akin to an all access, to ALL PARKS, EMH? Let’s call it “The Ultra Keys to the Kingdom tour” or maybe, “Disney’s Night Kingdom”. Call it whatever, but make every park, or most every park open to only those guests willing to pay the extra bucks, allowing them to ride the most popular rides, and throwing in a few extras here and there like their own personal guide and transportation to take them wherever they wanted to go, and within limits, ride whatever they want, as many times as they want. I think this helps to explain the 4000 cast members, and by offering it after regular hours, the other question is also answered.
This, I think, is more feasible than a whole new park or attraction. They could operate it on a reservation only basis, starting with once or twice a month/week, then expand it more as demand grows. Now, this is not to say it answers all the questions. There is still the remaining question of food and an exclusive place for these guests to eat. I offer two thoughts on this. 1) A brand new, highly themed restaurant, maybe taking ideas from the Adventurers Club like Jim alluded to. 2) Buy out the Rainforest Café at AK, and use this property for a new exclusive eatery. I’m not sure what kind of deal Disney has with the owners of Rainforest, but this location just seems like it would be a perfect home for hosting the gateway for such an exclusive new “adventure” like DNK (or whatever they call it).
Something else to think about along these lines. The original ideas for DNK presented by Jim didn't really sound too appealing to me, not something that I personally could see myself shelling out $200+ for. But, look at this from another angle. A single day, single park ticket is $80, which is quite expensive, and a price that a lot of guests might not go for. But, if you could have one-day (8 hour) exclusive access to all the parks, and the most popular attractions for around $250, wouldn't that be a more enticing offer? It would to me, and if I was only in town for one or two days, I might go for it.
So, what do you think? Is this a more realistic idea? Or, am I as full of it as Jim Hill?
In pondering these two questions about this supposed new park/adventure, and taking into consideration a few of the other things Disney is working on, as well as the rebuttal comments that Lance Hart at Screamscape had, I believe I may have an answer or at least an alternate idea. Mind you, this is pure speculation on my part. I have no inside information and no contacts at Imagineering, but thru some deductive reasoning and creative thinking, I’ve come up with an alternate idea of what Disney’s Night Kingdom just might be. But first, let me try and expand on how I conjured up my idea.
It’s no secret that Disney has been looking at new ways to generate more revenue, and reach the more affluent clientele who have a lot more disposable income and think nothing of dropping $10-50K for a lavish, and exclusive vacation. Obviously, the new Four Seasons will help address some of this by giving these more affluent guests luxury accommodations. According to an article in the Orlando Sentinel, March 28th, written by Scott Powers, there may be another level of accommodations the affluent will be able to stay in if the plan to allow private homes on-property moves forward.
So then, the question comes up, with these more affluent guests coming to Walt Disney World, what then can Disney offer them that would meet their expectations and draw some of the cash out of their deeper pockets to give them the kind of experience they would expect and cherish? First, we need to understand their expectations. While I’m not among the affluent, I’m just guessing they don’t want to be surrounded by 50,000 other guests with screaming kids, strollers, body odor, cutoff t-shirts, etc, and waiting in line for an hour with “common folk” to ride It’s a Small World. No, I’m thinking they’re going to want their own front of line experience that everybody else visiting WDW in the middle of July could only dream about and they’re willing to pay for it. I think they’re also going to want a restaurant or two to eat at that’s not overly crowded and has something to offer that can’t be found elsewhere.
So, how can Disney offer this kind of exclusive VIP experience to the affluent 1 percent visiting without upsetting the other 99 percent? The only feasible way that I can see them doing this is to offer an after regular-hours kind of experience. They already do something like this in the form of Extra Magic Hours (EMH), where they allow only resort guests to stay in the parks for extra hours after they close to non-resort guests. In theory, it shouldn’t be too difficult to offer a similar kind of experience, but even more exclusive than EMH.
Why not offer something akin to an all access, to ALL PARKS, EMH? Let’s call it “The Ultra Keys to the Kingdom tour” or maybe, “Disney’s Night Kingdom”. Call it whatever, but make every park, or most every park open to only those guests willing to pay the extra bucks, allowing them to ride the most popular rides, and throwing in a few extras here and there like their own personal guide and transportation to take them wherever they wanted to go, and within limits, ride whatever they want, as many times as they want. I think this helps to explain the 4000 cast members, and by offering it after regular hours, the other question is also answered.
This, I think, is more feasible than a whole new park or attraction. They could operate it on a reservation only basis, starting with once or twice a month/week, then expand it more as demand grows. Now, this is not to say it answers all the questions. There is still the remaining question of food and an exclusive place for these guests to eat. I offer two thoughts on this. 1) A brand new, highly themed restaurant, maybe taking ideas from the Adventurers Club like Jim alluded to. 2) Buy out the Rainforest Café at AK, and use this property for a new exclusive eatery. I’m not sure what kind of deal Disney has with the owners of Rainforest, but this location just seems like it would be a perfect home for hosting the gateway for such an exclusive new “adventure” like DNK (or whatever they call it).
Something else to think about along these lines. The original ideas for DNK presented by Jim didn't really sound too appealing to me, not something that I personally could see myself shelling out $200+ for. But, look at this from another angle. A single day, single park ticket is $80, which is quite expensive, and a price that a lot of guests might not go for. But, if you could have one-day (8 hour) exclusive access to all the parks, and the most popular attractions for around $250, wouldn't that be a more enticing offer? It would to me, and if I was only in town for one or two days, I might go for it.
So, what do you think? Is this a more realistic idea? Or, am I as full of it as Jim Hill?
