It doesn't have to close early, but that spin sounds so much better than admitting you built a half-done park with no reason for people to stay into the evening.
I've been to AK in EMH Evening. It doesn't NEED a reason. Its simply beautiful with the plants and trees and lighting, I'm perfectly content just walking around and enjoying the view.
I get tired of the "we gotta feed these tourists thrill rides" mentality. Maybe on paper it makes sense, but as much as I love thrill rides, the thrill rides aren't the whole reason I go there.
Actually, I wish the rides they add at Disney were MORE extreme. The thrill rides at Disney aren't "scary" enough for real thrill seekers as compared to other local parks. If your only at Disney for thrill rides you REALLY need to google the words "extreme coaster". Honestly. Disney rides are LAME when compared to some of the local parks. But again, that's not why we go there.
As far as Epcot, I like it exactly like it is, and if they left it alone and simply maintained it EXACTLY like it is, in 20 years I would still go there. We don't go as often as many of you. We make 3-4 trips a year. If we spend 8 days at Disney, you can bet 4-5 of those days we will be in Epcot. We will go there if they add new countries and thrill rides, and we will go there (just as much) if they don't. Half our extreme home is ideas we got from Epcot. Over half out time is spent at Epcot, and half our money in the parks is spent at Epcot. Epcot has the best restaurants BY FAR, and the second best shopping (second to MK). Like Mitros said. Its a cash cow that stays packed. They don't really need to do anything to it. So if it's true or not, makes no difference to me either way. If they add new attractions, great! If they don't GREAT!
One more thing to consider. The thrill rides look great on brochures and on the websites. I have been to Disney like 19 times. I have NEVER been to Universal. If Universal expanded to 10 times it's size I still wouldn't go. I'm NOT a Harry Potter fan, and I simply don't like the "anti-disney" advertising. I feel like Disney thinks it has to keep cramming more thrill rides to keep up (or stay on top). I realize in a small sense that's true, but most Disney fans are passionate about their favorite place, and as is the norm in my business, word of mouth FAR EXCEEDS any advertisement or website. We Disney fans just can't seem to shut up about how great Disney is. THAT is part of the reason Disney is so big. When you compare us that go often to those that go once every 10 years, I'm sure they make more money off those that go every 10 years. But we keep them open. I can't count the number of times I heard someone say they went in July and spent 10 times what i would have spent, and hated the whole "hot and crowded" trip. They usually follow with "I'll never go back!". I'm thinking "You should have done more research and listened to those of us who tried to warn you!!!".
