Pirate themed restuarant "Tortuga" planned for Magic Kingdom (Update)

[mjstaceyuofm]

More likely than not you'll see a clone of the Grand Floridan (complete with character breakfests) on the Chicago lakfront and a clone of the Wildernesss Lodge (complete with a water park) outside the gates of Yellowstone sooner rather than later.

At WDW you wake up at the Wilderness lodge, then take a boat past the Contemporary and head over to the Magic Kingdom, and perhaps have lunch at the Grand Floridian. Those bundlings of experiences are what make WDW unique and everything work together. It just won't work if you can't go from one "experience" to the next like you can at WDW.

I bet these new hotels will be too expensive and experience mild success at best, but it will play into your and my worst case outcome - do just enough business to be justified on the books and completely underwhelm as far as Disney standards and "show" goes...

 

[disneyfan67]

It's much like how your dog keeps trying to dig into the trash. No matter how many times you yell at him, no matter how empty the can is - he's convinced that the trash can is filled with treats.

Disney wants to be a "travel" company, not a theme park company. It's the easiest way they can think of to expand the business. Neither Eisner nor Iger have any interest in parks - but they do understand hotels, resorts, time shares, tours and all the existing parts of today's tourism industry. Instead of creating their own segment (like Walt did with the parks), all they can think of is stamping a Mickey Mouse sticker on an existing business and calling it "innovation".

More likely than not you'll see a clone of the Grand Floridan (complete with character breakfests) on the Chicago lakfront and a clone of the Wildernesss Lodge (complete with a water park) outside the gates of Yellowstone sooner rather than later.

I love the first part of your post and it makes a lot of sense.


As for the second bolded part, I hope they never do that. Disney hotels and places like Downtown Disney, only work as an addition to the themeparks. If you built a GF or Polynesian near Chicago, IL, it wouldn't hold the same mystique as it does being next to the Magic Kingdom. I come from the Chicagoland area and I would have no desire to visit a reproduction of one their WDW resorts in my area. It wouldn't have the same feeling and if I wanted that kind of a half rate, boring, unimaginative vacation, I would drive up to Wisconsin Dells. I hope Iger and company realise this is one of the reasons why DisneyQuest failed. They better get over their dislike of those themeparks and realise they're the axis or center, on which everything spins around and is supported by. Those parks are part of the American culture and iconic in their own right. The Polynesian works in WDW and adds to the vacation experience, it won't work, stuck in a busy suburb near Chicago. At least not for me.

 

[ChrisnKim913]

So the talk about the Tortuga restaurant... I think it would be a great thing. Even if there was a pirae themed resort.

 

[Another Voice]

I come from the Chicagoland area and I would have no desire to visit a reproduction of one their WDW resorts in my area.

Disney is convinced that there are millions of people that would love to go to Chicago and drop $350+ a night so they can get Goofy on the wake-up call, eat at a character breakfest, go shopping at the attached World of Disney store, spend the afternoon at the mouse-shaped pool and then while away the evenings watching a variety show lifted from the cruise ships. Chicago is, at best, an afterthought to your trip.

At other existing "tourist" destinations like Yellowstone or the Hamptons, we're all supposed to be wowed by Disney's magically magical magic service and gladly pay extra just to stay in a hotel whose name starts with "Disney". And for everyone else, there will be a giant themed water park (Yellowstone is so boring after all) where we will gladly throw down our fifty bucks to experience a little "Disney magic" at an otherwise dull and drab tourist spot.

Now I'm sure there are going to be posts here where people will say "but my DD/DS/DH/Dwhatever just LOVES Disney"...yada yada yada and how they will gladly spend their mortage money to buy a DVC unit an hour's drive away". This is what Disney is counting on, but I have serious doubts that lots of non-fans will feel this way. Certainly by now any reasonable person would see that simply putting "Disney's" in front of a name didn't work at Hilton Head or even for Califorina Adventure. I'd much rather Disney spent the resources making the exiting properties - Disneyland and Walt Disney World - better than on Disney's Grand Chicago Resort.

 

[YoHo]

Actually, Grand California would make mroe sense in Chicago then it does in California, but that's neither here nor there.

 

[EUROPACL]

Does this mean that places like Compton will get the Pop Century Clones?

 

[YoHo]

Please please, Compton's more upscale then that.

 

[lovemickeyshouse]

what was planned was not at the waterfront it was Disneyquest at 5th and Market where now they are building the Comcast Building which is not the waterfront

sorry but the comcast building is at 15th and market so get the facts please
and yes at one point disney officals came to town lookin at the waterfront about 10 yrs ago

 

[asianway]

Being from Chicago, I can tell you one reason for certain DisneyQuest failed. Placed smack dab on the Magnificent Mile high rent district, it cost $20 to park on top of admission. Not the ideal location if you want to compete for kids birthday parties, outings, etc. In the time it was here, I went the day it opened and then for a pin trading meet.

Not saying it would have done better in Schaumburg, Oak Brook, or another one of the "rich" suburbs, but it may have had a fighting chance.

 

[crazy4wdw]

It appears that WDW management has "pulled the plug" regarding a pirate themed restaurant in Adventureland. It's not going to happen any time soon.

 

[DC7800]

Given how difficult it is (translation: often impossible) to secure a same day dinner priority-seating in Disney World anymore, you would think a new MK table-service restaurant (pirate or nearly any other theme) could easily be justified based on capacity constraints alone. They have to be turning away quite a lot of business, even if most of the guests end up dining at a (less expensive) counter-service facility anyway.

 

[raidermatt]

Budgets are a funny thing. If your budget is $2, it doesn't matter how many $2 projects you have that can make $100, you are still only going to have enough to fund one of them.

No, that doesn't always make sense, but that's often how it works.

Of course, it maybe that there were other reasons this one was axed. Heck, just like so many other rumors that never happen, it's possible it was never even seriously considered.

 

[YoHo]

It was axed because At World's End stunk up the joint. (though in general, pirates are still popular)

Any other reason given is just a cover.

 

[harvardx]

It should definately named Dry Tortuga as in Dry Tortugas National Park.

 

[Homesick for Disney]

This sounds so awesome! MK needs more TS restaurants. And they need something geared to boys as well.