Originally Posted by TigrLvsPooh
It seems funny that Disney would just let these buildings sit unfinished and then allow a "non disney" company to build a brand new value resort with thousands of rooms right outside the maingate. If it was me I would finish Pop before letting some other company swoop in and take business away from the value resorts.
You'd think, wouldnt you?
Would would Walt think?
I'll warn ya now.. this is a long post.. cause I've been thinking about these issues lots and Cathryn, I know you were winking when you said 'What would Walt think" .. but lots of people say that seriously.. anyway.. here's what I think.
Walt was a dreamer. Yes. But he was also a guy who recognized a good deal when he saw one.
And Disney perceives the Four Seasons deal to be a good use of 300 acres of land.. and a good way to extend their reach in to the very high end luxury market. Despite the fact that we all love them, none of the current Disney resorts are technically 'Five Star' resorts by any recognized standard in the travel industry.
So we can disagree with this deal all we like.. and I will admit I'm uneasy about the Four Seasons aspect the deal.. it does serve a segment of the market that Disney Resorts do not currently serve. Could Disney have tried to serve that market? They did. The Grand Floridian never got it's five star designation. They couldn't pull it off.
Lots of other hotels are 'on property' and run by other companies...
- Swan
- Dolphin
- Shades of Green
- The Downtown Disney Hotels (7 of 'em)
So this is not new. That people think this is news..
is news to me.
As for the Western Development.. it is not yet clear who will own or run any hotel rooms in this area. The Disney press materials are not clear on this point and with a ten year development cycle.. they are optimistically 5 to 8 years away from anyone sleeping in them. In those five to eight years.. a LOT can happen. A fifth park could be built and opened in that time frame. In fact plans might be on the table right now -- we don't know.
Five to eight years is a LONG time. LOTS of time for Disney to do something with the Legendary years property... including tear it down, and build something we don't know about, finish it as originally planned or gut it and make a waterpark if they wish. (For example) Remember, the construction pads (electrical, plumbing etc) are DONE for the other buildings. They could finish this in a very short construction cycle if they so wished.
What would Walt think? Well, I think he'd recognize the underlying value in the two deals. I recognize others don't agree with my thinking. We simply cannot know the long term plans that these two deals are probably a very key part of.. I read an interesting website the other day postulating about a fifth park in the area of the Western Development at some point in the future. If that were eventually to be the case (big IF).. suddenly the Western Development looks smart.
And Disney 'value' resorts don't compete effectively with a lot of the budget hotels on I-192. This is another way to get more of THOSE guests to stay on property and maybe eventually see the value in the higher-cost Disney hotels. What if these new hotels are a new level of Disney 'resort.' So the new order is budget, value, moderate, deluxe? That *could* be the case. We don't know.
In fact.. these rooms could end up just being MORE value accommodations.
But then again.. People were all up in arms when the original value resorts opened. They felt it cheapened the brand and diluted the Disney experience. The spectre of Walt's ghost was brought up then as well. "What would Walt think? He would never approve."
Did Values change the Disney experience? Yes absolutely. For better or worse? A matter of opinion I'm afraid.
But I bet lots of people tried a Value and eventually tried a Mod and no doubt some of those even tried a Deluxe. People who might never have stayed on Disney property at all otherwise.
The big point to me.. and this seems completely lost on these boards and in the press materials...
nobody seems to realize that some of the individual homes available along the golf course by the Four Seasons resort will be for sale for full-time occupancy.
Yes, a majority will probably be fractional use... but some of those homes will be the VERY FIRST
on-site homes for sale for full time single-family living. That to me is the MUCH BIGGER deal out of this release that nobody seems to pick up on. That's the headline in my book. Not that the Four Seasons will run a resort on Disney property.
Think about it. Some families will call Disney (not Celebration) home. Very wealthy families at that I suppose.
I do kinda chuckle at everyone always bringing up Walt. Remember it's easy to love someone who's dead. They make SO FEW mistakes.
Knox
