the more i read about "cars land"...the less it makes sense.
they are running as much as a 4 hour wait for the key ride at california adventure...and the fast pass is gone in roughly the first 10 minutes each day...
so that makes NO sense in florida...where the attendance is much higher each year and therefore the rides need to move people in and out with a higher volume.
all of disney's efforts in orlando over the last ten years has been moving away from what radiator springs racers would represent: a mass of people spending a significant chunk of their day standing in stationary lines.
That's counterproductive to disney. they don't want you on rides or in line. they want you eating and buying stuff. they can't come right out and say that...but its not a secret. the rides are just the hook...the window dressing.
it might be why you buy the ticket - which they know and pay some service too - but they don't actually want you on them. Shocking...i know...but 150% true.
so two things work against Carsland...
first, it has not been hinted, implied, denied or heard the wind at WDW. which means they have no intention of doing it and arent likely to come around anytime soon.
second, the rides in carsland don't work. not that they aren't great additions for cali...they don't work for florida. the tire bounce does not work at all. the mater thingie is rocking hour waits...which is counterproductive for operations...and RSR would have to be much higher capacity. which means longer, more expensive, requiring more maintenance, and because its longer...defeating the whole purpose of hourly volume.
here's what's gone down to recap:
steep decline at DCA...spend billion and really gut out new additions (cars, world of color, complete retheming of main area of the park)...great for
disneyland...money spent has to be paid by the piper - and that's at least in part from the cash cow in the swamp.
two new cruiseships...don't use them? don't matter - that comes outta the pot too.
fantasyland expansion...great or not...a significant chunk of floridas capital investment for the last 5 years and undoubtedly more. My guess probably more like a 10 year installment of funds. Universal would be the X factor that might cause more work...but they still are not a threat and in fact feed money back to anaheim by bringing more people in for longer stays. competition is good for business.
downtown...another 200-300 million in investment to allow for the making of future monies. Though they have pooched it for five years...this was NEVER in doubt. Problem is that until money flows from new venues and partners...they will look to stunt the blow of the money up front behind the scenes. Yep...by limiting further money, building more timeshares, increasing ticket and food pricing...the usual tricks.
Problem with new parking garages, pathways, bridges, tunnels and overhead walkways is that they generate no money. They are upfront "losses". As if you have to take a bloody nose in the first round to evenutally win the fight. problem is that disney always extracts money for the "blood" they spill.
Finally...avatar. It's a "like it or not" type deal. they are building it because they are not footing the entire bill. that is worth more than what any customer thinks. and it goes to their "problem" park. that is too good to pass up to them. but what they do spend will be throw in the customers face for quite some time.
and one more note: disney's leading executives have told us that they are going to spend less...not more than they have the last few years. but they are going to remind everyone that they spent on all the things above.
Just not going to work the way people are thinking. their goal is going to be spend less and make more. not spend more and "hope" to make more.
we're gonna see some small things pop up. i would bet some new star wars shops, food, maybe a small thing or two. i don't see a new "land" with E tickets or anything like that soon. they'll figure that a little wrapping on old presents and press for their new star wars stuff will get the people there and spending for the next few years...
they are of course...right.
just have to ground the lightning bolt here...look at it from not the fan's perspective and the picture looks way different.
