Whats Wrong with Disney?

[r00tuzr]

Harry Potter is now open for another beautiful expansion
and what is Disneys answer.... Avatar Land? HU?
I'm sorry but i dont see Avatar as having the same draw as Harry Potter

Disney has so many IPs and any of them would be better then Avatar land

Lets see a star wars land or pixar land or marvel land

i know avatar is coming out with 2 more movies but who knows if they will be successful e.g the matrix
go with something that is proven "Star Wars"

All i know is last trip we spend 7 days in disney and next trip will include Universal 100%

 

[supergoofy]

Disney parks in the United States, Europe and Asia made up nine of the top 10 parks and held 11 of the top 25 spots. Universal Studios' theme parks came in a distant second with just one park in the top 10 list and four in the top 25 list. SeaWorld held two spots.


http://www.cnn.com/2014/06/04/travel/most-popular-theme-parks-world/index.html



Not seeing much wrong with Disney besides WDW is on the wrong coast.

 

[BuzzinDownToDisney]

Two totally different experiences. Disney is family oriented, Universal is for the bigger thrill seekers. Both great experiences, but include tons of imagination, but each one fits for different folks.

 

[FLchick415]

Also, correct me if I'm wrong, but...wasn't Avatarland announced before Disney even acquired Lucasfilm?

 

[L&Lfan]

I love them both and go to both but I admit I find Disney's latest "expansions" pretty underwhelming when compared to what Universal has done with the Wizarding World of Harry Potter. I hope Avatarland and Star Wars and Marvel are worthy even though I'm personally not into any of those franchises. I'm more old school Disney but I love thrills.

 

[cigar95]

Don't know that Disney really needs a "response", other than to satisfy the writers of the travel industry insider magazines. They'll do just fine selling what they have for years.

Meanwhile, Universal is doing a superb job developing their Potter franchise. They deserve all the credit they get.

As for Disney's choice of new developments, I don't think we're going to say anything that hasn't already been said in the past two years. When Pandora opens, there will be big crowds. If it's done well, it will continue to draw guests.

ETA - Disney has a bunch of neat stuff in development - some of it just awaiting budget approval before it can be announced. Wish I could say more, but all I know is bits and pieces. (Think they could do something interesting with a Studios expansion to the other side of World Drive? Including an interesting way to get you there?)

 

[mickeyluv'r]

HP was a huge GET. Too bad Disney missed the opportunity to create that world.

WDW should have done WAY more with Star Wars. I posted that just a few weeks ago, but soon after that thread got locked (not me).

Avatar could be interesting, but it's no HP.

I think NF was just a means of minimizing the damage of HP.

I love Disney, but they are much coasting on past success. Many attractions could use some serious updating. Just one tiny snippet- when was the last time they updated the film footage in Living with the Land? How much would it possibly cost to update those- and mention some current agricultural research? What about updating the Epcot Energy ride? Surely there's been some new research on that subject in the last 20 years.

Then again, the JP Dino ride at Universal is in serious need of updating as well!

 

[wdw4rfam]

I love Universal, and agree that their technology seems to put Disney to shame. But when it comes to where we want to stay for our 10-12 days every year, Disney always wins, because it's "home". We walked and explored universal resorts on our last trip, and wasn't feeling it, couldn't imagine staying there for 11 nights. So we are returning to Disney again to take advantage of free dining for 11 days, but 3 of those days are universal and Sea world. I am looking forward to staying at our Disney resort, and Disney parks, but I must say.....Harry potter has me way more excited and I think it's what I am looking forward to most. The thought of Avatar land isn't even remotely exciting.

 

[basas]

All the reviews of Diagon Alley have been extremely positive so I can't wait to check it out. The detail looks absolutely astounding and Universal is already starting their next big project: King Kong.

Meanwhile, Disney has been producing great attractions too: Mystic Manor in Hong Kong, Ratatouille in Paris and Radiator Springs Racers over in California. And what do we in Florida get? The mediocre 7 Dwarfs Mine Train. I don’t have much interest in Avatar either. WDW is stale, pure and simple. My Disney trip this year will be to California and my next Florida trip will be for Universal.

 

[CarlaLovesDisney]

I feel like this question has been asked over and over again on these boards.

 

[Karbase8]

WDW is an experience and holds alot of nostalgia for many young and old who come for the old attractions. I do think they can do a better job with an expansion in WDW my understanding is both Indiana Jones and American Idol are being closed for the Star Wars expansion.

 

[JimmyV]

Don't know that Disney really needs a "response", other than to satisfy the writers of the travel industry insider magazines. They'll do just fine selling what they have for years.

It's difficult to see things any other way. But looking back at history...

• Union Pacific didn't need a response to TWA and American Airlines
• Converse didn't need a response to Nike
• Compaq and IBM didn't need a response to Apple
• The "Big Three" didn't need a response to Japanese and Korean auto makers

...or did they? It was once inconceivable that the insignificant "little brother" could ever surpass the established giant. And yet.....
Let's not lose sight of the fact that Universal isn't run by a bunch of wannabees. Most of their most important and creative people joined the company from Disney. If these same people were "innovative geniuses" while at Disney, why would we think that they are no longer the best minds in the theme park business simply because they moved 10 miles north? If 75% of Microsoft's senior leadership, creative teams and R&D people left to work at NewCorp, would you bet on or against that company's success?

 

[JoshuaShaw]

Two totally different experiences. Disney is family oriented, Universal is for the bigger thrill seekers. Both great experiences, but include tons of imagination, but each one fits for different folks.

I'm not sure I follow your logic. The Harry Potter franchise is far more family-friendly than Avatar.

 

[Bbodie83]

There's nothing wrong with Disney. You are focussed only on Disney World and aren't considering the fact that Disney has a lot more parks than Universal, they can't only focus on new rides in Disney World. Universal is useless for my family at this time because there is very few rides my kids can actually ride, where as at Disney they can ride almost every ride, minus the big coasters. I look forward to taking my kids to Universal when they are old enough, but that doesn't mean there is anything wrong with Universal just because they are to young to go right now. I don't understand why it has to be something wrong with Disney.

 

[JimmyV]

Universal is useless for my family at this time because there is very few rides my kids can actually ride, where as at Disney they can ride almost every ride, minus the big coasters. I don't understand why it has to be something wrong with Disney.

I guess the point is....revisit this thread in 12 years. After your kids are 20 and have been to both WDW and US, ask them which they enjoy more and which one they will go to more often with their families. The answer might be WDW. But again, it might not. Most of us who grew up with WDW didn't have any competition for our attention so we naturally bring our families back to the place where we had fun. But a child who grows up on both WDW and US might actually find greater favor with the latter. So while WDW isn't going to lose its crown any time soon, 15-20 years from now things could be different. I suspect it will always be the industry leader for families with children ages 0-8. But will it be the industry leader for families with kids ages 9-20? Right now it is. But its lead is shrinking every year.

 

[BuzzinDownToDisney]

Also for those that heap praise on US for HP (Much deserved praise) let us not overlook the fact they have nuked many of their classic rides like BTTF, Jaws, Kong etc. Sometimes eliminating classics in the name of progress creates the opposite effect.

 

[Gottahavemorecowbell]

All i know is last trip we spend 7 days in disney and next trip will include Universal 100%

Good for you. You're taking the vacation you want.

Our next 10 trips will be Disney only. Universal and Disney can co-exist and have each do well.

As to your original question about what is wrong with Disney? I would say not much.

 

[sethschroeder]

It's difficult to see things any other way. But looking back at history...

• Union Pacific didn't need a response to TWA and American Airlines
• Converse didn't need a response to Nike
• Compaq and IBM didn't need a response to Apple
• The "Big Three" didn't need a response to Japanese and Korean auto makers

...or did they? It was once inconceivable that the insignificant "little brother" could ever surpass the established giant. And yet.....
Let's not lose sight of the fact that Universal isn't run by a bunch of wannabees. Most of their most important and creative people joined the company from Disney. If these same people were "innovative geniuses" while at Disney, why would we think that they are no longer the best minds in the theme park business simply because they moved 10 miles north? If 75% of Microsoft's senior leadership, creative teams and R&D people left to work at NewCorp, would you bet on or against that company's success?

First this question has the same response every time. They saw Avatar fitting with AK and went in that direction and it got approval before any other expansions... This is not the last thing Disney will ever due and I would bet all my money that Disney is holding back Star Wars for the correct time / budget approval....

As to respond to the statements above what about all the companies that failed? You forget that for every Apple there is a million PC alternatives that no longer exist. Also you forget that every single one of the things you stated above came with a shift in historical needs.

• (Airfare became cheaper) Union Pacific didn't need a response to TWA and American Airlines
• (Sports Clothing vs Shoes) Converse didn't need a response to Nike
• (PC vs Mobility) Compaq and IBM didn't need a response to Apple (also IBM is still doing pretty dang good...)
• (Rising gas prices) The "Big Three" didn't need a response to Japanese and Korean auto makers

Now if you tell me that families wont travel with children under 8 and wait until they are older that would make me think Universal is coming up. If you tell me though that the market stays the same I am not buying into Universal overtaking Disney pretty much for the next 50 years... People think its bad decisions by those companies that now have them behind market leaders but its not taking risks and having the market change in favor of the new upstart who beats out its own competitors.

 

[basas]

There's nothing wrong with Disney. You are focussed only on Disney World and aren't considering the fact that Disney has a lot more parks than Universal, they can't only focus on new rides in Disney World. Universal is useless for my family at this time because there is very few rides my kids can actually ride, where as at Disney they can ride almost every ride, minus the big coasters. I look forward to taking my kids to Universal when they are old enough, but that doesn't mean there is anything wrong with Universal just because they are to young to go right now. I don't understand why it has to be something wrong with Disney.

We all know Disney is capable of doing great things, and as I mentioned in my post there are several recent examples around the globe. I think the poster was clearly focusing on Disney’s efforts in Orlando – the so-called “flagship resort”.

BTW – Universal is currently building Hogsmeade/Hogwarts in both Hollywood (where they also are building Springfield and just opened Despicable Me) and Japan. They also (relatively recently) opened a park in Singapore, so I don’t think it’s fair to say Disney can ignore Orlando because it has to focus on its other parks.

 

[rock_doctor]

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