Disney Parks Build Timelines

[UniversalRBLX]

Disney is 100% not ready for Epic, they got cocky. But they are not going anywhere, nor will attendance at their parks plummet.

The Poly DVC hotel is being built at a ridiculous Universal-esque pace right now, so when they are incentivized they can really push construction.

Disney can get by in the interim by adding things like new nighttime parades and shows. They don't take as long to develop as rides, and in some cases actually attract more attendance from Disney guests than a new ride does.

Yup - announce MSEP or Paint the Night is coming to MK or DHS, and you will see the parks rebound. Don't underestimate the fandom.

The only park in "danger" of losing attendance in the interim is DAK unless they come up with a new festival/nighttime show.

 

[GAcoaster]

Kind of surprising it has been so long since they had a night time parade at MK. That is something they could EASILY add, even if it's just bring back MSEP or clone something from another park or time. Maybe been a "Spectro Magic II" or something.

 

[UniversalRBLX]

The return of Soarin' Over California has brought Soarin wait times back to their 60-90 range from a few years back, so yeah the fans will eat up anything new or nostalgic.

 

[Mad Dog]

The return of Soarin' Over California has brought Soarin wait times back to their 60-90 range from a few years back, so yeah the fans will eat up anything new or nostalgic.

Yes, good example. Disney has a number of tools, besides building a new attraction, to spur attendance. Nostalgia is a powerful tool in Disney's arsenal.

 

[Cup_Of_Coffee]

Do anything with Figment and Epcot will make triple the money.

 

[Mad Dog]

Do anything with Figment and Epcot will make triple the money.

Retheme the ride into a trip through a giant popcorn bucket. LOL

 

[grlhowl]

I feel like something must be deeply broken with the way that new attractions are treated when the last 3 or 4 attractions took so long to open, and the fact that a new walkthrough at Epcot which is a D or C ticket at most has a virtual queue (on top of Guardians having one after over a year with Tron having one too).

 

[TheUniC6]

I fear for Disney that they’re gonna be so behind that by the time Indy opens, Universal will have already opened Epic Universe, Zelda, and Pokémon even before beyond Big Thunder happens.

Really trying not to be a Universal fan boy but I don’t think Disney is ready for this.

Zelda is rumored for 2027. And depending on when they decide to get rid of Simpsons Pokemon could make a 2028 opening. I am going to guess Behind Big Thunder will be done by at least 2028. But Universal still would have added more in the same time Disney did ONE area.

Disney can get by in the interim by adding things like new nighttime parades and shows. They don't take as long to develop as rides, and in some cases actually attract more attendance from Disney guests than a new ride does.

Sad if that's true.

 

[GAcoaster]

At this point they need to be planning things that are quick adds like parades and shows and rethemes.

They should also be creating a strategic plan for long range additions at the same time, and committing to actually build them. I think the smartest moves they can make are net new additions to the three existing theme parks that NEED them, not a fifth theme park.

I think that Disney needs to seriously make changes to their overall design and build process. There's no reason why building attractions should have such a long timeline except the company's internal bureaucracy and inefficiency.

 

[Mad Dog]

At this point they need to be planning things that are quick adds like parades and shows and rethemes.

They should also be creating a strategic plan for long range additions at the same time, and committing to actually build them. I think the smartest moves they can make are net new additions to the three existing theme parks that NEED them, not a fifth theme park.

I think that Disney needs to seriously make changes to their overall design and build process. There's no reason why building attractions should have such a long timeline except the company's internal bureaucracy and inefficiency.

Mice Chat's tour through Disneyland last week stated the same idea. When the mock firetruck went by on Main Street carrying some tourists, MC recounted an old Walt Story. Supposedly when first opening Disneyland, Walt mentioned to the park's designer that he'd like a firetruck designed to carry tourists up and down the street. The designer said he'd check and get back to him. The 'next day' he got back to Walt with a design and then they had it built and operating very soon after. MC said that could never happen in today's Disney. First it would have a long process to be designed as a Blue Sky concept. Then with Disney's bureaucracy, that concept would have to go through four or five stages of various committees examining the feasibility, and whether to move it to the next committee. If, by some chance it made it through all the committees and was greenlit....then some new Disney's Park's CEO would probably cancel it in a cost cutting move.

 

[Cup_Of_Coffee]

My sources lately seem to be meh, but to my knowledge years ago they wanted, for a lack of a better term, to “Epcot” Animal Kingdom. Add a few more sitdowns, a few food booths, and have Rivers of Light be a success. They seem to be struggling with these concepts with this park. That’s at least what I knew years ago.

 

[GAcoaster]

I always look at what Disney did in the past and compare it to now-- it's insane!

• July 17th, 1955- Disneyland opens
• June 1959- they open the Submarines, Monorail, and Matterhorn as well as revamping the Autopia. Three iconic E-tickets all added less than four years after the park opens.
  
  
• August 13, 2017;-- Energy closes to build GotG
• May 27, 2022-- Guardians opens (yes, there was a pandemic, but Universal managed to open two coasters in the same time frame)

 

[UniversalRBLX]

I still believe they can build things in 2-3 years if they are properly motivated. People often overlook that SWGE only took 3 years to build because they knew how much of a revenue driver it would be. If they think Epic will take away attendance, hence reducing revenue, I'm sure they can follow a similar (if not faster) timeline.

The best case scenario is something entirely new by 2026, with a few rethemes spread out. There are a lot of attractions currently that can be taken down and rethemed for minor attendance boosts (Rock & Roller Coaster, Star Tours, Tough to be a Bug, Captain EO returns to Imagination, etc.)

The Dinoland replacement is split into two phases with Indy (depending on how far development is) sometime in 2026 ideally. Shocker, but it's doable.

The biggest challenge WDW (and Universal) will have is if they can convince APs to stick with their APs while Universal offers a whole new park.

 

[OrlandoGuy]

I always look at what Disney did in the past and compare it to now-- it's insane!

• July 17th, 1955- Disneyland opens
• June 1959- they open the Submarines, Monorail, and Matterhorn as well as revamping the Autopia. Three iconic E-tickets all added less than four years after the park opens.
  
  
• August 13, 2017;-- Energy closes to build GotG
• May 27, 2022-- Guardians opens (yes, there was a pandemic, but Universal managed to open two coasters in the same time frame)

Lol…there are very few things you can compare 1 for 1 between the 1950’s and the 2020’s, least of all publicly-traded business practices (and construction for that matter).

 

[UniversalRBLX]

Can't really compare 1955 to now. Have you seen photos from Disneyland in 1955? Very bare, not as grand as some of the designs nowadays. A lot of Disneyland opened with little to no foliage/rockwork/etc. As important as the berm was for Walt, a good portion of it wasn't even filled in with it opened.

 

[PerceptiveCoot]

I, for one, think all new Disney attractions should be built like the Matterhorn, by guys who just learned trigonometry two weeks ago.

 

[IzzyB]

I always look at what Disney did in the past and compare it to now-- it's insane!

• July 17th, 1955- Disneyland opens
• June 1959- they open the Submarines, Monorail, and Matterhorn as well as revamping the Autopia. Three iconic E-tickets all added less than four years after the park opens.
  
  
• August 13, 2017;-- Energy closes to build GotG
• May 27, 2022-- Guardians opens (yes, there was a pandemic, but Universal managed to open two coasters in the same time frame)

I mean universal is closed an attraction this year and a replacement won't be until 2027. So not much shorter of a timeframe. I think both parks sometimes have long timelines or things change making holes in their parks.

 

[TheUniC6]

I mean universal is closed an attraction this year and a replacement won't be until 2027. So not much shorter of a timeframe. I think both parks sometimes have long timelines or things change making holes in their parks.

At least based on discussion over on the Zelda thread, it sounds like the whole or a large part of the land will be redeveloped alongside the ride. The problem with Disney is that single rides such as the Avengers E ticket for DCA will take about 4 to 5 years to open from announcement date. (many people speculate the Avengers E ticket is slated for 2027-2028) And you would think Disney would have urgency to break ground on this considering how it's based on one of their biggest cash cows. The inability to break ground ASAP on announced attractions based on popular IP is a fail IMO.

 

[IzzyB]

At least based on discussion over on the Zelda thread, it sounds like the whole or a large part of the land will be redeveloped alongside the ride. The problem with Disney is that single rides such as the Avengers E ticket for DCA will take about 4 to 5 years to open from announcement date. (many people speculate the Avengers E ticket is slated for 2027-2028) And you would think Disney would have urgency to break ground on this considering how it's based on one of their biggest cash cows. The inability to break ground ASAP on announced attractions based on popular IP is a fail IMO.

100% agreed. Disney announces WAY too early and need to stop announcing so early. Announce after breaking ground and then for the general public it won't seem like such a long time.

 

[mimiasho]

I definitely think they could learn something from how Universal announces and opens new attractions.

Announcing things 4-5 years ahead of opening does seem really early. Just think of how hype can die down over that long. And as someone mentioned, it makes the waits feel even longer when we know something is coming but it's years away still.

I think individually announcing new lands or rides 6 months to a year before opening, like Universal does it, would be much smarter. Keeps people excited without over promising too far in advance. And gives Disney some urgency to actually get things done faster too.

Do you think part of the long timelines also has to do with the scale of what Disney builds? Like they're developing full new lands andimmersive environments versus smaller footprint rides. That's gotta take more planning and construction time.

Either way, announcing the Tiana ride redo so early does seem a bit underwhelming when it'll still be a few years. They definitely need to pump up the new stuff more regularly to keep fans happy I think. Keep the discussion going, love hearing perspectives on this!