Fantasyland Expansion - Part 2

[Nitro_230]

Precisely! Every other land in MK had/has some sort of iconic centerpiece attraction. Adventureland: Pirates. Frontierland: Thunder and Splash. Liberty Square: HM. Tomorrowland: Space. But what was Fantasyland's? It depends on who you ask. Some say Peter Pan, others say Small World. To kids it's quite possibly Dumbo. IMO, the centerpiece attraction in FL isn't even a ride at all, it's Cinderella's castle. What's more iconic about fantasy than that? Even with this new expansion, the centerpiece attraction of FL is still the castle; the iconic structure of WDW that continues to lure families back to the MK.

Just my opinion.

20K used to be "the big" attraction, but if you'd consider a ride that out of town people come and HAVE to ride, and it makes almost off of the commercials then I would say Dumbo is the headliner.

 

[mainejeff]

Well considering that Dwarves was a last minute addition, I can see why it would open later...not THIS much later..but later.

I was happy to be able to ride Mermaid when I was there last January.

The Dwarves Coaster should have been open by this summer. Disney is absolutely ridiculously slow with their construction......Universal is making them look extremely bad in the Florida market. I'm going to Orlando for a week in November.......staying on Disney property (DVC member)........but I don't plan on spending more than 2 days in Disney parks (EPCOT and MK). Probably 2-3 days at Universal and 1 at Sea World.

 

[IzzyB]

The Dwarves Coaster should have been open by this summer. Disney is absolutely ridiculously slow with their construction......Universal is making them look extremely bad in the Florida market. I'm going to Orlando for a week in November.......staying on Disney property (DVC member)........but I don't plan on spending more than 2 days in Disney parks (EPCOT and MK). Probably 2-3 days at Universal and 1 at Sea World.

The problem is that most people are still the opposite. Spoke to a family in Germany on Saturday and they only go to Uni once every couple trips. My family, my husband's family, my friends, my husband's friends only go to Uni once every couple trips if at all. And this is WITH me stating the new things. Last time my sister went was when WWOHP was in softs and my husband's family went once last year, but none the previous two years. My husband's family sometimes comes more than once a year to give you perspective. My husband's friends went to Uni last trip and that was the first time for them since they started coming as a couple and they stated, maybe they might go the trip after next. None of my friends who have come down have gone to Uni because they all have at least one child under the age of 5 and to them it is pointless to spend money if one child can't ride a lot.

So yes, is Disney slacking? Yes. Are they losing some business? Yes. Should they move faster and do more? Yes. Is it Truly causing them to lose massive amounts of money? Probably Not. I think all Disney cares about is the bottom line, they could care less about us Theme Park lovers that want more. Until they really start to get hit (which eventually will come if they keep this up) they won't change. By then it will be too late and it will require a lot of change (e.g. Uni had same issue prior to building WWOHP). That is why Disney does little things and not huge things. Minus new fantasy land. Which talking to GP, they are shocked they did it, but they know they did it to match WWOHP. That is the sense I get. Most people don't even know when they come down there is something new at Disney.

 

[mainejeff]

The problem is that most people are still the opposite. Spoke to a family in Germany on Saturday and they only go to Uni once every couple trips. My family, my husband's family, my friends, my husband's friends only go to Uni once every couple trips if at all. And this is WITH me stating the new things. Last time my sister went was when WWOHP was in softs and my husband's family went once last year, but none the previous two years. My husband's family sometimes comes more than once a year to give you perspective. My husband's friends went to Uni last trip and that was the first time for them since they started coming as a couple and they stated, maybe they might go the trip after next. None of my friends who have come down have gone to Uni because they all have at least one child under the age of 5 and to them it is pointless to spend money if one child can't ride a lot.

So yes, is Disney slacking? Yes. Are they losing some business? Yes. Should they move faster and do more? Yes. Is it Truly causing them to lose massive amounts of money? Probably Not. I think all Disney cares about is the bottom line, they could care less about us Theme Park lovers that want more. Until they really start to get hit (which eventually will come if they keep this up) they won't change. By then it will be too late and it will require a lot of change (e.g. Uni had same issue prior to building WWOHP). That is why Disney does little things and not huge things. Minus new fantasy land. Which talking to GP, they are shocked they did it, but they know they did it to match WWOHP. That is the sense I get. Most people don't even know when they come down there is something new at Disney.

Oh, I hear ya. Anyone with children under 7 or 8 will choose Disney every time. But they are losing the rest of us. I think that Star Wars could be a game changer........but I don't have confidence that Disney will make wise decisions with their newest acquisition.

 

[IzzyB]

Oh, I hear ya. Anyone with children under 7 or 8 will choose Disney every time. But they are losing the rest of us. I think that Star Wars could be a game changer........but I don't have confidence that Disney will make wise decisions with their newest acquisition.

The family in Germany had all grown kids. They were all in college. My family and my husband's family do not have kids at all. We are the only ones on both sides to have children right now. So it is not just people with young kids. Some people love the memories of their childhood and re-visiting them.

 

[mainejeff]

The family in Germany had all grown kids. They were all in college. My family and my husband's family do not have kids at all. We are the only ones on both sides to have children right now. So it is not just people with young kids. Some people love the memories of their childhood and re-visiting them.

Those "memories" are getting very pricey........with less ROI.

 

[nmu]

The problem is that most people are still the opposite. Spoke to a family in Germany on Saturday and they only go to Uni once every couple trips. My family, my husband's family, my friends, my husband's friends only go to Uni once every couple trips if at all. And this is WITH me stating the new things. Last time my sister went was when WWOHP was in softs and my husband's family went once last year, but none the previous two years. My husband's family sometimes comes more than once a year to give you perspective. My husband's friends went to Uni last trip and that was the first time for them since they started coming as a couple and they stated, maybe they might go the trip after next. None of my friends who have come down have gone to Uni because they all have at least one child under the age of 5 and to them it is pointless to spend money if one child can't ride a lot.

So yes, is Disney slacking? Yes. Are they losing some business? Yes. Should they move faster and do more? Yes. Is it Truly causing them to lose massive amounts of money? Probably Not. I think all Disney cares about is the bottom line, they could care less about us Theme Park lovers that want more. Until they really start to get hit (which eventually will come if they keep this up) they won't change. By then it will be too late and it will require a lot of change (e.g. Uni had same issue prior to building WWOHP). That is why Disney does little things and not huge things. Minus new fantasy land. Which talking to GP, they are shocked they did it, but they know they did it to match WWOHP. That is the sense I get. Most people don't even know when they come down there is something new at Disney.

Spot on from my prespective the view on this forum doesnt reflect what happens outside of Florida and WDW is a much bigger draw to foreign toursits than Uni. Not saying its right just saying Disney mass market far out weights Uni with or without Potter

 

[rhino4evr]

Disney will always be the "main attraction "for most foreign visitors...and for pretty good reason.
Disney had the "resort vacation" down pat. They have literally thought of everything for visitiors in the way of accomodations, transporation ease, intergrated park/hotel/dining etc.

And ultimately, this is why Disney has been lacking on park updates, etc. There intention is to get people in the resort and to make them stay in the resort for their entire trip. They are very good at making guests feel welcome, and making them feel like they have nothing to worry about.

 

[IzzyB]

Disney will always be the "main attraction "for most foreign visitors...and for pretty good reason.
Disney had the "resort vacation" down pat. They have literally thought of everything for visitiors in the way of accomodations, transporation ease, intergrated park/hotel/dining etc.

And ultimately, this is why Disney has been lacking on park updates, etc. There intention is to get people in the resort and to make them stay in the resort for their entire trip. They are very good at making guests feel welcome, and making them feel like they have nothing to worry about.

Yep, which is why the NextGen project is the way it is. Because it will be easier for those guest to get around, purchase stuff, and plan out their trip. Disney has been going after the all inclusive trip mentality as much as they can because they know that will attract more people. So the last 20 years have been concentrating on that and they have done a VERY good job at that. Tons of people visit Orlando and basically never leave the Disney property. Kind of like going on a cruise and never leaving the ship other than "planned" excursions that the ship plans for you. The parks are the excursions. People go on cruises to visit the islands, but they select a cruise ship because of the amenities that are offered. People come to Orlando to visit the theme parks, but they pick Disney based on the amenities. Disney figured that out and capitalized on it even in a bad economy. Now I think after the nextgen we will start to see more attractions projects. Because I think Uni made them do that, but we will never see the speed that Uni is moving. Uni has too, because they don't have the amenities that Disney has. They are the excursion that you plan on your own when you go on a cruise, how many people really do that?

You can bash Disney all you want for them not having a clue of what is going on, but in reality they have a great business model. They are making the money, but I think Uni is chipping into that money more than they expected and now they need to jump on board the building new attractions boat.

 

[rhino4evr]

Well I hope they build more rides..and update the parks, but that still seems lower on their agenda.

 

[justinmb98]

We were at MK during our 3 day stint at Disney last week and found the FLE to be extremely disappointing. Yes, it looks nice but there just isn't enough there to keep our interest. TLM was pretty lame, we weren't going to do the Belle cardboard cutout show, Dumbo is Dumbo except there are two, Great Goofini is Barnstormer and there is the giant construction eyesore smack dab in the middle. Very disappointing indeed.

I wouldn't consider the rides to be the main point of New Fantasyland. It's just the fact you're entering a new world, which is what most of Disney World is. Also, what were you expecting TLM to be like? A fifty mph roller coaster with six inversions?

 

[IzzyB]

Well I hope they build more rides..and update the parks, but that still seems lower on their agenda.

I agree. As a theme park lover I want more rides. As a business major, I understand their business plan. My own brain likes to fight :catfight:

 

[J03Y]

Those "memories" are getting very pricey........with less ROI.

doesn't mean other people don't want to experience them. Izzy makes a fair point.

 

[PGP]

... You can bash Disney all you want for them not having a clue of what is going on, but in reality they have a great business model. They are making the money, but I think Uni is chipping into that money more than they expected and now they need to jump on board the building new attractions boat.

THIS! + all you stated prior! Spot on.

Many complain about current WDW (TDO), much with good reason from a frequent visitor standpoint, but their business model makes bank. GP is a different target market than very frequent visitors. I also believe it's been a long-term strategy & fight between the two sides in my brain!

 

[Disneyhead]

You can bash Disney all you want for them not having a clue of what is going on, but in reality they have a great business model. They are making the money, but I think Uni is chipping into that money more than they expected and now they need to jump on board the building new attractions boat.

So Disney stuns the competition and announces a new...........Shopping Mall.

 

[knokout1]

Disney will always be #1 in attendance in my opinion. It's just notorious for being...well Disney. They've done a really good job of telling kids who the heck Mickey Mouse is. Therefore when parents go "We're going to Disney" kids freak out. It's so easy to market it to kids. And people know when you go to Disney once every few years you go to all the parks, because the 2nd and 3rd ticket get cheaper and cheaper, not that they're still super expensive. And that is why Disney's lowest in attendance park is still higher in attendance than Uni, they in a way hold people in to fulfill the full Disney vacation. And with kids not being hard to impress parents will be mostly happy. But that's what a lot of peoples problems with Disney are right now, they are only reaching out to kids, and not giving adults any reason to come back.

 

[IzzyB]

So Disney stuns the competition and announces a new...........Shopping Mall.

But it follows their business model. Put more non-Disney shopping on property and again less reason for people to leave the property. Disney doesn't want people to see outside of Disney property, because once they are off Disney property they don't make money. The more time on Disney property the more money they make. Again the all inclusiveness that are going for. So it makes perfect sense for their business model. They are not going to rush and build a transformers type ride in a year like Uni. They are going to plan out their next attraction, because that is them. In the meantime they are following their business plan they have had set up for years and years. Them redoing DD is nothing new, they have wanted to do this for years. Just never had an attractive plan to bring in third party vendors, which is what they really want.

 

[Hatetofly]

Disney's business plan is brilliant, keep people on site and make it difficult to leave. I mean pick you up from the airport, handle all your other transportation needs for free, and all the food and shopping you could ever want is right there. Here's the problem, people don't come from all around the world to go shopping at DTD. That's a bonus. People COME for the parks, and stay for the convenience of easily accessible food and shopping. But when you don't give people enough new and exciting reasons to visit and your main attraction is becoming stale your entire resort begins to suffer.

Think about sports bars around major facilities across the country. A sports bar next to a team that puts forth effort year in and year out makes killer money. These are teams that are constantly reinvesting capital to there programs and give people a reason to sell out games. People come for the games but stay for the booze and food from sports bars as well as street side vendors. Now look at Sports bars that are next to facilities with teams who never reinvest capital. Those places are busy at first but without something to attract them back, they begin to wither and fail. This is an off the wall and extreme example but I'm just trying to give a different perspective.

 

[J03Y]

So Disney stuns the competition and announces a new...........Shopping Mall.

you act is if it doesn't look the least bit cool, or that other people don't find it the least bit cool. and that wasn't the point she was making in her post either.

 

[Disneyhead]

you act is if it doesn't look the least bit cool, or that other people don't find it the least bit cool. and that wasn't the point she was making in her post either.

It's a shopping mall. It's been 7 years since TDO opened a major attraction ANYWHERE on property. They are dragging a 40 year old parade down Main Street at night. An 11 year old parade at 3pm. 12 year old fireworks. Are they even still in the Theme Park business?