They are afraid Star Wars is too boy centric, yet chock their parks with Princess everything.
EXACTLY!!! TDO just needs to stop
They are afraid Star Wars is too boy centric, yet chock their parks with Princess everything.
You don't just open a park because you want to beat the other guys with hype and momentum at the moment. That's the kind of stuff that hurts you long term.But if LOTR doesn't work out, a 3rd gate is really the only thing I could see combating Star Wars Land in terms of hype/momentum.
You don't just open a park because you want to beat the other guys with hype and momentum at the moment. That's the kind of stuff that hurts you long term.
Just look at Hollywood Studios.
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Also, before this rumor gets out of control, Spirit mentioned that a few guys mentioned it as a concern with Avatar coming as well. He also said in the same breath that it will have no affect on the project moving forward.
You don't just open a park because you want to beat the other guys with hype and momentum at the moment. That's the kind of stuff that hurts you long term.
Just look at Hollywood Studios.
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Also, before this rumor gets out of control, Spirit mentioned that a few guys mentioned it as a concern with Avatar coming as well. He also said in the same breath that it will have no affect on the project moving forward.
I don't think you quite understand my analogy. Disney rushed to get MGM open ahead of Universal back in 1989 to beat them to the punch. It opened with very little to do and has struggled with an identity since.Only a park with DisneySea level theming wouldn't be Hollywood Studios bad comparison. I don't think Universal will do a rush job with a 3rd gate even if its by 2021
They're not building 3 hotels over the next 5 years for nothing - they're working towards being able to sustain a 3rd gate
Well two things I doubt this rumored 3rd gate would have:I don't think you quite understand my analogy. Disney rushed to get MGM open ahead of Universal back in 1989 to beat them to the punch. It opened with very little to do and has struggled with an identity since.
My point is, you don't open an entire park simply because you are trying to steal the other guys' thunder.
I think putting up a third gate would be an act of confidence. It shows that they are wanting to prove they are the best and that Diseny doesn't scare them, that they will make people want to come to Universal and just Universal. People who used to be Disney fanatics are now going on Universal only trips (got that from other boards), strike now and cement yourself. The fact you go on Disney forums and there are more articles and people talking about what Universal is doing than Disney proves Universal just needs to do a few more things before they take away a lot of Disney business and a third gate is that especially if its well themed.
True, nothing's locked in stone, but I can't imagine why they would need 7 hotels if it's just 2 parks... I agree that we won't see a 3rd gate for a while, but really, Comcast has shown they can get a lot done in a short amount of time, so I'd imagine they could easily get the two current parks up to speed. The problem is like you mentioned - getting USF and IOA to the attendance levels necessary for a 3rd gate (I'd say both would have to be where DHS, AK, and Epcot currently are - 10 to 11 million). Two full-week resorts is cutting it close - but like others have said, you can easily do USF and IOA in less than a day each. Throw in a 3rd gate and water park - most would probably stay 3 or 4 days. There'd still be room for Disney - just not the 5 to 7 day ones they currently get from most guests. MK and Epcot will do fine since they're already full day parks.
DHS and AK are the two I'd reckon is what's in Comcast's sights. Pandora will get AK to maybe 11.5-12 million. DHS has no additions for the next 5 years at least... and Spirit at WDWMagic was hinting that TDO isn't sure about Star Wars since it's too "boy centric" so we may not get anything Star Wars until the 50th at WDW.
Potter has grown the market exponentially - and other IPs like LOTR and Nintendo could expand the market even more. Once people start realizing that Universal has something new and exciting every year, vacations may shift - especially when you consider how much WDW wasted on MM+. Not over night, not next year, not even 2016, but by Pandora, Disney's going to find out far too late that Universal is sneaking into the big boys club. Really, over 10 million each and 3 to 4 million for the water park/theme park hybrid would be enough for Comcast to begin considering a 3rd gate... maybe 11 million just to be safe, but by then, the parks would definitely generate enough revenue where a 3rd gate would be to Comcast's benefit.
And it's true that Disney is the only theme park company with more than 2 true theme parks - so I definitely would want Universal to be careful about not taking on too much. But if LOTR doesn't work out, a 3rd gate is really the only thing I could see combating Star Wars Land in terms of hype/momentum.
Well saidAlso, just think of the hotel to park ratio is at WDW. WDW has 24 resorts (I may be a tad off), 35 if you count the 3rd party hotels on property.
Just the 24 Disney hotels comes out to 6 hotels per park (Plus Typhoon and Blizzard). 7 hotels at Uni comes out to 3.5 per park with two parks (plus WonderSea).
Obviously WDW is larger and more of the tourists who come to Orlando currently stay on WDW property, but I see no reason why IOA/USF/WonderSea couldn't support 7 hotels with the rate of growth we are seeing.
Wow... hard to believe they may already be collecting IPs for that! I'd figure a lot would be Universal owned, but obviously LOTR wouldn't be. What other non-Uni IPs would they seriously be looking at?I would imagine that they are well into the securing of IPs for the third gate.
Well said
And it's probably that time to admit the 3rd gate is definitely a fanboy's wish at the moment if whylightbulb hadn't mentioned it, we all would have stuck to just hotel growth primarily. And it is likely that we aren't gonna hear any serious talks/development of a 3rd gate until a little while after Wondersea opens (maybe a year or two)... and they've got a long way to go before they have the infrastructure for holding 3 park's worth of guests in their current hotel options. 7 hotels would be the minimum for a 3rd gate to be considered - 8 to 10 would be safer than sorry, though.
I would imagine that they are well into the securing of IPs for the third gate.
I would imagine that they are well into the securing of IPs for the third gate.
That would be pretty short-sighted of them...who knows what will be popular over a decade from now, and even more importantly how do they know what will stand the test of time or not. IOA's IPs were secured later in the game, they were originally planning on having DC and Looney Tunes.
That would be pretty short-sighted of them...who knows what will be popular over a decade from now, and even more importantly how do they know what will stand the test of time or not. IOA's IPs were secured later in the game, they were originally planning on having DC and Looney Tunes.