I came across this article about the possibility of WDW building a real (not a STOLPORT) airport on property.
The article is from 1999 ...but... I found it pretty interesting and was wondering if anybody has heard anything else about this ?
http://www.danielgunter.com/airport.htm
The article is from 1999 ...but... I found it pretty interesting and was wondering if anybody has heard anything else about this ?
http://www.danielgunter.com/airport.htm
THE HAPPIEST AIRPORT ON EARTH -- What's the Mouse's Next Move ?
With Universal's Islands of Adventure officially opening to the public this Friday, entertainment industry analysts have actively speculating at what Disney's going to do in response. Given the great press coverage their rival's new theme park has gotten (Reports have called IOA the "most technological advanced theme park in the country" and "the greatest theme park in all of Central Florida"), it's assumed that Disney's got to do *SOMETHING* to put its Florida resort back on the map.
So what's Disney's gonna do? Build a fifth Florida theme park, loaded with thrill rides that will top anything that "Islands" has got? Nope. Disney's got trouble enough right now dealing with the hit Epcot and Disney-MGM attendance took when Animal Kingdom opened last year. Contrary to what Disney had hoped would happen (That -- by adding a fourth park to their Florida property -- guests would be forced to tack an additional day onto their WDW vacation, so that they wouldn't miss a single bit of Disney Magic), the Mouse learned the hard way that there seem to be real limits as to how much time and money people are willing to spend on their WDW vacation. Rather than extending their stay to see everything, guests opted instead to pick and choose which Disney parks they'd go to Visiting Disney's Animal Kingdom INSTEAD of Epcot or Disney-MGM. Unconfirmed reports suggest that -- from the day Animal kingdom opened -- Epcot's attendance levels plunged as much as 20%, Disney-MGM 17%, and even the Magic Kingdom had 10% fewer guests.
So no fifth Disney theme park. Not for a long while yet. Not till Disney gets attendance levels back up at its older Florida theme parks. That's why the Mouse is on a building binge right now -- adding new rides and/or revamping tired old shows at the Magic Kingdom, Disney-MGM and Epcot. Disney's spending all of this dough -- rumored to be as much as $150 million per park -- just so guests won't bypass the pre-existing WDW theme parks in their rush to see Animal Kingdom.
But that's just what Disney is doing to prevent cannibalization of attendance among its own theme parks. What's the Mouse going to do now that it has some real competition in Central Florida -- Universal's Islands of Adventure opening this week and Sea World's ultra exclusive Discovery Cove opening in Spring 2000? How do you do to keep your guests on your property -- eating, shopping and spending at *YOUR* theme parks -- when the competition down the street has gotten too good to resist?
Simple. You take away their wheels. Guests can't drive off property to visit Universal or Sea World if they don't have rental cars.
But how do you take away guests rental cars? Simple again. Guests don't need rental cars if they're flying directly to Disney property.
That's right. A DISNEY AIRPORT!
In a move sure to have an impact on all of Central Florida, Disney is seriously considering building a international airport right on Disney property. Reportedly to be located in the northwestern portion of Disney's Orange County land holdings, this facility would be the linch pin of a whole new Disney vacation experience.
Picture this....You book a trip to Walt Disney World through Disney Travel. They arrange for you to fly in to Disney property. Once you arrive, you collect your bags and head straight to several dozen WDW Guest Services windows -- located right there in the Disney airport terminal. You show your Disney Travel confirmation paperwork to the attendant. They take your bags, tag them and have them sent to the appropriate WDW hotel. The attendant then issues you your theme park pass, then points you toward the shuttle that will take you wherever you want to go on property. Less than an hour after you've landed, you're standing on Main Street U.S.A. Best of all, when you get back to your hotel that night, your theme park admission ticket doubles as your room key card. Open the door and your bags will already be there inside your room -- waiting for you to unpack.
Just imagine. A hassle-free beginning to your Disney World vacation.
Plus -- on your last day at WDW vacation -- you don't have to leave the resort hours in advance of your flight to return that rental car or check in your bags. You just give your bags to the bellman as you're checking out of your WDW hotel. He tags them appropriately, making sure they're sent to the right flight at the airport. You get to play, shop and eat at Disney right up until an hour before your flight is scheduled. Then you grab the complimentary airport shuttle located right outside the entrance of your theme park, take a five minute ride to the airport, then stroll to your gate. What better way to end your WDW vacation?
Sound like a dream? Well, some former Disney Development executives --now WDI VPs -- are quite anxious for this dream to come true. They're doing financial feasibility studies and having quiet conversations with major airline executives -- feeling out who'd be willing to pay what to be the exclusive carrier for WDW's airport.
Just be warned, folks. This is far from being a done deal. But could it really happen? Disney history fans have long known that the Mouse has had the right to build its own airport on its Florida property since back in the 1960s. Language to this effect is included in the Reedy Creek Improvement District agreement. With the exception of a small air strip that the company used to maintain along World Drive near the Ticket and Transportation Center, Disney hasn't much interest in getting into the airport business ..till now.
But is it coincidental that rumors have begun circulating among WDW cast members about a massive expansion in Disney's internal transportation network is currently in the works? Plans have reportedly been seen that show a proposed extension of WDW's monorail network -- a line that would start at Epcot's entrance with an Epcot Resorts stop ( servicing guests at the Dolphin & the Swan as well as the Yacht & Beach Club) , a Disney-MGM stop, a Animal Kingdom Resorts stop (servicing guests staying at the Coronado and/or spending the day at Blizzard Beach) and an Animal Kingdom stop. While an expansion of the pre-existing WDW monorail system will be almost prohibitively expensive (Construction costs could run as high as $1 million per each quarter mile of track), this increase in capacity would be necessary if Disney's planning on have several thousand guests arrive on property each day that don't have cars.
There are even subtler signs the Disney may have an airport in its future. The new on-property maps that Disney Travel sends to resort guests who have booked WDW vacations makes no mention of Universal or Sea World. But it does go out of its way to depict Orlando International Airport as a teeny tiny place somewhere far off on the horizon. Below that image is this description "Orlando Airport -- 20 miles away." That doesn't make the place look or sound terribly convenient to WDW guests, now does it?
So this is how Disney intends to do battle with "Islands of Adventure." Not with more thrills. But with fewer wheels. Guests won't be able to rent a car at WDW's proposed airport. Disney will say that's because its own internal transportation network can get them where they want to go faster and/or fewer cars on WDW property is better for the environment. Given that a taxi ride to Universal or Sea World will be difficult to set up and pricey, some guests may grumble but -- since they're on vacation -- most will opt to just stay on property.
It's an ingenuous plan. Provided Disney has the balls to do it.
Why would Disney hesitate? Orange and Osceola County officials are sure to be furious when they hear that a WDW airport is in the works. (Not that they can do anything to stop it. The Florida legislature gave Disney the right to build its own airport if it wants. If Disney exercises that option, local officials really have no recourse.) They've just recently greenlighted a rail line that will run up the middle of I-4, linking downtown Orlando to the International Drive / Universal Resort area and Sea World. Their dream was to someday somehow have this line extend to Disney World, so that all of Central Florida's tourist attractions could be linked. It'll kill these guys to find out that Disney's looking into ways to close its borders.
But this is how Disney may finally opt to do battle with Universal & Sea World. Not with faster rides or more elaborate attractions. Just faster ways to get folks to the fun to be found on their property, as well as well quietly cutting off guest access to the other wonders to be found *OUTSIDE* of Walt Disney World.
