Virtual Toad
Well-Known Member
Why should I go all the way to WDW to replicate an experience I can already get at home?
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Disney Springs Plans: What do they mean?
- Thread starter WDW1974
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Why should I go all the way to WDW to replicate an experience I can already get at home?
hpyhnt 1000
Well-Known Member
Thanks for the pics and info. I'll be honest, though, a lot of those names didn't make me feel any better about this or dispell the "mall" notion from my head. Trader Sam's Enchanted Tiki Bar piqued my curiosity; that has potential, but it has to be done right.
AVPTI
Member
You can visit 4 world-class theme parks and 2 world-class water parks in your home area?
Where do you live?
DtD isn't supposed to draw in customers, it's a supplementary experience meant to enhance your vacation.
raven
Well-Known Member
Well I hardly think people will fly all the way to central Florida just to go shopping and skip the parks.
dcibrando
Well-Known Member
lol - I can't help but laugh at some of the reaction here
it's a shopping mall
just a way to get people to spend money
why go to Disney for this when I can do this at home
etc...etc...
geez people cmon... Disney is improving on something, expanding it, and making it somewhat appealing from the photos and all some want to do is complain.....so my question to those who apparently think DTD is supposed to be a 5th theme park or something, what would YOU do?
it's a shopping mall
just a way to get people to spend money
why go to Disney for this when I can do this at home
etc...etc...
geez people cmon... Disney is improving on something, expanding it, and making it somewhat appealing from the photos and all some want to do is complain.....so my question to those who apparently think DTD is supposed to be a 5th theme park or something, what would YOU do?
raven
Well-Known Member
Wish it were Trader Vics instead.
c-one
Well-Known Member
I get the sense, with the "elevated tracks" patios and such, that this is the final push in, er, pushing DTD nightlife to West Side rather than PI. Which I guess has happened by default already. Dividing the shopping/dining areas with a big separate-ticket nightlife area in the middle was the first DTD misstep back in the late 90s as I recall it...this, finally, is TDO's way of fixing that faux pas and doing it up the way it should have been done from the very beginning.
dcibrando
Well-Known Member
AMEN!!!! that's what I'm saying!!! some just don't get it and would bash Disney regardless
Yes, but how many of those vendors are offered locally to them as well? One of the draws for WDW was the uniqueness of their offerings, be it the rides, attractions, dining or shopping.
dcibrando
Well-Known Member
so you'd rather Disney spend time trying to come up with and run say 40 unique new stores to compete with others people already shop at and love?
Virtual Toad
Well-Known Member
First, I live an hour and a half away, so I can visit theme parks and water parks in my home area. Though right now "world class" is open to debate and a lot of Florida folks are passing up the mouse in favor of other offerings.
Secondly, DtD, specifically Pleasure Island, was supposed to and *did* draw customers. Customers who would plan trips to WDW specifically because of PI. Customers who would stay at deluxe hotels, book spa treatments and eat at expensive restaurants.
So DtD was a draw. What's on the drawing board, while it does look quite nice, is still a mall. Not a draw. That's the difference.
How about just one unique store, instead of utilizing the likes of American Girl, New Balance or Coach?
Genie of the Lamp
Well-Known Member
If they re opened/re updated the former PI Nightclubs, it would be a big step in the right direction. This is a good question though. I need some time to seriously think about my concept for this area.
Edit: Wow! After a boring weekend of news, this has been a great discussion thread that I've seen in a while not named Spirited n&o. Love me some online socrative discussions.
Edit: Wow! After a boring weekend of news, this has been a great discussion thread that I've seen in a while not named Spirited n&o. Love me some online socrative discussions.
articos
Well-Known Member
WDI will always have a major hand in overseeing concept and design, no matter who is contracted to actually do the drawings.
To everyone saying "Where is the magic?" keep in mind this is all prelim. The project info hasn't been released yet, and the entire project is still being worked on, like @raven said. Also, keep in mind, the Village was ALWAYS a shopping district, i.e., an outdoor mall. Do I like what I see? So far, I think some of the plans are "over-imagineering" and dumb...the backstory is a bit much, and to me, unnecessary. You don't need to completely rethink the Village's reason for being and add a storyline. I'm sorry, it's overkill, and imagineers justifying their presence. Just add a killer environment with one-of-a-kind experiences, including dining, shopping and entertainment, while paying homage to the existing footprint. That said, they are doing that, in a way. Adding TopShop/TopMan and many of the vendors and 3rd party Operating Partners in creates a one of a kind experience for Central Florida, and also for many of the visitors who will be visiting from parts of the country that don't get that type of retail or dining. And I understand using the story to justify things like shade structures, which are necessary. But they aren't necessarily being first to bat creatively - copying things that already exist like the High Line and Americana/The Grove. So...is Disney being Disney? Yes. And No. But for now, let's wait and see what happens. If the full fat plan comes to pass, it could be the beginning of a great new space for retail/dining/entertainment without having to leave the property. If the cheap plan comes to pass, it could be the same-old, same-old. Let the project be finalized and announced, then go to town - I'll be the first to tear into it along with '74.
Virtual Toad
Well-Known Member
Well I hardly think people will fly all the way to central Florida just to go shopping and skip the parks.
My point exactly.
c-one
Well-Known Member
Yep, this is true. Back in the glory days of the Village Marketplace -- the first time it was called that -- the shops and dining areas were, mostly, unique and unusual. In some ways it became a victim of its own success in the sense that A) the "outdoor upscale lifestyle center" thing became trendy long after WDW had an early example of it, and B) places like Rainforest Cafe used Disney as a springboard to expand to known resort hotspots like Burlington, Massachusetts and such.
Heck, back in the 90s I remember my family and I would visit "the Village" just to hang out at night. These plans seem nice and would address some of DTD's problems... but do they turn DTD back into a destination? I'm not sure...maybe. We'll see. Sounds like there's some nightlife potential. But it seems that the shopping concepts have left the station. I don't even mind third-party operators if they bring something that's not Anymall USA to the table (and I don't want "unique to Central Florida," I want "unique in the world" -- this is a vacation destination!)... but an Apple Store? Who's buying an iMac on vacation?
dcibrando
Well-Known Member
not many... but I've been on a Disney trip before where I needed an iPhone repair so ya know
raven
Well-Known Member
You would pick the most common ones in the bunch to prove your point but there are plenty on there that most have never been to.
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