Disney Next Door

SilentWindODoom

Well-Known Member
Original Poster
Someone in the Iger concept art thread mentioned a park in Virginia. I don't mean he thought it was going to happen, but maybe that it should. Anyway, that got me thinking. I live in New York, about an hour and a half up from the city, and Vriginia would be less than 12 hours away. It's about halfway between me and Walt Disney World, which is about 22 hours away by car (which is how we go).

Now, here comes the problem. Nearly all of us have been going to Disney for years, whether it be Disney World, Disneyland, Disneyland Paris, or Tokyo Disneyland (Hong Kong's a it too recent for this topic). We have great memories of it, and it's our park. Now, say that a park opened right near you. What would you do? Would you go there instead?

I've been going to Disney World since I was 5 in 1992, and it's the place I know and love. If a new Disney park opened right near me, I don't know what I'd do. Of course I'd visit, but it still wouldn't be the same old place. Disney World has the parks, the sights, and even the resorts that I love and know so much.

It hurts my head to think of it.:hammer:

What do you guys think? How would you feel? What would you do?

EDIT: Okay, lemme add a little something since it seems some didn't get the whole part about Virginia. Yes, there were plans that a park called Disney's America would be built in Virginia, and that plan never came to fruition. When a Virginia park was mentioned in the concept art topic, it was merely a hypothetical, "What if they put a park in Virginia" and not related to the uncreated park. This topic is merely a hypothetical of what would you do if a park went in right near you. In this situation, it would be a Disneyland/Magic Kingdom type park, which will probably be joined by resorts and other parks.
 
Of course I would go there! It would be very close to me since I live in VA. I would probably try to get a job there while I still live in Virginia, but I would still make my 2x a year trips to Walt Disney World.
 

sbkline

Well-Known Member
Something tells me that any such park would be along the lines of DisneyLand and nothing comparable to WDW. DisneyLand is smaller than its Florida counterpart, MK, and there is the California Adventure, and a couple hotels, but that dwarfs in comparison to the slew of hotels of WDW, its 4 parks, 2 water parks, DT, golf courses, mini-golf, etc. To my knowledge, the other Disney locations around the world are more comparable to DisneyLand than to WDW.

In other words, any hypothetical park built in one's "backyard" would still be a Six Flags compared to the one in Orlando, so while we may visit that place, it couldn't possibly take the place of WDW.

For those Star Wars buffs out there, the comparison would be as follows:

All other Disney Parks would be the equivalent of the Star Destroyers, while Walt Disney World in Orlando would be the giant, Super Star Destroyer that Darth Vader rides on. It totally dwarfs them all put together. :lol:
 

rcapolete

Active Member
There was talk years ago about putting in a Disney park that was going to be dedicated to Colonial life in the area. It was going to be more of an edicational type park and not so much a MK type park if my memory is right.
 

CleveRocks

Active Member
The Virginia idea was abandoned years ago, in 1994. It was to be in Manassas and was to be called Disney's America. There was a popular uprising against from the locals because they felt it would have had negative effects on the local area, as well as the fact that part of it was sited on a Civil War battlefield, which is popularly felt to be sacred ground. It was officially withdrawn by Eisner and Disney in September of 1994, before it got any further than attempts at local approvals (zoning variances and stuff like that). Disney considered that all of the negative press it was getting made the project no longer worthwhile.
 

PintoColvig

Active Member
Something tells me that any such park would be along the lines of DisneyLand and nothing comparable to WDW.

In other words, any hypothetical park built in one's "backyard" would still be a Six Flags compared to the one in Orlando...
Wait...are you saying that Disneyland is akin to Six Flags?!! :eek:
 

sbkline

Well-Known Member
Wait...are you saying that Disneyland is akin to Six Flags?!! :eek:

I can't say that, since I've never been there. But a buddy of mine who has been there has compared it to Six Flags. :p

But my point is that, compared to WDW it would be roughly akin to Six Flags. Perhaps better, but still probably just a one day amusement park and not a top of the line vacation destination.
 

PintoColvig

Active Member
I can't say that, since I've never been there. But a buddy of mine who has been there has compared it to Six Flags. :p

But my point is that, compared to WDW it would be roughly akin to Six Flags. Perhaps better, but still probably just a one day amusement park and not a top of the line vacation destination.
I get what you are saying. As for DL, I haven't been there myself but will make my first visit in July. Still, it's Walt's original and a Disney "mecca". Granted, there are fewer Disney parks in Anaheim but many would argue that DL, though more diminutive than its diminuitive cousin (MK), is the superior park and definitely not a Six Flags.
 

sbkline

Well-Known Member
I get what you are saying. As for DL, I haven't been there myself but will make my first visit in July. Still, it's Walt's original and a Disney "mecca". Granted, there are fewer Disney parks in Anaheim but many would argue that DL, though more diminutive than its diminuitive cousin (MK), is the superior park and definitely not a Six Flags.

But you can't just compare the two parks, IMO. Even if DisneyLand is better than MK (and maybe it is, maybe it isn't, since I haven't been there), there is still the fact that WDW has 4 parks, plus a slew of hotels, two water parks, 2 mini-golf sites and 3 or 4 golf sites.

DisneyLand has the two parks, a Downtown Disney, if I am not mistaken, and, if I am again not mistaken, only two resort hotels. It pretty well dwarfs in comparison to WDW and would hardly rival it as a full blown vacation destination. And I would venture to guess that the hypothetical park that the OP speaks of would probably be even smaller.

So again, I don't think it would be an either/or scenario. It would be like Six Flags in the sense that it would provide a good one day amusement park to go to on your day off, but it would hardly replace WDW as your vacation destination on your two weeks off next summer.

And my friend who compared DL to Six Flags is a WDW fan as well. He's actually the manager of the local DMV and he comes into my office every week to deliver voter registrations from the previous week. He compared it to Six Flags because, after visiting WDW, he was unimpressed. He said it was much smaller, and was surrounded by the city and those "cheap restaraunts and tacky motels" that prompted Walt to try again, as opposed to WDW which, of course, has all the land to prevent the city from encroaching on its parks. Again, I can neither agree nor disagree with his assessment, having never been there. However, since I am a Six Flags junkie as well and love my annual day off trip to Six Flags, I wouldn't consider it a total insult to compare Disney to Six Flags. :D
 

SilentWindODoom

Well-Known Member
Original Poster
Well, it depends on who the person is. To the average guest, Disneyland and Disney's California Adventure, with a couple of hotels and a little downtown area, look paltry and sad compared to the Walt Disney World complex. On the other hand, if it's a Disney fanatic, the park means a lot more, and isn't just a tiny cramped version of Magic Kingdom.

A fanatic can go "Holy crap! This is the original Pirates, the original Haunted Mansion, the original castle that Walt Disney himself saw built. This is the realization of a great man's dream! Look! They still have the original Tropical Serenade, and there's Mr. Toad's Wild Ride!"

On the other hand, a casual person may just say "Why is the castle so small... and pink? I mean, the Indy Ride is pretty sweet, and they got this big mountain they don't have back East, but there's no grand lagoon, and the Haunted Mansion doesn't even look that creepy. The monorail goes a total of five feet which is also the amount of steps it would take to get across the park if I didn't have to take baby steps because of how cramped this place is. I gotta stand around Tom Sawyer Island to watch Fantasmic? This is rediculous, and the outside world is right there. Jeez, Disney World makes this place look like Six Flags."

It's like how a person who appreciated classic cars may love the old boxy cars without all the modern features, but someone who doesn't get it wan't the latest model with GPS and 5-disc CD changer.

Oh, and my name has nothing to do with flatulence, although that might have been a double entendre the writers meant to put in. A cookie to anyone who knows where my screen name came from!
 

PintoColvig

Active Member
But you can't just compare the two parks, IMO. Even if DisneyLand is better than MK (and maybe it is, maybe it isn't, since I haven't been there), there is still the fact that WDW has 4 parks, plus a slew of hotels, two water parks, 2 mini-golf sites and 3 or 4 golf sites.

DisneyLand has the two parks, a Downtown Disney, if I am not mistaken, and, if I am again not mistaken, only two resort hotels. It pretty well dwarfs in comparison to WDW and would hardly rival it as a full blown vacation destination. And I would venture to guess that the hypothetical park that the OP speaks of would probably be even smaller.

So again, I don't think it would be an either/or scenario. It would be like Six Flags in the sense that it would provide a good one day amusement park to go to on your day off, but it would hardly replace WDW as your vacation destination on your two weeks off next summer.

And my friend who compared DL to Six Flags is a WDW fan as well. He's actually the manager of the local DMV and he comes into my office every week to deliver voter registrations from the previous week. He compared it to Six Flags because, after visiting WDW, he was unimpressed. He said it was much smaller, and was surrounded by the city and those "cheap restaraunts and tacky motels" that prompted Walt to try again, as opposed to WDW which, of course, has all the land to prevent the city from encroaching on its parks. Again, I can neither agree nor disagree with his assessment, having never been there. However, since I am a Six Flags junkie as well and love my annual day off trip to Six Flags, I wouldn't consider it a total insult to compare Disney to Six Flags. :D
Again, I get what you are saying and agree that, in scope, WDW is superior to DL. Not to be argumentative here, but if you can't compare DL with WDW, you shouldn't also compare it with Six Flags. I've had fun at Six Flags myself but it is not even in the same league with the worst Disney park. JMO. :wave:
 

Mansion Butler

Active Member
I would go to a near by park all the time, but it wouldn't replace Disney World.

I love Disneyland and all, but I wouldn't take a real vacation there as often as I would World. And even if I lived in southern California, I'd want to go to World pretty often.
 

Mansion Butler

Active Member
The Virginia idea was abandoned years ago, in 1994. It was to be in Manassas and was to be called Disney's America. There was a popular uprising against from the locals because they felt it would have had negative effects on the local area, as well as the fact that part of it was sited on a Civil War battlefield, which is popularly felt to be sacred ground. It was officially withdrawn by Eisner and Disney in September of 1994, before it got any further than attempts at local approvals (zoning variances and stuff like that). Disney considered that all of the negative press it was getting made the project no longer worthwhile.

And to add, it was sold to the Boy Scouts of America and is now sort of a Cub Scout theme park.

a casual person may just say "Why is the castle so small... and pink?

Unfortunately, WDW's castle is now pink, too. :\
 

Mansion Butler

Active Member
Wait...are you saying that Disneyland is akin to Six Flags?!! :eek:

I'll compare it to Six Flags in that it's a day park, not a vacation. It's a billion times better a day park than any Six Flags could ever hope to be, but it's still just a day park. Disney World is an incredible vacation.
 

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