Apologies, should have more clearly said I meant the West Side.
Agreed CityWalk copied (and in some ways improved upon) PI--but the West Side was a carbon copy of the new things CityWalk had done (Latin restaruant? check. Restaurant/music venue? check. No entrance gates? check.) The problem is they tried to copy the content without understanding the style--"what" it was but not "why" it worked.
Now DTD is building an unncessary parking garage. There is a MK-sized parking lot behind Cirque that sits empty almost every night of the year--and even had hundreds of open spaces on NYE. A parking garage won't make West Side more enticing, and won't stop guests from parking at DTD to avoid the $15 parking fees. But CityWalk has one, so we need to build one.
PI copied Church Street Station, and was a solution to helping keep guests on the property at night. It was ultimately in line with Eisner's plans for the FL property. In Hollywood, CityWalk was already being discussed as a way to fill space on the hilltop, filling a need to complement the Cineplex Odeon at Universal Hollywood and giving people a reason to stick around longer - the Cineplex wasn't walking distance to anything of note, so this allowed people to do dinner and a movie captively on Universal's property. CityWalk Hollywood was built with very little regard to what was going on in FL.
CityWalk FL was planned in FL as one part of the overall property expansion into Universal Orlando. UIOA and CityWalk Orlando were planned concurrently by different teams. CW Orlando planning started in the mid-90s, and was based more off of CityWalk Hollywood and where outdoor shopping was thought to be going than anything Disney was doing. When the DTD West Side was opened in 97, it was thought that they had some great anchors in Virgin, HoB, Cirque, DisneyQuest and the restaurants, and those would lead to more coming. They didn't have as much to spend on theming or the environment, and it shows. It was also expected there would be live entertainment out on the West Side that would liven things up, and that never really materialized. Unfortunately, it didn't work out as planned, where they thought future expansion would allow plussing as more funding was put in, and the area just never reached its potential. DisneyQuest was then shelved as a brand, and the location stagnated, Virgin died...you get the point. Also, the West Side opened in 97, then CW Orlando in 99. Both projects watched each other, but I wouldn't say they copied. These venues are always evolving. Sometimes the mix is going to be more nightclub, others, more shopping and family friendly. It's just the way of these zones. Right now, the new trend is outdoor lifestyle center, and that's what the planning of Disney Springs (or whatever it ends up being called) reflects.
RE: the parking garages,it is absolutely necessary. During peak nights, DTD parking is impossible. The lot behind Cirque is rarely used because it's so far off the beaten path and people just are averse to parking there. It does fill up, though, when people are directed to it. With additional capacity, the garage is needed. Also, as you know, the overflow lots are spread out quite a ways - a garage will lead to less guest complaints about having to walk forever to get to the car, not to mention in FL's frequent rain. I do agree that Orlando has a weird thing about garages, but that can helped over time.
