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Do you think Shanghai will go for another expansion next or go for a second gate?
- Thread starter Supersnow84
- Start date
Because money. TWDC has total ownership now remember.
DLP Parc hasn’t had a new build full stop since Space Mountain. It was quite a well fleshed out park at opening, and had the capacity enhancement program in 93-5 but since then…
Gusey
Well-Known Member
And 20 years this year since the last new ride, Buzz which replaced Timekeeper... All focus has just been on adding to WDS/DAW which is good for the resort but not for DLP Parc's lineup change
Pizza Moon
Well-Known Member
They never should’ve built WDSP, California Adventure, Hong Kong Disneyland, or Animal Kingdom. Disney-MGM was also underbaked though attempting something different than the others, that more attention should have gone to it, I guess same with AK, tho in that case they just needed to wait until it could open with Beastly Kingdom day one and an actually done right Dinoland. No excuse not opening with a ride as good as Tiger River Rapids either, even if it didn’t have many animals, Kalli opening not with the park and being mid except for pretty theming was a choice.
I mean as good as AK’s theming was, it only opened with 2 rides, one severely budget cut…
The entirety of the late 1990s and early 2000s besides OLC really screwed TWDC long-term.
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denyuntilcaught
Well-Known Member
I'd argue AK was fine to build, given it was never meant to be about the rides in silo.
WDSP and DCA on principle were doomed from the start. HKDL wasn't a bad idea, but a poorly executed one.
Pizza Moon
Well-Known Member
I disagree because as much as I love the park they should’ve put the money into Indiana Jones Adventure at MK, an actually good Imagination Update, and pour it into 2 new lands at MG-Studios.
Then, come like 2006, they open Animal Kingdom, except you know with maybe like 2027’s ride line-up opening day.
Meantime, you do Westcott at Disneyland, and HDKL is only done if it has a Shanghai budget.
cjkeating
Well-Known Member
In an April 2025 interview with Le Point, Disneyland Paris President Natacha Rafalski was asked directly about the third park. Her response was diplomatically optimistic:
“We are always working on the long-term planning and development of the destination. It is a constant topic for us. Quite honestly, we have nothing to announce at this time. But rest assured: we are always thinking about our future. Theme parks are, by their very nature, always destined to be developed and that is something we enjoy working on.”
The above is quoted from an article on The Main Street News website/blog.
Mr. Sullivan
Well-Known Member
If DAK hadn't opened when it did, it never would have. There's no way in hell Disney would've gone through with green lighting and building a new theme park with the economic climate of the early to mid 2000s.
BrianLo
Well-Known Member
I agree with the premise that additional gates tend to beset their former gates back by decade(s). IOA and USO are not in great shape.
I do think SDL is in a nearly ready state, though. It’s a pleasant, well maintained, fairly well rounded park in its current or near future form and some attendance splitting with a properly funded second gate will be a bonus. All of the non Tokyo late Eisner builds suffered from being underfunded, but I do think after a literal quarter century, they’ve all finally come into their own.
I do think SDL is in a nearly ready state, though. It’s a pleasant, well maintained, fairly well rounded park in its current or near future form and some attendance splitting with a properly funded second gate will be a bonus. All of the non Tokyo late Eisner builds suffered from being underfunded, but I do think after a literal quarter century, they’ve all finally come into their own.
Pizza Moon
Well-Known Member
I don’t disagree, but if they could’ve pulled it off it would’ve been a net positive over the flop after flop we got, and forever quieted the issues with WDW lacking rides per park.
I’m just glad we got AK with its current design philosophy because it would never EVER happen today.
We can all agree these parks should never been built at the time and budget they were built for. However in the long run it created millions of jobs and all of these parks except WDSP are considered good if not great parks today. So yeah they shouldn't have ever been built but I am happy there were
Regarding WDSP, agree on the too-low budget but it HAD to be built when it was.
WDSP is IMO the one with no excuse. I'm just happy that while the front of the park still sucks the new back with the lake and frozen looks amazing
denyuntilcaught
Well-Known Member
To marni's point, WDSP very much gave "fine, here, take it" energy. Versus DCA which, as we know, was based in hubris.
HKDL was always designed to be a test park - correct? - for the wider market. Which is odd in terms of thinking of its longevity.
HKDL was always designed to be a test park - correct? - for the wider market. Which is odd in terms of thinking of its longevity.
They contractually had to open a second gate by April 2002. Even Eisner admitted it was too small.
Very odd. But better than the first proposals!
Pizza Moon
Well-Known Member
It’s pretty remarkable what HKDL has become.
Started out opening day as a park where the Winnie the Pooh ride from MK was one of its “headliners” to something actually intentional.
Though, I think Shanghai today is significantly more impressive than Hong Kong today regardless.
If AK opened with Beastly Kingdom, a modified but full length Tiger River Run, and a full budget Dinoland with Countdown to Extinction done right, I’d agree. Toss in Expedition Everest when it opened and holy. It wouldn’t be quite Tokyo DisneySea level, but its realism angle and mission statement would actually give it competition I think at that scale. Plus, imagine what the eventual Pandora and Tropical Americas funds could’ve been used for: Mysterious Island, Lion King Land, or plenty of modern IP to make a North American/Oceania land), anyone?
Say Pandora still happens but it’s at a different location.
Dinoland could’ve expanded with an indoor Ice Age or Arctic/Antarctic land. Perfect for the park since it’s so heavily outdoors. We could use a Mermaid Lagoon.
Though, thankfully, it has tastefully expanded over the years. I think Tropical Americas is opening 3-4 too late, but if they do bring back a night show the park is up to par. I definitely don’t wish we didn’t get AK because it would never be made today.
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Pizza Moon
Well-Known Member
I totally agree.
Once Paris is built up better and Universal UK’s smaller park proves successful, and a better economy in Spain, maybe Disney will consider it, like in the 2040s. Greece would be stunning too, though worse position than Spain big picture.
The new UAE park will sort of operate as a second European gate to some degree, but in Eastern Europe, I mean Poland could host a park too. Perhaps more of a full complex in Spain catering to true “tourists” like WDW eventually and more like a Universal UK in Poland, tho lots of Spanish go to DLP, so Paris would REALLY have to begin holding its own which will decade a lot more expansions in their current two parks, and a continuation of the French becoming fans which is likely to continue.
I wouldn’t touch Germany since many go to DLP and you of course have Europa Park and others, so it’s basically a non-starter.
Cold just means your audience is more locals or “week long holidayers,” which you can plan accordingly for.
Personally think that somewhere in central/Eastern Europe would be nice, like in Vienna/Prague area
Rush
Well-Known Member
I think Paris is staying as the only European resort. The site is built to expand, and there's rumors of a third park not being so far off. That'll make it even more of a destination for the populations of the region.
Abu Dhabi will primarily serve Eastern Europe, India and Africa (next to the MENA region). With that, Disney would have leveraged every corner that can sustain a resort.
Abu Dhabi will primarily serve Eastern Europe, India and Africa (next to the MENA region). With that, Disney would have leveraged every corner that can sustain a resort.