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News Disney Considered Building Hotels Inside Magic Kingdom, Court Records Reveal

T

Touchdown

Well-Known Member
ManicMillennial said:
Logistically that is a nightmare because of how far away everything is from each other. If the extended the Skyliner to Magic Kingdom the ride from Art of Animation would take forever and probably have 4 or so switch overs at various locations.
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That’s why I didn’t say Skyliner as a possibility. This system only works with multiple hubs (the parks) and an express option between those hubs.
 
lentesta

lentesta

Premium Member
aladdin2007 said:
I still want Disney's Mediterranean Resort.

Long visualized as a new jewel in the crown of resorts surrounding Seven Seas Lagoon, Disney's Mediterranean Resort will occupy a prime location on the monorail line between Disneys Contemporary Resort and the Transportation and Ticket Center. Its 1,000 deluxe rooms and suites will capture the romance of the sunny resorts of the Greek Islands. It will also provide a luxurious new convention facility with more than 65,000 square feet of meeting space and outstanding recreational facilities including a marina.

--from the company's press materials in the 90s. ⛱️☀️😎🌞
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I have these construction plans if you’re interested.

1774990841432.jpeg
 
T

Touchdown

Well-Known Member
ManicMillennial said:
I share in your dream but the infrastructure costs alone make this highly unlikely to ever happen.
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I know it’s unlikely but, if they built that system they could increase the room rate of practically every hotel on the property, in addition to the savings in not needing bus drivers and presuming the new system would need less manpower and make it far more appealing to stay on property.

That said, that’s a 20 year outlook, not a quarterly one so it’s unlikely to happen.
 
ManicMillennial

ManicMillennial

Well-Known Member
Touchdown said:
I know it’s unlikely but, if they built that system they could increase the room rate of practically every hotel on the property, in addition to the savings in not needing bus drivers and presuming the new system would need less manpower and make it far more appealing to stay on property.

That said, that’s a 20 year outlook, not a quarterly one so it’s unlikely to happen.
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It’s sad what a lost art the simple ability to look ahead has become in corporate culture these days.
 
lazyboy97o

lazyboy97o

Well-Known Member
lentesta said:
I have these construction plans if you’re interested.

View attachment 914492
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Awkshually :geek:

These are not construction plans. This is a schematic design set, which is still relatively early in the Disney design process and very early in the traditional architectural design process. I think a lot people here would be surprised by the drawings and how much detail isn’t anywhere near enough detail to actually build.

Schematic structural design is also the sort of thing that should be done after a geotechnical analysis. These drawings kind of run counter to the stories of the ground at the site being soup.
 
dmc493

dmc493

Well-Known Member
lazyboy97o said:
Awkshually :geek:

These are not construction plans. This is a schematic design set, which is still relatively early in the Disney design process and very early in the traditional architectural design process. I think a lot people here would be surprised by the drawings and how much detail isn’t anywhere near enough detail to actually build.

Schematic structural design is also the sort of thing that should be done after a geotechnical analysis. These drawings kind of run counter to the stories of the ground at the site being soup.
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Schematics can be great to frame though since it focuses on the higher level design aesthetic / layouts / conceptual renderings and lacks the detail needed to actually build... but this set's got structural sheets so they at least moved out of napkin sketch stage! I'm sure they're still wildly preliminary and lacking detail
 
M

MouseEarsMom33

Well-Known Member
monothingie said:
One of two possible reasons I can think of why they put it on the shelf.

Any hotel would command a substantial price premium. The failure of the Star Wars hotel is a stinging reminder of what happens when price exceeds customer expectations, especially if it is either a boutique style hotel or the level of service is not on par with the price. While I'm sure it would have been exceedingly popular to start (because it's new), longterm it could fail to deliver, which unlike the Star Wars hotel, because it is directly interfaced with the park, would be a hard thing to ignore.

The other reason is, they didn't want to spend the money. A lot of these expansions start off grand and get whittled away as the development of the project progresses.
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This is different than the Star Wars hotel. The size and entertainment of the hotel made the price tag high. And then someone had to be willing to follow the schedule and could only book for 2 days for a couple thousand dollars. And there weren't true resort amenities (to my understanding) like the pool.They could easily sell a hotel in the park at Grand Floridian prices. Grand Californian has a direct park entrance and also isn't hard to sell. I think direct access to Magic Kingdom would be all it would need to sell.

I don't think it has anything to do with money. They are building the Lakeside resort and could make it DVC, at least partially.

My guess is there isn't ideal space for a resort there or that the idea isn't dead yet but could be something that is shared at a future D23 as we get closer to Villains Land opening.
 
S

Splash4eva

Well-Known Member
This resort idea imo is very tricky for them… you sell direct access to MK that undermines your 3 existing monorail resorts and DVC hotels along with your others that are right there where you sell “location and access” to the MK.
 
monothingie

monothingie

Plusser of Turbocharged Activations!
Premium Member
MouseEarsMom33 said:
This is different than the Star Wars hotel. The size and entertainment of the hotel made the price tag high. And then someone had to be willing to follow the schedule and could only book for 2 days for a couple thousand dollars. And there weren't true resort amenities (to my understanding) like the pool.They could easily sell a hotel in the park at Grand Floridian prices. Grand Californian has a direct park entrance and also isn't hard to sell. I think direct access to Magic Kingdom would be all it would need to sell.

I don't think it has anything to do with money. They are building the Lakeside resort and could make it DVC, at least partially.

My guess is there isn't ideal space for a resort there or that the idea isn't dead yet but could be something that is shared at a future D23 as we get closer to Villains Land
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Whatever could’ve happened here would likely have a price point for exceeding the Grand Floridian. I would say it would probably be higher than four seasons.

If you look at hotel development on property over the past two decades, it has been overwhelmingly tilted towards DVC. There’s a rea$on for that.

The numbers on developing this as a DVC may not work out. We have seen with recent properties that there is an upper limit on what people will do in buying into the resort.

On the other side, a massive standard hotel commanding top pricing on property may not work in the mid to long-term range. There’s always been this illusion that the whales come en masse to Disney to spend their money. Beyond the initial round of lifestylers there could potentially not be a market for this hotel in quantities that it would take to maintain profitability. If you look at club rooms at deluxe resort as a gauge of willingness to spend “luxury” accommodations, it really shows that the market doesn’t exist.
 
M

MouseEarsMom33

Well-Known Member
monothingie said:
Whatever could’ve happened here would likely have a price point for exceeding the Grand Floridian. I would say it would probably be higher than four seasons.

If you look at hotel development on property over the past two decades, it has been overwhelmingly tilted towards DVC. There’s a rea$on for that.

The numbers on developing this as a DVC may not work out. We have seen with recent properties that there is an upper limit on what people will do in buying into the resort.

On the other side, a massive standard hotel commanding top pricing on property may not work in the mid to long-term range. There’s always been this illusion that the whales come en masse to Disney to spend their money. Beyond the initial round of lifestylers there could potentially not be a market for this hotel in quantities that it would take to maintain profitability. If you look at club rooms at deluxe resort as a gauge of willingness to spend “luxury” accommodations, it really shows that the market doesn’t exist.
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I agree that the price point would likely be above Grand Floridian. But it doesn't have to be. Disney doesn't have to set prices so high that no one would reserve rooms. That's why I said Grand Floridian could be a starting point if they had issues selling the rooms.

But you do make a good point. I wonder how many fewer rooms would sell at the other monorail resorts, and then Disney would lose money on those rooms.
 
monothingie

monothingie

Plusser of Turbocharged Activations!
Premium Member
MouseEarsMom33 said:
I agree that the price point would likely be above Grand Floridian. But it doesn't have to be. Disney doesn't have to set prices so high that no one would reserve rooms. That's why I said Grand Floridian could be a starting point if they had issues selling the rooms.

But you do make a good point. I wonder how many fewer rooms would sell at the other monorail resorts, and then Disney would lose money on those rooms.
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The GF doesn't necessarily have the most expensive rooms on the monorail. That distinction now goes to the Poly. If anything in the past decade, the GF has lost many of the touches that distinguished itself from the other resorts.

Turndown service, a mint on your pillow daily, 24 hour room service, actual personal concierge are now things of the past that will never come back.
 
Bocabear

Bocabear

Well-Known Member
Helios is as much inside the park as the DLP hotel is.... it is definitely in the park for all inte3nts and purposes.....and really the only way that an "in park" hotel can be done... an outside entrance with a park facing side...and the only way you can close the park and still have access to the hotel for guests....
 

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