Are we on the cusp of major attraction announcements??!!

[wannab@dis]

Im sorry but Buzz lightyear is most certainly not an eticket. You would put Buzz, with its loveable cardboard cut outs and cheaply thrown together queue, in the same category as HM, POTC, Space Mountain, Splash Mountain, Star Tours, Big Thunder, and Tower of Terror?????

unbelievable...

 

[speck76]

Very good post, Speck. I think you nailed the jist of theme park development.

I would like to add one thing. I think they need to focus on the smaller attractions for one major reason. Enduring magic. While a romp through M:S or EE is great, I find the experience of the smaller attractions to be as fulfilling, if not more so. So sure, the Train at MK may not pull the crowds to the door, but it goes a long ways to create that wistful feeling that you want to go back and see again.

Even more so, I think people would agree that it's not just attractions that create this desire to go back. The view down Main Street after walking through the entrance is talked about all the time. So a new E-Ticket may have spurred a guest to book the trip, every time they walk through the gate, they encounter the view that keeps the magic alive.

It's a careful balance of providing a hook to get people to the parks and then bringing them back with the magic of the experience. That's the reason that I don't think a new E-ticket HAS to be built every few months. They can take advantage of the hook for a long period of time, but they need to have changes to overall experience (i.e. smaller attractions, shows, streetmosphere) to keep it fresh and inviting for return visits.

Balance is key....if the park spends $120 on a new E-ticket, yeah....that will draw people in, but what will keep them there? After they ride the 1 new attraction.....if everything else is old, dated, or non-relevant (i.e. MGM) what keeps people in the park, and/or coming back.

Now, look at the MK....the park has not opened a huge new attraction since 1992 with Splash Mountain.....but what they have done is open a ton of filler....even in the last few years. When the MK finally has a new MAJOR E-ticket built, there is plenty of other attractions to keep people occupied.

On the other hand...MGM....opened an E-ticket show in 2005.....E-ticket ride in 1999, and E-ticket ride in 1994....yet none of the other core attractions have changed much since opening....it is still the same shows since 1991, the same core rides since 89/90.....the park has NO balance. MGM could be due for another E-ticket, as its attendance is still off majorly from the 90's peaks, but what good would it do....IoA proves that a park with a ton of E-tickets, but little in the way of core attractions, is not going to be a major success. While MGM could benefit from a major E-ticket...opening it without the correct support attractions in place would be a waste.

 

[Glasgow]

Balance is key....if the park spends $120 on a new E-ticket, yeah....that will draw people in, but what will keep them there? After they ride the 1 new attraction.....if everything else is old, dated, or non-relevant (i.e. MGM) what keeps people in the park, and/or coming back.

Now, look at the MK....the park has not opened a huge new attraction since 1992 with Splash Mountain.....but what they have done is open a ton of filler....even in the last few years. When the MK finally has a new MAJOR E-ticket built, there is plenty of other attractions to keep people occupied.

On the other hand...MGM....opened an E-ticket show in 2005.....E-ticket ride in 1999, and E-ticket ride in 1994....yet none of the other core attractions have changed much since opening....it is still the same shows since 1991, the same core rides since 89/90.....the park has NO balance. MGM could be due for another E-ticket, as its attendance is still off majorly from the 90's peaks, but what good would it do....IoA proves that a park with a ton of E-tickets, but little in the way of core attractions, is not going to be a major success. While MGM could benefit from a major E-ticket...opening it without the correct support attractions in place would be a waste.

I totally agree with your sentiments Speck - you make a lot of good points. People tend to fixate on the large attractions but it's the numerous smaller ones that seem to engage people more and keep them coming back. It's a big matter of balance .. which is not easy to achieve at this level