po1998
Well-Known Member
Just asking, as I don’t recall. No need for the snarky response.
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News Big changes coming to EPCOT's Future World?
- Thread starter djkidkaz
- Start date
At what point do people stop ignoring the pandemic when they make their complaints about how long something is taking? Or ignore the labor shortage from the pandemic? Or ignore the supply chain issues caused by the pandemic?
Yeah that may be true in some cases, but those here who follow Disney closely know exactly why it is being slow played, and it isn't anything of those things you have listed there.
kevlightyear
Well-Known Member
There is no labor shortage.
G00fyDad
Well-Known Member
Precisely. There is a shortage of employers willing to pay a living wage.
Umm... so you're saying that several months of being shut down, the distancing restrictions that mired construction and offices, the following labor shortage and supply chain problems didn't have an effect even in the cases where Disney is purposely slow-walking a project for reasons?
Yeah the delay in the center of EPCOT is money related. COVID had some direct impact to construction, but as we saw at the Swan Reserve, construction remained very possible throughout that period. Then of course, even if nothing was done during the shutdown, that time could have been made up to some extent if the desire was there to do it. Disney has been known to work 24x7 in the past.
Disney chose to shut down and looked at every project and adjusted budgets accordingly. That had the impact of greatly slowing or cancelling various projects.
ToTBellHop
Well-Known Member
An easy example: no one really believes the pandemic is the reason TRON isn’t open and the railroad is still closed, right? We can’t even claim attendance is way down and there’s no need for capacity.
It was purely an economic decision.
Ok.. but I would consider the sudden lack of park income and the need to redistribute budgets and pause projects to be a result of the pandemic.
It was only in the last complete quarter that the parks' revenue returned to 'normal levels.' I wouldn't think any company would double down on fast-tracking all their projects when income was depressed.
Uni kept up with their park coasters, but paused Epic Universe, even though it seemed at first they were going to ignore the pandemic and keep going, but then reality caught up with them.
I think the actual business decision about the action they took is debatable. Short term profit of long term benefits?
I think Uni was very right with EPIC. That was just a pile of dirt at that point, so could be easily halted without any guest impact to see how things would pan out.
EPCOT though, very different situation. Some kind of pride in the park would have stopped me from operating it in this condition for so long if I were in charge, regardless of how much it would cost. But that is what happens when Wall Street runs the show.
That Disney decided to delay TRON even though they could have finished it by now is without a doubt. To 2023. Except now they seem to be accelerating it so as to be done in 2022. <shrug>
But I do kinda remember insiders telling us earlier in the construction that they were having supply issues... which are pandemic related.
No to mention that the pandemic completely altered the 50th Anniversary schedule which meant no new 50th gift for Magic Kingdom in the form of a new coaster (or a rethemed Speedway, or a replacement for Stitch). And if the pandemic precluded a 50th Anniversary timeline from being completed on time, then... well whenever is fine.
But... that means the timeline for TRON was shifted because of the pandemic exploding 50th Anniversary plans. Not because Disney decided, "hey, we'll just give ourselves an extra two years to complete it because of... reasons."
ToTBellHop
Well-Known Member
…let alone accepting this condition leading into the resort’s 50th and the park’s 40th.
DL was is a deplorable state in 2003 and yet they realized they needed to fix everything up by 2005. No such luck in Florida. And while I realize there was no pandemic in 2003, that was pretty soon after 9/11 and travel was still suppressed. And yet…
The "supply issues" were Disney telling the steel suppliers to halt deliveries until later in the year.
ToTBellHop
Well-Known Member
The pandemic forced TRON to miss its original target but it did not delay it by over a year.
WDWFREAK53
Well-Known Member
Just curious... was it due to COVID (labor shortage? supply issues?) that attractions were cancelled but shiny new DVC hotels were greenlit?
Avengers Campus basically getting their "Rise of the Resistance" put on indefinite hold while they try to come up with some money while they announce a new DVC hotel (that will no doubt be fast-tracked) means that it's not a labor shortage. It's not supply issues. It's the will to do it without looking at the bottom line. There is no doubt that they were hit financially by the pandemic. That was very real. I'd also say that Universal also got hit the same way...but they are plowing ahead with their theme park and deluxe hotel and I'd put my money on it opening before Avengers Campus gets their 1 major attraction. It's priorities. Yes, the pandemic may have shifted priorities...but that's a monetary decision they are choosing, not because they "can't due to labor and supply issues."
Haymarket2008
Well-Known Member
Do we think the center spine will be nearly completed by Summer 2023? I doubt the Festival space will be, but I hope everything else can make it.
Mickeynerd17
Well-Known Member
Depends on what they end up building.
If this entire spine project ends up being JoW and a lot of artificial turf for "festival space", then it might be done earlier.
If they actually build a festival center more like the original plans (what I'd rather see to have the removal of Innoventions West not be a complete waste), then it'll most likely take longer as still nothing has happened in the southwest corner yet.
Don't forget, a DVC was cancelled near Wilderness, and the new one at Floridian is only just prepping for build. So, yes, DVC was put on hold... for reasons.
Avenger E-Ticket was initially delayed because Ops rejected it for having too low of a capacity. So, the replacement had to be designed and then ran into the pandemic.
Mickeynerd17
Well-Known Member
When the central hub reopens as a turf lawn with tents. If that's what we got after all of this construction it would've been much cheaper to just keep Innoventions.
I pray that doesn't happen, but I don't know what else "festival space" would mean besides that.
James Alucobond
Well-Known Member
I mean, they seem to be pouring some concrete footings in the area now. I suppose we’ll start to see it take shape soon enough.