concepts of park theory

[matt9112]

@Lee or @74 when theme parks....Disney or else wise are constructed...back up...thought of around a table are things such as exspandability and or ease of modification/retrofitting down the road ever discussed? I am just interested in why parks seemingly are limited by there creators on purpose. With that said i know there are lots of backstage and show things that need space and such and you are forced to work around these constraints...example magic kingdom berm.
and i know there have been many expansions done such as sunset boulevard and even space mountain constructed outside of aforementioned berm.

my jist is when you draw up plans for a theme park are you also writing down final capacity numbers and limitations that will more or less never change? without going into a long-winded thought process i will wait for you guys or anybody to chime in.

 

[Thrill]

I'm not either of your two mentioned people (nor am I nearly as knowledgeable), but some parks pay attention to expansion space. As you mentioned, Hollywood Studios had a lot of space available. DCA is another one, as Carsland (and I think bug's land) was wide open for some time. EPCOT Center left open space for a few Future World pavilions and a whole bunch of World Showcase pavilions (if I recall correctly, they even left enough space for a second level of World Showcase behind the existing one, which is no longer open for use). Animal Kingdom has a massive parcel of land, which I think was supposed to hold a boat equivalent of Kilamanjaro in Asia, and had Camp Minnie Mickey's space at opening for expansion.

Still, it looks like most of the parks only leave a little room for expansion. MGM consumed most of its space within a few years, Animal Kingdom was supposed to use its expansion pads early on, and DCA probably intended to build on its open space fairly quickly as well. EPCOT Center is apparently an exception to the rule, because it was built with space for at least a couple of Future World pavilions beyond what's there now (Wonders of Life and something between Land and Imagination) and at least a doubling of World Showcase. Of course, EPCOT was just wonderfully laid out.

So I really didn't answer your question, because I have no clue. But I can at least say that, in the case of EPCOT, they left enough space for decades worth of expansion. Most of the other parks look more like phase 2 and phase 3 expansion pads (although they apparently have contingency plans for parks like Magic Kingdom by finding ways to build beyond the berm).

 

[wdisney9000]

and i know there have been many expansions done such as sunset boulevard and even space mountain constructed outside of aforementioned berm.
.

If they have to do a final capacity number when drawing up plans its obvious they account for future expansion or either the capacity number can be changed if they build more. im just guessing.

 

[matt9112]

I'm not either of your two mentioned people (nor am I nearly as knowledgeable), but some parks pay attention to expansion space. As you mentioned, Hollywood Studios had a lot of space available. DCA is another one, as Carsland (and I think bug's land) was wide open for some time. EPCOT Center left open space for a few Future World pavilions and a whole bunch of World Showcase pavilions (if I recall correctly, they even left enough space for a second level of World Showcase behind the existing one, which is no longer open for use). Animal Kingdom has a massive parcel of land, which I think was supposed to hold a boat equivalent of Kilamanjaro in Asia, and had Camp Minnie Mickey's space at opening for expansion.

Still, it looks like most of the parks only leave a little room for expansion. MGM consumed most of its space within a few years, Animal Kingdom was supposed to use its expansion pads early on, and DCA probably intended to build on its open space fairly quickly as well. EPCOT Center is apparently an exception to the rule, because it was built with space for at least a couple of Future World pavilions beyond what's there now (Wonders of Life and something between Land and Imagination) and at least a doubling of World Showcase. Of course, EPCOT was just wonderfully laid out.

So I really didn't answer your question, because I have no clue. But I can at least say that, in the case of EPCOT, they left enough space for decades worth of expansion. Most of the other parks look more like phase 2 and phase 3 expansion pads (although they apparently have contingency plans for parks like Magic Kingdom by finding ways to build beyond the berm).

the worlds greatest blog? thats a very tall glass to fill. =) and your input is greatly appreciated i like to think about the technical aspect of things.

 

[Thrill]

the worlds greatest blog? thats a very tall glass to fill. =) and your input is greatly appreciated i like to think about the technical aspect of things.

It is, but we need marketing buzz words to get views. Haha.

I'm also interested in the more architectural end of the parks. Hopefully someone with a little more knowledge on the topic can enlighten us as to how far in advance they're thinking. Like I said, just looking at Google Maps and knowing what was canceled at Animal Kingdom leads me to believe that most of the parks aren't built for more than a few years of outward expansion. That's still hard for me to believe, again, considering how vast EPCOT Center could have been.

 

[Tip Top Club]

There are hundreds of things to consider when undergoing any massive construction project. One of the ones that is distinctly Theme-Park related are your mentioned Berms. When creating that constraint, I imagine that the pluses simply outweighed the minuses. The Berm serves a very important purpose, and the park wouldn't be the same without it.