Could We See A WDW Casino In The Future?

[thomas998]

I write this not as a joke. I love WDW, but I will say that over the past 20 years or so it seems to have gone out of it's way to cater to older visitors. I have mixed feeling I like a good drink in a relaxed atmosphere, but it's not something I shoot for while riding rides with the kids. Sometimes it seems like putting in a new restaurant or bar trumps focusing on putting in better entertainment and attractions(see fantasyland). I see that AK is still working on Pandora and several other areas but hey here are is a high end restaurant and bar!
I guess I just wonder, could we see them decide that a casino would be good for park goers? It's a revenue stream right, and with states constantly making gambling easier and more accessible is it something we could see in a decade or two?

They will eventually. Remember when the only did G rated movies.. that slowly changed. Remember when no facial hair was allowed... that changed. The lure of money will eventually be to great and Disney will go for it at some point. I don't expect they will be setting up slot machines on Main Street in MK, but I would bet eventually they will offer gaming. If Florida were to legalize gambling then I would expect Universal to start it in their City Walk and just to keep up Disney would offer it in the Disney Springs. It will happen at some point, but will be more dependent on when states legalize it.

 

[Prince-1]

I think they have one planned for Disneyland Paris, but it isn't for a few more years. You know how progressive those Europeans are.

Yes but the women would have to much under arm hair for my taste.

 

[mergatroid]

With gambling often comes an increase in prostitution and drugs. I'm not blaming the casinos for that particularly, it's just casinos attract those things through no fault of their own. For this reason alone I don't see Disney doing casinos.

 

[Model3 McQueen]

Bruh like I wonder if we're gonna see Disney brand cigarettes and Mickey Mouse condoms too.

 

[Lilofan]

MGM is building a huge casino outside of DC at the National Harbor. At one point, Disney had thought of buying that property, but not as a casino. I doubt Disney will ever have a casino. Although it might make lots of $$$.

Instead of money you win Disney Dollars and you can only use the chips to buy Disney merchandise and food at the resort!

 

[Animaniac93-98]

It would not surprise me if at some point Disney either built their own casino, or let a 3rd party operate one on site.

The ending of the decades long prohibition of alcohol in MK and Disneyland showed the company was fine changing their values if it meant making extra $.

 

[KBLovedDisney]

I mean, it currently is already a "gamble" just walking into the park with you know what rides you are going to be able to ride, what places you might be able to eat at, oh and the possibility of catching or not catching Covid...

So, yeah. Disney is a Casino right now.

Place your bets!

 

["El Gran Magnifico"]

The way the bill was proposed a while back the State was going to give out like 6 (I think) licenses. The criteria was that it had to be a resort type property and they could not be located within a certain distance from one another. This was not including the Hard Rocks in Tampa and South Florida. Obviously that bill didn't pass, the Disney and Native American lobbies were very strong in fighting it.

I could see Disney and Uni both pressuring so that legislation was written to prohibit any type of casino within say 60 miles of their respective properties.

I do believe that if Florida ever sees a proliferation of casinos it would be a similar looking proposal. I don't think we'll see a Vegas type strip here. That being said I wouldn't put it past Disney to look at getting into the casino business, but I don't think it'd be anywhere near Orlando. Destin, Sarasota, or West Palm Beach? Maybe.

 

[Lilofan]

It would not surprise me if at some point Disney either built their own casino, or let a 3rd party operate one on site.

The ending of the decades long prohibition of alcohol in MK and Disneyland showed the company was fine changing their values if it meant making extra $.

That's right. Never say never.

 

[Lilofan]

I mean, it currently is already a "gamble" just walking into the park with you know what rides you are going to be able to ride, what places you might be able to eat at, oh and the possibility of catching or not catching Covid...

So, yeah. Disney is a Casino right now.

Place your bets!

Disney is similar to Vegas. Cool AC, no clocks, discreet security with the eye on the sky, and everywhere you turn you can spend money.

 

[mickeyandkrunch]

We have a good amount of casinos around us and as I read this I thought "I've never seen a Disney themed machine". I doubt they want anything to do with casinos but hey, who knows.

The do make an alice in wonderland machine

 

[BrittanyRose428]

Nope, that's not a thing that's going to happen. If they were going to do that I think it would have been when Pleasure Island was around but even then I don't see it happening. They don't have them on the cruise ships and that's a huge part of the branding that sets Disney's ships apart from the rest of the industry. And there are so many logistical issues and liabilities there, that even if it made sense thematically (I don't see how it could) that's a no.

 

[Lilofan]

Nope, that's not a thing that's going to happen. If they were going to do that I think it would have been when Pleasure Island was around but even then I don't see it happening. They don't have them on the cruise ships and that's a huge part of the branding that sets Disney's ships apart from the rest of the industry. And there are so many logistical issues and liabilities there, that even if it made sense thematically (I don't see how it could) that's a no.

When they had carnival games at Pleasure Island 20-30 years ago, wasn't that a form of gambling? Put your money down and try to win something.

 

[BrittanyRose428]

When they had carnival games at Pleasure Island 20-30 years ago, wasn't that a form of gambling? Put your money down and try to win something.

Carnival games don't come with all the weird regulations that come with gambling though, like a casino would have to go through the state's gaming commission and be subject to all kinds of logistical things and taxes and whatnot. Plus there are carnival games still at the Boardwalk and Dinoland and the OP was definitely asking about a traditional casino lol. But yea, I guess technically a form of gambling but not in the legal sense?

 

[Matt_Black]

If you really want to gamble in Walt Disney World, eat a chili dog and then go stand in line for Space Mountain.

 

[SteveAZee]

If you really want to gamble in Walt Disney World, eat a chili dog and then go stand in line for Space Mountain.

I think that's called Craps.

 

[NelleBelle]

With casinos often comes smoking. Is Disney going to open their hotels back up to smoking?
I'm in agreement with @DVCakaCarlF that if Disney goes the casino route on property or on the cruise ships, that will be the end of it for our family. It's bad enough that every fall F&W turns into drunks around the world

 

[Lilofan]

WDW is somewhat of a casino. Casinos are addicting and take your money. You still come back. Disney is the same way. Casinos however also promote if you have a gambling addiction problem to seek help. Does WDW?