DHS Makeover - What we know so far.....

marni1971

marni1971

Park History nut
Premium Member
Goofyernmost said:
I might have myself twisted around here, but, it seems to me that they are completely limited in any easterly expansion due to backstage requirements of things located in that direction, however, all it would take is a little money to have all kinds of room to expand to the south. Especially since it seems that they are moving the main entrance away from where it is now. Even if it meant that they had to move the wetlands to another spot. Expensive yes, but, seems like at least it's possible if it is deemed necessary.
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Without saying too much, the new SW show buildings form a perimeter and barrier along the south and east boundary of the land and the park.
 
Goofyernmost

Goofyernmost

Well-Known Member
marni1971 said:
Without saying too much, the new SW show buildings form a perimeter and barrier along the south and east boundary of the land and the park.
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Yea, I remember from your handy, dandy little drawing, but, it seems to me that there would be a space in there someplace to put a route to a different scene beyond it to the south, if they wanted too. I don't think that they are ever going to want to do that, but, it seems possible not probable, but, really not worth arguing about. Just a thought.
 
marni1971

marni1971

Park History nut
Premium Member
Goofyernmost said:
Yea, I remember from your handy, dandy little drawing, but, it seems to me that there would be a space in there someplace to put a route to a different scene beyond it to the south, if they wanted too. I don't think that they are ever going to want to do that, but, it seems possible not probable, but, really not worth arguing about. Just a thought.
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As always we will see. Though I suspect any expansion would first be towards the GMR (there is room for a third attraction as big as the first two) or by moving Maintainence Base and going west upto World Drive.
 
Goofyernmost

Goofyernmost

Well-Known Member
marni1971 said:
As always we will see. Though I suspect any expansion would first be towards the GMR (there is room for a third attraction as big as the first two) or by moving Maintainence Base and going west upto World Drive.
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Oh, I agree totally, I just feel that if they wanted, they could head south. I don't expect that they ever will want to for a number of reasons. One being, they still have room for stuff right there in the current areas of TSL and SWL. If they run out the most logical direction would be toward GMR. The most important is that once they have used the available space that they have already it will be on over saturation of SW. Although I realize that SW has a large fan base, there are other people on the planet besides SW fans. They need to be more diverse and utilize either their own IP's or someone elses to make the park something with diversity.

Regardless, after they drop this load of "budget cut" money it will be a while before they do anything substantial again in the parks. Little things here and there perhaps, maybe a bit more superficial Epcot changes, but, I don't see anything big coming for yet another 10 years. Even with the popularity of cartoon heros presently, that genre will die off like all the rest eventually do, so Uni will be hard pressed to have a theme to go after as well. Or the space to put it unless they start to buy up all of Orlando at a competitively high cost. I don't see that happening either. The chances are that even if I live that long, I will not be running around a theme park in my 80's or getting excited about a sci-fi adventure land. I am looking forward to SWL because it just looks interesting although I have never been a "fan", so to speak, of it. TSL has no appeal to me at all, notta, zero. That will be something I walk through to get to something more interesting.
 
DinoInstitute

DinoInstitute

Well-Known Member
Mike S said:
Then you have a whole half of one park dedicated to one franchise and it would feel like overkill.
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I agree. I mean, I'd welcome another SW planet or expansion of some sort, but that shouldn't really be the next move. They should expand with other properties more first, otherwise it will feel really weird.

Then again, that's clearly not something that's a big deal to them. Seriously, it feels like the entire park has a Star Wars overlay right now.
 
hpyhnt 1000

hpyhnt 1000

Well-Known Member
JediMasterMatt said:
It goes beyond the leadership as it's just a revolving door. It's a mentality that has grown under the watch of Burbank over the years. The real issue is that the tail ends up wagging the dog in Orlando.

Once upon a time, it was a wonderful place to visit theme parks that had resorts there to support them. Then the profit model proved that the parks support the resorts as the resorts drive the profit margin.

DLR - 2 parks that happen to have some resorts near them.
WDW - 26 resorts that need to be filled and happen to have parks near them.

Chappie is supposedly making a big push to get quality up in Orlando as operationally its just a mess. The real proof will come when from a capital growth/plussing perspective Burbank will treat WDW's needs different from DLR's needs. Often both coast's resorts are treated as simple math - both get a piece of the budget. The reality should be that 2 parks in Anaheim need budgets for 2 parks. 4 parks in Orlando need 4 parks worth... plus a healthy "Fix-it Felix" budget to get quality back to where it should be. When you try treating WDW as one big resort and spread the capital "butter" over all of it, it leads to that feeling of stagnation that has festered their for so long.

Even under "Thanks Shanghai" operational budgets this year, DLR is still WAY ahead of where WDW is in terms of delivering Disney Parks quality.

All of the much needed growth underway in Orlando is a good thing; but, if it's not followed up with a change in mindset - they be in even worse shape after the Star Wars crowds descend. I think things are getting better; but, we won't for sure until we see what is queued up for post SW gets funded.
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Fascinating info here, many thanks for sharing! Just reinforces how misguided the whole "OneDisney" plan really was in terms of operations, park planning and guest standards.

Your last point about Orlando potentially being in even worse shape because they refuse to change their mindset is, I think, really key to all of this. Many members here (and I'm certainly one of them) have been saying for months that, given what we know, WDW is not going to be optimally positioned to take advantage of these new expansions because TDO has invested so little in the resort as a whole. From a lack of C/D level rides at the parks to an overburdened transportation system to a complicated pricing and ticketing system, there's so much that needs to be improved, and while there have been glimmers here and there, I don't think they're adequately tackling the problems.

1023 said:
Very well said. In fact, accurately said. There will be an effort to improve park quality in terms of "Disney Standards" in Florida, it's already underway. The DHS problems in the future are not being ignored at all. They are keenly aware that this park will need more C & D ticket support. There are some creative ways this may be addressed. There is still something significant on the horizon. The announcement cycle for "Big Things" is 2 years. 1 year down, one to go.

*1023*
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Good to hear. As I say above, I just don't think WDW is going to be well prepared based on what we know now. Hopefully these upcoming announcements prove otherwise.

IDInstitute said:
I agree. I mean, I'd welcome another SW planet or expansion of some sort, but that shouldn't really be the next move. They should expand with other properties more first, otherwise it will feel really weird.

Then again, that's clearly not something that's a big deal to them. Seriously, it feels like the entire park has a Star Wars overlay right now.
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Well, that's because A) today's Disney loves synergy, and B) there's precious little else "new" that DHS can offer as about 1/3 of the park is walled and closed off. Agree with you that DHS needs more than Star Wars, and that needs to be the focus in the years immediately after SWL opens.

But right now I'm not sold on the strategy that TDO is adopting. Toy Story Land is looking lackluster at best (and has too few rides given its size), and The Great Mickey Ride, while a wonderful concept, is being implemented horribly, as a replacement rather than the anchor of an expansion.
 
danlb_2000

danlb_2000

Premium Member
RSoxNo1 said:
How the hell does that site have such a following? They've proven beyond a shadow of a doubt that they're either stupid or liars.
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Like a lot of news sites I think they are just desperate for clicks so do whatever will get them attention. Whether the information is accurate or not is a secondary consideration. I am waiting to see how long before they re-tract the article.
 
jt04

jt04

Well-Known Member
Goofyernmost said:
Oh, I agree totally, I just feel that if they wanted, they could head south. I don't expect that they ever will want to for a number of reasons. One being, they still have room for stuff right there in the current areas of TSL and SWL. If they run out the most logical direction would be toward GMR. The most important is that once they have used the available space that they have already it will be on over saturation of SW. Although I realize that SW has a large fan base, there are other people on the planet besides SW fans. They need to be more diverse and utilize either their own IP's or someone elses to make the park something with diversity.

Regardless, after they drop this load of "budget cut" money it will be a while before they do anything substantial again in the parks. Little things here and there perhaps, maybe a bit more superficial Epcot changes, but, I don't see anything big coming for yet another 10 years. Even with the popularity of cartoon heros presently, that genre will die off like all the rest eventually do, so Uni will be hard pressed to have a theme to go after as well. Or the space to put it unless they start to buy up all of Orlando at a competitively high cost. I don't see that happening either. The chances are that even if I live that long, I will not be running around a theme park in my 80's or getting excited about a sci-fi adventure land. I am looking forward to SWL because it just looks interesting although I have never been a "fan", so to speak, of it. TSL has no appeal to me at all, notta, zero. That will be something I walk through to get to something more interesting.
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That is what people said about similar offerings at Carsland until they saw the final result.
 

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