Another thing that I think enters into the "growth" perception of Disney, in general, is that people like myself first went to WDW with no real expectations. I was blown away, not only by what I saw, but the feeling that I felt in connection to my family and the fun we had.
Since that date, I have enjoyed new attractions, mourned the loss of older ones and just went because walking through the gates has never failed to bring back that warm feeling that I felt when I first walked in. That kinda brings it down to three possible types of guests that go there.
There are people like me that don't go pursuing something new, in fact, are happiest dealing with the familiar things that brought me joy in the past. I don't even attempt to see a new attraction for, I'm guessing here, three years after it opens. (sorry, never documented the exact time span) I don't want to stand in horrific lines just to see something new. I'll wait until the novelty wears off and then check it out.
The second is the individual that needs something new. They, and I don't mean this as an insult, do not carry the nostalgic memories, the things that come from deep within that touch us and leave an imprint in our being that enjoy re-experiencing something that was good before. Instead, they need something new that after experiencing will just become something I did in the past... what else ya got!
Then there's the middle group that just goes because they think that they should to bring their children, etc. They do not get invested in it at all. They just see it, nod, and leave. They are even embarrassed to tell people that they went to a kiddie park and (gasp) enjoyed it. They don't care one way or the other if it's old stuff or new stuff. To them it doesn't matter.
Disney knows this. They also know how far ahead that they are over Universal. They know that the well that Comcast opened up is not bottomless. If there isn't sufficient return on that investment, once they get through that initial boost, will become a whole lot more conservative. I wouldn't be surprised to see a third gate at Uni because, frankly, if they are ever to be taken seriously when compared to WDW, they have to look like a very big game. For them that is a very expensive proposition. Walt purchased all that land for, what was it, $89 per acre? Don't remember. But it has been paid for for many, many years. To expand to any significant degree Uni must spend huge amounts of money just for swamp land. Disney knows this too.
If they seem complacent and not in any hurry, they have a very good reason to be that way. They are, at least seemingly, spending more money in the parks then they have in years. They let that go far to long and that, to me, is the only reactionary concern that Disney has shown in response to Universal. I wish I could say that they are fools, but, I don't think that they are. They are letting Comcast spend their entire budget to change USF. Once they have done that then Disney can decide... #1 If they need to react to it or #2 What they need to do to react to it. Walt once said that what they had was the blessing of size. The new saying is that Disney has the blessing of being the big cheese, so to speak, thus affording them the blessing of time.
