Disstevefan1
Well-Known Member
I am almost positive WDW will NEVER add a fifth gate.
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News Disney plans to accelerate Parks investment to $60 billion over 10 years
- Thread starter CaptainAmerica
- Start date
Eric Graham
Well-Known Member
I posted that the new Harry Potter Park at EU would potentially be called The Ministry Of Magic (They copyrighted a number of phrases for EU in a video I viewed) but not a lot of viewed it...Oh Well 
MrPromey
Well-Known Member
Difference here is, Universal could already be ready to file permits and break ground in no time and we still wouldn't necessarily have any idea what they were doing.
Disney has resorted to showing blue sky concept art for public announcements due to a lack of having anything green lit. Heck, Iger is still showing blue sky concept art for the Avatar project DL could be getting nearly a year into the original announcement.
People who want to talk like Disney could be really far along on a project they haven't announced yet haven't been paying attention the last decade or so with how their modern management does things.
PREMiERdrum
Well-Known Member
This.
Nothing to worry about! After all, Disney has a sophisticated approach to analyzing the needs of all of their businesses and strategically deploying capital.
And I really have to wonder if Iger can smell what he's shoveling here:
"And based on the guest experience that we've heard all about, from all of these items that I just mentioned, we know that they're extremely popular and they're serving our guests extremely well."
"And based on the guest experience that we've heard all about, from all of these items that I just mentioned, we know that they're extremely popular and they're serving our guests extremely well."
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Disstevefan1
Well-Known Member
I hope not! I love that ride!
MrPromey
Well-Known Member
Do you have kids?
My son is coaster-adverse which takes Hulk and Velosicoaster off the table. Similarly, the drops for Ripsaw Falls and Jurassic Park River Adventure make those non-starters, too.
Hagrids is at the top of his current tolerance level, helped, I'm sure by the dark ride elements incorporated into it.
As a result, there is a lot lacking for us currently in IOA.
USF, on the other hand, he'll do almost all of. Won't go near Rip Rocket Ride (which I'm okay with) and has done Mummy but usually won't.
Personally, I'd be fine seeing the Jimmy Fallon attraction go but he loves it. He's never seen the tonight show but he likes the humor of the ride. He's also never seen a FATF movie but really loves the preshow parts of that (again, the humor) and the ride reminds him of GTA (which he isn't allowed to play but has watched his older cousins play).
ET may be one of his favorite rides ever*.
A lot of adults here talk about how much of a disappointment the new Minions attraction is but he'd ride that all day trying to unlock all the upgrades from the quests in the Universal app if he didn't have to wait a half hour for each ride-through.
The Dreamworks update to the kidzone area, I suspect he will be too old for but I imagine will be very popular with the younger set that can't or is too afraid to do most of what's at IOA, too.
Point with all of this is, I think different demographics view the two parks differently. If they put the Harry Potter section of IOA in USF along with Spiderman, I think he'd be willing to part with Seuss Landing and never go back to IOA again**... or at least until his mid to late teens, whichever comes first.
Not to say it doesn't need work. I just don't think it's that behind IOA in either park's current state and in some cases, absolutely is someone's preferred park.
*I, having grown up with the original ET move being a phenomenon, have never liked this ride. Even when I was still a kid and this park was new. I really don't know what his affection for it is other than it being a much more impressive alternative to Peter Pan... and maybe that's really what it is. Also, I agree with the general consensus about FATF. Not sticking up for that one at all - just pointing out an 11 year old likes it.
**For his aging grandmother that has gone on family trips, there's very little in IOA she even can do for health reasons, regardless of if she wants to or not.
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DisneyDodo
Well-Known Member
The biggest problem with WDW is not Universal. It’s this:
In order to stay fully “current,” any theme park needs to continuously invest in new offerings. Suppose a theme park needs to open one major new attraction every two years on average to maintain its standing. A resort with 2 parks, like DLR or UOR (pre-EU) would then need to open one attraction per year give or take, which those resorts generally do. WDW OTOH would need to open 2 new attractions. But Disney doesn’t want to open multiple attractions at one resort so close together because they will cannibalize each others’ hype and short-term attendance boost. So they focus on one park at a time, knowing that most guests who come for one will visit the others, and meanwhile the other 3 fall behind. As Iger alluded to, WDW did manage to add at the necessary pace from ~2017-2020, but that can’t be a temporary thing. It needs to be the norm.
In order to stay fully “current,” any theme park needs to continuously invest in new offerings. Suppose a theme park needs to open one major new attraction every two years on average to maintain its standing. A resort with 2 parks, like DLR or UOR (pre-EU) would then need to open one attraction per year give or take, which those resorts generally do. WDW OTOH would need to open 2 new attractions. But Disney doesn’t want to open multiple attractions at one resort so close together because they will cannibalize each others’ hype and short-term attendance boost. So they focus on one park at a time, knowing that most guests who come for one will visit the others, and meanwhile the other 3 fall behind. As Iger alluded to, WDW did manage to add at the necessary pace from ~2017-2020, but that can’t be a temporary thing. It needs to be the norm.
Animaniac93-98
Well-Known Member
It's already been 4 years since DHS got a new ride. 7 years for Animal Kingdom. GotG was Epcot's first new ride since 2005 (not counting the now defunct Sum of All Thrills that opened in 2009). Tron opened 9 years after Seven Dwarfs Mine Train. Slinky Dog Dash was 10 years after Midway Mania. Avatar opened 11 years after Everest.
They're still recovering from the late 2000s/early 2010s when MyMagic+ took precedent over actual construction.
Sirwalterraleigh
Premium Member
And all were deliberately slow rolled
(Queue the “imagineers” to vehemently defend 6 guys working on a rock wall for 7 months
)
Sirwalterraleigh
Premium Member
Indeed…park stagnation has been the nemesis of amusement parks since Coney Island
Bob told you 10 years ago that doesn’t matter to Disney…because of their “brand”
Is it working?
Sirwalterraleigh
Premium Member
It’s more devious than even that…
They’re trying to make everyone frustrated to beat more out of them
But didn’t you hear? Bob just got this job 18 months ago and he’s hard at work “fixing it”
MouseEarsMom33
Well-Known Member
If there will ever be a 5th park, it will be called Disney+ Land.
UNCgolf
Well-Known Member
Do you have kids?
My son is coaster-adverse which takes Hulk and Velosicoaster off the table. Similarly, the drops for Ripsaw Falls and Jurassic Park River Adventure make those non-starters, too.
Hagrids is at the top of his current tolerance level, helped, I'm sure by the dark ride elements incorporated into it.
As a result, there is a lot lacking for us currently in IOA.
USF, on the other hand, he'll do almost all of. Won't go near Rip Rocket Ride (which I'm okay with) and has done Mummy but usually won't.
Personally, I'd be fine seeing the Jimmy Fallon attraction go but he loves it. He's never seen the tonight show but he likes the humor of the ride. He's also never seen a FATF movie but really loves the preshow parts of that (again, the humor) and the ride reminds him of GTA (which he isn't allowed to play but has watched his older cousins play).
ET may be one of his favorite rides ever*.
A lot of adults here talk about how much of a disappointment the new Minions attraction is but he'd ride that all day trying to unlock all the upgrades from the quests in the Universal app if he didn't have to wait a half hour for each ride-through.
The Dreamworks update to the kidzone area, I suspect he will be too old for but I imagine will be very popular with the younger set that can't or is too afraid to do most of what's at IOA, too.
Point with all of this is, I think different demographics view the two parks differently. If they put the Harry Potter section of IOA in USF along with Spiderman, I think he'd be willing to part with Seuss Landing and never go back to IOA again**... or at least until his mid to late teens, whichever comes first.
Not to say it doesn't need work. I just don't think it's that behind IOA in either park's current state and in some cases, absolutely is someone's preferred park.
*I, having grown up with the original ET move being a phenomenon, have never liked this ride. Even when I was still a kid and this park was new. I really don't know what his affection for it is other than it being a much more impressive alternative to Peter Pan... and maybe that's really what it is. Also, I agree with the general consensus about FATF. Not sticking up for that one at all - just pointing out an 11 year old likes it.
**For his aging grandmother that has gone on family trips, there's very little in IOA she even can do for health reasons, regardless of if she wants to or not.
I like the E.T. ride -- it's one of the few Universal attractions I enjoy. There's not much I care about at IoA either.
But USF is a wasteland for the average guest (the attraction lineup there was much stronger in the 1990s than it is now), and people with young kids are generally better served at WDW overall. I don't see many people with kids in that age group skipping a Disney park to go to USF.
It's not really a concern for Disney, which was my only point (had nothing to do with my personal preferences). I'm sure there are people that prefer USF to IoA, but they're minority -- and I'd be shocked if most of them don't prefer any of the four Disney parks to USF. I believe USF is rated by the general public as the worst of the 6 main Universal/WDW parks by a relatively wide margin.
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MouseEarsMom33
Well-Known Member
Would 5th gate be part of $60b investment? Or is it much further in the distance?
Gringrinngghost
Well-Known Member
The Parks division is only seeing 50% of that $60b, so all parks properties have $30b worldwide to share. One part that the company needs to clarify is if current ongoing capital investments are tied in to the $60b figure or if these are entirely new projects.
That being said if they wanted to budget it in, they can. Even when adjusted for inflation; the work originally planned for the Epcot in 2017 is a $2.3B today and that involves shelved projects (SSE; Imagination) and outright cancelled projects. If history is a good indicator, it was reported that it was $2.3b for Citywalk and IOA, the parking garages and hotels at UOR that when you adjust for today is $4.7b. So if Disney were to spend $15b of that $30b domestically they easily can add a fifth gate. And luckily for Disney; they already own the land that they could use so there is a cost savings that Universal didn't have.
Now for the timeline, it depends on how comfortable they are to move forward on all of it, and for a greater purpose how the state goes on forward and attendance. That all being said, in 2023 Iger stated that WDW was planning on adding 13,000 jobs over the next ten years. If its worth anything, the 2022 entire workforce number for Universal Orlando was 28,000 people among 8 hotels and 3 parks.
MouseEarsMom33
Well-Known Member
Thanks for the details. I heard estimates that Epic Universe will be a couple billion, so I also think a 5th park is possible if they decide to invest heavily in domestic parks. I'm curious about DeSantis's comment about Disney adding another park. It's almost like Disney potentially shared plans to get the state to settle. I felt like Desantis wasn't hinting to Disney, but instead hinting to the state of Florida.
We know that WDW is getting $17B. Over ten years.