'Disney Springs' - Downtown Disney expansion officially announced

[djlaosc]

Will I spend more than I currently do - ???

Actually, thinking about this now, as it currently stands, I will actually be spending less than last time...

If both the "Disney Pin Traders" and "Pollo Campero" buildings are being knocked down, I will actually be down 2 locations...

Will they remain at Disney Springs, or will they be gone forever? We don't know - Disney haven't told us! At least I didn't eat at Captain Jacks - I would have had the trifecta!

As of right now...

Disney Springs = Downtown Disney 2013 - Captain Jacks - Pollo Campero - Disney Pin Traders + 2 parking garages + 1 or 2 bridges + placemaking + 75 empty storefronts + 3 years

 

[Bolt]

I'm kind of excited that Central Florida will be adding 1200 more jobs to the area, too. They might not be the best paying jobs, but they are jobs nonetheless and it's encouraging to read a figure that is an addition, not a reduction.

 

[Beholder]

Personally, I'm glad to see some progress. Earth shattering? No, but it's a much needed update, freshening up. Expanding WoD is great and I'm excited to see who/what some of the new vendors will be. DTD has needed attention for a long time and it's finally (no "Hyperion Wharf"!) happening. Now if we can see some movement on the themepark front...

 

[GLaDOS]

What are the odds that this will go in the Adventurer's Club building?

No clue, to be honest. I'm just reporting what I read.

 

[alissafalco]

I don't get how it takes 3 years though - weren't people saying 16-19 months, so we have effectively doubled the time frame. Again eh?

Going back to the other thread, I thought you were talking about Tory Burch. As for Sephora, 74 mentioned that he saw it somewhere in the plans.

 

[DrewmanS]

Taking time to complete the project to spread out the capital expenditure makes no sense. Most of the costs will be depreciated over the anticipated life of the project, so it does dot matter if it takes 1-3 years to build, the cost is spread over 20 years. It is in Disney's interest to complete the project as quickly as possible so they can start charging rent. The faster they get revenue, the better the ROI, the happier Wall St wil be.

The two things driving this time line are the logistics of building while stores are open (at least doubles the timeline) and minimizing construction costs. Anyone who has ever done a major renovation to a house knows it takes longer than building the original structure. You might be able to do it quicker, but the costs rise exponentially as you compress the time and if anything goes wrong, there is no slack in the schedule to correct it.

 

[dcibrando]

I wonder if there is any chance of Saratoga "Springs" being renamed or re-imagineared as a part of this?

 

[Master Yoda]

Taking time to complete the project to spread out the capital expenditure makes no sense. Most of the costs will be depreciated over the anticipated life of the project, so it does dot matter if it takes 1-3 years to build, the cost is spread over 20 years. It is in Disney's interest to complete the project as quickly as possible so they can start charging rent. The faster they get revenue, the better the ROI, the happier Wall St wil be.

The two things driving this time line are the logistics of building while stores are open (at least doubles the timeline) and minimizing construction costs. Anyone who has ever done a major renovation to a house knows it takes longer than building the original structure. You might be able to do it quicker, but the costs rise exponentially as you compress the time and if anything goes wrong, there is no slack in the schedule to correct it.

This is true for the stores, not so much with the infrastructure, much of which will have to come first.

 

[RSoxNo1]

Isn't that what those gift shops are for once you exit the attraction? I would think their you'd be able to find attraction specific merchandise. Plus, shouldn't all those gift shops inside the parks not attached to attractions fulfill your request by having park specific merchandise?

Yes, those shops after the attraction should have that attraction specific merchandise, and many of them do. I'm just hoping for a centralized location for all of it to be sold together.

 

[muteki]

Yes, those shops after the attraction should have that attraction specific merchandise, and many of them do. I'm just hoping for a centralized location for all of it to be sold together.

On more than a few occasions it has come down to the last day of a trip and we remember we forgot to get something that was only available in a park. I'm all for having unique merchandise everywhere but most of what is at World of Disney is all generic "WDW", 4 Parks 1 World, "2013" stuff. It wouldn't hurt to have a space that has the highlights of park specific stuff for EC/AK/DHS. Doesn't have to be everything, but something would be nice.

 

[flynnibus]

Taking time to complete the project to spread out the capital expenditure makes no sense. Most of the costs will be depreciated over the anticipated life of the project, so it does dot matter if it takes 1-3 years to build, the cost is spread over 20 years.

At the reporting level you are correct. But you overlook the impact on cash flow (not amortized) and the spending/budgeting at the group or division level.

Amortization is purely about taxes - not actual spending and outflow of dollars

 

[mgf]

Garcia: "Also said third-party tenants will ultimately pay more than half of total capital investment in the project"

I don't mean to quote myself, but people keep missing this part. DS hinges on these agreements, which is why it is a little worrisome that no flagship store/location/venue was announced.

Is Disney once again asking too high a price from vendors or is Disney really planning to step up its game this time and deliver a unique experience that inherently adds value for vendors?

 

[tissandtully]

Confirmed this morning was that parking will remain free.

This right here is the big news of the day. Honestly, paying for parking to just walk around a shopping area was the main reason I avoid City Walk. Parking validation is also a pain. I assume AMC had something to do with this as well.

 

[WDW1974]

Nah, because this time they have the vendors lined up - even though they were not announced today.

Yep, they do. But that's not good enough. ... This announcement is akin to having the DCA 2.0 announcement but not announcing BVS or Cars Land or ... well, just about any particulars whatsoever.

I swear they have absolutely no clue how much cred they are losing with real media and thinking guests/fans/cast.

You either go big or you send out a press release and call it a day until you have some SUBSTANCE to announce.

I've been sorta busy, but was anything announced that we didn't already know? Anything at all?

 

[WDW1974]

Since this was a rumor being tossed around on other sites: World of Color in Village Lake?

No. Absolutely not. ...

 

[djlaosc]

I've been sorta busy, but was anything announced that we didn't already know? Anything at all?

Confirmed Free Parking and a 2016 Completion Date

 

[tissandtully]

I'm gonna get grilled for saying this, but I think they should charge for parking and not implement admission gates for DS. Although in your instance/case, charging admission would reduce the amount of guests in this area and thus be less of disturbance to you.

No, these both sound like awful ideas. Nobody wants to pay to shop or in addition to paying to see a movie / eat dinner. Too much friction there. I'd rather deal with the crowds than pay to park.

 

[tissandtully]

I'm kind of excited that Central Florida will be adding 1200 more jobs to the area, too. They might not be the best paying jobs, but they are jobs nonetheless and it's encouraging to read a figure that is an addition, not a reduction.

4,000 operational jobs as well, whatever that entails.

 

[dcibrando]

if they still do free parking (which was announced) then they BETTER fix people riding the SSR busses ESPECIALLY with a new walkway which makes it even closer than before!

The biggest thing they need is simply busses FROM each park TO Disney Springs - if they want to make this a drop-off to Disney Springs and not a pickup that's fine but this would fix the SSR bus problems and help people get there from the parks

 

[WDW1974]

I don't mean to quote myself, but people keep missing this part. DS hinges on these agreements, which is why it is a little worrisome that no flagship store/location/venue was announced.

Is Disney once again asking too high a price from vendors or is Disney really planning to step up its game this time and deliver a unique experience that inherently adds value for vendors?

No. Some of us didn't miss that at all. As soon as I heard they made it official I went to look for a list of vendors and Disney locales. And found NONE. It does NOT inspire any confidence at all. I have coffee table books full of art that looks a helluva lot better than this stuff for things that never got built even after they were announced.

Have you ever heard of a mall being announced anywhere by a major developer with NO tenants announced? Seriously, I am amazed at how much rope people are willing to give TWDC. This is NOT how you announce something major.

On another subject, as I'm late to the droolfest, but where was this announcement held? Was George K present and did he talk at all? Did Staggs take questions? How long did it last? Were any bloggers present (other than the one who leaked the 'official' artwork and took ownership)?