WDW isn't grabbing the $$$$$$$$, it's being thrown at them. And why should we be upset. I'm happy they are doing well. You don't get new things when there's no $$$$$ coming in.
I'm happy they do this, and MNNSHP and MVMCP. Sure I need to plan around it this fall when we are there, but the last night of our trip we'll be there to check it out.
It's all about the $$$$$$$$$ as it should be. I was tickeled when I saw them turning 8 $200 lightsabers stations like 3 times an hour. That's a minimum of $24 million a year from one room and a pile of plastic and metal. WOOOO HOOOO, that'll buy several rides and maybe a bar or two (plus it employs several people,) so good on WDW.
Love it.
The thing to remember is that Disney has never had NO money coming in, especially from the Parks which have always done well and have even been used as a crutch for other less successful branches of the company from time to time.
So, are we really more likely to see sizable investment when Disney’s making money hand over fist and people are coming whether or not new, exciting, high quality experiences are being added? Or is it more likely that they’ll spend, which they’ve historically always been able to afford to do, when they feel the need to incentivize a discerning customer base to return?
Case in point - MK has always been the leader in WDW with regards to visitation, popularity, and guest spending, and TRON will be the first E-Ticket added to the park in nearly 30 years. While Animal Kingdom and DHS saw and/or will see huge gains in those numbers as a
result of a large infusion of cash from Disney on large-scale projects for these parks, not
because they were already raking it in. The forthcoming revitalization of Epcot - be it for better or worse - is a product of the park’s falling numbers, not high grosses.
This isn’t to say I want the parks to fail so Disney feels the need to spend money, but it seems a good idea to call a spade a spade. If they do something great we can appreciate it, but it’s reasonable to be disappointed if Disney seems able to get away with half-hearted projects or events.
Having not been to this Villains event, I can’t say where it falls on this spectrum.