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DisneyQuest Chicago Closing!
---Forwarded article----------------
DisneyQuest falls short of goals; will close Sept. 4
By Ameet Sachdev, Tribune staff reporter. Tribune marketing columnist Jim Kirk contributed to this report.
DisneyQuest, a souped-up video arcade near Michigan Avenue, will
close its doors on Sept. 4 after a two-year run because it failed to
live up to Walt Disney Co.'s financial expectations.
Disney said it would make an official announcement Friday.
The company brought its so-called "indoor interactive
entertainment venue" to Rush and Ohio Streets in June 1999 to much
fanfare because it was the first built outside Orlando. Meant as a
prototype for future urban locations, the five-story,
90,000-square-foot complex features attractions such as CyberSpace
Mountain, where people ride a self-designed roller coaster inside a
twisting capsule, and Virtual Jungle Cruise, which re-created a ride
down river rapids.
Disney updated the facility last year by unveiling a virtual reality
ride based on its famous Pirates of the Caribbean attraction. Last
fall, it lowered the price of an adult admission to $26 from $34. It
also hired a new ad agency. Although Disney said the moves weren't
related to slackening demand, they apparently were not enough to keep
the lobby full and pay for expensive rides.
"We have concluded that the expected returns on the investment
required to achieve DisneyQuest's cutting-edge technology standard in
a stand-alone environment will not meet the company's financial
requirements," said Randall Baumberger, senior vice president of
Disney Regional Entertainment in Burbank, Calif.
Disney spokeswoman Leslie Ferraro declined to disclose traffic counts
at the unit, though she said the concept had been "exceptionally
well-received."
DisneyQuest is part of the North Bridge development, a joint venture
of developer John Buck and Morgan Stanley Dean Witter & Co. that
includes the Nordstrom store and music retailer Virgin Megastore.
Disney is working with the landlord to terminate its lease.
The closure is not surprising given that theme-based entertainment
venues and restaurants have lost much of their glamor.
Several of DisneyQuest's downtown neighbors have gone out of business
in recent years, including Eerie World Cafe, Planet Hollywood and the
Jekyll & Hyde Club, which sat between DisneyQuest and ESPN Zone. They
all could not solve the same dilemma: How to attract repeat visitors
after their successful starts.
Disney never opened a third location for high-tech arcade concept. The
Orlando unit, which opened a year before the Chicago site, will remain
open.
Customers who have annual passes to DisneyQuest or prepaid tickets
will be offered full refunds.
The closure will throw 270 employees, more than 70 percent of whom are
part-time, out of work. The company will seek to transfer DisneyQuest
employees to other business units where possible, Ferraro said.
ESPN Zone, Disney's nearby sports bar and entertainment center, is not
affected by DisneyQuest's shutdown.
DisneyQuest Chicago Closing!
---Forwarded article----------------
DisneyQuest falls short of goals; will close Sept. 4
By Ameet Sachdev, Tribune staff reporter. Tribune marketing columnist Jim Kirk contributed to this report.
DisneyQuest, a souped-up video arcade near Michigan Avenue, will
close its doors on Sept. 4 after a two-year run because it failed to
live up to Walt Disney Co.'s financial expectations.
Disney said it would make an official announcement Friday.
The company brought its so-called "indoor interactive
entertainment venue" to Rush and Ohio Streets in June 1999 to much
fanfare because it was the first built outside Orlando. Meant as a
prototype for future urban locations, the five-story,
90,000-square-foot complex features attractions such as CyberSpace
Mountain, where people ride a self-designed roller coaster inside a
twisting capsule, and Virtual Jungle Cruise, which re-created a ride
down river rapids.
Disney updated the facility last year by unveiling a virtual reality
ride based on its famous Pirates of the Caribbean attraction. Last
fall, it lowered the price of an adult admission to $26 from $34. It
also hired a new ad agency. Although Disney said the moves weren't
related to slackening demand, they apparently were not enough to keep
the lobby full and pay for expensive rides.
"We have concluded that the expected returns on the investment
required to achieve DisneyQuest's cutting-edge technology standard in
a stand-alone environment will not meet the company's financial
requirements," said Randall Baumberger, senior vice president of
Disney Regional Entertainment in Burbank, Calif.
Disney spokeswoman Leslie Ferraro declined to disclose traffic counts
at the unit, though she said the concept had been "exceptionally
well-received."
DisneyQuest is part of the North Bridge development, a joint venture
of developer John Buck and Morgan Stanley Dean Witter & Co. that
includes the Nordstrom store and music retailer Virgin Megastore.
Disney is working with the landlord to terminate its lease.
The closure is not surprising given that theme-based entertainment
venues and restaurants have lost much of their glamor.
Several of DisneyQuest's downtown neighbors have gone out of business
in recent years, including Eerie World Cafe, Planet Hollywood and the
Jekyll & Hyde Club, which sat between DisneyQuest and ESPN Zone. They
all could not solve the same dilemma: How to attract repeat visitors
after their successful starts.
Disney never opened a third location for high-tech arcade concept. The
Orlando unit, which opened a year before the Chicago site, will remain
open.
Customers who have annual passes to DisneyQuest or prepaid tickets
will be offered full refunds.
The closure will throw 270 employees, more than 70 percent of whom are
part-time, out of work. The company will seek to transfer DisneyQuest
employees to other business units where possible, Ferraro said.
ESPN Zone, Disney's nearby sports bar and entertainment center, is not
affected by DisneyQuest's shutdown.
love that cheesecake factory!!
