Some parts are certainly but the whole dinoland area brings it down and also some would argue that the theming in asia/africa go against Walt's design philosophy (although I dont mind that). Still DAK is the exception not the rule.
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Disney's Reaction to Harry Potter Details?
- Thread starter rubysparky77
- Start date
Some parts are certainly but the whole dinoland area brings it down and also some would argue that the theming in asia/africa go against Walt's design philosophy (although I dont mind that). Still DAK is the exception not the rule.
devoy1701
Well-Known Member
IMO i see is as reactionary, despiration, and one last hoorah investment from a company who does not necessarily want to be in the Theme Park Business (blackstone). Universal sure has been trend-setting in Orlando for the past 20 years, haven't they...
misterID
Well-Known Member
Yeah, they actually have been trend-setters. Tony Baxter said they were working on something to compete with Spiderman... Guess what, that still hasn't surfaced. Surprise.
Creating WWoHP is far from desperation, or recationary... When you're in the themepark business, or any business YOU WANT TO BE THE BIG DOG. THE BEST. You want to create something the other guy doesn't have. You want to make jaws drop. That's your whole gig, man. That's the point of being in the theme park biz.
Are you sure you're not with TDO? The logic or view that building a huge, state of the art attraction that raises the bar as being desperate (because why else make an attraction like that, right?) really, kinda of sounds like them.
Creating WWoHP is far from desperation, or recationary... When you're in the themepark business, or any business YOU WANT TO BE THE BIG DOG. THE BEST. You want to create something the other guy doesn't have. You want to make jaws drop. That's your whole gig, man. That's the point of being in the theme park biz.
Are you sure you're not with TDO? The logic or view that building a huge, state of the art attraction that raises the bar as being desperate (because why else make an attraction like that, right?) really, kinda of sounds like them.
Dinoman96
Well-Known Member
I think you mean Dino rama, buddy. If we had Excavator on the other hand...
imagineer boy
Well-Known Member
?!!??!?! How can you call the HP expansion a desperate move? Do you see how much they've invested in it, how detailed and how large its scope is, and how jaw-dropping the early reports are?
devoy1701
Well-Known Member
I have. But I also put the 3 letter IMO disclaimer on that post as well. IMO Universal has had nothing on WDW in the past 20 years that it has been in operation. IoA was a nice attempt, but the Resort went stale right after that park opened by not offering anythign else new for almost 10 years after that park opened. HP IMO is nothing more than a SMALLER (in terms of size, immersion and amount of attractions) ploy than the entire IoA was.
sorry.
Dinoman96
Well-Known Member
Oh, and what did WDW get during that time? A crappy Stitch Attraction? A bad Monster Inc "comedy" show? A cheap parking lot fair that gives Dinoland U.S.A a bad name?
RSoxNo1
Well-Known Member
A few pages back someone mentioned how Disney "reacts" with a lot of their attractions and theme parks. I agree.
I don't think Disney's current plan is doing just that - it's interesting but the Fantasyland Expansion is bringing Disney back to it's routes, Family entertainment.
Perhaps they go the thrill ride route as a "Potter Swatter" later on, but right now the only thing in the works that's a thrill ride is Star Tours 2.0.
I don't think Disney's current plan is doing just that - it's interesting but the Fantasyland Expansion is bringing Disney back to it's routes, Family entertainment.
Perhaps they go the thrill ride route as a "Potter Swatter" later on, but right now the only thing in the works that's a thrill ride is Star Tours 2.0.
_Scar
Active Member
Universal had IoA which also meant Spider-Man/Mummy on Disney World. There's beyond NO QUESTION Universal has had something on WDW. And IoA was a ploy? A ploy? I don't even know what that even applies to. I suggest you go to IoA before you consider it a ploy.
It's clear these two giant powers make Orlando one of the top, if not the top vacation destination.
wolf359
Well-Known Member
That's a little selective, don't you think?
I think Disney has added or updated their fair share of attractions from 1999-2009.
Test Track
Mission:Space
Soarin'
Gran Fiesta Tour
Updated Spaceship Earth
Updated Living Seas
Updated China film
Updated Canada film
Rock N Roller Coaster
Lights, Motors, Action
Midway Mania
All of Asia, including Everest and Kali River Rapids
Nemo Musical
Philharmagic
Laugh Floor
Stitch
Updated Small World
Updated Haunted Mansion
Updates Pirates of the Caribbean
Updated Space Mountain
Updated Hall of Presidents
Testtrack321
Well-Known Member
MarkTwain
Well-Known Member
How would you say Asia and Africa go against Walt's design philosophy? I'm not arguing, but as a person with an interest in thematic design, I'm curious.
Too literal, perhaps?
TalkingHead
Well-Known Member
Precisely. They aren't idealized.
RandySavage
Well-Known Member
That may have been the case for GE or Comcast (former/current part-owners of Uni), but not Blackstone.
Blackstone very much wants to be in the theme park business as shown by recent deals made with Uni Japan and purchasing Busch parks. As a private equity firm, their goal is to buy a business, trim the fat, turn it into a money-maker, then sell it, spin it off or hold it (whichever is most profitable). I don't think they'll sit idly by and let an assett like Uni Orlando decline in value.
*** The way I see it there is a relatively low incline curve of tourists dollars coming into to Orlando (particularly in the current/near future economy). There will be a small spike due to Potter in 2010 which may benefit Disney, but in the end, all the area attractions are competing for a piece of the same pie - just as they always have. The pie may get a little bigger for everyone, but with Potter, IOA will be getting a larger slice of it in perpetuity... this will come at the expense of Universal Studios, DHS, EPCOT, Animal Kingdom, MK, SeaWorld, etc.
It's a zero sum game. We could see something like this: (using rough numbers):
2008 Market Share:
WDW 73%
Universal Orlando 18%
Sea World 9%
Potential 2011 Market Share:
WDW 67%
Universal Orlando 25%
Sea World 8%
If things shake out that well for Uni, I would hope Disney would react strongly to entice people back to spending those off-property days at WDW.
captain marvel1
New Member
hey not all of us that play world of warcraft are fat and were not lazy either.
Testtrack321
Well-Known Member
Of WHAT? How can you compare product sold measurement to clicks on a turnstile?
There's no market share in amusement parks, only attendance. Attendance will go up. How much, for how long, and at who's detriment is still WAY up in the air.
fyn
Member
Market share of total central Florida dollars spent.
RandySavage
Well-Known Member
There's market share in anything salable - product or service - and it certainly applies to amusement parks competing in the same market.
My example is more of an abstract measurement of the potential success of Harry Potter, rather than quantifiable economic data, which, to my knowledge, is not publicly released or collected (other than attendance).
In short, what fyn said. We may not ever know (in $) exactly how big a piece of the central florida tourist dollar pie each park individually gets, but attendance can (granted, imperfectly) approximate whatever the actual percentages are.
MarkTwain
Well-Known Member
An fair point. But I think that AK's Imagineering and that of, say, Disneyland's Adventureland, are just two different styles. Where Disneyland, as a park dedicated to the imagination, presents a more idealized exotic locale, AK is more factual, and focuses instead on transporting you to a rather real place. But we still see the place as exotic and interesting, even if it is less idealized and more realistic. To me, in the end, its the level of immersiveness and detail that matters.
... What was the topic again? :veryconfu
MarkTwain
Well-Known Member
I stole this from themeparkreview, but hey, great artists steal
Kinda sad... as much as I want them to succeed, Universal doesn't seem to do a great job promoting their own offerings (or at least making them clear to the public). The Harry Potter super bowl spot was nice, but is it enough? It was lack of promotion that killed Islands of Adventure the first time around. What a shame too, because the expansion of Universal Studios into the Universal Resort was a masterful feat of planning and site development, and had it been a stellar hit, then it would really forced out WDW's hand of expansion during the 2000s rather than just sitting on their laurels the whole time.