Expansion Instead of 5th Gate

[tman2000]

I know it sounds terrible, but I imagine it would be far easier to expand existing parks - and then charge more money for tickets - then build a 5th gate.

For example, capacity is too high at MK, too low at DHS. They could make MK substantially better through further expansion (maybe a TL thingy), but then just charge more for it. They could also make DHS better, charge the same, making it a worthwhile alternative.

In basic economics you can fix scarcity with prices. I know I know. I'm not saying it's a good idea, I'm saying it might be a strategy that will work for them.

Make MK a $120 park, DHS an $80 park.

Or, maybe just continue to raise all ticket prices.

Regardless, they can pour a 5th gate's worth of money into existing park expansions, and recover the cost via raised prices. This is easier than building parking/transportation/support infrastructure for a brand new park.

Think about it. All they need to do to charge more money is make more things "must-dos". Some of us will be priced out, but many of us will pay if it's truly "must-do".

So, I'd prefer cheaper tickets and 5 gates, but considering how hard AK was to get up and running (still a challenge) and how DHS has long lost its status as a full-day park, I can't imagine they'd build a 5th gate. Instead, make DHS and AK full-day parks, then update EPCOT and MK and charge more for these as the "premium" monorail parks.

I called it first...

___

EDIT: In other words, instead of periodic updates, or even major expansions, they pour money into the parks representing the equivalent of a 5th gate investment - but only to the 4 existing gates. Then they charge more. This would be for all intents and purposes our "5th gate" sans the extra gate.

 

[mm121]

really dont like the idea ofl this at all

the current parks need upgrades and expansions yes, but in addition to a 5th gate

as without a 5th gate you can't get new themes new environments

what disney needs is a park geared more to the young adult thrill seeker demographic to bring these people over from uni

and so not a fan of the raise prices raise prices mentality, that is entirely against walts vision

also a true 5th gate spreads crowds out better than just adding attractions to existing parks, which typically increase crowds due to it being new and shiny only making capacity issues worse.

the only real way to address some of the capacity crowding issues is to lower the maximum allowed attendance levels, but unfortunately this isn't going to happen.

at least not until theres a huge trampling panic accident

 

[Tom]

really dont like the idea ofl this at all

the current parks need upgrades and expansions yes, but in addition to a 5th gate

as without a 5th gate you can't get new themes new environments

what disney needs is a park geared more to the young adult thrill seeker demographic to bring these people over from uni

and so not a fan of the raise prices raise prices mentality, that is entirely against walts vision

also a true 5th gate spreads crowds out better than just adding attractions to existing parks, which typically increase crowds due to it being new and shiny only making capacity issues worse.

the only real way to address some of the capacity crowding issues is to lower the maximum allowed attendance levels, but unfortunately this isn't going to happen.

at least not until theres a huge trampling panic accident

Except for a few peak times of the year, crowding issues can be mitigated by adding capacity within each park. If there are more rides, there are more queues for guests to be waiting in. If there are more restaurants, there are more seats for guests to sit in to eat.

It's far more economical to expand existing parks than it is to build a new one. All the utilities, roadways, and other infrastructure are in place at the existing parks.

And Disney certainly doesn't need a park that competes directly with the Six Flags type "thrill parks". If you're going to claim to know Walt's vision, you should know that he wanted his theme parks to be something the entire family could enjoy - not just kiddie rides, and not just thrill rides.

Disney needs to complete the parks it has (namely EC, DHS and AK) before they even consider adding another one.

 

[Nick Wilde]

Except for a few peak times of the year, crowding issues can be mitigated by adding capacity within each park. If there are more rides, there are more queues for guests to be waiting in. If there are more restaurants, there are more seats for guests to sit in to eat.

It's far more economical to expand existing parks than it is to build a new one. All the utilities, roadways, and other infrastructure are in place at the existing parks.

And Disney certainly doesn't need a park that competes directly with the Six Flags type "thrill parks". If you're going to claim to know Walt's vision, you should know that he wanted his theme parks to be something the entire family could enjoy - not just kiddie rides, and not just thrill rides.

Disney needs to complete the parks it has (namely EC, DHS and AK) before they even consider adding another one.

Agreed. And I've never understood the want for a 5th gate. They already have 4, which is A LOT of parks for one resort. And they're all quite large, (compared to others).

 

[BigRedDad]

WDW has far more to fix at the existing 4 parks. No need to add more baggage to the problem. This doesn't include TL and BB.

 

[CaptainAmerica]

WDW will never have a fifth gate. Most families stay pretty busy at WDW over the course of a week long vacation so adding a gate gets Disney nothing. People only have so much vacation time and disposable income.

 

[bethymouse]

Yep. Expand the parks. There is just so much room for improvement!

 

[Nubs70]

They need to make efficient use of existing vacant structures first.

 

[blueboxdoctor]

A) make the front of EPCOT lively. It's so dead right now. Innoventions is probably the most boring thing around with technology that is mostly completely outdated. Do something with that big brown building behind Test Track that serves as a glorified bathroom for most people. It's just so dead up there even though there are buildings they could really put cool tech in and draw in the crowds (especially now that being into tech is a lot more mainstream than it has ever been).

B) Get more movie stuff going in Hollywood Studios. It's turning into the land of Frozen and Pixar, which is fine for part of it, but they need to incorporate their live action movies more. They have other studios to choose from, get some of that stuff incorporated. Indiana Jones is pretty old at this point (still really good) so change it up with something new. Does anyone care about American Idol? Doubt it. The whole Drew Carey sound stage thing is closed up now, put something there. I recall back when I first went they had tours of actual production stages and more behind the scenes type attractions. Maybe bring those back (though, they probably went away because nobody cared). Also, find a way to have more shows in the evening.

C) AK is doing this, but I don't think Avatar is the way to go. Most people already forgot about it because the movie was a fad not a timeless classic. They should have stuck with the original theme of mythical animals. Dragons and all that are timeless themes, which has been proven by how often they appear in the stories of cultures from around the world. Avatar, on the other hand, is a movie with an awful story coupled with absolutely horrible characters. Sure, the CGI is good but I'd rather have a low budget movie with a great story and characters that actually keeps me engaged rather than bored.

I know this sounds like I hate WDW, but that's not true at all. These are things I think that could really help them since they're always thinking of ways to expand/freshen things up/get people to keep coming back.