Maintenance fees will be divided up among the Water Parks, 15+ resorts, Theme Parks, golf courses, mini golf courses, DTD and probably more that I can't even think of. On the other hand all of these entities generate money to cover the resorts maintenance.
To tout Maintenance as the reason for this significant disparity is ludicrous. The revenue generated by a resort, a water park, DTD or whatever generates plenty for that locations maintenance , then profit is determined, and then that profit is diverted (in WDW’s case) to other places in far too great a disparity. Unless you really believe that there is not enough revenue at WDW to upkeep its components and therefore development dollars need to be diverted to upkeep. Tokyo’s profits are dedicated to expanding Tokyo and CA to expanding CA, but each and every time, WDW bears the lion’s share of the costs of expansion elsewhere (first Tokyo, then Paris, HK, and who knows where next).
Until competition surfaces in Orlando, or patrons go elsewhere within Disney’s parks, or WDW patrons get vocal (with their dollars as well as visits and comments) nothing will change.
My point is pretty simple: WDW would get more growth with the 1 billion investment than CA would, but as long as people continue with their “MK is good enough” mentality, then “MK is good enough” will stay the mantra of Disney management.
There is no reason WDW should have so many less AP’s than DL does. It should be far more! There’s no reason WDW should have 3% to 5% growth (sales and attendance) when DL is having 10%. The perceived (and actual) value of CA exceeds that of FL by far, so there’s a reason to get an AP each year. In FL every other or every third year is enough because nothing changes much.
If Florida management has any clue at all, they will start lobbying for real growth in FL. A fifth gate would guarantee 10 million additional visits (a 22% increase), but I forget, FL visitors are content to see attractions being referb’ed after years of delayed maintenance in lieu of a real maintenance plan and true reinvestment. If your maintenance philosophy is true, you must be very proud of Disney management for their decision to close 20K, the maintenance savings was astronomical.
WDW visitors unite!
