Four Parks: One Stale World?

[WDW1974]

OK from The Place Where Dreams Come True and Magic Lives, especially during The Year(s) of a (two) Million Dreams and coming soon: What Will YOU Celebrate? is the latest marketing/merchandising tagline ... Four Parks One World branding on merchandise and ads.

This just continues the marketing message that the individual parks (and their levels of freshness and quality) don't really matter so much as the whole of WDW.

Yet after visiting and seeing very little new ... and no new attraction construction (AI Theater nonwithstanding) going on, one must wonder if the shirts and hats and glasses should say 'One Stale World.'

Sea World and Universal Studios and Islands of Adventure all have major attractions under construction and others in the pipeline.

WDW, which is less than three years away from another milestone B-Day, has ... well ... uhm ... ah ...plenty of unsold DVC inventory either completed (Saratoga Springs) and unsold or under construction (DAK Lodge Villas, Bay Lake Tower, Treehouses at SS) and unsold.

It is a whole lot harder for Disney to weather a recession (bordering on depression for many Americans) than Universal or Busch because Disney has over 25,000 rooms and timeshares to fill nightly.

In other words, Disney's irresponsible growth since the mid-90s has put it in a very difficult position to get through tough economic times. And with all the cutbacks that started about the time Frank Wells was buried, one must wonder what is left to cut?

It all doesn't leave a lot of hope for new and great things in WDW's theme parks in the future at all.

But I am sure visionaries like Inoverherheadmeg Crofton, Erin Wallace, Al Weiss, Phil 'Magic Man' Holmes and company can keep the cash flowing while delivering magical WDW vacations to millions.

There just isn't much to get excited about when it comes to WDW these days ... and I doubt we're going to see the Imagineering Blue Sky Verandah opening in Adventureland soon ... or perhaps the Imagineering Blue Sky Wonders of the Future pavilion at Epcot ... or the Imagineering Blue Sky Soundstage at The Park Formerly Known as The Disney-MGM Studios or ... you get the idea.

Oh, I guess we can all look forward to the new Hall of Presidents coming in spring 2009 ... course they didn't really have much choice in that one, did they?

Stale Mountain's redo? Well, you haven't heard much about that one, have you? Neither have I ...

 

[wdwCC]

The point of getting on a Disney discussion board and saying what an awful place it is does what??? If you don't like it that much, don't go.

 

[Figment1986]

The point of getting on a Disney discussion board and saying what an awful place it is does what??? If you don't like it that much, don't go.

it's a personal thought as well as saying stuff.... it spurs conversation and thoughts on the concept. He does bring up interesting points on attractions being made elsewhere and comparing it to what disney is doing right now.

 

[djkidkaz]

Speak with your wallet, not on a message board. Your point will be made much louder.

I disagree with you on your viewpoint. The people in charge aren't building WDW for the people who return 2, 3 or more times in a single year. They can't keep up with that. Its a vacation destination that people visit once a year with their families, and many not even that often.

We are the minority, not the majority.

 

[raven]

I'm going to take the logical approach.

Let's look at the companies you are comparing them to in the Florida area: Sea World, Universal and Busch.

Sea World - an ocean adventure park run by a beer company.

Busch Gardens - a theme park ran by a beer company.

Universal & Islands of Adventure - 2 theme parks ran by a movie corp.

Walt Disney World - 4 parks run by a global empire that includes movie studios, television studios, book companies, sports teams, stores, global theme parks, cruise ships, internet corporations. (Touchstone Pictures, Miramax Films, Hollywood Records, Hyperion Books, ABC television networks, ESPN, Jetix, SOAPNet, GO.com, the Baby Einstein company, Muppets Studio, etc).

While I can understand someone wondering why nothing new is added to the parks, look at everything that Disney is doing elsewhere. That takes a lot of planning, time and money. The other parks don't have to compete with this.

 

[Figment1986]

Universal is run by NBC-Universal which is more than a movie company but a lot of stuff ABC and disney does not to mention it's a subsidiary of General Electric.

and Busch Entertainment is more than a company owned by a beer company as well, they aren't as large as Disney or NBC-universal but do a lot in recycling, conservation, and animal rescue as well as educational programs.

 

[Jerm]

The point of getting on a Disney discussion board and saying what an awful place it is does what??? If you don't like it that much, don't go.

:sohappy::sohappy::sohappy::sohappy::sohappy:

 

[raven]

and Busch Entertainment is more than a company owned by a beer company as well, they aren't as large as Disney or NBC-universal but do a lot in recycling, conservation, and animal rescue as well as educational programs.

Well, Disney has that wrapped up too! :animwink:

 

[wdwCC]

it's a personal thought as well as saying stuff.... it spurs conversation and thoughts on the concept. He does bring up interesting points on attractions being made elsewhere and comparing it to what disney is doing right now.

It's his opinion which is fine. It does sound like a personal anti Disney rant more than anything else, which makes me less inclined to read his valid or invalid points.

 

[coasterphil]

I'm going to take the logical approach.

Let's look at the companies you are comparing them to in the Florida area: Sea World, Universal and Busch.

Sea World - an ocean adventure park run by a beer company.

Busch Gardens - a theme park ran by a beer company.

Universal & Islands of Adventure - 2 theme parks ran by a movie corp.

Walt Disney World - 4 parks run by a global empire that includes movie studios, television studios, book companies, sports teams, stores, global theme parks, cruise ships, internet corporations. (Touchstone Pictures, Miramax Films, Hollywood Records, Hyperion Books, ABC television networks, ESPN, Jetix, SOAPNet, GO.com, the Baby Einstein company, Muppets Studio, etc).

While I can understand someone wondering why nothing new is added to the parks, look at everything that Disney is doing elsewhere. That takes a lot of planning, time and money. The other parks don't have to compete with this.

Seriously? This is probably the worst argument ever presented here.

 

[krankenstein]

My question is what does this have to do with news and rumors? :shrug:

I understand where the OP is coming from, but I think we need to give Disney time. Just because we haven't heard anything doesn't mean things aren't in motion.

 

[raven]

Seriously? This is probably the worst argument ever presented here.

I'm sorry, I didn't see you post an opinion on this.

My point is that Disney has to compete with it'self. A typical Disney attraction takes years of developement and planning. They don't just plan a ride, they plan the story, sets, lights, sound, the queue, pre-show, post show, merchandising, and marketing of each attraction. I'm not saying that the other parks don't I'm just saying that Disney will always iron out every tiny detail over and over again.

 

[DivineMadness7]

You do know we're in a recession.....right?

 

[MousDad]

:lol::lol::lol:

I saw the title of this thread from the home page, and the first thing that popped into my head was Spirit of, I mean WDW1974.

:lol::lol::lol:

 

[PaisleyMF]

Universal Orlando Resort isn't own by NBC Universal, it is just a partnership. And the only thing that is really been done (with already a delay is Harry Potter). The Roller Coaster is a clone from Universal Shanghai.

SeaWorld and Bush Gardens is been sold to another company after the merger of Bush with that other beer company from Germany.

Now Disney feels like a "stale world" sometimes but give it a moment to see that is sometimes not the quantity but the quality of the attraction (ok give or take).

Is not an easy process from Blue Sky to a finished product. And how many changes in the progress of the creation. Is not like Disney may go to a Roller coaster and say can you copy this coaster in my park. (they may, but boy how they can build excitement on a cue line.)

 

[DisneyDellsDude]

Walt Disney World - 4 parks run by a global empire that includes movie studios, television studios, book companies, sports teams, stores, global theme parks, cruise ships, internet corporations. (Touchstone Pictures, Miramax Films, Hollywood Records, Hyperion Books, ABC television networks, ESPN, Jetix, SOAPNet, GO.com, the Baby Einstein company, Muppets Studio, etc).

You read Blue Sky Disney blog too.

 

[EpcotServo]

:lol::lol::lol:

I saw the title of this thread from the home page, and the first thing that popped into my head was Spirit of, I mean WDW1974.

:lol::lol::lol:

:lol:

 

[Disneyson 1]

Well, I got one piece of news from this rant: 4 parks, 1 world, eh? Well, I don't really like it but HEY; wayaganna do? I do agree that we could use some more new stuff here. Disneyland's getting new stuff every other minute, wether it be a new effect or a new merch. item or a new "attraction" to a new refurb. But, while we don't get that much, recently we're getting the KPWSA and Pixie Hollow, not to mention the christmas stuffs and the rest of it. So yeah, I think that there should be more re-furbing going on (and I'd LOVE to hear a new announcement right about now), but for right now, we have enough new things to keep most at bay. So no, in my opinion, the parks are not stale.

 

[krankenstein]

The Roller Coaster is a clone from Universal Shanghai.

The coasters a very different. The only thing they have in common is the on ride soundtrack. Different layout and a different type of coaster.

 

[WDWFigment]

I'm going to take the logical approach.

Let's look at the companies you are comparing them to in the Florida area: Sea World, Universal and Busch.

Sea World - an ocean adventure park run by a beer company.

Busch Gardens - a theme park ran by a beer company.

Universal & Islands of Adventure - 2 theme parks ran by a movie corp.

Walt Disney World - 4 parks run by a global empire that includes movie studios, television studios, book companies, sports teams, stores, global theme parks, cruise ships, internet corporations. (Touchstone Pictures, Miramax Films, Hollywood Records, Hyperion Books, ABC television networks, ESPN, Jetix, SOAPNet, GO.com, the Baby Einstein company, Muppets Studio, etc).

While I can understand someone wondering why nothing new is added to the parks, look at everything that Disney is doing elsewhere. That takes a lot of planning, time and money. The other parks don't have to compete with this.

Let's just assume ties here are correct. The problem I see with this is that you're assuming each company has the same, or similar, resources. I think that's probably a mistake. I think it is a simple game of proportions.

For instance, if a company is more complicated, and has multiple branches, it is going to have proportionally more employees to run those branches. If you're talking from a money perspective, each of these branches is bringing in its own money, so its not like each cannot have its own growth simultaneously going on. The same proportionality principle can be applied to any resources, I think.

I think it works as a convenient excuse for Disney ("we aren't building now because we have this Timeshare project in Hawaii" [I'm not saying they're actually using this excuse in any official capacity]) but I don't think it holds water.

As for simply "not going" if you aren't pleased with a product, well, that is one solution. However, I think there is nothing wrong with offering a critique of something you enjoy. Sure, the best way to get the company to change is hit them with your pocket book, but I think articulating a rational, well thought opinion of the company's shortcomings is nice food for thought. It would do some folks a service if they were to think critically about things, rather than simply having a unquestioning (and blind) reverence for things.