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HKDL gets new castle, frozen land and marvel land.
- Thread starter Kiwiduck
- Start date
Yep, I'm positive that's exactly what it is. Should be cute, even if it doesn't make a ton of sense
Ismael Flores
Well-Known Member
IF Disneyland is also going to get a clone of the one in Epcot I do hope the rumors of Frozen are wrong.
I also don't think Disneyland needs another rethemed Lugis or maters if that is what the sled ride will be
lazyboy97o
Well-Known Member
Because a second park would cost more than an expansion in terms of initial build out and then on-going costs. You'd just just another Walt Disney Studios Park.
felipenor
Active Member
But wouldn't a second park generate more revenue and more multiple-day visitors and therefore also help the hotels, shopping district and HK tourism in general?
Or is there just not demand for a second gate at HK? The way people talked about it these past few months I assumed there was.
indianajack
Member
The problem is there is not enough demand for the first gate yet. That problem has to be fixed first.
lazyboy97o
Well-Known Member
Simply having an additional gate does not magically create extra demand, as demonstrated by Disney's Animal Kingdom, Disney's California Adventure and Walt Disney Studios Park.
felipenor
Active Member
But didn't attendance grow considerably at Disneyland after DCA? Like 4 million people a year?
I know a lot of people who wouldn't consider making a long trip just to see one Disney park, but they might if it's two or more parks. Like some people travel around the world to go to WDW, just because they have a larger number of parks. And then 10 million people end up going to Animal Kingdom, not because they're crazy about animals, but because they're already there and have purchased a multi-day discounted ticket.
Isn't that how it's supposed to work?
No Name
Well-Known Member
Ready for a long post? Here are all of my initial, general thoughts on the announced rides, if you want to read.
First, the Frozen expansion.
I like the choice of Frozen Ever After, so long as they improve the capacity. FEA is a great, classic fantasyland-style ride. But as this is being built from scratch, they have a golden opportunity to improve on the Epcot capacity issue for very little extra cost. If this winds up pumping through a mere a 1,000 guests an hour, I'll be quite upset.
And of course there's the sleigh ride, which makes about as much sense as 16 elephants flying in a circle. I don't love that they keep adding flat rides, as there are already quite a few down the path in TSL. But if this doesn't cost much, isn't obtrusive, provides some nice kinetics, and is good for the little ones... hey, I can't complain.
Onto the Marvel expansion.
I am a bit surprised that they're retheming Buzz, since it was a popular ride. Buzz is one of the few attractions that every castle park has a version of. At least this'll give HKDL something unique. However, it does makes me nervous that the ride in MK will be changed, and I personally don't want to see that happen.
The Iron Man experience doesn't appeal too much to me. However, it'll round off the land well and serve as one of its smaller attractions, in comparison to the mega E-ticket. This sounds similar to how Navi River Journey will compare to Flight of Passage, or how the Star Wars Millennium Falcon ride will compare to the battle escape ride. The outside of the building looks very sleek and cool, so if that's what the rest of the area will look like, there's a big positive. It opens (for certain people) in about a month, so I'll be keeping my eyes peeled.
Onto the mega E-ticket. Well, wow, there are suspiciously few details, but it sounds like it will be excellent. It's not planned to open till 2023 so it's hard to be too excited for it right now. But just from the look and size of the building and the fact that it's opening last in this whole expansion... I anticipate that this will be on or near the level of SDL's Pirates. In other words, this could be the park's star attraction.
Overall, I'm very optimistic about the park's future.
First, the Frozen expansion.
I like the choice of Frozen Ever After, so long as they improve the capacity. FEA is a great, classic fantasyland-style ride. But as this is being built from scratch, they have a golden opportunity to improve on the Epcot capacity issue for very little extra cost. If this winds up pumping through a mere a 1,000 guests an hour, I'll be quite upset.
And of course there's the sleigh ride, which makes about as much sense as 16 elephants flying in a circle. I don't love that they keep adding flat rides, as there are already quite a few down the path in TSL. But if this doesn't cost much, isn't obtrusive, provides some nice kinetics, and is good for the little ones... hey, I can't complain.
Onto the Marvel expansion.
I am a bit surprised that they're retheming Buzz, since it was a popular ride. Buzz is one of the few attractions that every castle park has a version of. At least this'll give HKDL something unique. However, it does makes me nervous that the ride in MK will be changed, and I personally don't want to see that happen.
The Iron Man experience doesn't appeal too much to me. However, it'll round off the land well and serve as one of its smaller attractions, in comparison to the mega E-ticket. This sounds similar to how Navi River Journey will compare to Flight of Passage, or how the Star Wars Millennium Falcon ride will compare to the battle escape ride. The outside of the building looks very sleek and cool, so if that's what the rest of the area will look like, there's a big positive. It opens (for certain people) in about a month, so I'll be keeping my eyes peeled.
Onto the mega E-ticket. Well, wow, there are suspiciously few details, but it sounds like it will be excellent. It's not planned to open till 2023 so it's hard to be too excited for it right now. But just from the look and size of the building and the fact that it's opening last in this whole expansion... I anticipate that this will be on or near the level of SDL's Pirates. In other words, this could be the park's star attraction.
Overall, I'm very optimistic about the park's future.
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cheezbat
Well-Known Member
That's what I always thought. Add another gate and more people come but the new gate helps balance out the crowds. I don't know how Disney could be upset with having 4 parks here in Florida that bring in over 10 million guests each year. I bet if they added a fifth, it would also attain those numbers and the other 4 would continue to bring in just as many guests as they were, or close to it.
lazyboy97o
Well-Known Member
How it is supposed to work is not how it always work. Even a jump in the millions of guests is not a guaranteed positive if you needed a few more million to make it worthwhile.
Disney's Animal Kingdom didn't hit 10 million guests per year until relatively recently. When it opened much of its attendance was simply shifted from the other parks.
No Name
Well-Known Member
That works because WDW started out with a robust first park. MK was a financial success as they were building a second quality park, Epcot. Each prior park was a success as they were building the next. WDW today is a huge success.
That was also the case when Tokyo Disneyland built DisneySea. Their castle park was a robust financial success as they were building a second quality park, Tokyo DisneySea. The resort today is a huge success.
Let's look at Disneyland Paris. I'd say a good park, but it wasn't a financial sucess for a variety of reasons. Disney went forward with a second park anyway. That second park was cheap and underbuilt. The resort today is losing money, I think, or at least not making much.
DCA was also a failure on all accounts when built. It brought about 3.5 more gate clicks to the resort, but that was not enough to make up for the increase in operational costs. The park was not profitable and the resort became less so. Iger and co. have since remedied that situation, thankfully.
Which group does HKDL fit into? There you have your answer and explanation. I'd say HKDL would become even worse-off than DL circa 2001 and Paris because the first park is not only losing money, it's also underbuilt.
Just to note, this does not mean that they should give up on the park. Prior investment has resulted in profitable times. What Disney needs to do is continue to invest, so that the park becomes filled out with attractions and can maintain that profitability long-term. It worked for DCA. I'm glad they are indeed going this route.
I like the look of the new castle too. I like the overall shape and scale of it, even if I think some of the fine detail looks a bit odd. I'm pleased that they are getting a spectacular and original centrepiece rather than an imitation of Disneyland's castle (which I love at Disneyland). Between this castle, the new lands and the fabulous looking hotel that is opening next year I'm really excited for HKDLs future.
I thought about removing the question marks from the thread title as the plans have been confirmed by Disney but given the Rivers of Light fiasco and other confirmed but never happened things - I'll believe its real when I'm actually standing in front of it! Still excited to see them thinking big though.
Disneyhead'71
Well-Known Member
I like the look of the new castle too.
felipenor
Active Member
I do get your points and the comparisons to DCA and WDS, but if we take those two as examples we'd be assuming HK's second gate would be a cheap and lame park like those two were when first built (and a case could be made that WDS still is). Walt Disney Studios is a park that nobody outside Disney fans even know exist, and the people who do know it would most likely agree it's the worst Disney park worldwide, so no wonder it's not a success. If we assume that HK could build a quality second gate (and that Disney has learned their lesson from what they get building cheap parks) than the original DCA and WDS are not really fair comparisons. And big names like Frozen land and Marvel land would could attract notoriety, so I don't see it becoming an obscure park as WDS.
Anyway, it's just conjecture.
Disneysea05
Well-Known Member
- In the Parks
- Yes
Over many visits over the years, the sight of those beautiful green hills rising above the castle grew on me. Both elements - the castle and the hills - combined for a majestic and unique sight that no other park could provide. I will be honest in saying I'm going to miss it.
This park took full advantage, as it should, of its natural surroundings. I hope the hills are not dwarfed too much with a tall castle in the foreground.
This park took full advantage, as it should, of its natural surroundings. I hope the hills are not dwarfed too much with a tall castle in the foreground.
