Great topic and I have given this a lot of thought … I did not read anyone else’s responses yet so I wouldn't alter my takes (but yes I may repeat some people, so sorry). I tried to approach this from a business standpoint and not just a fan, to maintain or increase current profits.
Sue Vongello’s WDW 10 Year Plan (If she were CEO starting January 2015):
2015:
1. Reduce hotel rates as such indicated only by Peak rates, which would be the highest; Value – Peak Rates $110/Night, Moderate – Peak Rates $160/Night, Deluxe – Peak Rates $250/Night.
2. Publish flat discount AP percentages per season for the year, that have potential to increase in percentage contingent on number of park visits by said pass, accomplishing two goals, encouraging APers to stay on property and incentivizing more visits.
3. Incentivize DVC Membership such as; include Basic AP with membership (that has blackout dates) which can be upgraded for a small fee, reinstate DVC lounges with bottle water and light snacks, and 15-20% off ALL restaurants and ALL shops. This accomplishes a few goals like increasing perceived value of DVC, encouraging more park visits, and more WDW restaurant visits.
4. Reinstate WDW Resort Hotel EXTRA MAGIC HOURS to longer lengths at nights, increasing value to staying on site.
5. CANCEL Avatarland, but hold the cleared land, and commission Imagineering for replacement projects (possibly focusing on Indiana Jones, adventure, and the things we learn from the Earth).
6. CONTINUE nighttime show construction for DAK.
7. Green light fully immersive Star Wars Land for DHS to include at MINIMUM 1 E-Ticket and 2 C-Ticket attractions, table service and quick service locations to compliment Star Tours; area to absorb should be Echo Lake, Indy, and some of Streets of America. Construction Schedule to start Jan 2015 with a grand opening of October 2016 in time for the holidays, aggressive construction schedule.
8. Green Light Imagination Pavilion re-do to feature a modern technology version of the original Journey Into Imagination and a complimentary 3-D show, to be complete by December 2015/Spring 2016 depending on scope.
9. CANCEL Frozen overlay on Maelstrom and reach out to Norwegian government on funds to upgrade current attraction and post-ride film, to be complete by Summer 2016.
10. Commission Imagineering for Frozen attraction ideas to be added to Magic Kingdom, Ideas for Universe of Energy, World Showcase, and Animal Kingdom.
11. Commission Imagineering for Guardians of the Galaxy and Big Hero 6 ideas for Tomorrowland and/or DHS.
12. CANCEL plans to further DVC Wilderness Lodge and prepare/design/bid plans for DVC to be added to EPCOT resort area, preferably on the Monorail loop to open Winter 2017.
13. Increase maintenance budgets by 2% property wide, to accommodate a more robust plan for maintenance in all areas.
14. Initiate a standardized maintenance schedule and system to assume all attractions, resorts, etc … are essentially fully renovated every ten years or sooner.
15. Modify restaurant quality and pricing structure; either increasing food quality to justify prices OR reducing prices to justify quality.
16. Install new segments and upgraded quality on Philharmagic to be complete by Spring 2015.
17. Install new segments and upgraded quality on Soarin’ to be complete by Spring 2015.
18. Install new design team to create unique resort/attraction specific merchandise to be rolled out mid-2015 and increased as demand warrants.
19. Fire all current social media employees and alter ideology on social media to be solely information based, without editorializing, and providing an open forum (within reason) for ALL types of comments and discussion. This includes eliminating or CLEARLY identifying who is a paid brand advocate and who isn’t.
2015 GOAL: Bring back goodwill lost (especially in a year when nothing new will be opened), bring back high standards, restore quality thus creating a clear air of superiority, increase park visits and resort nights, show appreciation for loyal customers, and build buzz around exciting new attractions, which starting in 2016 should be delivered annually for my tenure.
2016:
1. Evaluate resort occupancy and adjust rates accordingly, not to exceed increases of more than 5%, or 7% over the next ten years.
2. Begin construction on EPCOT DVC themed around some sort of international locale, highlighting the international flavor of EPCOT and World Showcase, to be complete Winter 2017, preferably an Arabian theme of some sort (and push Aladdin merch, naturally).
3. Evaluate success of AP and DVC incentives and adjust accordingly, adding incentives for APers that have been holders for a number of consecutive years, such as private viewing areas for shows/fireworks.
4. DEMO Pinocchio Village Haus building (and most likely It’s a Small World too) and Green light Frozen attraction/mini area for Magic Kingdom to be built in that area, sure this wouldn’t be my choice as a FAN but business wise this makes sense, and I get that, to be complete Spring 2018.
5. Green light Monsters Inc. Door Coaster to be complete Summer 2017, and if not done already permanently close LMA in prep for Star Wars Land opening.
6. Determine plan for Avatarland area that is now vacant and begin construction late 2016.
7. OPEN Disney Springs, Imagination Pavilion, and Star Wars Land.
2016 GOAL: Continue incentives, maintain good will, and open major additions.
That’s all the in-depth analysis I will go into but I will give my 10 year highlight outlook below. The overall goal SHOULD be to raise standards and set clear definitions on why WDW is the best travel destination in the world. This is more evident than ever since Universal has stepped up its game immensely and now the differences between the two resorts are harder to identify … my goal as CEO would be to make distinctions in how we are different by the actively increasing the overall quality in all areas of the resort, showing respect to loyal customers, aggressive construction of beloved/marketable properties, and a renewed sense of focus on unique experiences/merchandise.
***ADDITION HIGHLIGHTS***
2015-2016
2015 – UPDATED Philharmagic
2015 – UPDATED Soarin’
2016 – Imagination Pavilion new attraction/new 3-D show
2016 – Norway Pavilion Attraction/Show updates
2016 – Star Wars Land (Attractions/Land/Restaurants)
2017-2020
2017 – Monster’s Inc. Door Coaster @ DHS Pixar Place
2017 – EPCOT DVC Resort
2018 – FROZEN (Mini-Land, D+ Attraction) @ Magic Kingdom (Small World/Village Haus area to be used)
2018 – C-Ticket Dark Ride to add to World Showcase to which ever country can subsidize it.
2019 – Animal Kingdom Major Land (where Avatarland was to go) something themed around Indiana Jones, exploration (Adventurer’s Club), and preservation of Earth through exploration.
2020 – Major E-Ticket @ EPCOT (where Universe of Energy currently sits) to be themed around the old model of educate AND entertain
2020 – DHS Animation Tour update/rethink
2021 – Guardians of the Galaxy Major E-Ticket @ Magic Kingdom (Tomorrowland Speedway area to be used)
2021 – DHS DVC Resort themed around “Old Hollywood”
2021 – C-Ticket The Good Dinosaur Dark Ride @ DAK (knocking out Chester & Hesters and adding this plus a small film educating on dinosaurs)
2021 – Dinosaur Educational film @ DAK (See above)
2022 – New Wonders of Life Pavilion utilizing Inside Out from Pixar, D-Ticket attraction at minimum
2022 – C-Ticket Sleeping Beauty Dark Ride @ MK (where Princess Fairytale Hall currently is)
2023 – Expansion of the Seas @ EPCOT to include new E/D ticket attraction
2024 – A Jungle Book attraction D-Ticket @ DAK Asia area
2025 – Star Wars Land Expansion to completely take over Streets of America/Muppets/Theater adding new content from new films including a new E-Ticket
2025 – Magic Kingdom DVC Resort on the Monorail Loop