Only a "Fool" Would Believe the 5th Park is Near...

[RobbinsDad]

Here's what you do with Disney Quest:

Gut the building, remove all the attractions/machines/whatever, and add tons of benches and super-speedy wifi. Call it the Disney Wifi Adventure. That way people can pay 60 bucks to sit in the air conditioning and play on their devices. Oh yeah, and add a huge merchandise shop and turkey legs.

 

[CaptainAmerica]

Here's what you do with Disney Quest:

Gut the building, remove all the attractions/machines/whatever, and add tons of benches and super-speedy wifi. Call it the Disney Wifi Adventure. That way people can pay 60 bucks to sit in the air conditioning and play on their devices. Oh yeah, and add a huge merchandise shop and turkey legs.

The sad part is that people totally would.

 

[DisneyFans4Life]

I think MK is a two day park the way it is now...along with Epcot.

When you think about what these two parks alone have to offer, it would be pretty hard to do every single attraction in just one day. Keep in mind that I'm not talking just rides...I'm talking rides, shows, street performances, parades and fireworks. I think a lot of us think only of rides when we think attractions, but shows like Philarmagic or Beauty and the Beast, Indy, Frozen, etc are still attractions...even though they're only shows.

I'm not much into shows, so we usually end up skipping them altogether. I'd venture to say that if someone tried to do every thing that MK or Epcot had to offer...it couldn't all be done in one day.

Kind of the same with DHS...though I won't say it's more than one day, but I'd say it's definitely more than a half day park if you do everything it has to offer.

 

[CaptainAmerica]

Kind of the same with DHS...though I won't say it's more than one day, but I'd say it's definitely more than a half day park if you do everything it has to offer.

Absolutely correct. I debunked the "DHS is a half day park" a while back before everything started to close to make room for Star Wars. When you do all the shows, you fill a full day. The big issue isn't "not enough stuff," it's "people skipping tons of stuff because it doesn't interest them."

 

[RobbinsDad]

Epcot is a 2-day park because of limited attractions and the FP+ tier system. Not because it has enough for 2 days.

 

[tribbleorlfl]

Yeah, if they're barely increasing capacity at the parks they already have, no way are they going to drop a billion on a 5th gate.

 

[CaptainAmerica]

Epcot is a 2-day park because of limited attractions and the FP+ tier system. Not because it has enough for 2 days.

That makes absolutely no sense. Having few attractions doesn't stretch a park to two days, it would mean it's faster to get through the park in one.

FP Soarin'. Ride Test Track at rope drop. You won't wait in any other lines and it's still two days.

Put it this way. I was at WDW in May with a toddler, so we did zero rides that have a height requirement (that means no Test Track, no Soarin', no Mission: Space) and no World Showcase shows. We still spent a day and a half at Epcot. People love to complain about "not enough to do" and when you actually press them on things, you find out that they skip Innoventions, skip all of the musical performances, skip all of the World Showcase shows, skip loads of Future World, skip Flower and Garden, etc.

 

[RobbinsDad]

That makes absolutely no sense. Having few attractions doesn't stretch a park to two days, it would mean it's faster to get through the park in one.

FP Soarin'. Ride Test Track at rope drop. You won't wait in any other lines and it's still two days.

Put it this way. I was at WDW in May with a toddler, so we did zero rides that have a height requirement (that means no Test Track, no Soarin', no Mission: Space) and no World Showcase shows. We still spent a day and a half at Epcot. People love to complain about "not enough to do" and when you actually press them on things, you find out that they skip Innoventions, skip all of the musical performances, skip all of the World Showcase shows, skip loads of Future World, skip Flower and Garden, etc.

I get what you're saying, but if you follow your system, it really is a 1-day park. You've avoided the longest two lines by far, giving plenty of time to see all the attractions including taking your time through Innoventions and World Showcase. Nothing against that - moving slowly through Epcot is one of my favorite things to do. But it absolutely can be done in a day.

 

[Kingtut]

I'd love to see a fifth gate as much as anyone, but I agree that the work they're doing on the parks needs to get completed first. There is so much that can be done at these parks that adding a 5th gate now wouldn't solve anything. Epcot and DHS are struggling to find their identity/theming...so what identity/theming would a 5th gate take on?

Given the current management approach I would think something along the lines of a park dedicated to Merchandising ( where the real money from the IP is made ) Guests would be treated as workers , paying for the experience of making Pandora Lunch Boxes, Star Wars Light Sabers, Snow White Flamethrowers - the kids will love this one ( you have to see Spaceballs to appreciate this). then we can ship the end result to the other parks and put them up for sale. Scrooge McDuck would be proud.

 

[IMFearless]

I think it is the stuff that us regulars skip, the films, the manatees, character spot, sum of all thrills. There are lot of side shows and additional things that regular visitors gloss over. The stuff in image works. I'm not saying it's all great but it is present.

You could spend two days in Epcot if you took a relaxed approach.

 

[DisneyFans4Life]

I think it is the stuff that us regulars skip, the films, the manatees, character spot, sum of all thrills. There are lot of side shows and additional things that regular visitors gloss over. The stuff in image works. I'm not saying it's all great but it is present.

You could spend two days in Epcot if you took a relaxed approach.

100% agree with you.

 

[threvester]

Disney Quest doesn't really fit the TDO model of selling expensive merchandise, food, and add-on's which they are so hell bent on in other parts of the property.

Here is the thing a lot of people miss with Disneyquest..its a place to drop the kids off where they can have fun while Mom and Dad can relax and go spend that money at every other location in Disney Springs without having to hear " is it time to go yet""im sick of shopping"

 

[danlb_2000]

Absolutely correct. I debunked the "DHS is a half day park" a while back before everything started to close to make room for Star Wars. When you do all the shows, you fill a full day. The big issue isn't "not enough stuff," it's "people skipping tons of stuff because it doesn't interest them."

The Half-Day/Full-Day park think has nothing to do with how long you CAN spend in a park, it's about how long guests on average spend in a park.

 

[CaptainAmerica]

The Half-Day/Full-Day park think has nothing to do with how long you CAN spend in a park, it's about how long guests on average spend in a park.

That's not how people usually frame they argument. It's almost always presented as "there is not enough to do at DAK or DHS to fill a full day."

 

[DManRightHere]

I do not see a fifth park or the need for a fifth park anytime soon. Disney already has 3-4 lands planned in the upcoming years and plenty of room to work on Epcot. I really think they should build another water park before any other theme park.

Yes, Universal guest attendance has grown a substantial amount, but their numbers are still much lower than Disney's, but they are getting closer (but nowhere close to MK). Not to mention Disney's guest attendance has not decreased by much, and that was to be expected.

If I were Disney, I would start getting worried when Universal offers 10 day park passes, they currently only sell 4 day, so I would assume not many guests visit for more than 4 days.

 

[danlb_2000]

That's not how people usually frame they argument. It's almost always presented as "there is not enough to do at DAK or DHS to fill a full day."

I would agree that comes up a lot, but in the end is really irrelevant. If most people aren't doing half the attractions in the park, then there is a problem.

 

[Homerclaus]

Here's what you do with Disney Quest:

Gut the building, remove all the attractions/machines/whatever, and add tons of benches and super-speedy wifi. Call it the Disney Wifi Adventure. That way people can pay 60 bucks to sit in the air conditioning and play on their devices. Oh yeah, and add a huge merchandise shop and turkey legs.

Cupcakes....you forgot the cupcakes...

 

[Brad Bishop]

I would agree that comes up a lot, but in the end is really irrelevant. If most people aren't doing half the attractions in the park, then there is a problem.

That, and I've mentioned this before, you have attractions where people go to sleep. UoE and CoP come to mind. I think some sneak in a nap at SSE. That's not to say that everything has to be a thrill ride but it does shine a light on the fact that they have attractions that can't hold people's attention and people seek out the attraction for a nap in the A/C.

Imagine putting on a play where the main attraction was the A/C and your play was so old that people knew it by heart and just slept through it.

I can't think of another park that has this problem. I've never seen people seek out an attraction at Six Flags for a nap.

 

[UpAllNight]

Universal will attack the family market massively in their third park with their purchase of Dreamworks. We can only hope this forces Disney to up their game substantially. Three gates, a waterpark and 2 entertainment complexes? Mix it with the Seaworld multi park pass and you have enough to fill 10 days, without stepping foot into Disney. And saving yourself a fortune in the process.

 

[DisneyFans4Life]

That, and I've mentioned this before, you have attractions where people go to sleep. UoE and CoP come to mind. I think some sneak in a nap at SSE. That's not to say that everything has to be a thrill ride but it does shine a light on the fact that they have attractions that can't hold people's attention and people seek out the attraction for a nap in the A/C.

Imagine putting on a play where the main attraction was the A/C and your play was so old that people knew it by heart and just slept through it.

I can't think of another park that has this problem. I've never seen people seek out an attraction at Six Flags for a nap.

But a Six Flags wasn't designed in the same way as WDW. I agree with your point...but people are going to Six Flags for thrill rides. There is not one person that says, "hey, let's go to WDW for their thrill rides."

People go to WDW to spend time with their family doing things that suit everyone. I would never take my 2 year old to a Six Flags because there's not much to do. I take my 2 year old to WDW because she gets to interact with characters, watch live shows that keep her interested and she gets to ride a good amount of rides.

Also, the people who seek out COP, SSE, Hall of Presidents, etc for a nap are most likely regulars and know that those are the best "nap"spots...heck I'm guilty of it lol.