Predictions! Secret WDC Project — August 22 @ D23

[Rodan75]

I’ve been thinking about possible corporate level that isn’t just philanthropy or specific to park expansion:
1. Like others have said, a rewards program. But I’m thinking more of a Disney Prime subscription service more so than a rewards program ( streaming, Parks admission, DDP, discounts). If they do this, they would start with DVC members first.
2. A long term partnership with Sony in regards to Spider-Man. Including being the exclusive streaming home for all Spider-Man TV projects as well continued MCU collaboration.
3. A DVC expansion / plan that will encourage international park visits.

 

[brodie999]

I found this video on a Podcast that teased big things for the secret Disney project. You might wanna hear what the podcasters had to say.

 

[eddie104]

I found this video on a Podcast that teased big things for the secret Disney project. You might wanna hear what the podcasters had to say.

Can you summarize please ??

 

[peter11435]

I found this video on a Podcast that teased big things for the secret Disney project. You might wanna hear what the podcasters had to say.

You mean literally nothing?

 

[Smiley/OCD]

I have my doubts if Disney would be the one to do it, but there is a sizable market (NYC metro area) that could handle a Disney level single gate park. Like Tokyo, which has a weather profile similar to NYC, to an extent, they shouldn’t have to close the park seasonally or anything like that. NYC tourism would also keep the park open year round.

The problem is who would build it (IMO it would most certainly not be Disney for the same reason they wouldn’t build the fanboi fantasy that is Disneyland Texas, cannibalization) and where. NYC metro area only has one large contiguous plot of land that is/could be well served by mass transit; the Meadowlands complex. The problem there is the Giants/Jets have their new stadium there and the land itself is controlled by the state of New Jersey. MetLife Stadium + parking + and Meadowlands racetrack yields over 300 acres.

It and London are the two major affluent world cities without high quality theme parks. Some look to risky emerging markets for theme park sector growth, but the greatest treasures are closer to home, provided you have the wherewithal to do so.

And there is a new retail/indoor amusement park/indoor water park scheduled to open at the "Meadowlands" Met-Life complex called American Dream...Rumor has it it will be open this October.
IMHO, Disney doesn't need another location in the US...Orlando and Cali are just fine.

 

[seascape]

And there is a new retail/indoor amusement park/indoor water park scheduled to open at the "Meadowlands" Met-Life complex called American Dream...Rumor has it it will be open this October.
IMHO, Disney doesn't need another location in the US...Orlando and Cali are just fine.

Between Cony Island, Great Adventure, the Jersey Shore, the new Legoland, Six Flags New England, Dorney Park and the new park at the Meadowlands, there is no need for a new Disney nor Universal park. In fact in the 1960s NBC wanted Disney to build a new Park in Northern New Jersey, next to NYC. Disney studied the idea and determined it wouldn't work because of the cost of a Disney park and it's seasonal operating schedule. The Six Flags parks and Cedar Fair parks work in the north on a seasonal basis because they don't spend as much on theming.

 

[Parker41056]

Any chance Disney could enhance Pirates and bring the Treasure Cove land from Shanghai to MK? Or even better, create a larger scale fantasmic show with stints, pyro and large ships.

 

[danlb_2000]

See that's strange they have MCU statues of Thor and Cap in the the Comics store on the Island...

Whereas they have them in their Comic Book Form as M&G Versions on the Island....It'd be nice for Continuity to use the same outfits as the one's they are using for Captain America at DCA.

The statues are actually merchandise which I think is how they get away with using them as a decoration.

 

[SplashJacket]

As much as I do not think it will have anything to do with the parks, and instead be a larger piece of Disney, we must consider Lighthouse Point. If we all remember, it supposed to be Disney's second exclusive DCL destination.

The only difference between Castaway Cay and Lighthouse Point is the intention. The property has a total of 746-acres. Disney is so generously converting 190-acres of the property into a national park.

Castaway Cay has a total of 1,000 aces, despite only 50 being utilized. Due to logistical issues, it would be near impossible to develop the island any significant amount more than they have already.

While Lighthouse Point is on an island, it is on the 110-kilometer long island of Eleuthera. The island boasts a population of 11,000 people, compared to the roughly 60 permanent employees of Castaway Cay.

Castaway Cay initially cost $40,000,000 adjusted for inflation to build, of course, the island has received various modifications and upgrades since then.

Disney has already pledged to invest $250,000,000 to $400,000,000 and create roughly 150 Bahamian jobs. This job figure does not include non-Bahamian employees. These numbers are far less than what Aulani in Hawaii cost to construct, however, the island has far more in store than a simple private cruise destination.

Castaway Cay has received far more attention as of recent. The number of double-dip Castaway Cruises have increased dramatically. (A cruise itinerary where the ship visits Castaway twice.)

Lighthouse Point is expected to receive its first voyages in 2021-2023. The first of the three new ships debuts in 2021 and the last in 2023.

Disney's previous ambitions for a second private island was Egg Island which measured to roughly 170 acres, a far less ambitious project.

My two sense on the project is Castaway Cay is phenomenal because of exclusivity. Aulani is also phenomenal, but merging Castaway with an Aulani-Esque resort would eliminate some of the magic of Castaway. On the other hand, merging a project like Aulani and Castaway would allow for far more opportunities on the island itself.

I have included an early developmental concept for the island which was necessary for approval by the Bahamian government. Anyone who has visited Castaway before, notices instantly the design seems very off. I understand it is one of the most preliminary concepts possible, but my point is, the actual finished product will be far from the concept, possibly larger, much much much more expansive, and may even require an hour-long secret D23 project slot to cover how much more will be done than originally announced.

 

[SplashJacket]

Any chance Disney could enhance Pirates and bring the Treasure Cove land from Shanghai to MK? Or even better, create a larger scale fantasmic show with stints, pyro and large ships.

Total opposite rides.

 

[marni1971]

Not much of a “secret” now is it?

I’d be very surprised if this was attraction related.

 

[jumpinjamie]

Between Cony Island, Great Adventure, the Jersey Shore, the new Legoland, Six Flags New England, Dorney Park and the new park at the Meadowlands, there is no need for a new Disney nor Universal park. In fact in the 1960s NBC wanted Disney to build a new Park in Northern New Jersey, next to NYC. Disney studied the idea and determined it wouldn't work because of the cost of a Disney park and it's seasonal operating schedule. The Six Flags parks and Cedar Fair parks work in the north on a seasonal basis because they don't spend as much on theming.

Thanks to the Climate Crisis, in a few decades the Northeast may be less seasonal and FL and CA may be too hot for anybody to want to vacation.. American Dream has the right idea by having a climate controlled indoor park, you can go on a rollercoaster, swim in the water park, ice skate, or ski all year round.

 

[britain]

Thanks to the Climate Crisis, in a few decades the Northeast may be less seasonal and FL and CA may be too hot for anybody to want to vacation.. American Dream has the right idea by having a climate controlled indoor park, you can go on a rollercoaster, swim in the water park, ice skate, or ski all year round.

Or invest in more things that float.

 

[Progress.City]

That would be horrible.

Almost happened a few times. I remember Eisner almost bought them in the 80's but Anheuser Busch won it. Disney was ready to re-imagineer the park as DisneySeas.

 

[doctornick]

Not much of a “secret” now is it?

I'm intrigued... but confused.

So has the "secret" been revealed?

 

[SplashJacket]

I'm intrigued... but confused.

So has the "secret" been revealed?

Just gonna point out that I could just wait for @marni1971 to respond, but it is enjoyable to dissect the meanings in his messages like a literature class.

Pretty sure he was referring to my point regarding Lighthouse Point not being a secret. If I ignore the second part of his post I can interpret it as two different things, one as disregarding my post as it not being secret and therefore not filling up the slot, or saying that the "secret" slot is not actually secret as someone just said stated it. More than likely, its the first option, as just after he said that he does not believe it will be an attraction, and I would consider the developments in Lighthouse Point to be an attraction.

 

[marni1971]

Just gonna point out that I could just wait for @marni1971 to respond, but it is enjoyable to dissect the meanings in his messages like a literature class.

Pretty sure he was referring to my point regarding Lighthouse Point not being a secret. If I ignore the second part of his post I can interpret it as two different things, one as disregarding my post as it not being secret and therefore not filling up the slot, or saying that the "secret" slot is not actually secret as someone just said stated it. More than likely, its the first option, as just after he said that he does not believe it will be an attraction, and I would consider the developments in Lighthouse Point to be an attraction.

Nothing cryptic! The MO is all wrong for a parks specific announcement. The secret part was to drum up social media chatter. Maybe they’re going into home cooking. Or self driving cars.

 

[doctornick]

Pretty sure he was referring to my point regarding Lighthouse Point not being a secret. If I ignore the second part of his post I can interpret it as two different things, one as disregarding my post as it not being secret and therefore not filling up the slot, or saying that the "secret" slot is not actually secret as someone just said stated it. More than likely, its the first option, as just after he said that he does not believe it will be an attraction, and I would consider the developments in Lighthouse Point to be an attraction.

Yeah I do think Lighthouse Point could certainly be the focus of the "secret" presentation given there has never been any official announcement of it. They can also easily add in other details about the DCL - names of the new ships, details of those ships, new destinations or itineraries, etc. Might even include a new name for Lighthouse Point if they want to "Disnefy" it.

But if Lighthouse Point is going to get some element beyond Castaway Cay - like a hotel/DVC - that would be interesting and certainly something "secret". Does Eleuthera have sufficient airport facilities to support a resort hotel? It would be tough to sell DVC units or hotel stays unless people can get to the island efficiently.

Anyway, DCL is distinct enough from the parks that I could see them putting it into a different presentation to not dilute down either the parks or the DCL presentation.

 

[SplashJacket]

Does Eleuthera have sufficient airport facilities to support a resort hotel? It would be tough to sell DVC units or hotel stays unless people can get to the island efficiently.

From what I can tell, there are three different airstrips, nothing that could handle a large passenger capacity. It appears that Delta, Jet Blue, American Airlines and United all fly to the island. I am not sure if these are one time flights, but JetBlue appears to fly round trip twice a week. (All the flights are through Atlanta for all the carriers)

If Disney is serious on developing the island, the airstrip on the island's southern end could be transformed to support the needs of an Aulani type resort. The biggest airstrip appears to be on the north side of the island, but since the island is 110-kilometers long I would assume they would not opt for that route.

On a different note, if Disney does buy an airline as some rumors suggest, a plane could be placed on a route to the island that would travel between it and Atlanta, and possibly Orlando as well.

If this actually is true, I could see the 1-hour announcement going from announcing the airline acquisition, then suggesting packages which include the air tickets with the parks and hotel, and then announcing a Lighthouse Point expansion with the idea of connecting it with one of their new planes. Corporate synergy at its finest.

Will this actually happen? Doubt it. Purely hypothetical.

 

[brodie999]

Can you summarize please ??

The guy said the announcement has nothing to do with theme parks or D23 Expo. So he might know it's very much more related to Disney as a whole.