Princesses may not rule fantasy land after all! Frontierland expansion rumor reality?

[lebeau]

Also, the HP merch is hard to get. That makes it more desirable.

Disney, on the other hand, has milked every last cent out of every franchise they own. Just the other day, I saw a bunch of Pirates toys still on clearance. They flooded the market and can't give the stuff away now.

 

[cslafferty]

I may be over simplifying things, but what about a "Woody's Round-up" theme for TSI? Would fit in Frontierland perfectly, and would be a different twist on Toy Story than the rides that are already there. The TS series is the biggest thing that TDO has going right now, IMO.

 

[wizards8507]

Also, the HP merch is hard to get. That makes it more desirable.

Disney, on the other hand, has milked every last cent out of every franchise they own. Just the other day, I saw a bunch of Pirates toys still on clearance. They flooded the market and can't give the stuff away now.

You can't even begin to compare the two. The Harry Potter series isn't even complete yet, and it's the highest grossing franchise of all time*, so of course they're going to sell more stuff than an animated princess movie made in 1937. The true test will be longevity. Will Pottermania die down when the series is complete, or will it live on alongside Star Wars, James Bond, and other timeless series?

*Interestingly, The Lord of the Rings movies averaged about $70 million more than Potter, but Potter has twice as many films so the total gross is much higher.

 

[HM Spectre]

The problem with trying to use the FL expansion to compete with the Potter behemoth is that HP is a franchise that appeals to both male and female, young and old and anything set up like that (as Walt realized) is going to pull in far more people than something targeting a specific niche (even one that's been as profitable as the Princess line). At least it seems Tom Staggs realizes that to the point where the initial concept for FL is going to be tweaked in order to gain the much desired universal appeal, although how much it'll be changed is anyone's guess. I just think he wants to make sure that an area that's seeing such a huge chunk of change thrown at it isn't one to be skipped over by multiple demographics because of a lack of appeal (not saying it'll happen as-designed, just that the possibility exists).

Regardless, I don't know how well the HP franchise can be directly competed with in the short term. It's still incredibly fresh, has movies running through 2011 and it's meeting a demand for HP attractions and merchandise that has been unfulfilled for a long, long time. I think it'll have longevity simply because it's a good story with a timeless theme, but it won't stay hot forever. When the new content has passed and HP has cooled off... then I think it'll be vulnerable. The new generation of park-goers simply won't have had the same HP experience (the anticipation, buildup of excitement) growing up. Until then though, I just don't know that Disney has a franchise that hasn't been milked dry yet that can really compete. It's a battle that has to be fought, but it may be a losing one in the short term.

 

[floridabill]

I hear there's a lot of expansion room in Animal Kingdom!


...


Just sayin...

The sad thing is I wonder if they were possibly debating what park to give a new addition to. and friggin Jay went along and announces a project no one wants....:brick:

 

[floridabill]

^ Well maybe not 100% but can anyone say they don't? With all the surveys Disney sends out to guests, why not just have a group surf fan sites? :shrug:

A little while back I used the disney web site and it asked me to take a survey, and WDW magic was on it!! they asked me if i use it and i clicked yes!

 

[ChrisM]

LotR could only ever been done right as an entire theme park. Minas Tirith dominating one end of the park faced off squarely against Barad-dûr on the other end.

Throw in "lands" for the Shire, Rohan, Lothlorien/Rivendell, the Mines of Moria, possibly Mirkwood and the Lonely Mountain The rides and attractions that could be built into this framework are almost endless.

No one will ever build it, which is a damn shame. It also boggles my mind that there isn't a gigantic Star Wars land/park built out somewhere.

 

[Thrill Seeker]

I know this has already been stated, but Alice in Wonderland would be a great alternative new area to be added to the FL expansion. Not only that, but if instead of building all of these meet and greets, if they built a new attraction based on either version of the film (animated or Tim Burton's) that would have decent appeal for all audiences.

As for the rumored Frontierland expansion, I agree that it doesn't really make sense to expand Frontierland when other lands could use the help. Regardless, one point that people aren't really bringing up is that perhaps when they mean "expansion" they actually mean "re-purposing". Perhaps we will finally witness the end of Country Bear Jamboree and see it replaced with a new attraction with wider appeal (there have been old rumors about a Woody's Round Up ride). The whole thing of using TSI as an expansion plot would work, but would require a lot of work to happen and I'm not sure Disney is willing to spend enough money to do what that would entail.

Either way, I wasn't the biggest fan of the FL expansion when it was announced. I wanna go on Mermaid and eat at Be Our Guest, but other than that, since I am a college age male, none of it particularly interests me. In order to properly compete with Harry Potter, Disney needs to pull a giant rabbit out of their sleeve. I'm talking MI Coaster, DAK expansion, Imagination Redo/New Epcot E-ticket and possible other new MK attractions big. MAYBE something like all of that can take on Potter...

 

[Lee]

PH is happening.

Well....if you start clapping really hard.....nah, still ain't happening.

 

[wizards8507]

Well....if you start clapping really hard.....nah, still ain't happening.

I can't imagine ANYONE complaining that Pixie Hollow won't happen.

 

[DocMcHulk]

I would be willing to bet that the Pixie area gets scraped by the time this is all over.

I love the idea of the Little Mermaid ride and The Beauty and the Beast area will be pretty cool. Dumbo needs to be expanded and moved. But i think the Cinderella area and PH will get yanked in the end. I dont know what PH will be. Neverland doesn't really fit the "Fantasy Forest" idea, but it seems the best option if they can merge it with the tea cups.

 

[lebeau]

I can't imagine ANYONE complaining that Pixie Hollow won't happen.

Then you don't have much of an imagination. There are plenty of people (even here on these forums) who were looking forward to it.

 

[wizards8507]

Then you don't have much of an imagination. There are plenty of people (even here on these forums) who were looking forward to it.

:shrug:

 

[Mr. Morrow]

Then you don't have much of an imagination. There are plenty of people (even here on these forums) who were looking forward to it.

No Disney has no imagination if they were to build PH.

 

[Thrill Seeker]

Anyone?





*tumbleweeds*

 

[cdunbar]

They feel Frontierland isnt bringing in enough profits.

Exactly, think about what Frontierland is:
1. Where everyone, for the most part, goes to get their CS lunch
2. Pin buyers heaven
3. Home to Big Thunder, Splash, and CBJ
And that's it...

Feels like Jim has been reading my posts.:lol:

That would not surprise me, I've heard of him doing such things before.

Also, the HP merch is hard to get. That makes it more desirable.

Disney, on the other hand, has milked every last cent out of every franchise they own. Just the other day, I saw a bunch of Pirates toys still on clearance. They flooded the market and can't give the stuff away now.

Well see they make the mistake of selling the same thing everywhere, Disneyland is not like that. You might find the pins in every store, but t-shirts, stuffed animals, etc., are different from store to store. I mean I can't tell you how impressed I was with their merchandise last week, I mean every store has something different.

Well....if you start clapping really hard.....nah, still ain't happening.

That's surprising, I mean when I was at Disneyland last week you could never wait less than 45 min to see Tinkerbell in Pixie Hollow, you would think they'd want another MnG to increase capacity. :shrug:

 

[MKCP 1985]

Then you don't have much of an imagination. There are plenty of people (even here on these forums) who were looking forward to it.

yep, and those who don't yet have internet access. It isn't rocket science to figure out that if the fairy meet and greets currently have hour long waits (and they do at times), there are plenty of people who will welcome Pixie Hollow if it is built.

The economy is bad right now though. It wouldn't surprise me to see the Fantasyland scaled back simply based on economics, even if they never admit as much. It sure happened to Animal Kingdom.

 

[majortom1981]

hmm

The problem in that article is the standing in line for a gift shop envy part. Disney had that in NYC. there were times where i did stand in line to get into the world of disney in NYC and what did disney do ? instead of moving the world of disney they shut it down and are replacing it with a disney store which does not even sell the same merchandise.

I honestly believe that disney is losing its edge.

 

[ryanduggers]

Do something cool with Jungle Book instead of pixie hollow

 

[powlessfamily4]

For FL expan - I say two good princess attractions (Ariel and Belle) and then do fantasy type attractions for the rest of the area. Definitely add soemthing to attract boys but I can't see wiping out the princess bit either. Why princesses... well as so many like to point out WDW needs to turn a buck and as long as little girls are born, there will be a demand for princess themed worlds. Boys are more difficult because a good portion of them become interested in sports as they grow up while others play video games and pretend they are HP. j/k Sports themed attractions may not fit into MK (hence ESPN WWS) I love the idea of Cars.

I also think people need to stop comparing everything at WDW with whatever the heck is going on over at Pottersville. Big deal they are drawing crowds this summer. It is a widely popular series with mega blockbuster movies that was in danger of going a little stale. They open a theme park and all of the fans now have a reason to put down their HP game controllers, dress like a 12 year old boy and venture out into the sunshine.

I personally believe that no matter what WDW does, MK will always hold it's place at the top.