Disney's growth shows that the Potter revenue isn't cannibalizing Disney's. It's not like guests are taking a dollar they would have spent at WDW and spending it at USO. They're taking dollars they wouldn't have spent at all and adding them to the overall "pie" that is the central Florida tourism industry.
I have no problem with IP attractions per se, but you need to be able to generate 3% growth without building a new attraction every year.
Because they can't afford to grow in perpetuity if their only path to growth is to be constantly building. See above: you need to be able to spin off 2-4% even in a year with nothing new.
Investors don't like volatile growth followed by stagnation. They want continuous, managed growth. Plus, there's no IP out there that will do for them what Potter has done. Once Potter has run its course, when then shall they turn? People are kidding themselves if they think Nintendo is on that scale.
I disagree, and think it's naive to assume Uni is having no impact on WDW. As others have mentioned, yes the pie is getting bigger, but even though WDW's overall attendance went up, they are still getting a smaller piece of the overall pie. Regardless of topline numbers, UniOrlando being able to recapture 10% of the market share in the past 5 years is pretty significant. More people are traveling and having to decide where to spend their money, many of them are choosing Universal, and Uni is investing in the infrastructure to support it. They are taking a page out of Eisner's book and working to keep people on site with new hotels, new waterpark, and revitalized CityWalk. Does anyone know if Eisner is acting as a consultant???
On top of that, Avatarland is just gonna flop I believe. It'll be popular when it first opens, but there really isn't any fan base or popularity from it to be as great as Harry.
Disney needs to invest in things just as popular as Harry Potter.. That's what is financially successful as a business. Say what you will, but a Frozen-themed land would probably be almost as popular as Harry Potter land. Sorry that you don't like the idea, but it's true.
All I'm saying is Disney isn't going to gain back any percentage lost to Harry Potter with only single attractions and meet and greets. They need a full-scale land based on one of the most popular genres of all time.. And Star Wars should be the way to start. At least, I'd prefer that over Frozen.
To be fair...Avatar only has one movie out and 2 more on the way. The movies have also been delayed, which will work in the favor of the delayed Avatarland. The sequels will be significant when they hit, and regardless of storyline, the "world of Pandora" is what everyone wants to experience. As long as they spend the money to make it an amazing experience, we should have some good synergy's going with AK and the movie. I think it's way to early to say it will be a flop and that it won't be as popular as Harry Potter. It might not be since it isn't geared towards the teen crowd, but the land could still be a big hit.
That's fine, I just don't see 1.3% as a "huge chunk of Disney"
See above. Losing market share is losing market share. a 10% increase in market share for Uni over the past half dozen years is significant.
Like WDW cannibalized Disneyland?
The key is differentiation. A Texas park would allow a revisit to Zorro maybe even a second try at The Lone Ranger. Give Marvel properties their proper due. Texas is exploding and lacks a major park out side of a couple of Six Flags and a SeaWorld that has tons of potential but has been mostly ignored. I'd think it would be local heavy like Disneyland but would perform no worse.
Well when WDW was built DL hadn't become the resort destination that WDW is. Had WDW not been built it may have who knows. WDW just gets way too many people from the Texas region. Especially now with Universal upping their game, it would just be too tempting for people in that region to use that as an excuse to skip WDW. Who knows though if Universal really starts to have an impact on Disney in Central FL they could close a couple of the WDW parks and hotels sell some land and shift their focus elsewhere. I don't see that happening but you never know.
@s8film40 hit the nail on the head here. I want to add to it though that with DL and WDW being on the complete opposite sides of the country, there really isn't much cannibalization going on. People east of the Mississippi just aren't going to trek over to California and see DL and vice versa for everyone on the west coast. In addition, WDW is pulling in Europe and SA visitors, DL from Asia/Australia. Of course you're going to have a small segment (like us here) who will visit both Resorts...but living in FL, I still visit WDW more because of convenience. A new Resort in the center of the country could very well have a cannibalization factor on the 2 existing resorts, even if they offer a completely different theme (such as a Marvel World).
