The Hometown Rivalry. Even Meg Crofton was impressed by Potter.

[EPCOTCenterLover]

Please leave Carsland as exclusive to DCA. We got a second rate Tower of Terror, no Epcot, and no Animal Kingdom. Gotta have something great and original in our second park!

 

[Duckberg]

here is your magic

IMO only Disney can kill Disney & maybe some of that dust above & $5.00+ a gallon of gas!!! Duckberg

 

[trr1]

Was it not one of his favourite rants???

Or is it the mystery-man reference that may have lost something in transatlantic translation

I was not ranting I was joking with the picture but i dont get the 5 dollars is that a booby prize?

 

[Skipper Dan]

Disney can say Potter-land is bringing people to both parks, but I think the more likely reality is that many people staying at WDW are now spending at least one day of their vacations (that they would have spent at WDW in the past) at Universal.

And I would bet that many people are now choosing to stay off-site because of it as well.

I went to the Wizarding World of Harry Potter, but for one day, and stayed on Disney property with my girlfriend, and bought a Disney AP.

... and we stayed two extra days on property, at the Animal Kingdom Lodge. Over all, I think Disney won. :wave:

PS I'll be doin' an article on my Uni' experience soon.

 

[Pumbas Nakasak]

I was not ranting I was joking with the picture but i dont get the 5 dollars is that a booby prize?

Offs I never said you were ranting. It was the nature of the response using pixie dust, taht reminded me of a put down.

The I claim my £5 relates to a competition newspapers used to run involving look a likes /mystery shoppers.

 

[SeaCastle]

TDO, it seems, does not have a clue as to what is good for the guests and the parks... They only know what's good for the bottom line and their bonuses... I just wish this Disney Parks inititive pulled the power out of their hands and put power in the hands of people who actually do care about the parks, the maintenance, and the guest experience...

WDW needs Cars Land... And if not Cars Land, then something just as good, themed, and would be a huge draw.. FLE isn't it...

TDO is essentially a real estate development company these days, but with the way that Walt Disney Parks and Resorts works, big projects don't get approved unless there's a spreadsheet that shows the project will make a profit to justify construction, so that may be part of the problem. I had hoped like you that One Disney could bring some sanity to Florida, but unfortunately that doesn't seem to be the direction they're going. Why can't we have live entertainment and stellar maintenance like Disneyland? Why do attractions go for years without refurbishment or improvements? (Thank you, Phil Holmes.)

But the problem is that your average guest doesn't realize that a certain light fixture hasn't worked in months, or that those potted plants you see in Caribbean Plaza are fountains that have been deactivated for over a decade. Not only is it management's problem, but it's also the fact that they can get away with cost-cutting without their guests throwing a hissy-fit.

Let's fix this stagnation by adding something new to the Animal Kingdom, like a new land. Throw in an E-ticket, maybe a C-ticket or two. Add a Star Wars-land to MGM Studios, that could be the merchandise juggernaut TDO is looking for. Put in a ride at the Imagination pavilion worthy of being at EPCOT. Put a thrill ride in the Magic Kingdom so it doesn't turn into a kiddie park. Add some live entertainment back in, and re-instate the immaculate maintenance standards that WDW once enjoyed. That'd be a good start.

 

[danstadnik]

Add a Star Wars-land to MGM Studios, that could be the merchandise juggernaut TDO is looking for.

How easy would that be? My goodness, I've been saying that FOREVER!!! Why can't I eat at the Creature Cantina, then do Star Tours 2, then an omnimover Dark Ride that resembles the Death Star (a mini SSE?) on the outside and takes you thru the whole 6 films in like 15 minutes... Maybe some living character initiative M&Gs w Yoda, C3po, Darth Vader... This would ABSOLUTELY trump WWOHP.

 

[tahqa]

It is as they say, Disney gets overflow from people traveling to see Potter. They are getting something for nothing. But Legoland threatens the local market. So Disney is reacting. It is why the FLE showed up out of nowhere when all of our insiders were insisting "nothing new is coming to the MK for at least 5 years". :lookaroun........:zipit:........Pfffffft:ROFLOL:
.

I'm not sure that Legoland will threaten the local market. I've been to Cypress Gardens before and, while it was nice, it wasn't worth the drive to get there. It's a long way off of I-4 with small towns and lots of stop lights to go through. I'll certainly make a visit to Legoland, but I'm not going to buy an annual pass.

 

[yeti]

Let's fix this stagnation by adding something new to the Animal Kingdom, like a new land. Throw in an E-ticket, maybe a C-ticket or two. Add a Star Wars-land to MGM Studios, that could be the merchandise juggernaut TDO is looking for. Put in a ride at the Imagination pavilion worthy of being at EPCOT. Put a thrill ride in the Magic Kingdom so it doesn't turn into a kiddie park. Add some live entertainment back in, and re-instate the immaculate maintenance standards that WDW once enjoyed. That'd be a good start.

I like what you're saying, but it sounds more like an end result. Better live entertainment and general management-that would be a good start. Restore all those little "this and thats" that matter to the fans, then pull out the big guns. When they apply your suggestions, I'll be perfectly content seeing them sit and watch their resort run like clockwork-but not now.

 

[jakeman]

I freely admit that in the last few years I enjoy my days at Uni more than Disney, but thats because there is nothing new and most of what has been added is OK. I expect Disney to be more than OK.

Potter has shown that Uni can do many of the things that the uber fans on here claim have been weaknesses. The themeing is excellent, the attraction is a very good development of technology, the Q I think is fantastic and the staff interaction is what people expect from Disney.

There are plenty of things I dont like or have no interest in, some do seem well done others are "is that it". It needs to grow the Potter area and Uni needs to manage its increased numbers. Three hotels running at high occupancy are good for the bottom line but if recent trip reports are to be believed the service levels are suffering.

Either way as a true tourist Im happy to have new experiences available as I have no undying corporate loyalty. So Meg is right in some ways but as someone pointed out I do have x number of days each trip and Disney has been getting fewer of them. Though I admit my two trips to the Tequila Cave more than offset that.

I agree completely. While I have come to defense of Disney from foamers and haters in the past (of which you referenced in your '74 comment), Disney is just a theme park.

Uni has produced a superior product with a more relevant franchise than Disney has currently.

They lost a day from our vacation this year to check it out and has us considering ways to get back to Uni in our future extended stay.

It won't hold up to the same level of scrutiny of a Disney attraction, because to be honest, nothing would, but it is a great addition to the Orlando theme park market.

It's a win for the consumers and for a non-essential product like vacations, that is really what matters.

 

[billybastion]

The answer to Disney's welcoming Potter is in the article:



There ya go. Sounds like Universal's plan is backfiring. :lol:

People coming to Orlando to experience Potter will be tempted to visit WDW and Disney knows that. So in reality Universal is drawing tourists for Disney.

I work at a university, and a lot of the college students I work with that went to Universal for HP spent more time/days at the Disney parks. All of them spent an entire day in HP-land but then spent the rest of their vacation in WDW. This is all anecdotal of course, but I thought it was an insightful and interesting trend. Here are the kids that grew up with Harry Potter and are his biggest fans...but they're still only able to squeeze a day out of HP Land and Universal.

Which reminds me of another point: Very few of them spent time in the rest of Universal. Many of them made the comment that it's "too much like Six Flags and we have one of those here" but we don't have a Disney park.

Edit: I've never been to HP Land but would love to go. It looks much more detailed than a lot of what Disney has been doing recently and from what the students tell me, the area just breathes with character and life.

 

[OnWithTheShow]

Disney won't close the parks to people staying in the Disney resorts either. So while the park may be at capacity, guests staying in these resorts are still let in.

Thats not true at all.

 

[askmike1]

WWoHP is a great land and the ride itself is an amazing experience (probably the best overall ride experience I've been on). The land has its faults and has plenty of room for improvement... but good competition is always a good thing for Disney to have.

 

[mrpygmypuff]

thank you

Th important thing, at least for me, is not where guests are being drawn to or who is dominating who in attendance. The important point is that Uni has built an area and an attraction that is far superior to anything WDW has done in at least the last 15 years.
Uni is trying harder to raise the bar on attractions, while WDW is resting on it's laurels and coasting along on it's (well earned) reputation.
WDW needs to swing for the fence again. Shoot for the "wow" factor that they seem to have forgotten about.
And, no....FLE ain't it.

you hit the nail on the head! thanks!:sohappy:

 

[flavious27]

I can't understand why TDO did not plan and start a response to wwhp after they passed on jk and rumors floated she drove up I-4 to international drive to see universal. I really hope that FLE is not the belated answer, that would be sad.

As for ioa helping to bring guests to wdw, people may extend their hotel stays while on property an extra day but likely they will not go to ak. A million less guests at wdw is going to take a revenue hit less than the revenue gain by blackstone and universal with an extra million guests, but it is still going to be a hit.

The answer is not FLE, not in the anyway. TDO is going to take the time to see if the growth continues but why gauge what the other guy is doing when you are the star?

Expansion at all 4 parks is needed, hands down. If the parks are more attractive, they will get buzz that will get more guests and decrease the amount of time between disney vacations. The mess that is DTD needs to be fixed before the wharf is built.

 

[T-1MILLION]

I can't understand why TDO did not plan and start a response to wwhp after they passed on jk and rumors floated she drove up I-4 to international drive to see universal. I really hope that FLE is not the belated answer, that would be sad.

As for ioa helping to bring guests to wdw, people may extend their hotel stays while on property an extra day but likely they will not go to ak. A million less guests at wdw is going to take a revenue hit less than the revenue gain by blackstone and universal with an extra million guests, but it is still going to be a hit.The answer is not FLE, not in the anyway. TDO is going to take the time to see if the growth continues but why gauge what the other guy is doing when you are the star?

Exactly. Also that is a day or two at Universal's parks with people spending money in Hogsmeade and the rest of the resort that they are not spending at WDW parks. All that potential merch lost every min the guests are somewhere else other than WDW.

 

[askmike1]

I can't understand why TDO did not plan and start a response to wwhp after they passed on jk and rumors floated she drove up I-4 to international drive to see universal. I really hope that FLE is not the belated answer, that would be sad.

Let's put this into perspective just a bit. Since WWoHP premiered and in the comping years, Disney has/will debut the Disney Dream and Disney Fantasy cruise ships, Fantasyland Expansion, Star Tours 2.0, Hyperion Wharf (along with other changes to DTD) and Art of Animation Resort, not to mention all the smaller changes (new parades, shows, etc). In that time and what we know of in the future... what is Universal doing/adding to its Florida assets?

Disney has something the size of Everest, Mission: Space, FLE every couple of years. But Disney is never in dire need of a WWoHP-update because unlike its Universal counterpart, there is always something going on at Disney. It never rests on its laurels... not everything will be huge or appealing to you, but the resort is never finished and there is always something that they are doing to plus it.

 

[flavious27]

Exactly. Also that is a day or two at Universal's parks with people spending money in Hogsmeade and the rest of the resort that they are not spending at WDW parks. All that potential merch lost every min the guests are somewhere else other than WDW.

Then there is the hit with the dinning plan based on your ticket stay and not resort stay.

 

[jakeman]

The answer is not FLE, not in the anyway.

The answer was never FLE.

Pretty much anyone with a passing knowledge of the project that extends beyond internet ramblings has stated as much.

Secondly, and apologies if I missed this, I've asked before, what the capacity of IOA?

According to private event bookings it's 20,000. I would assume that is a low estimate.

 

[flavious27]

Let's put this into perspective just a bit. Since WWoHP premiered and in the comping years, Disney has/will debut the Disney Dream and Disney Fantasy cruise ships, Fantasyland Expansion, Star Tours 2.0, Hyperion Wharf (along with other changes to DTD) and Art of Animation Resort, not to mention all the smaller changes (new parades, shows, etc). In that time and what we know of in the future... what is Universal doing/adding to its Florida assets?

Upgrades and replacements of rides. With the list of refurbs and fle, is tdo adding anything to attract us there more often?

An expansion of dcl could bring in more people if they market the land and sea package better but the work at dtd isn't in the direction that will excite people to shorten the time between trips or bring them to dtd for more than the annual wod stop. the aa will give more options but a value hotel is not a draw.

tdo had the time to get something started and planned.