The Spirited Seventh Heaven ...

WDW1974

WDW1974

Well-Known Member
Original Poster
COProgressFan said:
Did anyone (besides delusional executives and a handful of Disney-can-do-no-wrong fanbois) ever think Flamingo Crossings was a good idea?

The thought of all the land that has been sold off (and may be sold off in this case) is rather upsetting.
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I don't know. The thing was announced way back in 2007 when they also announced Golden Oak and the Four Seasons, which almost didn't happen as well. They were heady days in the real estate market in Florida and, let's not muddy the waters, WDW Co. is a real estate development and hotel management company with theme parks as an ancillary business.

Why they thought Darden would pay 2-3-10 times the rent to open a Longhorn or Olive Garden at FC or Hilton to put a Garden Inn or Homewood Suites or CVS to put a store instead of a mile away on 192 is beyond my limited comprehension. It was yet another stupid (and greedy) business move, but unlike others (like DVC) it has backfired quite nicely.
 
bhg469

bhg469

Well-Known Member
WDW1974 said:
I don't know. The thing was announced way back in 2007 when they also announced Golden Oak and the Four Seasons, which almost didn't happen as well. They were heady days in the real estate market in Florida and, let's not muddy the waters, WDW Co. is a real estate development and hotel management company with theme parks as an ancillary business.

Why they thought Darden would pay 2-3-10 times the rent to open a Longhorn or Olive Garden at FC or Hilton to put a Garden Inn or Homewood Suites or CVS to put a store instead of a mile away on 192 is beyond my limited comprehension. It was yet another stupid (and greedy) business move, but unlike others (like DVC) it has backfired quite nicely.
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They all got cocky.
 
wdwmagic

wdwmagic

Administrator
Moderator
Premium Member
WDW1974 said:
I don't know. The thing was announced way back in 2007 when they also announced Golden Oak and the Four Seasons, which almost didn't happen as well. They were heady days in the real estate market in Florida and, let's not muddy the waters, WDW Co. is a real estate development and hotel management company with theme parks as an ancillary business.

Why they thought Darden would pay 2-3-10 times the rent to open a Longhorn or Olive Garden at FC or Hilton to put a Garden Inn or Homewood Suites or CVS to put a store instead of a mile away on 192 is beyond my limited comprehension. It was yet another stupid (and greedy) business move, but unlike others (like DVC) it has backfired quite nicely.
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I think to some extent it was done with Horizon West in mind. That took a back seat in 2008, but has since got going again. That will bring a huge amount of residents to that side of WDW. It might be worth them hanging onto it for a few more years.
 
Figments Friend

Figments Friend

Well-Known Member
Pleased to hear that the Flamingo Crossing proposition is on the rocks.
Good.
A horrid development idea completely unsuited for the location.

Not pleased to hear about that plot of land possibly being sold off.
Such incredibly inept short-sightedness in regards to who is responsible for such decisions.


Just because today*s WDC does not know what to do creatively with the *extra land* they still own in Florida does not mean the WDC of the future will not.
The future planners, dreamers, and doers are not even being given the chance with such short term thinking and actions of today.

In yesteryears, it was - * What amazing and unique experience can we build on this plot of land*.
Today it is - *What price can we get for selling off a plot of land next to what amazing and unique experiences we built 30+ years ago*

Makes me angry, it does.
 
mgpan

mgpan

Well-Known Member
wdwmagic said:
I've been expecting the announcement that this will be sold off to a third party developer for some time. I'm surprised it hasn't happened already. Will be interesting to see how this pans out.
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Perhaps as an unknown part of an earlier real estate transaction? For tax purposes and an "I'll give you this for a song if you help me unload that reason?" Maybe to a developer with political connections that will mutually benefit the developer and the Disney company? I don't know what's on the Horizon, but haven't we heard a little about troubling land swaps and development deals in the area recently?....

You beat me to mentioning the potential tie-in! Interesting people involved in this story of promised, failed and rekindled development.
 
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mgpan

mgpan

Well-Known Member
WDW1974 said:
Oh, so MAGICal Steve is reporting that Disney P&R execs are out and about in O-Town this week.

My reaction? So what. That's their job to run the resort and every once in a while that requires getting out in the miserable weather to mingle (or actually just be seen) with the dirty riff-raff that works and visits the resort.

Georgie K is only the Prez and Meg (who still has an O-Town office) is his supervisor. And Jim MacPhee is O-Town based, unless that suddenly changed when MM+/NGE was handed over to George.

Oh ... more interesting, perhaps, is that Bob Iger as well as Tom Staggs showed up in Paris last week for the Ratatouille debut at the Studios.
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Can't blame em, even if just junketing on the company dime. Paris last week as an excuse not to be in Orlando in July this week? Mingling with the workers.. I once had a boss who would keep his hands in his pockets so he didn't have to touch the unwashed masses he was forced to meet and greet with. Only person I ever saw him shake hands with was the Governor of the state, and those were the dirtiest hands of the bunch.
 
Rodan75

Rodan75

Well-Known Member
the.dreamfinder said:
I would have to say that Starz would be unlikely. It does not have many international assets like AMC or Discovery and their pay TV with TWDS ends in 2016. The strange thing about the Fox-TW tie up is that it is only about market share. From what we have seen Bob do in the past, a Netflix acquisition seems more likely because they are essentially a Pay TV channel that understands there is a future beyond the cable bundle. If you keep buying more cable channels to increase your leverage with the cable channels, what happens if the cable bundle is struck down by Congress or the Supreme Court much like the vertically integrated (Production-Distribution-Exhibition) studios from the golden age of Hollywood? Do you want to be over intrenched in a dying business model like MGM or moving forward like Universal?

If Disney, or rather Bob, wants to buy Netflix, they should probably do so soon because the FCC's Net Neutrality "rules" and their deals with cable providers have plateaued their stock price. It's also worth noting that it would be seen as Bob's equivalent of the ABC-Capital Cities merger so there's that.
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I agree with most points on the Netflix deal, I think the big concern is that you are getting a rogue founder/CEO in a Netflix deal and much of Netflix's ability to stream effectively is driven by Amazon's AWS service. I am curious how much of the streaming technology is owned by Netflix vs being licensed AWS technology.
 
MDactor1980

MDactor1980

Well-Known Member
I don't get the parade hate. For the people that like them, it's a fun passage of time looking at something you don't see everyday. (Scoff if you want, but MSEP is must do for DH and I... every trip... with a spiked Dole Whip in hand.)

For the people that hate them, it's a diversion for a few thousand (hundred?) people a few times a day to shorten the lines for you to get on the rides faster. Win - win? (Unless you're stuck on the wrong side of the park...)
 
wdisney9000

wdisney9000

Truindenashendubapreser
Premium Member
doctornick said:
That's silly and insulting. A lot of folks -- myself included -- rather enjoy parades, pyro and other entertainment options at theme parks. I think it makes a significant addition to them. And, obviously, the people who spend the time to enjoy the offerings care as well.
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I have nothing against parades. My post clearly stated that parades were just being used by @SJN1279 as a crutch to prop up his tired argument of Disney curently keeping pace with Uni (in the sense of actual guest enhancement). I love Disney parades though. happy?:)
 
alphac2005

alphac2005

Well-Known Member
lebeau said:
Content providers (like Disney) fight against this with everything they have. They like the current structure that forces you to pay for content you don't want.
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They have relentlessly lobbied and successfully derailed a la carte legislation for years. We're now up to 19% of U.S. households that don't have cable/sat/fiber TV service and it's growing.
 
MDactor1980

MDactor1980

Well-Known Member
wdisney9000 said:
I have nothing against parades. My post clearly stated that parades were just being used by @SJN1279 as a crutch to prop up his tired argument of Disney curently keeping pace with Uni (in the sense of actual guest enhancement). I love Disney parades though. happy?:)
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Pardon me for being a newbie and maybe not being familiar with previous debate... but I can appreciate the novelty of Uni's little random street shows as opposed to full on parades (on WDW's scale). It's at least something different.

What irritated me last time we were there (January) was the puny little end of night water and light show. Projecting movie clips onto fountains followed by 20 crappy fireworks (20 bangs... not 20 minutes of fireworks). Not that something like this is what you build your trip around... but with the bar set by WDW... or even Fantasmic... why would Uni even bother with something so lame?
 
D

doctornick

Well-Known Member
wdisney9000 said:
I have nothing against parades. My post clearly stated that parades were just being used by @SJN1279 as a crutch to prop up his tired argument of Disney curently keeping pace with Uni (in the sense of actual guest enhancement). I love Disney parades though. happy?:)
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The thing is that the large scale entertainment options are something that Disney does better than Uni. While much of what certain posters say in trying to hype up Disney is bunk, I don't think it is incorrect to point out that Disney excels in those things. The Disney parades and pyro are generally quite good.

I've said before that IOA could really use a night time show on the water -- would really round out that park.
 
C

COProgressFan

Well-Known Member
PhotoDave219 said:
Actually.... I do. I think an area of hotels and restaurants would be good. It gets all the guests who come in from I-75 and the turnpike.
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Fair enough. But what about all the recent development of dining/retail/hotels a couple miles south down on the west end of 192?

And are mid-range national chain dining and hotel options really Disney's best use of the land? I'm not sure the blessing of size meant dreams of a Chilis, Olive Garden, and Hampton Inn.
 
wdisney9000

wdisney9000

Truindenashendubapreser
Premium Member
WDW1974 said:
I don't know. The thing was announced way back in 2007 when they also announced Golden Oak and the Four Seasons, which almost didn't happen as well.
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Four Seasons almost didnt happen, or Golden Oaks, or both? I would think since TWDC enjoys taking money to help Abu Dahbi clean up its image that they would also have close ties with Prince Alwaleed and Four Season would be a sure thing. Im still learning all about the UAE and their love of buying a proper image for their "brand" instead of earning it. Loss of respect for the people and companies who assist their efforts as well and turn a blind eye to the ugly underbelly of the UAE
 

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