Transformative Multi-Year Expansion Announced for WDS Paris

nickys

nickys

Premium Member
DLP is also facing stiff competition from places like Port Aventura in Spain. Three parks including a water park and Ferrari land as well as the original theme park, with hotels on site. And all within easy distance from Barcelona.

For a family from the U.K. who like to head to the sun for a week or two, it’s a much, much cheaper alternative to Disney. The Disney parks may be a draw but for the cost of 2 nights at DLP you can have a week at PortAventura. Guess which is going to be the popular choice?
 
Jordan dby

Jordan dby

Well-Known Member
As much as I support any reason for disney to price competitively, I don't think this stops them. There have always been cheaper theme parks with better rides I Europe. There is one (Alton Towers) half hour from me. Disney is the mix of rides with atmosphere and shows, nothing else can compete with the IPs and music that Disney have.

Salaries, taxes and land is cheaper in Spain, which must explain the price gap. Paris is driveable from many large cities, which is the trade-off Disney accepted for its location. We usually do DLP en route to somewhere else from our home in the UK.

The only real competition I see is Universal UK, but I think DLP will maximise revenues until then and prepare for a price war when that opens.
 
BrianLo

BrianLo

Well-Known Member
nickys said:
I’m not convinced they need an extra hotel. I booked Sequoia 2 months out for October and could have chosen any of the hotels - and that was with one of them shut for renovation.

Val d’Europe is 5 minutes away, 20 minutes walk at most. With the late park opening times it’s easy to be ready for “rope drop”.

Price wise, because we just needed one room I opted to pay a little more and stay onsite. The difference wasn’t huge, €100 extra roughly. If we needed 2 rooms I doubt we’d stay onsite, we could stay at a 2-bed apartment in Val d’Europe for much less. We’d lose early entry, that’s the only draw-back.
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Oh no and I was not convinced they needed one either. I just meant there was slack in their current occupancy and the expansion of WDSP will likely lead to some additional nights, helping to further close that profitability gap.

As to your point about unique visitors, that is well taken. But if 15%-20% of their current visitors start staying an extra night, the attendance gains are realized.

I just think WDSP will feel more like a complete entity when this is carried through. By no means perfect by a long shot - but more demanding of an actual day spent with the park - and critically through an end of day for the night show.

DLRP is after all realizing more attendance than in 2019 and I think Marvel is already contributing to that. WDW still hasn’t rebounded pre pandemic fully.
 
BrianLo

BrianLo

Well-Known Member
nickys said:
DLP is also facing stiff competition from places like Port Aventura in Spain. Three parks including a water park and Ferrari land as well as the original theme park, with hotels on site. And all within easy distance from Barcelona.

For a family from the U.K. who like to head to the sun for a week or two, it’s a much, much cheaper alternative to Disney. The Disney parks may be a draw but for the cost of 2 nights at DLP you can have a week at PortAventura. Guess which is going to be the popular choice?
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This is why I don’t think you put all your eggs in the UK basket necessarily. I’m not opposed to Star Wars, but UK market is already split amongst so many other competing priorities. Uni Great Britain just being the latest. Diversification I feel like is going to be equally successful to make that market come for the differences over WDW as anything.

Probably Avatar would be the bigger local market draw. Way of Water was the biggest movie ever in France. I personally like the choice of Lion King over Star Wars as it provides that diversification from the US products. Something about WDSP only receiving copies a decade later isn’t going to move my needle as much.
 
L

LondonTom

Well-Known Member
cjkeating said:
Pricing really isn't at breaking point, I'm not sure where you got that impression from? Yes there was noise about the new Annual Passes or DLH has some wild pricing. But if you are spending 1000 Euro on a hotel room what's a 100 Euro dinner? If you don't want that you have most other hotel buffets 35-40 Euro.
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Yeah, but when that 100-euro dinner is basically the same as the other buffets? People are going to question what they are actually paying for. You have the character premium, but I am surprised they didn't improve the offering food-wise at all. Especially as other locations improved.

Also, the people I know just in my little DLP circle, were all going 4/5 times a year pre-covid, thats mostly down to twice or even once. (Especially with the new APs, I don't think anyone renewed). That circle wasn't people on tight budgets either, that was people staying on site from the UK, buying merch, and spending hours in the cocktails bar (actually drinking too, not just sipping).

So prices are having an effect, it all depends if the price increases balance against losing people who don't see value in the resorts. Will be interesting the further we move away from people being locked up for 2 years too.

marni1971 said:
Well, Sequoia has started -and is the last - for the complete overhauls. And apart from the lack of USB we don’t find anything wrong with it currently.
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Well the mattresses could do with something better 👀😂
 
W

wdrive

Well-Known Member
cjkeating said:
Yes but I've heard there are no longer bikes. Which I was most looking forward to!
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I heard this also but there is a new audition notice , I presume it’s still for the Alice show
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marni1971

marni1971

Park History nut
Premium Member
BrianLo said:
. I personally like the choice of Lion King over Star Wars as it provides that diversification from the US products. Something about WDSP only receiving copies a decade later isn’t going to move my needle as much.
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TBF I don’t think that many Europeans are well versed that GE is in the US parks / one of the attractions was coming to Paris. Personally I’d take Rise over a LK ride but that’s just me. In an ideal $60B world the park would get both.
 
cjkeating

cjkeating

Well-Known Member
LondonTom said:
Meanwhile at Tokyo DisneySea who announced a couple of months later (Though I think DLP's Adventure Isle is a little better than Neverland but they are getting a ride too).
Rapunzel's Forest would have been a really cool addition to the lagoon 👀

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Let's not forget the initial announcement for a Scandinavian Port aka Frozenland Version 1 was announced April 2015 so nearly 9 years ago.
 
mrflo

mrflo

Well-Known Member
cjkeating said:
Let's not forget the initial announcement for a Scandinavian Port aka Frozenland Version 1 was announced April 2015 so nearly 9 years ago.
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To be fair, they still delivered the impressive Beauty and the Beast area and more than doubled down on the TDS expansion. I definitely admire the Japanese's operating companies aim to deliver the very best and challenge Disney to do even better. Would be amazing if some of that 60 billion money will significantly enhance and not just replace elements of the originally announced WDS plan within the next 3 years as well.

Talking about Fantasy Springs, does anyone already know more about the ride system for the new Peter Pan attraction? It looks like the proposed Avengers ride - potentially also coming to WDS - would get the same system.

FcLlZF5acAErSw4-1536x1152.jpg
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I guess it's like the ride system already being used for Transformers or Spiderman at Universal. But I am also getting Back To The Future - The Ride vibes.
 

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