Uni's New Plan For Potter Could Make Significant Dent To WDW

[MiklCraw4d]

There is a whole list of things I don't understand with respect to the theme parks.

1. Why is Rip Ride Rockit the second most poplular ride at Universal Florida but instead somewhere near the bottom of the list?

Not sure what you mean... is it the second most popular or near the bottom? I honestly don't follow enough to know. Speaking for me personally, I really have no interest in it. I'm sure I'd ride it if I were there, but I'm not going to go out of my way to see it. It just seems like a Six Flags-y "coaster in a parking lot." And from the pictures I've seen it looks like it spoils the theming of a lot of areas. But then again, I haven't seen it in person.

2. How could anyone ride Haunted Mansion or Pirates and then Test Track and Mission Space and think the latter two deserve to be called Disney attractions in terms of overall quality, design and experience?

Agreed completely. I have no idea.

3. How could someone have visted WDW back in 1996 or before and say the place hasn't gone down hill significantly in terms of maintenance, attraction offerings, food quality and merchandise?

Again, no idea. Because it has been a SIGNIFICANT drop.

4. Why would anyone need to visit the four WDW parks any more than three days in one trip?

That is nowhere near an exhaustive list but that last one is why I am responding to your comment. I could easily take in everything the parks have to offer in three days. I wouldn't have to rush or stress out even on a busy day. Four days maybe but anymore than that and you are wasting your vacation time in my opinion. Especially when Universal is about to unveil several new additions to the parks that will easily rival anything Disney has to offer at WDW.

Now this is a more difficult one for me, and it greatly depends on how people approach their park-going. You have the commando-types, the first-time visitors who want to see everything, and the long-time parkgoers who know it well.

DAK is underbuilt but you could spend a large part of a day there if you see everything, and the shows, and the animal trails. Not many do, but it's possible. I think DHS is a disaster and rarely bother going at all, and when I do it's for three hours or less, but if people wanted to do everything it could take up another big chunk of a day (Mostly because of shows and things).

As for MK and EPCOT, I hardly do anything in Future World anymore besides SSE and the Land, but I still could spend 3-4 days in MK & EPCOT alone. But I just kind of hang out and do what I want to do and am not checking rides off a checklist. I'll hang out in Showcase, have a snack, ride the Wedway 2-3 times, ride the train around or the steamship... stuff like that. Just hang out. Or hang out at the monorail resorts or at Fort Wilderness, having dinner and checking out the campfire and free movie. Stuff like that.

It's true if you're just interested in riding every attraction once and getting out, you really could bust through things fairly easy if crowds are light and you time it right. But the fact remains that Disney has cleverly made it much cheaper to linger an extra day than to strike off for other ports of call. Even if families are shelling out left and right already, the psychological difference between a $5-10 day at Disney or an $80 day at Universal is profound. Especially when Universal is an unknown quantity for many newbs who haven't been there.

To quote Chis Rock, "I ain't saying it's right, I'm just saying I *understand*"

 

[wdwmagic]

Again, I have no idea what those numbers mean. Facts? Who knows? My local mall, the Sawgrass Mills Outlet Mall in Sunrise, FL has since the 1990s claimed they are the No. 2 tourist destination in the state behind WDW. How do you verify things like that? What about locations like South Beach? There are no tickets taken, no entry turnstiles. Who knows how many people enter and what's to stop anyone (be it a company, PR person, politician) from claiming a huge number?

Beyond that, what's the point? I think comparing retail to parks is not a reasonable comparison. I don't doubt that's why Disney was able to get that story into the O-Sentinel. Like many of Jason Garcia's recent efforts, it felt more like PR spin than a story that begged to be told in an era of dying newspapers and limited newsprint.

What would WoD draw if it were located in Tulsa, Oklahoma ... or Manchester, UK ... or Seattle, Washington ... or Berlin, Germany ... or Sydney, Australia or an O-Town devoid of theme parks and resorts?

I don't think people plan $10K WDW vacations to visit a giant Disney store. And I certainly don't think more people would rather visit a Disney retail outlet than a UNI theme park if that was the underlying point you were trying to make.
:xmas:

If this were the other way around, and these numbers were about how Potter's shops were out-powering a WDW park, you would be all over it.

The figures alone don't mean a lot, but still very interesting, to me at least.

 

[Lee]

Not everyone who likes WDW or disagrees with you are trolls...I wish the hate contingent would learn that

Certainly, it isn't that simple.

By the same token, criticism does not equal hate. You should learn that.
I don't know of anyone on these boards who hates Disney at all.

 

[WDW1974]

I really disagree. Moving WDW forward with this kind of tech is exactly what people will be expecting in the coming years. It is critical for WDW to get that infrastructure in place. In the not to distant future you are going to be seeing these types of things happening all over the place, in much smaller locations, and people are going to be expecting the same at Disney. Without doing this now Disney would be left behind.

I just completely disagree, Steve.

I've stated this before, but none of what Disney has done (or is in the process of doing with the whole NEXT GEN project) is improving the day to day experience of visiting WDW.

Attractions ... high quality, immersive, themed, fit for most demos ... those are what people come to WDW for. They also come for fresh (or did since it's been so many years) entertainment from live performers, shows, parades and pyro.

And they come for what is supposed to be the highest level of quality, which anyone who visits WDW without blinders (or who has been pre Y2K or has been to their other resorts or has been to UNI/SW/Busch parks or has traveled beyond the east coast of the USA) would realize they are not getting.

They have roads that haven't been paved in years, monorails that are unreliable and falling apart, attractions where many effects don't work etc ... yet spending a billion and a half (and that number WILL go up) on data-mining and personalizing everyone's visit (yes, soon you'll be able to twitter with your favorite characters!) is somehow what they should be spending on.

I'll take the UNI/SW model right now. Steve, if you're right in a decade and the world and the World still exist and we're both alive and the tanks haven't caved in causing the Seas to be demo'd, I'll treat you to lunch at the Coral Reef ... they still won't have lobster on the menu and by then lunch for two will cost about $476 without alcohol! :xmas:

 

[wdwmagic]

I just completely disagree, Steve.

I've stated this before, but none of what Disney has done (or is in the process of doing with the whole NEXT GEN project) is improving the day to day experience of visiting WDW.

Attractions ... high quality, immersive, themed, fit for most demos ... those are what people come to WDW for. They also come for fresh (or did since it's been so many years) entertainment from live performers, shows, parades and pyro.

And they come for what is supposed to be the highest level of quality, which anyone who visits WDW without blinders (or who has been pre Y2K or has been to their other resorts or has been to UNI/SW/Busch parks or has traveled beyond the east coast of the USA) would realize they are not getting.

They have roads that haven't been paved in years, monorails that are unreliable and falling apart, attractions where many effects don't work etc ... yet spending a billion and a half (and that number WILL go up) on data-mining and personalizing everyone's visit (yes, soon you'll be able to twitter with your favorite characters!) is somehow what they should be spending on.

I'll take the UNI/SW model right now. Steve, if you're right in a decade and the world and the World still exist and we're both alive and the tanks haven't caved in causing the Seas to be demo'd, I'll treat you to lunch at the Coral Reef ... they still won't have lobster on the menu and by then lunch for two will cost about $476 without alcohol! :xmas:

I'll take you up on that, but you can do better than Coral Reef. Let's make it Jiko or Boma.

 

[MiklCraw4d]

I just completely disagree, Steve.

I've stated this before, but none of what Disney has done (or is in the process of doing with the whole NEXT GEN project) is improving the day to day experience of visiting WDW.

A sentiment with which many, MANY within the halls of Disney and WDI wholeheartedly agree...

 

[GLaDOS]

A sentiment with which many, MANY within the halls of Disney and WDI wholeheartedly agree...

And yet it still happens?:shrug:

 

[WDW1974]

Captive audience or not, it is still pretty impressive. Particularly when it is located in DTD, that so many people seem to think is a ghost town that nobody goes to anymore. When you look at how long Universal have been open, the amount they have spent on global advertising, it has to be disappointing to be out-visited by a single shop at the competition. At least I would feel that way. And for DCA, they did a lot wrong, we all know about that.

I don't know when I have ever (except post 9/11) EVER seen DD as a 'ghost town' ... it just never is.

I think some of the AC... oops, I mean PI lovers use that language when the only area that is a ghost town IS TSFKaPI because there's nothing there anymore.

The two areas on each side of that site are always busy to packed, no matter the day/time/season etc.

BTW, speaking of packed ... can't help but notice all the traffic on the site today ... guess people just feel like talking now that we're in a holiday period and lots of folks have extra time off! :xmas:

 

[wdwmagic]

I don't know when I have ever (except post 9/11) EVER seen DD as a 'ghost town' ... it just never is.

I think some of the AC... oops, I mean PI lovers use that language when the only area that is a ghost town IS TSFKaPI because there's nothing there anymore.

The two areas on each side of that site are always busy to packed, no matter the day/time/season etc.

BTW, speaking of packed ... can't help but notice all the traffic on the site today ... guess people just feel like talking now that we're in a holiday period and lots of folks have extra time off! :xmas:

Phase closings and end of year WDW vs Uni debate is always a fun conversation topic.

 

[wdwmagic]

And yet it still happens?:shrug:

Yes, because there are more (or more powerful) people within Disney that do recognize that moving the parks into the future is a good thing.

 

[c-one]

How is the Next-Gen project moving the parks into the future, exactly? I keep hearing this claim but no specifics.

 

[disney fan 13]

Phase closings and end of year WDW vs Uni debate is always a fun conversation topic.

it always is

 

[bullsforthewin]

Certainly, it isn't that simple.

By the same token, criticism does not equal hate. You should learn that.
I don't know of anyone on these boards who hates Disney at all.

True...you seem to be about criticism with very few compliments which is fine...74 is all about hate with no validity

 

[disney fan 13]

How is the Next-Gen project moving the parks into the future, exactly? I keep hearing this claim but no specifics.

I agree, if a half working HM queue and a talking Mickey is the only future for the parks then UNIVERSAL, HERE I COME :wave:

 

[MiklCraw4d]

And yet it still happens?:shrug:

Neither Disney or WDI is a monolithic organization, remember. There are factions just like any other big entity. And NGE has become kind of its own "thing", separate from the conventional Imagineering pathways. It's almost like one of these national defense agencies that have no oversight and a "black box" budget. But they get all this power because at a certain level of management there's a great enthusiasm for buzzword-driven projects like that. I've been shocked to discover just how many within Disney sincerely hope that NGE and Avatar never happen.

 

[wdwmagic]

How is the Next-Gen project moving the parks into the future, exactly? I keep hearing this claim but no specifics.

The world is coming to expect to be able to do everything via their iPhone. The existing WDW infrastructure does not support the massive level of integration that makes such things possible. By investing massively in the computing system at WDW, Disney will be poised to offer things to the guests that have never been done before. Some of these things will be back-of-house things, like reservations, that guests will take for granted. Other things will be more wow elements within attractions.

Some examples
http://www.wdwmagic.com/Attractions...ture-of-your-Disney-theme-park-experience.htm

 

[GLaDOS]

I've been shocked to discover just how many within Disney sincerely hope that NGE and Avatar never happen.

Well, I have that in common with them.

 

[MiklCraw4d]

Well, I have that in common with them.

Hahaha it definitely made me feel better about my opinions along those lines

 

[bullsforthewin]

I agree, if a half working HM queue and a talking Mickey is the only future for the parks then UNIVERSAL, HERE I COME :wave:

Half working? What do you mean?

 

[disney fan 13]

Half working? What do you mean?

When i was there in late October the musical buttons were out of sync, the water from the coffin thing was not working ( i stood there for like 5 minutes because the line was backed up so I can tell you truthfully it was off ) only half the library books worked. so yes that could be considered half working