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

[disney fan 13]

You lost me right here. DHS desperately needs family friendly rides. Thrill rides are relatively low on the list of things DHS needs.

DHS was never meant to be another MK. eisner made it just for the sake of beating universal. so if disney wants the thrill audience that universal has they need more thrills.

 

[devoy1701]

i don't know about you but everyone i know has no interest seeing the second ( and trust me when the expansion was announced i asked everyone...) movie. i mean if it doesn't then happy days AK gets it expansion

Avatar was the highest grossing movie of all time. I highly doubt Avatar 2 or 3 will be anything close to a bomb.

 

[disney fan 13]

Avatar was the highest grossing movie of all time. I highly doubt Avatar 2 or 3 will be anything close to a bomb.

as i said, it was over hyped which is why people went. and i think it was the most inflated movie price of all time so....

 

[GLaDOS]

You lost me right here. DHS desperately needs family friendly rides. Thrill rides are relatively low on the list of things DHS needs.

I agree and disagree at the same time. I think it needs a big E-ticket draw in the back of the park off of Streets of America as well as some other attractions.

It's a shame they can't use the Avengers, because they would be perfect in Streets of America.

 

[devoy1701]

as i said, it was over hyped which is why people went. and i think it was the most inflated movie price of all time so....

I think you overestimate the general public. All they need to do is launch a big marketing campaign just like they did for the first one. They will "overhype" it again...mention that it's the sequel of the "highest grossing movie" or "most successful movie" of all time and use buzz phrases like "even better than the original" and people will still turn out in droves.

So regardless of whether or not you think the first was overhyped...the sequels are still going to be very successful. And while I personally won't be seeing it in theaters because we don't go to the movies in general, I'm looking foward to the sequels.

 

[disney fan 13]

I think you overestimate the general public. All they need to do is launch a big marketing campaign just like they did for the first one. They will "overhype" it again...mention that it's the sequel of the "highest grossing movie" or "most successful movie" of all time and use buzz phrases like "even better than the original" and people will still turn out in droves.

So regardless of whether or not you think the first was overhyped...the sequels are still going to be very successful. And while I personally won't be seeing it in theaters because we don't go to the movies in general, I'm looking foward to the sequels.

ok... fair enough

 

[fillerup]

We're annual passholders, but I can tell you that we won't be in 2013 & 2014. We'll renew them one more time so that we can see LM, BATB and Circusland when they're complete, but there's no incentive to renew them past that. Honestly, as much as we love WDW, we're sick to death of the parks. There just hasn't been enough new added to keep us interested after having passes for the last 4 years. Besides, now there's Legoland and Potter at Uni who are more than happy to take our money.

I imagine there are a ton of people in the same boat as we are. I didn't expect Legoland to be as much of a factor as it is for us, but it's a really fun park and it's going to eat at the money we have budgeted for WDW annual passes. Pair that with wanting to go to Uni at least once a year, and there really isn't much incentive to keep renewing our passes past the FLE expansion.

I hope you don't mind me editing your post to hone in on your key points.

We're in the same boat with you. 2012 is the year we've decided we'll return to Uni via annual passes. One of the things we'll do to justify this is scale back from Resident APs to Resident Seasonal. Not a lot of savings but some. And of course lower spending on food, etc.

After those expire we'll possibly end the relationship with WDW for a few years.

On the topic of Avatar, people always point out (accurately) that this is the highest grossing movie in history. That's true, but my theory is that a big part of this is that it was released when 3D was at the high water mark of its reintroduction.

I believe if it came out today that it wouldn't do nearly as well since 3D is so common and in fact overused. I don't think that bodes well for the sequels since the first one was so unmemorable to most people I know and obviously to a lot of people on the boards.

 

[disney fan 13]

I hope you don't mind me editing your post to hone in on your key points.

We're in the same boat with you. 2012 is the year we've decided we'll return to Uni via annual passes. One of the things we'll do to justify this is scale back from Resident APs to Resident Seasonal. Not a lot of savings but some. And of course lower spending on food, etc.

After those expire we'll possibly end the relationship with WDW for a few years.

On the topic of Avatar, people always point out (accurately) that this is the highest grossing movie in history. That's true, but my theory is that a big part of this is that it was released when 3D was at the high water mark of its reintroduction.

I believe if it came out today that it wouldn't do nearly as well since 3D is so common and in fact overused. I don't think that bodes well for the sequels since the first one was so unmemorable to most people I know and obviously to a lot of people on the boards.

if they don't announce something besides avatar by 2013 i am jumping ship completely

so i am giving them a little more time...

 

[c-one]

I think this is something a lot of people seem to overlook. Yes the FLE is a...nice addition. But does it help the other three parks? Not in the slightest.

Look at Universal. They finished up WWoHP, and realized their original park needed a big draw. So they start work on a new night show, a big park expansion, and a refresh on other parts of the park.

Look at Disneyland. They're finishing up a 1.5 billion expansion/redo at DCA, and there's already talk of DL adding attractions because of the WWoHP California.

At WDW we get a capacity reclaiming "expansion" and a nebulous plan to possibly, maybe do something with Avatar in the next decade. While at the same time Epcot could do with at least 3 redone pavilions (cheaper than building full attractions), and DHS needs to be filled out into a full day park. On top of that, the resort needs infrastructure upgrades wholesale (roads, bus system, monorail, etc).

I'm not crazy and think all this needs to be done next year. But if ever there was a time for a solid 5-10 year plan for WDW, it's now. NextGen will add some interesting touches here and there, but for the most part its fixing things that aren't broke. And if they continue to ignore things that ARE broken...well I just don't know.

I'm not trying to be a hater or anything. I'm just sad because I've seen a lot of things slipping in the past decade, and they're things I don't think the company of Florida management really takes note of. At least I hope they don't take note of, because the flip side would be they don't care. And that would be even more sad.

Exactly. Thanks for this.

I know we've talked a lot about this lately, but TDO's priorities are so wildly misplaced it's mind-boggling. Do they honestly think that Next-Gen and X-Pass are worthy responses to Potter and Legoland and big happenings at SeaWorld? Are they that out-of-touch? Is it that they don't even care?

 

[menamechris]

I'm not crazy and think all this needs to be done next year. But if ever there was a time for a solid 5-10 year plan for WDW, it's now. NextGen will add some interesting touches here and there, but for the most part its fixing things that aren't broke. And if they continue to ignore things that ARE broken...well I just don't know.

I'm not trying to be a hater or anything. I'm just sad because I've seen a lot of things slipping in the past decade, and they're things I don't think the company of Florida management really takes note of. At least I hope they don't take note of, because the flip side would be they don't care. And that would be even more sad.

This seems to be a part of my frustration. I have an overwhelming sense of "No Plan" when it comes to WDW. The resort is just kind of floating in the wind. The only area that seems to have any real focus is DVC. How many meetings are executives spending discussing things like that, instead of how to get and keep the parks on track?

 

[danlb_2000]

as i said, it was over hyped which is why people went. and i think it was the most inflated movie price of all time so....

You can quible over whether the box office numbers were inflated by 3D or not, but does that really have an impact on whether the franchise will have good public appeal as a theme park attraction? Looking at the top 20 US grossing films, almost all of them would make good theme park attractions (I don't think I want to see a Passion of the Christ Land) and the majority already have attractions in either Universal or Disney parks. So even if you fudge the numbers and say Avatar was only the 20th highest grossing film, I still think it would have enough audiance appeal to be a good theme park attraction.

The most important thing to me is that the land is well executed and provides some good ride experiences. That is what will give it staying power in the parks. The real value of the franchise is to provide an initial marketing bump to kick things off. As time goes on the the franchise name becomes less important then the quality of the experience.

 

[c-one]

sorry, double posted

 

[Lee]

Something to keep in mind...
Disney's priorities have shifted. They are no longer trying to build great theme parks with hotels to serve them. They are now in the business, at least in Orlando, of building hotels and timeshares with theme parks on the side.

Other than Avatar, which is about ego as much as anything, they have no desire to counter Potter, and won't until the loss of guests reaches a certain level.

The people in charge don't have the love of the parks that we have. They don't place importance on having the best rides, beyond whatever measurable effect it has on the bottom line.

 

[Mouse Detective]

At WDW we get a capacity reclaiming "expansion" and a nebulous plan to possibly, maybe do something with Avatar in the next decade. While at the same time Epcot could do with at least 3 redone pavilions (cheaper than building full attractions), and DHS needs to be filled out into a full day park. On top of that, the resort needs infrastructure upgrades wholesale (roads, bus system, monorail, etc).

Let's not forget that gaping hole in the middle of DTD that hasn't gone anywhere and seems to be going nowhere.

 

[GLaDOS]

The people in charge don't have the love of the parks that we have. They don't place importance on having the best rides, beyond whatever measurable effect it has on the bottom line.

Sad. How people can become in charge without having a passion for their product, especially in a company like Disney, is just really, really sad.

Say what you will about Eisner, but before(and even during) he went off the deep end, the man was invested.

 

[GLaDOS]

Let's not forget that gaping hole in the middle of DTD that hasn't gone anywhere and seems to be going nowhere.

Well, yes, that as well.

But hey, we have some DVCs on the way, I guess.

 

[disney fan 13]

Hey guys, sounds like ( i know it is older but still not reported here) that UNI's water park will be called wondersea island.... no joke

 

[wdwfan4ver]

Something to keep in mind...
Disney's priorities have shifted. They are no longer trying to build great theme parks with hotels to serve them. They are now in the business, at least in Orlando, of building hotels and timeshares with theme parks on the side.

Other than Avatar, which is about ego as much as anything, they have no desire to counter Potter, and won't until the loss of guests reaches a certain level.

The people in charge don't have the love of the parks that we have. They don't place importance on having the best rides, beyond whatever measurable effect it has on the bottom line.

Very true. The only reason they are doing FLE and soon changing Tom Sawyer Island is due to improving capacity for getting more guests in the parks in terms of money being spent.

 

[Lee]

Sad. How people can become in charge without having a passion for their product, especially in a company like Disney, is just really, really sad.

Say what you will about Eisner, but before(and even during) he went off the deep end, the man was invested.

True. You'd be surprised how many in power at DP&R really have no interest in the parks beyond if being a product that they have to sell. More than a few practically detest the parks and only go in them when they absolutely have to.
coughrasulocough

Also true about Eisner. The guy had a true affection for the parks, and saw them as one of the company's core businesses. Shame about those last few years...

 

[disney fan 13]

True. You'd be surprised how many in power at DP&R really have no interest in the parks beyond if being a product that they have to sell. More than a few practically detest the parks and only go in them when they absolutely have to.
coughrasulocough

Also true about Eisner. The guy had a true affection for the parks, and saw them as one of the company's core businesses. Shame about those last few years...

well that's sad...