Volcano Hotel

[Master Yoda]

1. That Site says there's a volcano roller coaster rumor buzzing about. Well, we've already determined that it was a once long-ago idea resurrected recently by Jim Hill as the only source. So, no, it hasn't been buzzing about as if people in the know are talking about it. One person talked about it and then it resonated in the echo chamber.

2. That Site says that the Volcano Coaster probably morphed from the idea of Volcano Resort. AFAIK, it's the other way around.

3. The land behind PotC isn't completely usable according to @marni1971 because of sink holes. You have to build something smaller around the sink holes, so, that's not a likely spot.

4. The other land they propose is the spot where the Venetian hotel was supposed to go, but, AFAIK, it didn't get built because the ground there wasn't suitable.

So....

I am going to put on my pedantic hat...

The land where the Venetian hotel was supposed to be built can be built on, it is just not ideal to do it.

As it was explained to me, that particular area has a very high water table that creates a condition on bearing piles called negative skin friction. Basically, friction piles get sucked into the ground over time.

There are ways to deal with this, but none of them are easy or cheep.

 

[Kman101]

So I can ride the coaster to the park from the hotel right?

 

[Prince Thomas]

I gag at the thought of a hotel in MK. Dont like the idea at all. Keep hotels and lodgeing outside of the parks. The only park i could see a hotel in is EPCOT but thats still pushing it for me

 

[larryz]

I thought WDW just banned marijuana.

Like guns, medical marijuana will be "legal" to possess in Florida. Neither are welcome at WDW...

 

[Prince Thomas]

Like guns, medical marijuana will be "legal" to possess in Florida. Neither are welcome at WDW...

PS i wish we could have a discussion about marijuana @ Disney but i know it will just get deleted LOL

 

[larryz]

What is with all the Volcanoes!

(Samuel L Jackson) ..."I've had it with these"...

(Exchange SNAKES with VOLCANOES and PLANE with THEME PARKS and add extra emphasis to the naughty bits...)

It's the familiarity the Gen X'ers and Millennials have with lava being in all their computer games. They've come to expect it in any form of entertainment, so a volcano is a natural fit for them.

 

[PizzaPlanet]

I think the site that posted this rumor is confused. The volcano resort is going in at Universal, and the volcano itself will be the centerpiece of a brand new water park.

 

[MisterPenguin]

Well there's still the rumored second Bay Tower. And I heard once on Reddit (yeah, I know) about a rumored resort "near Polynesian and Shades of Green," which, if true, may mean bulldozing a golf course.

Imma gonna wait for someone other than JH to confirm any of these.

 

[ChrisM]

Whilst I've heard nothing specific, something did pop up a few weeks ago that could be linked to a new resort in the MK area. It's all a little vague still and doesn't - to me at least - seem likely at the moment.

But it did remind me of a plan near the Contemporary from the 90s.

The old "Kingdom" themed resort?

 

[gsimpson]

It could never happen, Disney has never acted in haste to counter something that is going on down the road, Hollywood Studios had nothing to do with Universal Florida, Animal Kingdom had nothing to do with Sea World, Volcano Resort would have nothing to do with Volcano Bay.

 

[Master Yoda]

It could never happen, Disney has never acted in haste to counter something that is going on down the road, Hollywood Studios had nothing to do with Universal Florida, Animal Kingdom had nothing to do with Sea World, Volcano Resort would have nothing to do with Volcano Bay.

Has anyone said that AK was a reaction to Sea World? 25 years has got to be the slowest knee-jerk reaction in history.

 

[rushtest4echo]

Has anyone said that AK was a reaction to Sea World? 25 years has got to be the slowest knee-jerk reaction in history.

He got the park wrong. AK was a counter to Islands of Adventure. Still, Animal Kingdom is the closest Disney has or probably ever will come to attracting the same people who want to visit Sea World. Then again, much of Sea World's diehard demographics seem to prefer the animal performances in stadiums to Disney's more measured/natural environments. Still, I can see the comparison and what he meant.

I guess a good way to put it would have been to say that AK was a reaction to IOA but clearly took aim at a demographic closer to what Sea World attracts. And with that, it's almost a double edged sword that Disney's got in AK.

If the next few years play out in AK's favor with the night offerings and Pandora, and IOA's attendance is flat (that's a massive IF, but nothing expansion wise is on the docket), and if Sea World's attendance declines (looks likely), it's possible that AK may end up outdrawing both IOA and Sea World combined within the next couple of years. That's a long shot, and would require AK to have a Potteresque 25% boost in attendance while the other two parks stay flat on average. Still, crazier things have happened.

 

[LuvtheGoof]

I can't believe any of you think that Disney builds something because of anything that Universal does. I don't believe one single thing being built or already built was "in response" to something built at Universal or any other theme park.

 

[HauntedPirate]

It could never happen, Disney has never acted in haste to counter something that is going on down the road, Hollywood Studios had nothing to do with Universal Florida, Animal Kingdom had nothing to do with Sea World, Volcano Resort would have nothing to do with Volcano Bay.

Yeah, Disney-MGM Studios wasn't a reaction to anything...

 

[LuvtheGoof]

Yeah, Disney-MGM Studios wasn't a reaction to anything...

Are you saying that MGM Studios was a reaction to something?

 

[rushtest4echo]

Are you saying that MGM Studios was a reaction to something?

Not sure if you're being facetious, but if you're being serious then I'd suggest you take a look at a couple of chapters within this book that I think I already referenced:
https://www.amazon.com/Universal-versus-Disney-Unofficial-American/dp/1628090146

The entire book is penned from the perspective that everything Universal has ever done in the theme park industry has been to jab at Disney, and that Disney has either beat them to the punch or hit back harder in response. I don't care for much of the book or its style, but it's quite informative on those particular issues.

 

[LuvtheGoof]

Not sure if you're being facetious, but if you're being serious then I'd suggest you take a look at a couple of chapters within this book that I think I already referenced:
https://www.amazon.com/Universal-versus-Disney-Unofficial-American/dp/1628090146

The entire book is penned from the perspective that everything Universal has ever done in the theme park industry has been to jab at Disney, and that Disney has either beat them to the punch or hit back harder in response. I don't care for much of the book or its style, but it's quite informative on those particular issues.

And that sounds like someone's opinion on it. Mine is that Disney has plans in place for years and years before actually acting on something. Just because one park builds something, and a few years later the other park does, really doesn't mean that one had anything to do with the other.

ETA: Oh, and you should read Marty Sklar's book. He talks about how they started MGM Studios long before Universal Studios, and that it opened a year earlier as well. If anything, Universal was responding to Disney, and not the other way around.

 

[rushtest4echo]

That book is absolutely from the perspective of trying to prove that Universal has been at war with Disney, and that Disney has continued to fight back. There's no grey area about that though. I wouldn't consider than an opinion. The majority of Disney's projects in Florida since the early 80's have been heavily influenced by Universal's decision making. Eisner was honest about this throughout his entire tenure at Disney.

Disney didn't begin to ramp up any sort of plans for a Studio park until Universal continuously stalled during the 80's in Orlando and Eisner swooped in and took the opportunity to beat them to the punch. This information is readily available and former Disney/Universal executives are extremely candid about the whole Studios back-and-forth Relationships were soured, lawsuits were threatened, and it ultimately cost Universal and Paramount a joint deal in Orlando. That's really not opinion. And it's also not opinion that Disney's plans for Animal Kingdom solidified in the mid 1990's when Gary Goddard couldn't stop crowing about Universals secret new plans to dethrone Disney in Orlando (which became IOA). Animal Kingdom was absolutely a reaction to that.

To be quite honest, Universal was looking into a park in Orlando during the late 1970's when EPCOT finally got the green light and broke ground. I don't know if that was a reaction, but it did occur around the same timeframe and EPCOT came together extremely quickly (again, that's just a guess though, maybe Martin can clarify if there was a link even dating back to then).

Sure, Disney has books and entire warehouses devoted to plans for attractions and parks. Many of those are dusted off or fast tracked into a build phase to react to the market changing. Since Universal is the other major player in the market, it's only logical to conclude that Disney is reacting to them outside the mountain of evidence that proves this anyway.

Keep in mind that DisneySea was also a reaction to Universal- just in another country. Ocean Park has been reacting to HKDL for almost 20 years now and has been clear about that too. Same goes for Europa Park and Efteling near DL Paris. Everyone reacts to the moves made by competitors. It's just common sense. There's nothing cheap or wrong with it. It would be stupid NOT TO react. Even all of the Orlando creative position poaching that's gone on since the 90's is reactionary.

 

[HitOfDisney]

Like guns, medical marijuana will be "legal" to possess in Florida. Neither are welcome at WDW...

You forgot to mention that one of those have medical benefits unlike a gun and I mean they serve alcohol so... I do understand not wanting people walking around with a joint. Edibles should be allowed.

 

[LuvtheGoof]

That book is absolutely from the perspective of trying to prove that Universal has been at war with Disney, and that Disney has continued to fight back. There's no grey area about that though. I wouldn't consider than an opinion. The majority of Disney's projects in Florida since the early 80's have been heavily influenced by Universal's decision making. Eisner was honest about this throughout his entire tenure at Disney.

Disney didn't begin to ramp up any sort of plans for a Studio park until Universal continuously stalled during the 80's in Orlando and Eisner swooped in and took the opportunity to beat them to the punch. This information is readily available and former Disney/Universal executives are extremely candid about the whole Studios back-and-forth That's really not opinion. And it's not opinion that Disney's plans for Animal Kingdom materialized and solidified in the mid 1990's when Gary Goddard couldn't stop crowing about Universals secret new plans to dethrone Disney in Orlando (which became IOA). Animal Kingdom was absolutely a reaction to that.

To be quite honest, Universal was looking into a park in Orlando during the late 1970's when EPCOT finally got the green light and broke ground. I don't know if that was a reaction, but it did occur around the same timeframe and EPCOT came together extremely quickly (again, that's just a guess though, maybe Martin can clarify if there was a link even dating back to then).

Again, you need to read Marty's book - Dream It! Do It! The plans for the Studio park were started long before Universal's announcement. Did it cause them to maybe up the timeline and open it a bit sooner? Sure, why not. But the park itself was not an answer to a Universal park.

I don't know how you can say that EPCOT came together quickly, when they were working on it for 10 years prior to opening.