Do you think that Legoland will take visitors from WDW? I mean, it's pretty much a big thing! People go to Anaheim and pass up Disneyland to go to Legoland... what do you think Legoland will do to WDW's attendance rates etc.?
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What do you think Legoland will do to WDW's attendance?
- Thread starter TREVON 2.0
- Start date
loveofamouse
Well-Known Member
I doubt it. It'll prolly be something done while down there for Disney.
I wonder, with Legoland being in C.FL, will the Lego store in DTD be closed?
I wonder, with Legoland being in C.FL, will the Lego store in DTD be closed?
RonAnnArbor
Well-Known Member
It won't take away any business from WDW...it's a completely different entity.
Cmdr_Crimson
Well-Known Member
It's just Cypress Gardens with Lego's....I don't think there will be nothing to fear about it.
JimboJones123
Well-Known Member
It will have trace impact, but if they price themslves as a bargin alternative to Universal and Sea World as a Disney off day, they could do pretty dang good and take quite a bit of $$$ away from the other 2.
US / IOA may be worth a one day $80 ticket. Sea World -- not really. Legoland, NO WAY. But if priced at $40 and half the price of the other competition, they could stay steadily full.
US / IOA may be worth a one day $80 ticket. Sea World -- not really. Legoland, NO WAY. But if priced at $40 and half the price of the other competition, they could stay steadily full.
TP2000
Well-Known Member
Where on earth did you hear that?!? :lol:
Honestly, that's the silliest thing I've ever heard. First of all, Legoland is 60 miles south of Anaheim, so I have no idea how a person would "go to Anaheim" to go to Legoland.
The other issue is that attendance at Legoland California in 2009 was not high enough to be ranked in the Top 20 theme parks officially, but unofficially it is pegged at around 1.8 Million for '09, while Disneyland 60 minutes up the freeway had 15.9 Million. And that's after 10 full years of growth and expansion at Legoland California after it opened in 1999. It's attendance a decade ago was barely over 1 Million per year.
I have a hunch Legoland Florida will do the exact same thing to WDW attendance that Legoland California did to Disneyland attendance for the last 10 years, and that is... absolutely nothing.
The Legoland Florida website shows the pricing at $65 for adults and $55 for kids. With a family of 2 adults and 4 kids, it would cost us about $350 for one day (not including the rental car to get there!). Even though my kids are lego obsessed, no thanks.
hurricanepat
Member
legoland just sounds stupid and cut-rate.
Mouse Detective
Well-Known Member
Those are official prices but just like other non-Disney parks, there likely will be many discount packages.
I think you all are wrong. For families with kids in the Lego age group, especially boys, I think this will draw many of them down there for a day. It's less than an hour from Disney. It's something different. It will cut a day out of their Disney visit. Harry Potter is already doing that with teens and older age group and Legoland will do it with the tweens and younger. This can only minimally be compared to California where so many Disney visitors are locals. WDW's draw is the entire eastern half of the U.S. and is mainly guests with children. To think this won't impact Disney is naive.
CaptainJackNO
Well-Known Member
There really is no competition between the two as they really are two different experiences catering to different tastes and desires. I see Universal the same way. People who love Disney go to Disney and, maybe, visit Universal a day or two while on the WDW trip. Now, there are some people who prefer Universal, albeit a smaller number, who may make WDW a day or two while on their vacation. So, no, it will not affect Disney at all. You go to Orlando for a specific reason.
Disney will not suffer any ill effects from this, just as Potter is not enough to derail WDW economically. The Disney brand is one of the most well established brands in the world today. Disney fans go to Disney. Non-Disney fans do not. It has been that way and will stay that way. WDW will be fine. :wave:
Disney will not suffer any ill effects from this, just as Potter is not enough to derail WDW economically. The Disney brand is one of the most well established brands in the world today. Disney fans go to Disney. Non-Disney fans do not. It has been that way and will stay that way. WDW will be fine. :wave:
CaptainJackNO
Well-Known Member
Ok,
I checked out the website just to make sure I was not jumping to conclusions. I assure you, no one in the WDW demographic will take this as an alternative to WDW. From what I saw, this is really similar to, maybe, six flags minus the large scale coasters. I reiterate that WDW will not feel significant impacts from this. Most WDW visitors will not cut a day in the parks for legoland.
I checked out the website just to make sure I was not jumping to conclusions. I assure you, no one in the WDW demographic will take this as an alternative to WDW. From what I saw, this is really similar to, maybe, six flags minus the large scale coasters. I reiterate that WDW will not feel significant impacts from this. Most WDW visitors will not cut a day in the parks for legoland.
wolf359
Well-Known Member
I think there are three kinds of people that go to Florida theme parks.
1. The people that come for Walt Disney World. Period. They come via Magical Express, stay on property, never rent a car and never venture outside WDW property.
These people will probably never even know there IS a Legoland.
2. The people that come for a mixture of Florida attractions. They split their stay between Disney World and the other local parks, taking in a few depending on their interests, be it animals, fish, or movies and rollercoasters.
These people might cut out a day at one of the other non-Disney parks to make the trip to Legoland because it is new, but unless it has the same wow factor as one of the parks they dropped I doubt they'll be back very often.
3. The people that come to Florida and purposely avoid Disney or maybe go to the Magic Kingdom one day in an obligatory visit. These folks come for beaches, Cape Canaveral, and a theme park experience that doesn't carry all of the baggage (and crowds) of visiting Disney World.
These are the most likely to try out Legoland, especially if it doesn't mean having to face the Orlando crowds head-on.
Overall, I think Legoland will have a minimal to unnoticeable impact on Disney's attendance figures. Disney has finely tuned their pricing structure and discounts to be a significantly greater value in extended stays, so if they're coming for Disney at all, they're coming for at least four or five days.
So the first two types of guests I mentioned would not likely visit Walt Disney World for fewer than four or five days because the cost value drops significantly in shorter stays. That might slightly lower Animal Kingdom or Hollywood Studios attendance (especially if the family in question was also going to Universal or Busch Gardens) but they're still going to Disney World, even if they also decide to go to Legoland.
The third type of guest probably has little to no impact on WDW attendance already, so even if they go to Legoland a hundred times it still isn't going to affect Disney's numbers.
1. The people that come for Walt Disney World. Period. They come via Magical Express, stay on property, never rent a car and never venture outside WDW property.
These people will probably never even know there IS a Legoland.
2. The people that come for a mixture of Florida attractions. They split their stay between Disney World and the other local parks, taking in a few depending on their interests, be it animals, fish, or movies and rollercoasters.
These people might cut out a day at one of the other non-Disney parks to make the trip to Legoland because it is new, but unless it has the same wow factor as one of the parks they dropped I doubt they'll be back very often.
3. The people that come to Florida and purposely avoid Disney or maybe go to the Magic Kingdom one day in an obligatory visit. These folks come for beaches, Cape Canaveral, and a theme park experience that doesn't carry all of the baggage (and crowds) of visiting Disney World.
These are the most likely to try out Legoland, especially if it doesn't mean having to face the Orlando crowds head-on.
Overall, I think Legoland will have a minimal to unnoticeable impact on Disney's attendance figures. Disney has finely tuned their pricing structure and discounts to be a significantly greater value in extended stays, so if they're coming for Disney at all, they're coming for at least four or five days.
So the first two types of guests I mentioned would not likely visit Walt Disney World for fewer than four or five days because the cost value drops significantly in shorter stays. That might slightly lower Animal Kingdom or Hollywood Studios attendance (especially if the family in question was also going to Universal or Busch Gardens) but they're still going to Disney World, even if they also decide to go to Legoland.
The third type of guest probably has little to no impact on WDW attendance already, so even if they go to Legoland a hundred times it still isn't going to affect Disney's numbers.
ryguy
Well-Known Member
Well if history repeats itself it will be closed in less than five years (Boardwalk and Baseball and the circus thing before it). Truthfully the location sucks. When I visited legoland in Cali I kept thinking this place is a rip. My kids liked it, but there was no real reason to ever go more than once. I would doubt seriously that the lego store would close at Downtown, it does an insane amount of business.
TP2000
Well-Known Member
Yup. Yet again on this board, we've got folks who have never been to a Legoland park assuming that it's going to seriously damage WDW attendance. One visit to Legoland California - after 10 years of expansion and additions - and you would know that it's not going to do anything to WDW attendance.
Legoland Florida is not even close to a freeway. It's an hours drive from Disney World over back-country roads out in the middle of nowhere. Upon opening next year it will have a relatively small number of attractions and entertainment, amid a mish-mash of themes and concepts since they have stated they will keep some of the gardens open and have young ladies wearing the Southern Belle hoop skirts that made Cypress Gardens famous in the 1930's. It's not 1938 anymore, so I wonder how big of a draw that will be?
Legoland California drew about 1.8 Million last year, after their attendance rose 35% when you include the new SeaLife Aquarium they built next door. There's also major Marriott timeshare condos attached to the park, and several adjacent major hotels. It's literally it's own resort on a big sprawling piece of property up the hill from the beach and directly off the 10 lane I-5 freeway as the major freeway between LA and San Diego. And still they struggle to get close to 2 Million per year after 10+ years of major investment and expansion.
Why can't Legoland California get above 2 Million a year attendance after all that expansion and additions in a gorgeous location right off the busiest freeway in SoCal? Because Legoland is kind of hokey and dumb by modern theme park standards. If the Orlando theme park audience is expecting bigger, bolder, faster experiences ladled with cutting edge technology and super-wow special effects, they aren't going to find it at Legoland.
Legoland Florida will do absolutely nothing to WDW attendance, and I question whether it will even still be in business 5 years after it opens. They've picked a horrible location to launch this rather weak theme park concept.
JimboJones123
Well-Known Member
All forms of entertainment are competition for WDW.
The DVD you picked up this weekend.
The cable bill you paid last weekend.
The album you downloaded on iTunes.
The TGI Fridays dinner you have tonight.
Disney World is large enough to say to themselves that ANY dollar you don't spend there is a dollar spent at the competition.
Why do you think there are multiple levels of rooms, dining, shopping, transportation, everything.
You rent a car, Disney loses $$$.
Go to Legoland- Disney loses A LOT more than Admission. Disney loses over $100 per person per day from guests that do something besides Disney.
thelookingglass
Well-Known Member
Like was said in a previous thread about this, any effect Legoland will have on WDW will be like throwing a boulder into the ocean.
Cypress Gardens was a pretty awful park to begin with. It made a typical Six Flags park look like the Magic Kingdom. Its also almost an hour drive from Disney, in kind of a bad area, and is not easily accessible by any major road or highway, meaning that tourists would have to drive through some, shall we say, less than appealing areas.
With such bad circumstances to begin with, I have extreme doubts that the park will even be able to turn a profit as very few people are going to make the effort to drive an extra hour to experience a handful of family/kiddie coasters and tacky Lego exhibits. Besides, if they're driving that far, they might as well just go slightly further to Busch Gardens.
Cypress Gardens was a pretty awful park to begin with. It made a typical Six Flags park look like the Magic Kingdom. Its also almost an hour drive from Disney, in kind of a bad area, and is not easily accessible by any major road or highway, meaning that tourists would have to drive through some, shall we say, less than appealing areas.
With such bad circumstances to begin with, I have extreme doubts that the park will even be able to turn a profit as very few people are going to make the effort to drive an extra hour to experience a handful of family/kiddie coasters and tacky Lego exhibits. Besides, if they're driving that far, they might as well just go slightly further to Busch Gardens.
TP2000
Well-Known Member
Those are all valid points, and certainly part of the equation here.
Interestingly, Legoland California predicted in 1999 it would get about 2 Million in attendance in its first year. It never made it. It got about 1.4 Million that first year, then attendance dropped off through the early 2000's after people visited and saw that it was nothing like any other SoCal theme park.
Legoland California went on a major expansion program in the latter 2000's, and their attendance climbed slowly as they added large new park rides, a separate waterslide park, and new hotels and timeshares connected to the park itself. But only when they added the separate-ticket SeaLife Aquarium adjacent to the maingate did their attendance increase by 30% in 2008-09, when you add in those separate aquarium ticket sales to the Legoland mix.
Still, with all they've done for the past decade, they are still below the 2 Million mark for yearly attendance.
Interestingly, there is a strong contingent of local annual passholders that go to Legoland a lot. It's a typically SoCal demographic made up primarily of middle and upper-middle class housewives living in the affluent suburbs of Orange and San Diego counties who take their young children there a lot and have no problem stating that they find Legoland to be more intelligent and stimulating for their children than Disneyland or Sea World or any of the other SoCal theme parks.
I'm not sure there's enough of that type of demographic in central Florida to help pad the yearly attendance figures of Legoland Florida, like they do in California.
UrbanDonovan
Active Member
I live in Lake Wales, which is ten minutes south of Winter Haven (where Legoland is located) and it takes me 40-45 minutes to get to Orlando, driving the speed limit.
TP2000
Well-Known Member
We all keep coming back to this issue of accesibility and transportation to the Legoland Florida site. I vaguely remember my one visit to Cypress Gardens around 1990, and it wasn't easy to get to from WDW. Looking on the map and satellite images, it's pretty much out in the middle of nowhere.
Doing the natural comparison to Legoland California, where they've struggled for 10 years of major capital investment to get 1.8 Million visitors, it's amazing how convenient it is to all sorts of transportation options.
It's clearly labeled off the major I-5 Interstate Freeway, the main freeway between LA and San Diego along the coast, with two big off-ramps, and it's about a 3 minute drive once you're off the freeway to the Legoland entrance. (#17 on this map)
Less than a mile from the Legoland main gate is the Carlsbad Palomar Airport, where several major airlines offer commuter jet and turboprop service to other airports in California, Nevada, Baja California, and Arizona.
Then, on the other side of I-5, along the ocean and about 1.5 miles from the Legoland main entrance, is the Carlsbad train station which has dozens of trains per day from Sprinter and Coaster commuter trains of San Diego County Transit...
Carlsbad, California train station
Coaster and Sprinter train service of North San Diego County
As well as connecting service from dozens of daily Metrolink commuter trains from Orange and Los Angeles counties, and over a dozen daily Amtrak Surfliner trains from the Santa Barbara/Los Angeles/San Diego route...
Amtrak Surfliner passing by Carlsbad, California beach
In short, you can freeway, fly or train to major off-ramps and stations and terminals all within a mile of the Legoland California main entrance. And yet even after a decade of major expansion and improvements, Legoland California can't yet muster up the 2 Million yearly attendance they said they would get back in 1999.
And WDW management is supposed to be scared of Legoland Florida out in the middle of nowhere? I don't think they are worried. :lol:
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