What if you owned the Disney Parks?

[ppete1975]

I would like to thank the new owner, @Poseidon Quest for not eliminating the AP

I just opened a third park, didnt raise prices, made the parks less crowded, got rid of fast pass and genie plus, put imagination and figment back to 82 but updated, added a new ride every year, cleaned and refurbished everything among other things,

And still hated on the message boards for removing APs.... man this is more realistic that we expected
#INOWKNOWHOWTHEBOBSFEEL

 

[ppete1975]

I would add more intimate stores that sell niche and novelty products

 

[Amidala]

I think we all think about how great it would be to be king of Disney Parks, and change things as we see fit like bringing back Alien Encounter, SoC, Wishes, Horizons, GMR, Backlot Tour, keep Splash as was, fix the Yeti, bring back the wench auction and Red in a dress... the list is endless, right? We all want that, but do you think you could do it if you purchased the Parks?

I think this assumes what most of want is to restore previous attractions without modernizing them in any way, when that isn't necessarily the case. My present issues with WDW have more to do with a lack of entertainment, a lack of balance between IP-based and original rides, and TDO's unwillingness to upgrade (or replace) older attractions. This habit of adding new lands while existing areas are left to gradually become irrelevant and in certain cases even unsightly (think Pandora vs. Dinoland USA or Galaxy's Edge vs. Echo Lake and Animation Courtyard) is frustrating. Don't get me wrong, I would love to see TDO look to certain older attractions (or older iterations of existing attractions) for inspiration, but my ideal vision for WDW in, say 2023 does not involve "bringing back" every single retired ride for the sake of nostalgia.

Operational changes would be:

1. Removing the park reservation system because I just don't care about staffing to the bare minimum
2. Raising starting wages to $19 an hour and expanding Cast Member perks
3. Removing Genie+ in favor of a system like Universal's Express Pass. Charge each individual guest $250 a day to skip the line, but they can use it wherever and whenever. The high price point obviously makes money, but discourages too many people from purchasing, allowing the stand-by queues to keep moving consistently.
4. Removing the VL system. It's not fair to implement what is essentially a lottery system just because the park doesn't want to bother with queue control.

100% with you on the first two, but $250 may just be expensive to the point of absurdity. I would honestly prefer that line-skipping gimmicks (paid or otherwise) were removed entirely. As for the VQ system, I'm always confused when people refer to this as a lottery. I'm a fan of the system as long as it continues to be used sparingly. Personally, I'll take a return time over waiting upwards of 10+ hours (thinking of Hagrid) any day.

Anyway, I think if I owned the parks, Phase 1 would focus on retheming areas that haven't aged well and upgrading or replacing attractions as needed. Love @ppete1975's idea of going over each land with a fine-toothed comb one by one. When the parks are all in excellent shape, I would move into Phase 2 and begin adding new attractions and lands. I've started with MK and Hollywood Studios since I think changes needed at Animal Kingdom are pretty clear (Yeti fixed and more traditional attractions needed, all of us would be pleased with a Beastly Kingdom expansion including dark rides and thrill rides based on mythical creatures) and I would like to see all the Epcot additions and refurbishments completed before adding my two cents.

MAGIC KINGDOM

• General:
  • Add roaming entertainment to all lands (cowboys and people in stagecoaches in Frontierland, etc.)
  • Add a fantasy-themed nighttime electrical parade in the vein of Dreamlights.
  • Bring back the Brave unit and other missing elements of FoF.
  • Add a new nighttime spectacular that pays homage to the parks, Walt, etc.
  • Split the Emporium into a series of small independently owned shops, and scatter other theme appropriate third-party shops throughout the park.
• Main Street:
  • Finish the scrapped theater concept.
• Castle & Hub:
  • Add landscaping to the hub.
  • Repaint Cinderella's castle white and blue with silver accents.
• Frontierland:
  • Country Bear Jamboree seasonal overlays similar to TDL
• Fantasyland:
  • Upgrade Peter Pan and Small World to resemble the Disneyland versions.
  • Gut Little Mermaid and replace with a version using the technology in Enchanted Tales of Beauty & the Beast in Tokyo. Or: Clone Enchanted Tales of Beauty & the Beast and expand into a Beauty & the Beast mini-land. Or: Clone Storybook Canal.
  • One or more of TDL's Fantasyland expansions and attractions (Tangled, Frozen or Peter Pan)
• Adventureland:
  • Alter Pirates to more closely resemble Disneyland's version and convert the surrounding area into a New Orleans mini-land for the Princess & the Frog retheme of Splash.
  • Add more foliage to make the areas seem more lush.
• Liberty Square: I'd gut this whole land if I could lol At the very least, replace HOP with literally anything else
• Tomorrowland:
  • Give the land a look similar to opening day Disneyland — clean white color palette with architecture similar to the Space Mountain facade, touches of red and light blue.
  • Replace Monsters Inc. Laugh Floor with a stage show, animatronic show or Circle-Vision.
  • Put an original attraction in the Stitch building.
  • Electric cars on Speedway.

HOLLYWOOD STUDIOS

• General:
  • Add roaming entertainment to Hollywood Boulevard and Galaxy's Edge (including droids in the latter)
  • Bring Fantasmic back
  • Add a nighttime parade in the vein of Paint the Night
  • Add movie tribute nighttime fireworks
• Animation Academy:
  • Remove all current offerings (Launch Bay, TLM stage show, Disney Jr.)
  • Relocate Walt Disney Presents to Launch Bay building and restore Animation Academy.
  • Relocate Frozen Sing-Along to TLM show building or replace with a new IP.
  • Relocate MMRR here.
  • Potentially bulldoze RNR later down the line to expand into a mini-land and add a new dark ride exploring the magic of animation, beginning with Walt creating Mickey and following a selection of Disney movies through the years from Snow White up to the present day. Or: A Fantasia-themed dark ride!
• Chinese Theater: Build a new version of the Great Movie Ride featuring a mixture of classic and more recent properties.
• Echo Lake:
  • Gut Star Tours and surrounding area (I love Star Tours but there's an excess of SW in this park), expand the Muppets area and replace with a Muppets dark ride.
  • Unclear what to do with the opposite half of this land (near Indie, Gertie, etc.), but it needs a decisive retheme and a more coherent look.
• Toy Story Land: Retheme to general Pixar land, keep SDD.
  • Build the long-rumored Monsters Inc. door coaster.
  • Replace TSM with a trackless dark ride for a newer IP like Coco or Turning Red.
• Commissary Lane: This whole area is hideous. Absorb into Pixar area, replace ABC Commissary with a Pixar-themed restaurant.
• Sunset Boulevard: Replace Beauty & the Beast show with something good.

 

[Pepper's Ghost]

I think this assumes what most of want is to restore previous attractions without modernizing them in any way, when that isn't necessarily the case. My present issues with WDW have more to do with a lack of entertainment, a lack of balance between IP-based and original rides, and TDO's unwillingness to upgrade (or replace) older attractions. This habit of adding new lands while existing areas are left to gradually become irrelevant and in certain cases even unsightly (think Pandora vs. Dinoland USA or Galaxy's Edge vs. Echo Lake and Animation Courtyard) is frustrating. Don't get me wrong, I would love to see TDO look to certain older attractions (or older iterations of existing attractions) for inspiration, but my ideal vision for WDW in, say 2023 does not involve "bringing back" every single retired ride for the sake of nostalgia.

Everyone has opinions of course, so I would never disagree with any of your suggested changes, but I wasn't assuming that all most of us want to do is restore old attractions. There's definitely a lot who would like to, but that's not the only assumption. I just mentioned those because they're a common thread in so many subjects discussed on these boards. By they way, I love Liberty Square and the HOP. I'd be pretty crushed if they removed it. That attraction in a way is an homage to Walt. I can't see Disney taking that out. Also, it's actually educational and why yank an entertaining educational attraction, which is very rare in the parks, for no reason. Again, I understand that's your opinion. The HOP just isn't hurting anyone by being there, so struck me odd to pinpoint that when you have many other places to work with.

One comment about adding Pandora while letting DinoLand remain a hot mess. I'm in total agreement that DinoLand needs a ton of love. I like the the dino theme, but they really could do SOOO much more with it. That said, adding Pandora was HUGE for Animal Kingdom and was absolutely necessary. It helped changed the park from a half-day park into a park many consider the 2nd best on property. It's not the only contributor to that change in opinion, but before they added Pandora people generally went to the park for a few hours, rode Everest and Dinosaur, and maybe a safari but then left. Honestly, it didn't even have to be an Avatar-related land. They needed to add something appropriate that could help draw and keep crowds. They accomplished that with Pandora. Personally, I'm still not sure I consider AK the 2nd best park or even 3rd for that matter, but it's definitely more than a half-day park now.

 

[bork]

Of course the obvious: Maintenance, getting rid of reservations, genie+, FP, etc.
Hide show buildings and finish back sides (like Everest)
Monorail to all parks, water parks DS and hotels along the way.
Then it's all about capacity and improving rides.

Animal Kingdon

1. Dinosaur improved to Indy level. Dinorama replaced with family-friendly attraction
2. 3rd Pandora ride and sit down restaurant
3. Australia or South America between Africa and Asia. Remove the train. Use the large open area for a large animal attraction. 2-3 attractions.
4. Get rid of the environmental message in Kali and add better story
5. New night time show

DHS

1. Replace Little Mermaid, Launch Bay and Disney Junior area with new land (Carsland?) Connect to RnR courtyard.
2. Enclose Beauty and the Beast
3. 3rd Star Wars ride and sit down restaurant. Retheme to original trilogy
4. Not sure. More high capacity rides

Epcot

1. Open Play pavilion
2. New SSE script and ending
3. New non-CGI Soarin
4. Restore Imagination and image works to original concept
5. Japan and Germany rides
6. More countries

MK

1. New attractions in Stitch and Monsters Inc
2. Retrack Space
3. Put the princesses in Belle cottage
4. Replace Princesses and Philharmagic with classic dark rides
5. Keep Splash Mountain
6. Diamond Horseshoe show
7. Seasonal Country Bears

 

[Doberge]

I'd slowly leak just enough correct information here to be credible and then I'd start trolling with rumors to retheme Haunted Mansion to Encanto, Pirates of the Caribbean to Jake and the Neverland Pirates, etc.

 

[graphite1326]

1st Cancel spash Mt. re-theme.
Bring back Alien Encounter
No more Disney movie themed rides in EPCOT and add another country
scrap disney+ (it's not working) and open up park hopper to anytime.
reserve rides (fastpass) one week before your visit. That would allow proper planning. I hate being on my phone in the park. If you are staying off Disney 3 days.
Make Tomorrow into a FUTURE type land. Sorry but laugh floor does not fit even though I like this attraction.
Add a North American type zoo area in AK. People come there from all over the world and would love to see what North America wild is like.
Bring back the Great Movie Ride!!!!!!
AND BACK OFF ON THE PROJECTION RIDES. DISNEY ISN'T UNIVERSAL WHY ARE THEY TRYING TO BE.
Bring back Magic Express for Disney guest.

 

[Amidala]

Everyone has opinions of course, so I would never disagree with any of your suggested changes, but I wasn't assuming that all most of us want to do is restore old attractions. There's definitely a lot who would like to, but that's not the only assumption. I just mentioned those because they're a common thread in so many subjects discussed on these boards.

Fair enough! Like I said, I would love to see reimagined/"next generation" versions of some of these attractions (similar to how Horizons was considered a spiritual successor to SE) come to the parks utilizing modern technology.

By they way, I love Liberty Square and the HOP. I'd be pretty crushed if they removed it. That attraction in a way is an homage to Walt. I can't see Disney taking that out. Also, it's actually educational and why yank an entertaining educational attraction, which is very rare in the parks, for no reason. Again, I understand that's your opinion. The HOP just isn't hurting anyone by being there, so struck me odd to pinpoint that when you have many other places to work with.

Yeah, this is totally subjective and I do understand why people like the attraction, but I don't think American politics have any place in a theme park like Disney where everything (by necessity) is filtered through this lens of cheerful historical revisionism. Not speaking in terms of party lines or anything of that nature, just the over-simplification that naturally occurs when you squeeze a complex history into a 20 minute theme park show. Not a fan of American Adventure for the same reason, I find it to be very cringe-inducing and also don't like the obnoxious behavior you'll frequently get from the audiences at these attractions. OTOH I love the idea of edutainment, but on the other, I have to question whether a corporation this massive can really "educate" on any topic without an ulterior motive...Universe of Energy being sponsored by Exxon is a great example of this lol

I also just find Liberty Square to be woefully under-themed in comparison with New Orleans Square, and I'm a little bitter this is what we got stuck with instead. Anyway, I know HOP isn't going anywhere and it's not a huge deal to me but if I DID own the parks it would be on the chopping block 100%

One comment about adding Pandora while letting DinoLand remain a hot mess. I'm in total agreement that DinoLand needs a ton of love. I like the the dino theme, but they really could do SOOO much more with it. That said, adding Pandora was HUGE for Animal Kingdom and was absolutely necessary. It helped changed the park from a half-day park into a park many consider the 2nd best on property. It's not the only contributor to that change in opinion, but before they added Pandora people generally went to the park for a few hours, rode Everest and Dinosaur, and maybe a safari but then left. Honestly, it didn't even have to be an Avatar-related land. They needed to add something appropriate that could help draw and keep crowds. They accomplished that with Pandora. Personally, I'm still not sure I consider AK the 2nd best park or even 3rd for that matter, but it's definitely more than a half-day park now.

Oh, I agree for sure! I love Pandora and I'm glad it exists, don't get me wrong. In general it just doesn't sit well that Disney will pour so much money into IP-themed lands and neglect their existing lands. Objectively I think DAK has, if not the best theming of the four, then definitely the most elaborate, immersive and detailed theming. It's not my favorite by any stretch, mainly due to the theme (which isn't really my thing) and lack of traditional attractions, but I completely understand why some are such huge fans.

 

[DfromATX]

All the money in the world.

• I would open a new disney park in texas between dallas and san antonio (weather and infrastructure is there to make it feasible) (splitting the crowds from california and florida)

I have to respectfully disagree with you.

Weather - I'm assuming you are in Texas, then you know... right now it's 101 and that is a normal occurrence during the summer, which is from June to sometimes (excuse my language) "freakin'" October. And then we do get that freezing weather, which is just as bad. (I'm still traumatized from the "big freeze".) The only good times to go without people fainting would be in the spring.

Infrastructure - Plus, you said in between Dallas and San Antonio. Does that mean the Austin area? Have you been on I-35 lately?

And, not that this is any comparison, but we do have Fiesta Texas, Six Flags, and Schlitterbaun.

However, I've heard the rumors over the years about a possible build here, but I doubt it would ever happen. My husband thinks it would be awesome to be honest, but I disagree. The main reason for me is that it just wouldn't be the same! I don't think it would be nearly as good as Disney World. I don't think the cast members would be as nice as the Florida crew either. I'd still keep going to Florida!

 

[DfromATX]

If I became a billionaire, I would not buy Disney. I love it, but it would be too much of a headache and I would be more concerned with other things. But, if I did, I would definitely get rid of Genie!

 

[DfromATX]

1st Cancel spash Mt. re-theme.
Bring back Alien Encounter
No more Disney movie themed rides in EPCOT and add another country
scrap disney+ (it's not working) and open up park hopper to anytime.
reserve rides (fastpass) one week before your visit. That would allow proper planning. I hate being on my phone in the park. If you are staying off Disney 3 days.
Make Tomorrow into a FUTURE type land. Sorry but laugh floor does not fit even though I like this attraction.
Add a North American type zoo area in AK. People come there from all over the world and would love to see what North America wild is like.
Bring back the Great Movie Ride!!!!!!
AND BACK OFF ON THE PROJECTION RIDES. DISNEY ISN'T UNIVERSAL WHY ARE THEY TRYING TO BE.
Bring back Magic Express for Disney guest.

Except for the zoo part, I like all your ideas.

 

[Pepper's Ghost]

If I became a billionaire, I would not buy Disney. I love it, but it would be too much of a headache and I would be more concerned with other things. But, if I did, I would definitely get rid of Genie!

Love this honest reply. You're the only one so far to take this angle, which I was heavily promoting in my original post. There's a ton of things I'd do in the parks, but the reason I didn't give my own list like so many have so far is because I feel this same way. I love the parks. I want them improved. I just feel that there are so many problems to fix and you couldn't make everyone happy. If I made every change I felt was necessary, several would be home runs for almost everyone, but I'd make decisions that would upset people. Like being President, no matter who you are, half of the country is going to hate you. If you own Disney, no matter what wonderful things you do, a large portion of people are going to criticize you. Not worth it for me.

Look at Bob. I mean, he's being eviscerated by Disney fans, but the board loves him for being the evil front-man they needed to make so many bad changes, hence the extension he got a few days ago.

 

[DfromATX]

Love this honest reply. You're the only one so far to take this angle, which I was heavily promoting in my original post. There's a ton of things I'd do in the parks, but the reason I didn't give my own list like so many have so far is because I feel this same way. I love the parks. I want them improved. I just feel that there are so many problems to fix and you couldn't make everyone happy. If I made every change I felt was necessary, several would be home runs for almost everyone, but I'd make decisions that would upset people. Like bring President, no matter who you are, half of the country is going to hate you. If you own Disney, no matter what wonderful things you do, a large portion of people are going to criticize you. Not worth it for me.

Look at Bob. I mean, he's being eviscerated by Disney fans, but the board loves him for being the evil front-man they needed to make so many bad changes, hence the extension he got a few days ago.

The president is a perfect example. No matter who we have, people complain. It is a tough job!

I would love if they would make things right and if they would just think of their fans for once instead of trying to get us for all they can. But as far as me owning it, no way. And besides, I'm not smart enough to run a multi-billion dollar company. Imagine the pressure! I would be busy travelling the world!

 

[MickeyCB]

It's fun to speculate. I know that Disney is obviously a business and I would treat it was such, but there's a lot of room to spend money on frivolous detail that current management never would.

Operational changes would be:

1. Removing the park reservation system because I just don't care about staffing to the bare minimum
2. Raising starting wages to $19 an hour and expanding Cast Member perks
3. Removing Genie+ in favor of a system like Universal's Express Pass. Charge each individual guest $250 a day to skip the line, but they can use it wherever and whenever. The high price point obviously makes money, but discourages too many people from purchasing, allowing the stand-by queues to keep moving consistently.
4. Removing the VL system. It's not fair to implement what is essentially a lottery system just because the park doesn't want to bother with queue control.

Creative changes are more personal taste, so I'm sure people will disagree, but much of it has to do with fleshing out the parks and adding much needed capacity:

Magic Kingdom

1. Remove the Tomorrowland Speedway in favor of two new showbuildings. On the Tomorrowland side, I would create a spiritual successor to the Speedway by still allowing guests to drive cars, but it would use electric vehicles indoors. It would be multi-level and would have drivers exploring campy and comical alien landscapes in the style of some of the Peoplemover displays or the exit of Space Mountain. On the Fantasyland side, I would put in a dark ride. It's easy to imagine Alice in Wonderland in a similar manner to Disneyland, though there's plenty of other options available as well. I would also take this chance to make the transition between Fantasyland and Tomorrowland better. Perhaps an arch across the pathway that changes subtly to fit both sides of the lands it straddles.
2. I would put something in place of Stitch. I'm not sure what, but anything would be better than just letting the building rot.
3. Unpopular opinion, but I'm not at all a fan of Buzz in Tomorrowland. I don't have any current ideas, but I would replace with with something more interesting and probably take out Laugh Floor as well.
4. In Fantasyland, I would spruce up Seven Dwarfs Mine Train to make it more interesting. Add animatronic critters, more liter scattered around, or really anything to make it more interesting. I would also rebuild Snow White's Scary Adventures, but with improved lighting and projection effects. It would more akin to Disneyland's Alice in Wonderland than their redo into Snow White's Enchanted Wish. I liked the "scary" aspect of Snow White far better even though I think that the new version is still pretty acceptable.
5. I would continue adding in small Fantasyland dark rides, replacing Philharmagic with a Cinderella attraction in the style of the classics. I would also expand Fantasyland, opening up the Beauty and the Beast bathroom area and turning it into an enclosed bridge over the cast member bus route and using the land behind it, which is quite substantial. I know that this is where the fireworks are launched, but I think that with all the land available, we could get logistically creative where they're replaced. In this back area, I would have the village lead into a courtyard that would split east and west. To the east, a small mountain range would portray Arendelle and I would put in a Frozen attraction as a trackless dark ride, loading up the guests in Sleighs. to the west, there's pretty substantial space and I would theme it to something more villainous. That area would be anchored by a Maleficent dragon coaster as a spiritual successor to the one conceived for Beastly Kingdom but would mostly be indoors so as to to interfere with sightlines at the Haunted Mansion. I would also put in a small Fantasyland style dark ride that brings you into the castle of the Horned King. Another boat based attraction would have you sailing through Hades' Underworld. I don't think it's logistically feasible, but I wouldn't be against replacing Be Our Guest and Enchanted Tales with Belle with the actual ride in Tokyo. Fitting it would be difficult, but the trackless vehicles and a somewhat modified ride path might allow it to happen.
6. I would add small improvements throughout different attractions. Hat Box Ghost in Haunted Mansion, TNT scene in BTM, etc.
7. I would expand Adventureland, building another bridge over the parade float return route and creating a whole new Pacific themed area. I would build a Fire Mountain rollercoaster (removing the Moana theme though) and move the Enchanted Tiki Room over here as well, keeping it mostly in-tact but providing new elements to keep it fresh, like an alluring flowery scent or improved lighting and show effects. I would also put in a Moana meet and greet (in the air conditioning) nearby. A new location there would serve Dole Whip and if there's enough space, I can imagine a dynamic, Pacific restaurant reminiscent of a Rainforest Cafe, but obviously with better food.
8. I would remove Aladdin's Magic Carpets and with the TIki Room also removed, I would transform the area into something more vaguely Caribbean/African/Indian to match some themes with the Jungle Cruise. I'm not sure what I would replace the Tiki Room with, though I'm a fan of creating some sort of interactive walk-through animatronic exhibit that incorporates SEA somehow.
9. I would completely overhaul Mainstreet. The version in Disneyland is so much better to the point where it makes the Magic Kingdom look unthemed in comparison. I would add more intimate stores that sell niche and novelty products to create an immersion factor, rather than just generic Disney retail products. I would also expand it east, reviving the idea for the theater and completely theming the current bypass route and connecting it both to the hub and to the side-street.

I suppose I became more ambitious with this than I initially intended, but I would definitely make large, sweeping changes across the other parks as well. I would return Epcot to something interesting and compelling, add new cohesive theming and much needed capacity to Hollywood Studios and continue to add new attractions at Animal Kingdom. I would revive Disneyland's Tomorrowland and put much more interesting attractions into DCA. I believe that Disney water parks could also do with some major additions and I would also make resorts more alluring, other than just using them to sleep and spend a day at the pool in. For example, I feel that Port Orleans French Quarter would be great with a Tiana themed dinner show, bringing guests into Tiana's Place and have a live singer playing Tiana come up on stage with an animatronic swing band of animals playing the music.

All of this^
And figure out a way to bring back the service/attitude/cleanliness etc. of the parks of yesterday.
No idea how but suspect it would start with a shake up that replaces current uninterested management who don't care about or see the value in these things and so do not hold the CM's accountable to meet those standards.
(But with that said there are still wonderful CM's who are the only thing holding this sad Disney ship upright and they need to be recognized and properly compensated).
I'd use a lot of my billions for that!

 

[mysto]

Posts raise so many points it's hard to like posts because of the few dislikes.

Anyway like many of you I would re-emphasize the experience of being at the parks over the attractions.
) Emphasize sightlines and theming. (Rohde)
) Constantly add small curiosities to explore, whether actors, characters, or installations. (Disney)
) Nooks to sit in, playgrounds, climbing allowed. (lawyers ignored)
) Limit attendance just enough that being there is a joy, if you can get in. target 40 minute waits at peaks
) of course maintain the quality and capacity of the attractions, but everyone knows and says that

I actually think Disney is doing some of this some of the time. For example the Epcot spine has a lot of promise, may have atmosphere.

 

[graphite1326]

Except for the zoo part, I like all your ideas.

(flabergasted) Why not the zoo part?

 

[ppete1975]

1st Cancel spash Mt. re-theme.
Bring back Alien Encounter
No more Disney movie themed rides in EPCOT and add another country
scrap disney+ (it's not working) and open up park hopper to anytime.
reserve rides (fastpass) one week before your visit. That would allow proper planning. I hate being on my phone in the park. If you are staying off Disney 3 days.
Make Tomorrow into a FUTURE type land. Sorry but laugh floor does not fit even though I like this attraction.
Add a North American type zoo area in AK. People come there from all over the world and would love to see what North America wild is like.
Bring back the Great Movie Ride!!!!!!
AND BACK OFF ON THE PROJECTION RIDES. DISNEY ISN'T UNIVERSAL WHY ARE THEY TRYING TO BE.
Bring back Magic Express for Disney guest.

disney+ or genie +

 

[ppete1975]

I have to respectfully disagree with you.

Weather - I'm assuming you are in Texas, then you know... right now it's 101 and that is a normal occurrence during the summer, which is from June to sometimes (excuse my language) "freakin'" October. And then we do get that freezing weather, which is just as bad. (I'm still traumatized from the "big freeze".) The only good times to go without people fainting would be in the spring.

Infrastructure - Plus, you said in between Dallas and San Antonio. Does that mean the Austin area? Have you been on I-35 lately?

And, not that this is any comparison, but we do have Fiesta Texas, Six Flags, and Schlitterbaun.

However, I've heard the rumors over the years about a possible build here, but I doubt it would ever happen. My husband thinks it would be awesome to be honest, but I disagree. The main reason for me is that it just wouldn't be the same! I don't think it would be nearly as good as Disney World. I don't think the cast members would be as nice as the Florida crew either. I'd still keep going to Florida!

Oklahoma. But same thing except our winters are bad.
Texas has so many major airports so you could fly into literally any of them and when I say between dallas and san antonio I mean some little town thats close to one of the many interstates. You build the town (ala disney world) not go to a huge town (austin) that already exists.
Yes its hot, so maybe you build more indoor attractions. Its been in the mid 90s in florida for the last few weeks with much worse humidity. And the daily rain storms that are florida. Cold and snow? thats like twice a year on a bad year.. one snowgeddon in my life time.. not a bigger deal than hurricanes. Also it snows all the time at disneyland paris.
The reason I say texas is between airports, the interstate system, tons of cheap land, and year round tolerable weather its the best state to place it.
It is also in the middlish between florida and california.

Quick note.. before dallas had six flags the people in charge first reached out to Walt, who flatly declined (prob because he was eyeing florida, and Dallas wasnt the the Dallas it is now. They then reached out to knotts, who said he was too old to build another park.

Six flags was a last resort and a pretty poor one at that. Can you imagine if Texas had a Disney or Knotts that had been built in the 60s?

On another note if Disney is going to survive long term it will need to build a new park in the US eventually. Rising water levels, or earthquake could really change things quickly for one of the two domestic parks.

 

[drod1985]

My immediate priority would be to revise how a park visit is sold and experienced. Repackage everything in a single ticket with simple add-ons that make sense: ditch park reservations, ditch ILLs, revise Genie+ to be simpler and included in the base ticket price. But all of this comes with an increase to the new packaged ticket price to also help balance supply/demand.

After that? Nothing until I've spent adequate time digging into all the data. We can all talk about how great it'd be to restore an attraction or build a 5th gate, but there's 50+ years worth of data on guest behavior/satisfaction, how these parks run, how costs are incurred, employee performance, etc. I wouldn't make a single change till I understand the actual metrics they've gathered as opposed to my current outside assessment.

 

[jloucks]

Im assuming this will be moved. I also have to confess I didnt read your entire post.
All the money in the world.

• I would open a new disney park in texas between dallas and san antonio (weather and infrastructure is there to make it feasible) (splitting the crowds from california and florida)

Yes, this is an idea a floated year ago. Texas is ripe for a global park. We have more airports and transport than Orlando.

• I immediately cancel all annual passes. This is to reduce vloggers and locals who go all the time (trying to reduce crowds after all)

Good idea, goes along with using increased price to control crowds.

• I then re interview every employee that is a decision maker (what have you done, what are your dreams for the parks)

...and then follow it up with a big raise.

• Allow guests to write in what they want (rides attractions etc) this can be as simple as a sentence or complete architectural plans. If we pick your idea (which we would pick several while also when you enter your applications remove all legalities that you own the concept- you dont want 100 people saying the fox and hound ride was their idea) But we would pick winners... and anyone having their ride built, would get free lifetime passes for 4 to all disney parks in the world (im still getting your hotel, merchandise, food sales and great PR and ads)

Odds are anything you pick, the number picking the same item would be pretty large.

• I would close a land in each park.. go over it with a fine tooth combed and fix everything broken or dirty

Yep

• I would replace the monorails

Nope

• i would install a people mover in epcot and disneyland

Yep

• I would have a new ride at each location (not park but location) every year.

Woah, expensive.

• I would remove genie plus or any fast track system

Super nope, unless you paired it with crowd control. Lines over 30 minutes long = nope.

• i would close figment immediately and redo it to a modern updated version of 1982.

Sure

• I would stop having limited anything (popcorn buckets, tiki mugs, funkos etc)

Right?

I would then take a nap.

Nope, stop slacking.

I would also rebuild the entrance to Tomorrowland, put alot more fountains including one in front of guardians, that looked like energys.

Yes!

I would then remove parking fees from hotels.

Right? Charging parking and rent seems cheesy.

I would then remove any thing phone related... its there but not nearly as required

OK Boomer

Reservations are gone. Or at least the way they are now.. no more waking up at 1am a year before your trip to get a reservation.

See comment above on crowd control

25 percent of reservations 30 days out. 75 percent you have to walk up and either get a table or wait (we will text you when your table is avail though so you can spend money).

Good luck, I wish it would work.