But here's the problem: You will not be bringing new people in with this expansion. You're going to stay with your same old same old. Besides, the Princess merchandise can't be sold at any higher volumes than it already is. There's just no way they're going to make much more than they are now on it. Besides, not every family has girls. You aren't going to have little boys begging their parents to go to Disney to color cards for Aurora.
Now, if they build something that appeals to all demographics, say keep the Little Mermaid ride and Be Our Guest Restaurant, and pair it with a thrill ride in Adventureland or Tomorrowland(ala what their doing in DCA), and you've got something that you can market to the entire family. Something for the boys and older people in the family, and the girls still get their princesses. Seriously makes the most sense.
I would actually argue the opposite. I think that the girl-oriented stuff has a higher chance of bringing in new guests than another thrill ride. There's a lot of princess fans out there. Go to any daycare and look around. But WDW has very few offerings for these princess fans. The big ones are over-priced meals that are very hard to get reservations for. By offering more that appeals to this demographic, Disney may draw in princess fans who didn't think there was enough reason to go.
And the ones who are already there will stay longer and spend more.
I understand that the appeal of princess and fairies isn't there for some, but I don't see how you can argue that WDW currently meets the demand for princesses. Look at how popular those overpiced meals and make-overs are. The fact that people are lining up to plunk down that kind of money should tell you something about the demand. The new FL is going to be packed!
As for marketing, WDW's current marketing focuses on the princesses now and they barely have any princess-themed attractions to back it up. I imagine marketing will be quite happy to tout the new princess attractions. And they'll have Star Tours for the boys. Who knows, maybe they'll announce something else.
I hate talking traditional gender roles, but let's face facts. Most of the attractions at WDW are more likely to appeal to boys than they are to girls. Pirates, cowboys, astronauts, dinosaurs; this is mostly boy territory here. So Disney finally adds a few attractions that are more likely to appeal to girls than boys, and suddenly people are throwing fits.
The new FL won't give you cooties. You'll still have all the pirates, cowboys, astronauts and dinosaurs you want all over the rest of the resort. And Peter Pan will even still be in FL. No one's going to force you to where a tiara if you happen to wander through the Enchanted Forrest. It will all be all right and lots of Disney fans who weren't being catered too will be very happy.
Sigh. That was more of a rant than I meant to post and I'm obviously just repeating myself here. Those who are opposed to making little girls happy just aren't going to get it (j/k). If you don't have a girl who's princess-aged, you have no idea how big the demand is. People will be coming out of the woodwork when this opens.
Bingo. I don't care what anyone says, people are there for the rides first. They don't run to meet and greets when the ropes drop.
Some people. Most people. But I've been to meet and greets at rope drop. If you have little kids, the meet and greets can be a much bigger deal than the rides. We've been to the parks without riding a single ride before.
Again, the demand for meet and greets is not currently being met. That's why Disney is supplying more.
It's not some scheme to ruin your parks. People want to be able to count on seeing certain characters on their Disney vaction. Disney can make a few bucks on autograph books and pictures plus make an attraction on the cheap. It's a win/win, folks.
Just be glad these people are in line to get their picture taken in stead of standing in front of you to ride Splash Mountain.
