What happened to the idea of Bald Mountain and Fire Mountain as an expansion to the Magic Kingdom?
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Whatever happened to Bald Mountain?
- Thread starter StitchCrazy626
- Start date
AEfx
Well-Known Member
Money. It would be a huge investment. Plus - no matter what anyone might say - I believe in the next ten years we'll see a darkly-themed thrill park at WDW ("fifth gate") which they may just save it for.
The answer is, no one really knows - we can just hope for it to come in some form eventually.
AEfx
The answer is, no one really knows - we can just hope for it to come in some form eventually.
AEfx
DarkMeasures
New Member
Well hopefully Bald Mountain will never come.
But Fire Mountain mainly died because its tie-in was a flop.
Even though it is a clone, I would like to see Journey make its way to Animal Kingdom.
And there wont be a new park in 10 years.
But Fire Mountain mainly died because its tie-in was a flop.
Even though it is a clone, I would like to see Journey make its way to Animal Kingdom.
And there wont be a new park in 10 years.
Lee
Adventurer
StitchCrazy626 said:
What happened to it?
Nothing...nothing at all...yet.
It's just lurking in the wings right now, keep your eyes on a certain plot of available land at MK. Nothing is greenlit, but a certain "something" is the leading contender as part of a new mini-land.
Fire Mountain...Deader than dirt.
dxwwf3
Well-Known Member
Lee said:What happened to it?
Nothing...nothing at all...yet.
It's just lurking in the wings right now, keep your eyes on a certain plot of available land at MK. Nothing is greenlit, but a certain "something" is the leading contender as part of a new mini-land.
Fire Mountain...Deader than dirt.
You're the man Lee.
djronnieb
New Member
I know for a fact that Disney will have a 5th gate open sometime around 2015, plans are well under way. Just haven't been anouced yet. And won't be anouced for another year or so. But this 5th gate was suposed to open in 2010 but due to the lack of ME and his way of running things it got pushed back like so many other cool ideas that were soooooo close to becoming real. Well now that he doesn't have control a lot of these ideas that got turned down will be finnally opening in the next 5-10 years, and the 5th gate will be opening in the next 10-12 years. And I mean A LOT... you will see at least 4 E-Tickets built in AK in the next 10 years and construction for a major E-Ticket in the MK very soon.AEfx said:Let's make a date to meet in 2015 and you can tell me that again.
AEfx, who doesn't believe there is a snowballs chance in heck that the Disney company will go almost 20 years without a new park
speck76
Well-Known Member
AEfx said:
The market is very saturated right now....and even the most optimistic forecasts of Orlando tourism are not favorable enough to warrent the addition of a new park prior to 2012 (which is how far the forecasts go out).
I think WDW will add a new experience prior to 2015.....I am not sure it will be a park, or a park in the form that we currently know them to exist.
If you think about it.....WDW is kind of "park heavy". The resort was designed to be a complete vacation experience....sure, the parks are the main focus, but many other things could be added to WDW to make a vacation more complete, and give visitors something else to do besides go to the parks. The resort has not added more golf since 1992 (but the golf market in Orlando, especially for high-end courses, is saturated). The resort is down to 2 waterparks, and I believe that WDW will add another waterpark before they would consider reopening River Country for an extended period of time.
As it had been mentioned by WDC prior, I think they will also spend the next 10 years developing resorts around the country......ski resorts, beach resorts......nice hotels, with good theming, great food, maybe a show or 2....someplace close to the majority of Americans, giving them something "Disney" that is not WDW or DL.
Nicole
Well-Known Member
From what I have read at this site it sounds like attendance is way up at WDW. The fact that they were having to close parks due to reaching capacity - even AK? has got to be a good sign for those hoping for a 5th gate. If the parks are constantly full then in my opinion theres a much better chance Disney management would be willing to invest in expansion.
That being said - and mentioning by the way that about 99% of all I know about Disney comes from this site - I think a priority will be on adding to AK before another park is considered. Whatever happened to the Beastly Kingdom idea?
That being said - and mentioning by the way that about 99% of all I know about Disney comes from this site - I think a priority will be on adding to AK before another park is considered. Whatever happened to the Beastly Kingdom idea?
speck76
Well-Known Member
Nicole said:
The parks only reached capacity once or twice this year....and only MK and DAK (DAK has the lowest capacity). The parks will have to operate closer to capacity on a more consistant basis before any major additions will be built. MK has the ability to increase capacity by opening seasonal attractions....Epcot has this ability too with WoL.
Each time they add an attraction, capacity increases. When DAK opens Everest in 2006, this will not only add capacity for 1800 per hour, but will also add a few acres to fit more people into the park.
InsideOtherPark
Member
There will not be a 5th gate open in the next 5 years.
AEfx
Well-Known Member
Well, I've never been one to put all my stock in forecasts. From the weather to the Oscars, for every accurate prediction there are several that fail to pass.speck76 said:
The point is, WDW has endless possibility. Why limit themselves to the current definition of the Orlando tourist? What if a new park could bring a new type of visitor to town?
I don't think it will be in the form of current Disney parks - I think it will be targeted to thrill seekers. IOA on Disney-crack. There is this whole untapped market out there that Disney can't reach - those people that want BIG thrills.
For instance, RnR is my favorite ride. I love it. It's the only coaster I'd want in my backyard. But even I have to admit - as a steel coaster, it's pretty tame. And RnR is as thrilling as it gets - as much as I love things like BTM, your average coaster even at a Six Flags delivers much more "thrill".
Now, someone will step in and say, "That doesn't belong at Disney! It's not MAGIC!", which always baffles me. First, because I don't see how they can't make the connection between those types of rides at other parks, and how they could be Disney-fied. Imagine if Disney worked their magic AND had big thrills at the same time? Second, I would think true Disney fans would love it - if there was a thrill park at WDW, they could stop demolishing classic rides to build mediocre "thrill" rides that you wait in line 2 hours to experience 4 minutes worth of so-so.
There is this need out there that isn't being filled, and I think Disney will wise up to it. People are quick to point to IOA and say "They didn't get increased attendance! They didn't hurt WDW!", but that's not entirely accurate. Yes, it did more redistribution over at UO than anything else, but they also haven't put much muscle behind it since. No new major attractions since opening. IOA is really just a handful of excellent rides - Spiderman, Dueling Dragons, Jurassic Park (though I hear the CA version is much better), and Hulk are about it. I imagine what Disney could do with a few highly themed coasters, and a dark ride or three on the level of Spiderman.
I understand this was/is the intention, but the reality is most people are there for the parks. Period. No matter what Disney does, the majority of people would never set foot in Orlando if it weren't for the themeparks. There is a certain segment of people who do go for those extra amenities and the "Disney" experience when it comes to guest services, but I truly believe the majority of people would visit WDW if it were nothing but the Magic Kingdom and a couple of hotels. Wait a minute...that point was already proven in the 70's.
They may try to do that, but I'm not sure how sucessful that will be. Domestic airfare is so cheap these days, and most people want to get away from home on vacation, not just stay close and stay at a resort that has "Disney" in front of it's name. Outside of DVC, that stuff just won't fly. While if you talk to someone like us, who frequents Disney boards on the internet, goes more often than once every year, etc. - sure, we are going to talk about "magic" and service and other peripherial things at WDW, but for most people it's about the parks, plain and simple.
It's unfortunate that we can't know before-hand, but we will just have to wait and see...
AEfx
Lynx04
New Member
djronnieb said:
If Eisner is responsible for not starting another park yet at WDW, then this is one of his better decisions. As Speck put it, Orlando is over saturated in theme parks. I wouldn't expect to here any ground breaking for any time before 2010 to 2014 at the very earliest.
Since we are on the topic for MK expansion, does anyone know if the 100 acre Woods going to take up the whole 20,000 Leagues area or just a small portion? Cause I find it hard to believe that they would turn the whole area into a play area. But I could be wrong.
Lynx04
New Member
I just can't see Disney building a park with just all coasters in it, or a park with predominantly coasters. Why would Disney try to only attract a certain demographic to one particular park. I think what Disney is doing now is smart, put attractions in each park to attract every demographic. This spread out the attendence more evenly then it would be for a park that targeted one demographic.AEfx said:
IOA is seems to have a more edgy feel to it, but the themes are still for kid themes and their are more attractions targeting everybody then just thrillseekers. Disney does not have any edgy themes or characters to throw at you, except the villian park, which is more of a dark side to fantasy then edgy.
While coasters are my favorate, I wouldn't want to see a TTD or a hyper coaster at Disney. As you can tell most parks have a hard time creating a convincing story to a hyper coaster or most coasters in general. I would take a well themed coaster (Mummy or EE) over a KK or Nitro (SFGADV) anyday. SFGADV is my home park, so I am not being basis.
speck76
Well-Known Member
AEfx said:
Since I personally create some of the forecasts.........they are fairly accurate. Sure, forecasts are based on a mix of history and current trends, and they can be innacurate due to sudden issues (like 9/11), for the most part, they are a pretty good measurement tool. You would be surprised how well we can forecast demand for any specific day......usually within 1%.
AEfx said:
But how do they get the NEW visitor here? You can not believe "if they build it, people will come"...there are too many options available. IOA tried to capture both the family and the thrill market, and they failed. Gone are the days that WDW can think that anything they build will be an instant success. To build something that is a complete 180 from anything they have done prior is very risky. Plus, ANY park can build a thrill ride.....look at Six Flags and Cedar Point.
AEfx said:I understand this was/is the intention, but the reality is most people are there for the parks. Period. No matter what Disney does, the majority of people would never set foot in Orlando if it weren't for the themeparks. There is a certain segment of people who do go for those extra amenities and the "Disney" experience when it comes to guest services, but I truly believe the majority of people would visit WDW if it were nothing but the Magic Kingdom and a couple of hotels. Wait a minute...that point was already proven in the 70's.
But what can WDW do to change the behavior? Many people come for the parks because their is not much else.....if they had other options, would they use them, and would they enjoy thier trip better?
CaptainMichael
Well-Known Member
I figured with the recent threads and rumors being drug up, that I'd bring back a credible rumor.
Lee, have there been any new devlopements on the Bald Mountain front?? Is it still being debated? Or put away, never to see the light of day again??
Lee, have there been any new devlopements on the Bald Mountain front?? Is it still being debated? Or put away, never to see the light of day again??