Where would Disney build next?.... Anywhere?

[justintheharris]

Yea yea you all would rather have improvements to the current parks and Disney is likely not going to build a new resort anywhere in the near future. But that aside, where would it make sense for Disney to expand? Here's some candidates I've picked at for consideration:

Brazil - A lot of Brazilian tour groups show up to Walt Disney World in Orlando. The resort would likely be a hit with the local population and help calm the pressure of crowds on Walt Disney World Resort. However, Brazil isn't the most politically stable country in the world (although there is arguably worse) and South America may not have enough families who can invest that much money into a Disney vacation and the resort may show some overall attendance issues. South America is also not the most populous region on earth. On top of that, I'm not totally certain that Disney would view less Brazilian tour groups in Walt Disney World as a good thing or as a loss of profit.
India - India is due to become the most populous country on earth by 2050 and I have little doubt that there would be interest in a Disney resort in India. However, similar to South America, is the local population able to afford a trip to Disney? With over a billion people, I'm sure enough of them would and I would imagine that a Disneyland India would be willing to sustain itself. My doubts are concerning culture shock as we have seen some less than ideal guest behavior in Shanghai Disneyland and India may experience some of the same problems (No disrespect to India or Shanghai at all. Every resort around the world has its guests issues).
Australia - Brisbane and the Gold Coast already have a good market for theme parks in Australia. Perhaps Disney could find a spot in its market? Brisbane also offers an ideal climate for a park that operates year round. However, one of my friends has suggested that the infrastructure of Brisbane may not be able to sustain the amount of tourism that is anticipated with a Disney resort. The more daunting issue is the fact that the entire region of Oceania has a similar population to the state of California. The resort would have to rely almost entirely on tourists rather than locals which doesn't seem like a good recipe for a Disney park.
United Arab Emirates - The Middle East is obviously a scary place to suggest building a resort; however, Universal did plan to build a park in Dubai. The recession made sure that didn't happen so we don't know what kind of results such a resort would have produced. The UAE is wealthy enough to support a Disney resort and the Middle East also has a large enough population that can afford such a vacation. Once again, there is also an ideal climate for year round operation. However, there is obviously a political stability concern in addition to a potentially problematic culture clash. I will leave it at that (for now) so it doesn't get too political.
South Africa - Disney has never built in Africa and South Africa is the most developed nation on the continent... that's all I got. Would someone else like to make a case for this one?

So what do you guys think? Of these options India makes the most sense to me.
Ps. This entire post is up to debate. If you feel anything I said is inaccurate, absolutely call me on it.

And once again, I know Disney won't build another resort soon AND you would rather see improvements to the existing ones. I get it.
And credit to Pooh.sHoneyHuntTDL for inspiring my thought.

 

[John park hopper]

They should build in Brazil in order to take some of the pressure off of WDW--- domestic and international guests are making it--well you know crowded

 

[justintheharris]

They should build in Brazil in order to take some of the pressure off of WDW--- domestic and international guests are making it--well you know crowded

But does Brazil have the necessary climate and political stability and are there enough families in South America who can afford to travel to Brazil for Disney?

 

[SourcererMark79]

They should build in Brazil in order to take some of the pressure off of WDW--- domestic and international guests are making it--well you know crowded

But..but..the unnecessary screams? The line cutting? It will go away?

 

[John park hopper]

But..but..the unnecessary screams? The line cutting? It will go away?

Gee I sure would miss that ---yea right

 

[Goofyernmost]

Gee I sure would miss that ---yea right

You will when Disney isn't making enough money to stay open. They may be loud, but, they spend a lot of money. A lot more then all the AP's in the world do.

 

[goofyyukyuk]

I’ve always wondered about the feasibility of Disney building a park near Cairo, Egypt. I like the ideas of India, Australia, and Brazil as well.

 

[justintheharris]

I’ve always wondered about the feasibility of Disney building a park near Cairo, Egypt. I like the ideas of India, Australia, and Brazil as well.

Egypt is too political unstable for me to even begin to fathom a Disney park. That's my personal opinion though.

 

[Raineman]

On April 1 last year, a story ran on a local website that Disney would be building their next theme park in Toronto, getting all of us Disney theme park fans in this part of Canada excited-but of course it was nothing but an April Fools joke. The biggest obstacle for a Disney park here in Canada would be the winter weather (local amusement parks run from April-October) but the climate in Paris during winter is cold, yet they still built a park there. Probably just a pipe dream, but still nice to dream about nonetheless.

 

[RandySavage]

The Company had its imagineers conceptualize a smaller Castle Park for Seoul, South Korea in the 2000s. They even showed art for it in one of the Annual Reports (2006), though it was unlabeled (it had a lagoon in the center and a castle on a promintory). At this moment, Korea probably has the economy and population to support a competitor to their own Korea Disneyland aka Lotte World.

Another variant for this location was a Forest-themed park with a more unique castle:

 

[justintheharris]

The Company had its imagineers conceptualize a smaller Castle Park for Seoul, South Korea in the 2000s. They even showed art for it in one of the Annual Reports (2006), though it was unlabeled (it had a lagoon in the center and a castle on a promintory). At this moment, Korea probably has the economy and population to support a competitor to their own Korea Disneyland aka Lotte World.

Another variant for this location was a Forest-themed park with a more unique castle:

I must say I never did consider Korea!

 

[Raineman]

The Company had its imagineers conceptualize a smaller Castle Park for Seoul, South Korea in the 2000s. They even showed art for it in one of the Annual Reports (2006), though it was unlabeled (it had a lagoon in the center and a castle on a promintory). At this moment, Korea probably has the economy and population to support a competitor to their own Korea Disneyland aka Lotte World.

Another variant for this location was a Forest-themed park with a more unique castle:

IMO, even if Seoul would be an ideal location, there are already 3 parks in that area of the world (Tokyo, Shanghai, Hong Kong) so I think another would be unnecessary.

 

[justintheharris]

IMO, even if Seoul would be an ideal location, there are already 3 parks in that area of the world (Tokyo, Shanghai, Hong Kong) so I think another would be unnecessary.

Well the reason I find myself willing to overlook that is because that the region of East Asia is the most populous area of the world. South Korea is also as politically stable as a country could be (minus the threat of the North which, if can disregarded for Tokyo Disneyland, should be disregarded for Seoul Disneyland)

 

[RandySavage]

IMO, even if Seoul would be an ideal location, there are already 3 parks in that area of the world (Tokyo, Shanghai, Hong Kong) so I think another would be unnecessary.

If those three parks were drawing a lot of Koreans, I'd agree with you. Maybe they do, I don't know. Disney cancelled their exploration and focused on China. Universal has been on-again off-again in Korea for years.

Brazil seems out because it might deter all those valuable Tour Groups from going to WDW.

India is just a matter of time (when it's middle class is deemed ripe). It has all the ingredients: Massive consumer market; U.S.-friendly democratic govt.; English as an official language; Disney Channel and film-making already in place. I'd bet on India next.

 

[BoarderPhreak]

The problem of "where to build next park" is similar in many ways to the question of "what's the next World Showcase nation?"

Political climate and general feelings towards a country has to be neutral, if not positive to most of the world. If it offends, it likely won't make the cut. In terms of physical park locations, it needs to be "nice" most of the year. Look at Euro Disney... Lousy weather is not doing it any favors (and honestly, the last place I would've built a park). At least put it further south.

That said, Brazil might be a good idea. LOL

 

[Raineman]

I had mentioned in my earlier post about Disney parks in areas with cold winter climates. I remember reading a book recently (can't remember the name) about the whole process that brought WDW to a reality, and it mentioned that, even before DLR, Walt had thought about building an indoor theme park in St. Louis. Something like this could actually be doable today, and probably at a cost not much more than building a larger outdoor theme park. If you look at some of the world's largest stadiums, the amount of floor space, plus the amount of space on each level of the stadium, would give you the space and infrastructure to build a small theme part within, with a domed stadium type roof to allow structures inside of the building to have some height. You could even have other, smaller stadium type buildings attached to the main building, acting as additional "lands". This kind of park obviously wouldn't have the scale of an outdoor Disney park, but it would allow a Disney theme park to be built in southern Canada or the northern US, and operate year round. Whether it's feasible or not is another story.

 

[justintheharris]

I

If those three parks were drawing a lot of Koreans, I'd agree with you. Maybe they do, I don't know. Disney cancelled their exploration and focused on China. Universal has been on-again off-again in Korea for years.

Brazil seems out because it might deter all those valuable Tour Groups from going to WDW.

India is just a matter of time (when it's middle class is deemed ripe). It has all the ingredients: Massive consumer market; U.S.-friendly democratic govt.; English as an official language; Disney Channel and film-making already in place. I'd bet on India next.

I agree, India just makes the most sense but it will also be a fair amount of time before it happens. Partly for the middle class in India to reach a better standard of living and for Disney to build up and invest in its current resorts

 

[homerdance]

Roma, TX

 

[ppete1975]

Somewhere in texas
12 months of good weather
easily accessible by airlines and interstates
another us park is needed
One of the two parks in the us might not be around in 40-100 years. Florida (sea level rise) California (earthquake)
centralized between the two parks
centralized in the US (while have good climate) anything north is going to have off seasons or colder months

so I say outside of dallas or houston

 

[justintheharris]

Somewhere in texas
12 months of good weather
easily accessible by airlines and interstates
another us park is needed
One of the two parks in the us might not be around in 40-100 years. Florida (sea level rise) California (earthquake)
centralized between the two parks
centralized in the US (while have good climate) anything north is going to have off seasons or colder months

so I say outside of dallas or houston

Texas is a viable option but most people can either get to CA or FL and I must say it’s ironic you mention rising levels may overtake Orlando but suggest that Houston won’t have the same issue xD