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Why DisneyQuest failed
- Thread starter KentB3
- Start date
FoozieBear
Well-Known Member
What happened to DisneyQuest is a real shame, there was so much potential. I think the Chicago location was what really killed it. Once that died, Disney lost interest in the project and let it rot until it closed. It could have been really successful with more planning. For me, DisneyQuest shows a time when Disney was more focused on coming up with creative ideas and showcasing it with cutting edge technology. Its a shame the enthusiasm wore off so quickly.
WondersOfLife
Blink, blink. Breathe, breathe. Day in, day out.
They never updated it. It was a thing that consistently needed to be updated. Similar, but slower fate of Innoventions (More related to them needing to continuously update sponsors.) Think of DisneyQuest as the Wonders of Life Pavilion, or the Ellen's Energy Adventure of Disney Springs. It was hardly ever updated since it opened, thus it just kind of started feeling dated, forgotten, ultimately resulting in its closing.
SSH
Well-Known Member
Bingo. WDW is great at many things and certainly knows how to deliver a magical vacation. But their biggest weakness since I can remember is the ability to respond to change. Whatever they build requires a lot of lead time and better be classic enough to last the test of time, or at least a couple of decades, because it won't likely be updated anytime soon.
DisneyQuest was definitely NOT a project in WDW's wheelhouse. It would have been the perfect initiative for a company culture like Apple or Google - if they ever wanted to build an entertainment attraction or theme park.
JIMINYCR
Well-Known Member
WondersOfLife hit it right on. It was designed for the younger guest and once they saw DQ wasnt giving them much for thrills they lost interest and the numbers dwindled. We went once after it first opened and DS enjoyed his visit there then but he had no desire to waste his Disney time on return trips.
erasure fan1
Well-Known Member
Just think, if Disney could have just strung it along a bit longer. They could have called it retro quest and made a fortune. With how big the retro game market is, it was a missed opportunity since they closed it.
TwilightZone
Well-Known Member
My theory doesn't just involve the games like the others. My theory is that the idea of an indoor disney would've worked better if it was a building full of smaller scale disney rides. Have motion sims for some of the larger dark rides and continue updating it while also having some physical rides (dumbo for example) would've kept disneyquest's concept of indoor disney alive and going. Instead disney missed the mark of what most guests want from an indoor disney experience and made it all video games with only some disney vr simulator experiences and some art experiences.
c-one
Well-Known Member
The concept was a thing that required constant iteration, and that has never been Disney's strong suit. Maybe they've got better since the DQ concept was put on ice, sure. But I think of how the parks let Innoventions or Carousel of Progress age, or decided that Honey I Shrunk the Kids needed a multi-part presence for two decades, or the 90s-tastic design that persists in design systems resortwide. And hey that's fine! The level of freshness and rethinking Disneyquest required would not have been easy for anyone, it's just particularly not the strength of the Disney behemoth. No doubt some lessons were learned and adapted, especially now that interactivity and VR experiences are more practical for mainstream park use.
For the WDW location in the later years, I think there was a question of marketplace, and I'm not talking about its physical location. The admission fee was way, way too expensive for what people interpreted as a cutting-edge arcade. But the experience on the whole was too cheap to be a theme-park or water-park level experience. I wonder what would have happened if Disneyquest had ended up with, say, eight locations around North America -- what was the end game there? Look at the mini indoor Legoland centers that have gone up in Chicago and Boston and Kansas City, etc. Those currently cost less than half of what Disneyquest was charging at the end, if memory serves. Granted the demographic target is different and the experience isn't quite the same... but are they THAT far apart? Is a Disney price point for this type of thing sustainable? Apparently not.
For the WDW location in the later years, I think there was a question of marketplace, and I'm not talking about its physical location. The admission fee was way, way too expensive for what people interpreted as a cutting-edge arcade. But the experience on the whole was too cheap to be a theme-park or water-park level experience. I wonder what would have happened if Disneyquest had ended up with, say, eight locations around North America -- what was the end game there? Look at the mini indoor Legoland centers that have gone up in Chicago and Boston and Kansas City, etc. Those currently cost less than half of what Disneyquest was charging at the end, if memory serves. Granted the demographic target is different and the experience isn't quite the same... but are they THAT far apart? Is a Disney price point for this type of thing sustainable? Apparently not.
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Mickey's Angels
Member
Besides the whole "they did a bad job of keeping it updated" point, which I think is correct, I think another big reason why DQ failed is because of the culture of the American people.
Arcades in the US are not popular anymore because Americans would rather spend their time playing video games in the comfort of their homes or on their cell phones and tablets. Thanks to the internet, people can easily download whatever games they want onto their cell phones, mobile devices, gaming consoles, and computers, so people aren't going to take the time to travel somewhere (in this case Disney Springs) and pay a high entry fee to do something that they can do right at home or on their phones.
Also, in the US, people are paying a lot to live in their houses/ apartments/ rentals, so they tend to want to stay and enjoy those houses/ apartments/ rentals. The point I'm trying to make is that DQ didn't provide enough of a unique experience to make people want to spend the time, energy, and money to go there. It may have been great when it opened, but the lack of updates really killed it.
Arcades in the US are not popular anymore because Americans would rather spend their time playing video games in the comfort of their homes or on their cell phones and tablets. Thanks to the internet, people can easily download whatever games they want onto their cell phones, mobile devices, gaming consoles, and computers, so people aren't going to take the time to travel somewhere (in this case Disney Springs) and pay a high entry fee to do something that they can do right at home or on their phones.
Also, in the US, people are paying a lot to live in their houses/ apartments/ rentals, so they tend to want to stay and enjoy those houses/ apartments/ rentals. The point I'm trying to make is that DQ didn't provide enough of a unique experience to make people want to spend the time, energy, and money to go there. It may have been great when it opened, but the lack of updates really killed it.
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Cmdr_Crimson
Well-Known Member
Having lived here in Chicago it was the closest to Disney we had until it closed...I still miss it..
Our local ABC station even had a Grand Opening Special where Buzz Lightyear flew around the outside of the building..
What use to look like this...
Is now this...
What's weird tho is when you go in...The interior layout is still there but repainted and the Venture Port/Cyborlators are still intact minus all theming...
J_Carioca
Well-Known Member
I only went once and it was because it was included in our waterparks and more ticket, and my husband wanted to go. I think one of the reasons it failed is that a lot of people go to WDW beacuse it's beautiful, most of it is outside, and Florida is a place with good weather. The last thing I want to do when I go to Florida is spend a few hours inside a dark, ugly arcade.
CaptainAmerica
Premium Member
Pixieish
Well-Known Member
I beg to differ...the types of arcade games they play are just different (as much as I dislike them). We've been to Great Wolf twice in the past few months and both times the arcades were hopping busy. The same could be said for one of our local recreational park (it's not really a theme park...go-carts, batting cages, mini-golf, that sort of stuff). Their arcade is all brand new and was super busy while we were there.
I wasn't looking to see what was different, but from just a rough look around, it seems like most of the one-player games and the typical "classic" style of games are gone. Now there are games where 4 or even more can play at once. There were more "activity" based games, like skee ball, basketball, air hockey, etc.; and there were claw-based games and "get more tickets" games all over the place.
I used to love arcades as a kid - especially pin-ball, so I'm really, REALLY disliking the newer arcades, but kids seem to enjoy them, as cheesy as they are.
Mickey's Angels
Member
That's great your arcade in Great Wolf is still popular! Tell more people to keep going and give them business. Old scool arcades are going extinct, and we need to keep them around as long as possible.
I guess it's a regional thing then. All of the arcade businesses around me in South Florida are practically all gone, and it makes me sad cuz I remember how much fun I used to have when I was a kid running around with my sisters and friends in them. The only one that does good business here is really out of the way but offers the same kind of outdoor fun stuff that you described.
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Cmdr_Crimson
Well-Known Member
If they took it to a Dave & Busters, Gameworks level with better food, a sports bar and more games it could have stayed a little longer..
Mickey's Angels
Member
Exactly! Every arcade that I remember allowed anyone to just walk right in. Imagine how much more business they could have gotten if people were allowed to come in and see what was inside. I'm sure a few of the things in DQ would have convinced some people to spend money there.
TwilightZone
Well-Known Member
Having lived here in Chicago it was the closest to Disney we had until it closed...I still miss it..
Our local ABC station even had a Grand Opening Special where Buzz Lightyear flew around the outside of the building..
What use to look like this...
Is now this...
What's weird tho is when you go in...The interior layout is still there but repainted and the Venture Port/Cyborlators are still intact minus all theming...
just wondering, what did it get replaced by? I want to see if there's any photos of the inside of this place. sounds nuts
POLY LOVER
Well-Known Member
Simply like all things that are not kept fresh and upgraded they eventually die. The concept was good but the Disney company lost interest in it. Think about it, when was it refurbished last. If you are paying a premium price you want a premium experience.
POLY LOVER
Well-Known Member
I seemed to recall that Florida law changed and was not allowing them, I think they put them in the category of gambling? Google it, I do remember it was around the time they removed the arcades from magic kingdom etc.
Phonedave
Well-Known Member
I think it was a combination of things.
1) It was expenseive for what was viewed as an arcade
2) It was expensive to keep current, and therefore was not.
3) The pay one price method has some very real drawbacks.
We had a number of DisneyQuest like venues around Northern NJ, but most of them have gone now. More I suspect over the cost of building space than the business model. Almost all of them were pay as you go. Some charged a "cover" to get in. Really it was more like a $10 minimum purchase of tokens / credits to get in the door. Why does this help, because it allows people who dont want to pay a large cover, but still enter and perhaps eat, to do so. Parents could also take their kids, and let the kids go play while they hung out. I suspect that is one of the reasons that Dave & Busters remains popular, people can eat without having to pay an entrance fee. That and booze helps.
The other thing that I see many arcades have, is prize redemption. Everbody knows it is cheap garbage from orential trading, but you know what, it keeps people engaged.
1) It was expenseive for what was viewed as an arcade
2) It was expensive to keep current, and therefore was not.
3) The pay one price method has some very real drawbacks.
We had a number of DisneyQuest like venues around Northern NJ, but most of them have gone now. More I suspect over the cost of building space than the business model. Almost all of them were pay as you go. Some charged a "cover" to get in. Really it was more like a $10 minimum purchase of tokens / credits to get in the door. Why does this help, because it allows people who dont want to pay a large cover, but still enter and perhaps eat, to do so. Parents could also take their kids, and let the kids go play while they hung out. I suspect that is one of the reasons that Dave & Busters remains popular, people can eat without having to pay an entrance fee. That and booze helps.
The other thing that I see many arcades have, is prize redemption. Everbody knows it is cheap garbage from orential trading, but you know what, it keeps people engaged.