Why has Disney stopped expanding globally?

[lazyboy97o]

In short, they can’t really afford to, at least on their own. Euro Disney, Hong Kong Disney Resort and Shanghai Disney Resort all involved significant financial incentives with the local governments providing more than half of the funding for the Chinese parks.

Being able to afford something isn’t just about having the cash or credit available. It’s also about being willing to spend that much based on expected returns. As Disney’s costs have spiraled they’ve shifted their desired demographic. It’s not just about having enough of a population, tourism and tourist access, but the right population and tourists.

Park building is also getting too expensive for Universal. Universal Studios Beijing was like the Disney parks in China and benefited from direct government funding. They’re paying for Epic Universe and they’ve started to realize that they spent a lot but it doesn’t actually have that much. Yes, they have other new park projects going but they’re going to be much cheaper parks, especially the Kids park.

 

[lazyboy97o]

Hong Kong Disneyland was initially not supposed to be a theme park, but some other kind of smaller local attraction that could be replicated globally, without the start up cost of a theme park. Then they decide to make it a proper Disneyland with hotels and there's a lot of back and forth as to how much is enough. It opens underbuilt and underwhelming and also suffers financially.

Hong Kong Disneyland came out of the Disneyland Asia concept that was shopped around to various locals in the mid-to-late 90s. Don Carson did a plan that has been published and you can see how it’s was a very small park concept. It was almost comically small because it wasn’t an entirely serious proposal. Like the petulant teenager Eisner could be it was a project that was also very much about trying to make Shanghai jealous. Then Hong Kong took them up on the offer with generous terms looking for a true Disneyland and thus began a rather dishonest relationship of Disney lying, announcing a larger park than they actually built and for awhile claiming that Hong Kong Disneyland was the Chinese park they had desired and that Shanghai was no longer a consideration.

 

[lazyboy97o]

For those who listen to the Disney Dish Podcast, @lentesta has mentioned a couple of times that Harrison “Buzz” Price’s papers are held by the University of Central Florida’s Rosen College of Hospitality Management. A small selection of those documents have been digitized and are available online. There are a number of feasibility studies related to both domestic and international projects. Notable Disney projects include Port Disney, Disney’s America and Disney’s Texposition (which was a “festival market place” a type of mall, and not a theme park).

Harrison "Buzz" Price Papers | Special Collections | University of Central Florida

stars.library.ucf.edu

 

[JMcMahonEsq]

In short, they can’t really afford to, at least on their own. Euro Disney, Hong Kong Disney Resort and Shanghai Disney Resort all involved significant financial incentives with the local governments providing more than half of the funding for the Chinese parks.

Being able to afford something isn’t just about having the cash or credit available. It’s also about being willing to spend that much based on expected returns. As Disney’s costs have spiraled they’ve shifted their desired demographic. It’s not just about having enough of a population, tourism and tourist access, but the right population and tourists.

Park building is also getting too expensive for Universal. Universal Studios Beijing was like the Disney parks in China and benefited from direct government funding. They’re paying for Epic Universe and they’ve started to realize that they spent a lot but it doesn’t actually have that much. Yes, they have other new park projects going but they’re going to be much cheaper parks, especially the Kids park.

Honestly i don't think cost/affording comes into it as a bar, at least on absolute level. Do you honestly believe that WDC, if there was a project that they deemed to be profitable to build, doesn't A) have the money to build to; or B) have the capacity to get financing for such a project built?

Its your second paragraph that is really the factor. There needs to be a project that is seen as being WORTH the spending money. I can afford to buy whatever ballet tickets might be on sale....but i won't because its not worth it to me to do so. Being able to afford something, vs. not thinking a project is worth the money to build are two very different things.

 

[lazyboy97o]

Honestly i don't think cost/affording comes into it as a bar, at least on absolute level. Do you honestly believe that WDC, if there was a project that they deemed to be profitable to build, doesn't A) have the money to build to; or B) have the capacity to get financing for such a project built?

Its your second paragraph that is really the factor. There needs to be a project that is seen as being WORTH the spending money. I can afford to buy whatever ballet tickets might be on sale....but i won't because its not worth it to me to do so. Being able to afford something, vs. not thinking a project is worth the money to build are two very different things.

Disney has lousy cost control. They should be getting more for what they spend and that would make the metrics better.

 

[Goofyernmost]

Simply put they have spread themselves pretty thinly over the last 5 years and still have less profit then they once had. In other words they look good on paper, but they have extended their credit to a scarry point. They can't even keep up with their current parks, much less add to them. I'm sure there are many more reasons.

 

[Comped]

For those who listen to the Disney Dish Podcast, @lentesta has mentioned a couple of times that Harrison “Buzz” Price’s papers are held by the University of Central Florida’s Rosen College of Hospitality Management. A small selection of those documents have been digitized and are available online. There are a number of feasibility studies related to both domestic and international projects. Notable Disney projects include Port Disney, Disney’s America and Disney’s Texposition (which was a “festival market place” a type of mall, and not a theme park).

Harrison "Buzz" Price Papers | Special Collections | University of Central Florida

stars.library.ucf.edu

I've been told there are still papers his family donated which weren't gone through when UCF got them, so who knows what's in the boxes we may never see digitized. I need to figure out a reason to spend a day at their main campus library to read through....

 

[Tony the Tigger]

Wasn’t there supposed to be something in the works in the UK? Or was that just click bait I scrolled past in my new bizarro Facebook feed?

 

[lazyboy97o]

Wasn’t there supposed to be something in the works in the UK? Or was that just click bait I scrolled past in my new bizarro Facebook feed?

That’s Universal.

 

[Comped]

Wasn’t there supposed to be something in the works in the UK? Or was that just click bait I scrolled past in my new bizarro Facebook feed?

One of the Eurodisney locations proposed besides Paris and Madrid was London.

 

[Basil of Baker Street]

I agree with others. DCL is where it's at right now.

 

[LittleMerman]

It seems like they're investing a ton into the Cruise Line bc it's lucrative for them. But I've heard talks of Shanghai and Paris getting new parks. Who knows about a 7th destination though.

 

[Dead2009]

There's probably only one country that could fully fit the bill for a new overseas Disney park but they probably wouldnt do it because of the climate....Saudi Arabia.

 

[IanDLBZF]

There's probably only one country that could fully fit the bill for a new overseas Disney park but they probably wouldnt do it because of the climate....Saudi Arabia.

 

[Sirwalterraleigh]

There’s no market for it

 

[Sirwalterraleigh]

There's probably only one country that could fully fit the bill for a new overseas Disney park but they probably wouldnt do it because of the climate....Saudi Arabia.

That’s likely true

And there’s a typical non-response without substance

 

[Laketravis]

Theme parks have to suck demand to them.

Cruise ships can be moved to ports with demand.