Why Hollywood Studios is being rebuilt

[marni1971]

I love Universal, but Universal fanboys who state that Universal is going to overtake Disney as the number one theme park destination in Orlando or the world are laughable.

A warped minority who may think that need their bumps feeling. Having said that, there are fanbois who say the Mine Train will be an E as well...

What the kids need to admit is Comcast is investing in parks that will continue to grow and become significant parts of the industry.

 

[lazyboy97o]

I've heard worse. Someone on MiceChat stated Universal needed to get off their high horse and quit being disrespectful and arrogant. They also stated they needed to know their place and respect the almighty king, Disney.

None of us knew what the heck they were talking about.

That was a fun thread.

I guess their definition of being "on a high horse and arrogant" means "building awesome attractions".

Something about not seeing people from Universal Creative at Disney parks but seeing Imagineers at non-Disney parks.

 

[Californian Elitist]

That was a fun thread.

It was. Of course the OP never responded back after posting the silly thread. I kept waiting for them to challenge us, but nope.

Something about not seeing people from Universal Creative at Disney parks but seeing Imagineers at non-Disney parks.

And how Universal always gets a pass but everyone is always harsh with Disney.

 

[HenryMystic]

Something about not seeing people from Universal Creative at Disney parks but seeing Imagineers at non-Disney parks.

Oh

 

[ToTBellHop]

Oh

I believe they are looking in the general direction of Universal Orlando thinking, "well, this certainly isn't enough."

Either that or Ariel just walked by.

 

[MattM]

COMCAST CAN OUTSPEND THE WALT DISNEY COMPANY AND THERE IS NOTHING ON PLANET EARTH THE WALT DISNEY COMPANY CAN DO ABOUT THIS.

This is why Disney is screwed.

My only problem with your argument here (and I do enjoy your posts), is if outspending always equals better spending, then the US government would be the most efficient entity on earth. We all know they are not.

Not saying CMCSA isn't taking it to DIS right now, but to talk about it as if it will be an absolute shift, I think, is probably not realistic. Everything ebbs and flows.

Ultimately, though, this "Game of Thrones" is great for Orlando and for Florida. That makes me a happy camper.

 

[GLaDOS]

Ultimately, though, this "Game of Thrones" is great for Orlando and for Florida. That makes me a happy camper.

This is the best way to look at it.

Even if you're a die hard Disney fan who refuses to give Universal a chance (for some reason), you should be rooting for Universal to put pressure on the mouse. Competition is always a good thing.

 

[ToTBellHop]

My only problem with your argument here (and I do enjoy your posts), is if outspending always equals better spending, then the US government would be the most efficient entity on earth. We all know they are not.

Not saying CMCSA isn't taking it to DIS right now, but to talk about it as if it will be an absolute shift, I think, is probably not realistic. Everything ebbs and flows.

Ultimately, though, this "Game of Thrones" is great for Orlando and for Florida. That makes me a happy camper.

I just hope Disney isn't in the roll of Joffrey.

 

[MikeTaylorSound]

On a short trip last month, we skipped Hollywood Studios completely to spend another day at MK, even though we promised the little guy that Phantasmic! was going to be the best way to end the trip. We decided that Star Tours and Toy Story were the only kid-friendly rides that could maintain his interest there at that park, so, it made the decision easy. DHS needs a big upgrade. A lot of the sit-down attractions you can just see once and be done with them.

 

[JenniferS]

So Star Wars has already grossed more than Potter, and starting in 2014 the push by Disney will only make Star Wars bigger. New cartoon=giant merchandise(Toy Sales, Halloween Costumes etc)

My boys are now 17 and 18, which means they were trick or teating during the height of Harry Potter Mania.
Their school aged costumes included: Dracula, a regular pirate, Jack Sparrow, Buzz Lightyear, Darth Vader (5 times between them) and Thing 1 & Thing 2 (twice).
'Nuff said.

 

[Pixiedustmaker]

Didnt you just accuse everyone of lying about development of Star Wars in DHS two days ago? Ranting on about how it couldn't possibly be true since it was from a "disgruntled" CM who you assumed (falsely) was a front line one? Ring any bells?

Having a Star Wars land in development doesn't mean that it will be going to DHS. A large Carsland sized Star Wars land would be a whole new land.

I seriously doubted that the rumored DHS expansion (that people were talking about like it was fact), wasn't going to be announced at D23 because it isn't happening. Insiders said that it was already leaked, (malicious CM bent on destroying D23 or something), and that the announcement would happen, it was just the scope of what was going to happen.

Well . . . nothing to see at this D23 . . . move along.

Since nothing is happening at D23, it appears that the insider's sources were false. They admitted that one was a CM out to hurt D23 . . .

 

[hull327]

Oh.....my.......God. You're like a dog with a bone aren't ya?

LET IT GO. Thanks.

What are you talking about? People are going back and forth about what's the more valuable franchise. I simply posted the numbers without any commentary. I'm not saying one is any better/worse than the other.

 

[RSoxNo1]

I've literally never seen anyone say that.

It's not unreasonable to see Universal Studios and Islands of Adventure as the #2 and #3 parks in Florida within the next two years. But even with how aggressive they're building, even if they're building a 3rd gate, it's going to take much more to see them overtake the Magic Kingdom in attendance. The only way I can see them doing it is if they dub Universal Studios and Islands of Adventure a single park. However, if they do that Disney will still have 60-70% of the market share.

Universal is moving in the right direction, but they still have a ways to go to be the #1 player in Florida.

 

[RSoxNo1]

Oh

Chris Beatty: Follow your dreams

 

[RSoxNo1]

Having a Star Wars land in development doesn't mean that it will be going to DHS. A large Carsland sized Star Wars land would be a whole new land.

I seriously doubted that the rumored DHS expansion (that people were talking about like it was fact), wasn't going to be announced at D23 because it isn't happening. Insiders said that it was already leaked, (malicious CM bent on destroying D23 or something), and that the announcement would happen, it was just the scope of what was going to happen.

Well . . . nothing to see at this D23 . . . move along.

Since nothing is happening at D23, it appears that the insider's sources were false. They admitted that one was a CM out to hurt D23 . . .

I'd say announcements happen in the next 6 months, it just seems like there won't be a single event where 6 attractions are announced. It's a shame, that's fun, and really gets the fans excited.

 

[pheneix]

It's not unreasonable to see Universal Studios and Islands of Adventure as the #2 and #3 parks in Florida within the next two years. But even with how aggressive they're building, even if they're building a 3rd gate, it's going to take much more to see them overtake the Magic Kingdom in attendance. The only way I can see them doing it is if they dub Universal Studios and Islands of Adventure a single park. However, if they do that Disney will still have 60-70% of the market share.

Universal is moving in the right direction, but they still have a ways to go to be the #1 player in Florida.

Wal-Mart is the biggest retailer on planet Earth. No one who even has a shred of dignity to their person, even with the means, would attempt to try and unseat Wal-Mart.

Universal simply needs to be better, and the growth story will write itself. Disney has much higher capacity than Universal so if Disney wants to be Wal-Mart, by all means, that market is theirs to have and to hold. I can tell you with 100% confidence that Universal does not want Disney's guest volume on their hands.

No one does. WDW is unsustainable at its current size.

 

[the.dreamfinder]

No one does. WDW is unsustainable at its current size.

Could you elaborate please?

 

[RSoxNo1]

Wal-Mart is the biggest retailer on planet Earth. No one who even has a shred of dignity to their person, even with the means, would attempt to try and unseat Wal-Mart.

Universal simply needs to be better, and the growth story will write itself. Disney has much higher capacity than Universal so if Disney wants to be Wal-Mart, by all means, that market is theirs to have and to hold. I can tell you with 100% confidence that Universal does not want Disney's guest volume on their hands.

No one does. WDW is unsustainable at its current size.

That's an interesting perspective. Which aspects of it do you think are unsustainable? It seems like money for maintenance and new attractions is there, it's just not being spent on such things in the dollars that fans would like.

 

[pheneix]

Could you elaborate please?

WDW is staring at over $3 billion worth of infrastructure work in Orlando just to keep the property sustainable for the next 25 years. Things like replacing light poles, re-routing highways, fixing the broken canal system that has completely FUBAR'd the resorts water table. It's a mess.

This is a key reason why Iger and Co continue to explore a departure from the theme park business. They came very close to offloading the whole portfolio two years ago. Maybe they'll find a nice Chinese REIT to offload this clumsy real estate on to before the next big market correction.

 

[pheneix]

That's an interesting perspective. Which aspects of it do you think are unsustainable? It seems like money for maintenance and new attractions is there, it's just not being spent on such things in the dollars that fans would like.

I also don't see WDW's resort business model surviving the Universal assault, especially with Universal committed to building an additional 10,000 hotel rooms on top of existing properties.

Maybe Marriott will get their hands on some Disney properties at a discount in 2016. They were always Michael Eisner's preferred choice when spinning off hotels in Orlando came up in discussion.