Is Walt Disney World past due for park #5?

[DBJ]

The problem with a 5th park, is that it might be incredibly repetitive. There's not much else they could do, and even a park like Tokyo Disney Sea would bomb hard there in Florida. It would be beautiful, but unique enough to stand apart from the others? All the currently existing parks need new attractions, more than a simple retheme. Imo, Disneyworld borders on stale. I think they tend to coast on past success a bit too much.

 

I think there is room for DCA's Paradise Pier to be incorporated into either Epcot or Disney Hollywood Studion, TDS's Mysterious Island into AK, Carsland to DHS, and so on.

 

One thing Disneyworld doesn't have is a hotel with an indoor waterpark. That is something they could build that would be unique on their property. Something on the scale of the Ocean Dome in Japan?

 

For a 5th gate, I think it would have to be a radical depature, it would have be a Six Flags on crack. Located well outside of the sightlines of MK, AK, Epcot, etc - clearly don't want to ruin the view of those parks. A series of record breaking coasters, with air conditioned queques. Coasters for kids, familys, and thrill seekers. A park that combined the appeal of a Disney midways with the thrills of a dedicated coaster park. A coaster park is the one thing they don't currently have.

[hemmy]

I think WDW has more issues that need to be looked at then adding a 5th gate.

 

With the exception of MK and EPCOT, the other two parks are not full day parks right now. That needs to be fixed. AK needs at least another E Ticket, and more sit down eating choices. DHS needs to refocus on what type of a park it is. Since the studios left, it's kind of a lost soul.

 

I also wonder if anyone ever thinks about the staffing of a fifth gate. Where would Disney find these people?

 

Meh, I could spend much more time at Hollywood Studios or w/e it is called these days than Epcot.

[doom1001]

I would also agree with the fact that they should improve their current parks before they build another one,however there are some pretty good reasons to consider building a park soon.Number one,right now labor is the cheapest it's been for a while and building a park for 700 million that 6 years ago or 6 years in the future could cost 1 billion is something that would make them think about it.Number 2,money,they have a lot of hotel rooms and a big part of their business is keeping these rooms full,if the parks stagnate and just keep putting new parades or park promotions every year instead of full fledged attractions or a new park it could be difficult to fill them up even after the economy improves.Which leads to number 3,competition,not just from Universal and Potter but other destinations around the world which are improving their attractions to draw more tourists,many of which could come from say 4 hours away by car versus taking a plane for the whole family and spending several thousands at Disney.

 

Disney would also have several obstacles in building a new park,such as the risk of building in a recession with hopes of it paying off in the future when things are brighter.Also finding enough workers for the park when they have issues finding enough right now,they would probably have to bring more in from other countries as there wouldn't be enough from Central Florida who would work at $7-$8 an hour,to find the amount of workers from the area they would need the quality of workers will just continue to drop,it's still good right now but not what it used to be.

[Guest]

Id rather see a new e-ticket at MK than anything at WDW now. The last major e-ticket they got was what, Splash Mountain in 1992? Space Mountain relaunch is great and definitley needed, but really 17 years without adding a major attraction at the flagship park?

Maybe its just because I live a few minutes from Disneyland, but to me MK just seems really boring.

[monsterfan99]

^^ For workers in the park, just add more college kids to the Disney internship program or let them sign on longer. When I was in college, the pay was a full $1.25 less then min wage in Illinois (the gap is larger now), no benefits and had to do weekly reports for college credits, yet tons of kids went.

[ethans_dad06]

To be honest I think that Disneyland resort in CA would be the best canidate for another main gate (atleast for America, I can't speak for overseas) even though they are expanding/revamping DCA. It makes sense to me to make both Disney destinations in the states week long destinations. Disney Orlando is already a week long destination but Disney california is a three day experience. Now do I think Disney California will expand? No because they don't have alot of room to do so, and personaly I think they should focus on building some more E-ticket rides and refreshing everything they do have to recapture that Disney feel Walt created back in the day before Eisner tore it all apart. But I do think they are on the right track with DCA by remodeling and adding to it.

[chemical_echo]

Whats with the talk of Disney unable to find employees?

I keep hearing that they are letting cast members go. If you ask me, it sounds like they have enough employees, but need to let some go to stay within a better budget.

 

I'm pretty sure if a new park was ever built, they would have enough cast members, either from local residents, or college program, as others have suggested.

[musicmand]

Id rather see a new e-ticket at MK than anything at WDW now. The last major e-ticket they got was what, Splash Mountain in 1992? Space Mountain relaunch is great and definitley needed, but really 17 years without adding a major attraction at the flagship park?

Maybe its just because I live a few minutes from Disneyland, but to me MK just seems really boring.

 

Given the lines that it creates, I'm pretty sure Buzz Lightyear would count here. Honestly, though, if Buzz doesn't fit your description, the last "major" attraction added to Disneyland was Indy in '95, so it's not faring too much better.

 

The reality, as many have already pointed out, is that Disney is sort of sitting back on its haunches right now and needs a major update on all of its parks.

[BeemerBoy]

As long as the overall quality of the U.S. parks remains as high as it is (i.e. service, cleanliness, etc.) *cough* Paris *cough*, I can forgive Disney for not adding an E-ticket every year to one of their parks.

 

And let us not forget, improvements are constantly being made to WDW. Epcot had a major refurb to SE last year, AND more importantly, the wand was removed. The living seas got its Nemo transformation. And slowly but surely, the park as a whole is regaining some of it's former glory, in my humble opinion.

 

At MGM, Toy Story Mania was added, and Star Tours is supposedly getting a much needed update (is that confirmed?). Both of those signal that management realizes the park is in need of TLC.

 

And at AK, sure it needs another E-ticket, but c'mon, it was only 3 years ago that they added a $100 million dollar ride. The Nemo stage show was also added (okay, just a show, but still). Back to Everest....$100 million. Do people seriously expect Disney to drop that amount into something new every other year or so?

 

At MK, are they not refurbing Space Mountain? I still enjoy the park as is. Am I opposed to a new E-ticket eventually? No. But is it in dire need of one? Again, no.

 

Side note: Just a thought here, but as apepoop as America was for Obama being elected, shouldn't his eventual likeness in the Hall of Presidents be considered an E-ticket attraction?

 

I don't know, maybe I'm missing something, but like Elissa mentioned, I think WDW is pretty complete as it is. When I visit, I do so to enjoy what it is presently. And what it is presently is a pretty darn good resort. If you can't visit without harping on what it doesn't have yet, then maybe you're missing out a bit. Just my .02.

[mcjaco]

Epcot is great, but it needs something to appeal to a broader spectrum of people.

 

When EPCOT was what it was supposed to be, a park for edutainment, it did. It's lost it's focus lately. Management does seem to be adjusting the park back to it's roots, which is good. The park does hit a broad spectrum of people, it's the people that are the problem. They want to be thrilled, not educated while being entertained. It's a sad state of society.

 

Wouldn't it be fun to see some sort of coaster in the World Showcase?

 

NO.

[BeemerBoy]

Wouldn't it be fun to see some sort of coaster in the World Showcase?

 

NO.

 

NO is the correct answer.

[Yellow Jacket]

One thing that you guys need to remember is that we (coaster enthusiasts) are not Disney's target audience. The Disney experience is not designed as an every year thing. It is a save up your money for years for a once-in-a-lifetime experience. You go once when you are a child and then you save up your money and go again as a family. They do not need something new to get you to come back every year. They have already gotten you to go to the park at least once, and you will probably return when you have kids. When you do return, there most likely will be something new; but part of the magic is that it will also be "just like I remembered it as a kid."

 

Disney's competition is not Universal Studios (or Six Flags or Cedar Point) it is down payments on houses, new cars, bass boats, or the bicycling tour of the Italian coast. The Disney customer's decision process is "hey the car is paid off...if I drive it for a couple more years and save up the money I was using for payments, we can go to Disney World!" This person will spend the time to see most, if not all, of the shows at the parks. They will spend half the day looking at animals or international displays without getting bored and needing more intense stimulation. They will be happy to have a half-day park so they can go back to the hotel and relax for a while or play a round of golf or go shopping.

 

We all like to think of ourselves as being "normal" folks; but face it...if you spend a significant amount of time reading a theme park/roller coaster discussion forum, you are not normal.

 

YJ--not normal and proud of it

[JuanSe_Colombia]

I think as many others that Disney World should work first on Disney Hollywood Studios and Animal Kingdom because they arent a whole day parks. I s crazy thing in adding another park when two of the already existing park are not big enough.

[ethans_dad06]

^^ I highly disagree that disney isn't an every year destination. Disney thrives on the locals and the annual pass holders. In fact the annual pass that I have brings me to the park upwards of once a month, and everytime I'm there I could easily spend upwards of a couple hundred dollars, but probably average about 100 dollers a visit. Thats big buisness if you add up all the annual pass holders! I can see a family going to Walt Disney World once in a lifetime if they live thousands of miles away because a week at WDW with a family of four gets pricey. But what about all the people who live in a few hundred miles radius who just spend a weekend at the resort? I live about a hundred miles from Disneyland and I'm frequently there for the weekend. If Disney had the mindset that families only come once in a lifetime then they wouldn't be as big as they are today.

[matt_g]

I'm sure that Disney are considering several markets - but I think Yellow Jacket has hit the nail on the head by saying "we're not normal".

 

I went to the three parks that were open in 1996-ish (I was 9 or so) and again in 2001 when I was 14. As first and second time visitors, no-one in the family comented that MGM (as it was then) or Animal Kingdom didn't have enough in them. In fact, Epcot and Magic Kingdom took a couple of days each.

 

Yes, we wandered around slowly and spent 20 minutes shopping at every possible opportunity - but I bet we weren't that unusual, especially for first time international visitors. I'm sure that lots has changed since 2001 and I obviously have no idea what's necessary now.

 

Frankly it sounds like Disney have a much better idea about how to run the US parks than the people running Disneyland Paris - which has added several new attractions in the last couple of years but has let most of the original things fall apart.

[Yellow Jacket]

^^Sorry, I was speaking of Disney in terms of Walt Disney World, since the thread was about adding another gate at that resort. Also, much of my thoughts on Disney's competition came "straight from the mouth of the mouse" so to speak--a Disney Institute training course (Service, Disney Style) where they gave us an overview of their operations model before giving ideas on how their customer service style could be applied elsewhere.

 

YJ

[monsterfan99]

The thing with Disney being an every few year place is, to most, it is. However, there is a very large group of Disney hardcore people that go at least once a year if not more. These people do add up to something important to Disney. With this group, as long as the employees are nice, you can leave everything the same.

 

And to the general public, to do all 4 parks would be at least 7 days if not more. Most people go with the flow when they get there or do what the kids want. While there are some that us touring plans, that number is not that high. So you end up with a park like Animal Kingdom. The park would take maybe 3/4 a day for someone on the ball with touring plans. Having went there myself in 2000, I can tell you it is a 2 day park for those without plans. Heck, even with touring plans, Epcot and the Magic Kingdom are 2 days unless the parks are completely dead.

[doom1001]

I'm about a 4 hour drive to WDW and I'm probably at the parks 12-15 times a year since I'm a coaster/Disney Hybrid enthusiast.I frequent other forums more geared to Disney and there are definitely a lot of people who come from much further away than me,New York,Massachusets for example who visit 3-4 times a year.

[mcjaco]

One thing that you guys need to remember is that we (coaster enthusiasts) are not Disney's target audience. The Disney experience is not designed as an every year thing. It is a save up your money for years for a once-in-a-lifetime experience.

 

Ok, first. I don't think any park builds things for just "coaster entusiasts." We're a very small percentage of the paying customers that comes through any park's gates. We're just the loudest, and squeakiest wheel, so to speak.

 

Second, Disney is absolutely designed for annual, or more than onte time a year visits. I think just reading these baords you'll find that to be true. Hell, go to a Disney forum. There's tons of nuts that visit multiple times a year.

[jjeerr]

Do we think Disney will ever put in a Spiderman-style 3D ride? A Wall-E 3D-screen darkride replacing the studio tour at MGM/DHS would be pretty great, and should move enough people to replace the tour if they do it right.

 

And the Studio's really needs some sort of water ride. Epcot gets away because it's Epcot, but something to get soaked would be nice at DHS. Maybe an Aqua Trax?

 

I can see Epcot getting a robo-coaster (like the ones in RCT3 that have a rollercoaster track). It might only be there for a few years (like 5), but it would be something cool and "futuristic", at least for the time being. And have a system where you can build your own cycle, picking what movements to do where on the track.

[sam06pr]

I think Disney should keep improving their parks and keep adding more attractions to their parks so they can be well rounded parks. I still think DHS(Disney Hollywood Studios), Animal Kingdom, and EPCOT still need more thrill rides or WATER RIDES! (DHS!!!)

 

And maybe once the economy gets better, than they can start planing a new park...Maybe for 2015, when hopefully there are new concepts for several attractions for Disney to chose from