Al Report: George Leaves, MyMagic+ Updates, WDW's Carsland to be Expanded from DCA's

I'm sad Innoventions isn't closing soon because it means DLR will have no new attractions for at least the next 3-4 years. Not to sound dramatic, but I believe they will be the only major theme park resort in the world with nothing on the table for the next few years.

Interesting stuff in that post. We'll have to see how it all plays out. At least there is light at the end of the tunnel for Tomorrowland (maybe!) - even if it is years down the road.

Since Innovention is not leaving and no big E ticket for TL and maybe a redo in a few/several years, what does this mean for the Frontierland expansion? Does it mean it is a no go or FL was chosen over TL, since the FL expansion can all open at once? I still think something big should open for the 60th Ann. to compete with Harry Potter

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Originally Posted by ColonelWalrus

I understand that replication is the name of the game for Disney theme parks, but in the case of Cars Land, the plan to replicate it at WDW makes absolutely no sense to me after the billion dollars the company just pumped into DCA. Why take the wind out of your recently successful park's sails so soon?

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Exactly. Unfortunately, Disney's corporate vision for its theme parks is that they are platforms for the marketing of pre-established brands: replication is the essence of brand marketing. That mindset gave rise to a management team composed of Chief Financial Officers and Strategic Planners, who created the One Disney hierarchy and Disney Parks business model. It is a mindset that precludes uniqueness and originality. If they have a hit with Carsland, they're going to want to clone it as many times as possible, as cheaply as possible -- to squeeze as much gold from the goose as quickly as they can.

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Originally Posted by Mr Wiggins

Exactly. Unfortunately, Disney's corporate vision for its theme parks is that they are platforms for the marketing of pre-established brands: replication is the essence of brand marketing. That mindset gave rise to a management team composed of Chief Financial Officers and Strategic Planners, who created the One Disney hierarchy and Disney Parks business model. It is a mindset that precludes uniqueness and originality. If they have a hit with Carsland, they're going to want to clone it as many times as possible, as cheaply as possible -- to squeeze as much gold from the goose as quickly as they can.

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The truth can hurt the most.
If only Steve Jobs had lived and become obsessed with a company he owned so much of.

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Originally Posted by Mr Wiggins

Exactly. Unfortunately, Disney's corporate vision for its theme parks is that they are platforms for the marketing of pre-established brands: replication is the essence of brand marketing. That mindset gave rise to a management team composed of Chief Financial Officers and Strategic Planners, who created the One Disney hierarchy and Disney Parks business model. It is a mindset that precludes uniqueness and originality. If they have a hit with Carsland, they're going to want to clone it as many times as possible, as cheaply as possible -- to squeeze as much gold from the goose as quickly as they can.

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Carsland is popular, but it's not made a profit yet, and is a long term investment. I think DLR makes, in profits, about $200 million per year, so if Carsland, just a small part, costs $600 million, and if it increases profits by maybe $50 million per year . . . its gonna take a decade to pay for itself. There are some shops in Radiator Springs, but I don't think they are making so much that it would help Carsland be paid off that much quicker.

So . . . even if Carsland added $100 million to the bottom line each year, it would still take 6 years or so to be a success on paper. Is Disney going to put another half billion for a new Tomorrowland?

Kinda doubted the Iron Man ride would be built, and I also really doubted Al's rumor that said that they were going to take out the Nemo subs . . . now with a sequel looks like that wouldn't happen for a decade.

Al knows stuff for sure, but I think a lot of these rumbles are blue sky stuff years, half a decade or more, away from actual construction.

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Originally Posted by chesirecat

Carsland is popular, but it's not made a profit yet, and is a long term investment. I think DLR makes, in profits, about $200 million per year, so if Carsland, just a small part, costs $600 million, and if it increases profits by maybe $50 million per year . . . its gonna take a decade to pay for itself. There are some shops in Radiator Springs, but I don't think they are making so much that it would help Carsland be paid off that much quicker.

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It doesn't work like box office sales of movie tickets "paying for" a film. In the sort of synergystic marketing system practiced by Disney Corp, theme park representation of a franchise increases the value of all other manifestations of the franchise, and vice versa. The last two decades leaves no doubt that when Disney has a success in one form of a brand, they move to replicated it in as many other forms as possible, as quickly as possible, often ad nauseum.

I doubt anything new will appear in Tomorrowland for a long time. Bummer!

I really think Cars Land should stay unique to DCA. They are shooting themselves in the foot. (No big surprise there, of course.)

I think this situation is a lot like an auto manufacturer. Sure you put your companies standard quality parts into a vehicle initially (or in Disney's theme park case, traditional E-ticket rides like Space Mountain and Haunted mansion) but you don't put the same single part into every single vehicle you produce. For instance, Toyota doesn't put the prius' hybrid battery into every car it manufactures, else the demand for the prius would go down. Not only that, the prius you would buy would be less significant.

Cars Land is the hybrid battery of DCA at the moment, I guess.

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Originally Posted by ghosty4

I really think Cars Land should stay unique to DCA. They are shooting themselves in the foot. (No big surprise there, of course.)

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Blue Sky Disney has a rumor that they are looking at Carsland for DHS (suits want this), versus what the creatives want, which is a whole expanded Pixar land with new Pixar E-Tickets. I guess like an Incredible ride, maybe a totally new Monsters Inc. E Ticket ride.

I think having two Carslands would kinda diminish the "specialness" of what DCA has going now.

Park exclusive attractions are disappearing fast. Really, the only E tickets that are exclusive to Disneyland are the Matterhorn and California Screamin'. Even then Expedition Everest shares many of the same qualities that the Matterhorn does and California Screamin'...well, isn't exactly the best attraction ever and is hardly a headlining attraction.

Taking the news about Tommorowland as good news. I rather have a major overhaul than bits and pieces. In my opinion if they did open the entire Fantasyland expansion in Florida at once it probably would have drawn more crowds, than opening only parts of it.

I sure hope MyMagic+ doesn't turn out to be a big budget suck for the whole Parks & Resorts division. :sweat: