Is there any land left?

[ORD84]

Originally Posted by WorldLover71

We shouldn't underestimate the value of the Disney characters and the Disney way of doing things. At WDW, the parks are all different but the characters, common system of guest service and manner of presentation tie them all together. I don't think an enormous collection of un-related parks will have the same appeal. It's also too far away and expensive for most Americans and many Europeans. Once they get started, there will be lots of people checking it out once but I wonder about repeat visitors.

Also the Disney Brand has been around in pop culture and everyday life for children everywhere since well before WDW or Disneyland were even built...this cultural aspect adds a new dimension on why people visit WDW and the Disney parks in droves to this day..

[GraceysGirl]

I agree with ORD84 people don't go to Disney to ride a bunch of rides. They can go to their local amusement park for that. People go to Disney for the experience. Even now the parks are bringing in the more popular recent movies as rides. More kids know about Monsters, Inc., Toy Story, and Finding Nemo than many other Disney movies so they have made that a larger park of the experience. I don't think that people are going to find the pop culture that ORD pointed out or the level of service at any other park. People will go to Dubai when it's new but I don't think that they have the long term staying power that all the Disney Parks do.

[disneyencore]

Honestly I think a lot of people go to Disney for the rides, and don't really think about theme. The Disney rides are very different from a local amusement park or fair obviously.

[Imagineer Scott]

Originally Posted by disneyencore

Honestly I think a lot of people go to Disney for the rides, and don't really think about theme. The Disney rides are very different from a local amusement park or fair obviously.

Some may, but, if I had to guess, I say most go for the quality Disney offers and Universal, too.

[hockeyland]

Dubailand is more fantasy than Fantasyland. See this link... Universal Studios Dubailand: A Case Study on the Rise and Fall of Dubai | And How | Fast Company

I think it's very unlikely we'll see another full scale Disney Theme Park in Florida, whether there is room or not. There just isn't the need. The capital required just to maintain the existing parks is enormous and adding another park is unlikely to make people stay nine days instead of seven. What Disney will do is something like Sea World's Discovery Cove that generates tons of cash flow for a relatively small capital expenditure. But even that is many years away.

[richboi117]

Originally Posted by lazyboy97O

Do not forget that Disney also sold off Celebration.

Which I think is the stupidest thing I have ever heard of! (No offense to anyone who lives there).

[umbrelladrink]

Originally Posted by MarkTwain

One thing I wonder about Dubailand is how sustainable the project is... and I don't mean ecologically. WDW started with just one park - and added more and more as the decades passed and its attendance grew on the existing parks.

Dubailand, on the other hand, is building this huge, massive multi-park resort twice as large as WDW (but without any of the natural preservation inside it), really for no other reason then because they can, but they don't truly know whether there will be the numbers to fill it all. Where will all the guests come from - there aren't enough wealthy sheiks in all of the Middle East to fill a resort that huge, and it's a little far to expect people to come in droves from Europe. And how will they staff it all???

Plus, it sounds like the nature of the project is at a questionable status.



But Disney has sold much of that land - the northeastern and northwestern corners of the property, Disney has sold to Four Seasons and the military, respectively, and the rest of the resort is pretty much either already developed or "preserved". Only a few small developable patches of land remain (there's a map posted earlier in this thread) and none of the patches look large enough to fit a theme park in.

The difference between Orlando and Dubai, is Dubai is already a resort destination, which has been catering to the wealthy for many years; whereas Orlando was not when Disney started building. Sure, Disney has more than solidified their presence in Florida, but Dubai has a strong presence in its location, with a rapidly growing clientele.

[Timon]

A relatively new trend at WDW is re-developing areas. The Saratoga Springs Resort is a classic case. In the late 70's a hundred or so acres were built out as villas, golf course and club. Then the area was enhamced with additional buildings near the golf club and conference center for the Disney Institute. Lastly all the villas, vacation homes and treehouses were bulldozed for the Saratoga Resort.

Pleasure Island is in the middle of a re-purpose or re-theme of sorts mostly theme-less, but down the road I hear them bulldozers warming up.

Areas that are not as well used or haven't aged well will probably get the renewal treatment. After seeing what Disney is willing to do to get DCA up to speed, any existing weak park is fare game. While a new theme park might not be built, a rebuild or major expansion of an existing park is possible.

[mushufan]

WDW already spreads out new attractions to all of the parks and leaves MANY places to add more. I don't see why they wouldn't continue on with this same business plan. While DL/DCA is compact and crammed with attractions, WDW has focused on spreading out the crowds. Yes it makes some parks sparse, like AK, but you stay longer because of it.

Forget Dubai. The geopolitics involved in that region are not a recipe for success. a few Billionaires and millions of immigrant poor building the dream. Who is supposed to go to the parks? Dubai is a case of I'll believe it when I see it. Dubai is not sustainable without reliance on rich, foreign tourists.

WDW offers an experience of quality that people know and will return to again and again. For me, Dubai might as well be on Mars.

[Timon]

Originally Posted by mushufan

WDW already spreads out new attractions to all of the parks and leaves MANY places to add more. I don't see why they wouldn't continue on with this same business plan. While DL/DCA is compact and crammed with attractions, WDW has focused on spreading out the crowds. Yes it makes some parks sparse, like AK, but you stay longer because of it.

Forget Dubai. The geopolitics involved in that region are not a recipe for success. a few Billionaires and millions of immigrant poor building the dream. Who is supposed to go to the parks? Dubai is a case of I'll believe it when I see it. Dubai is not sustainable without reliance on rich, foreign tourists.

WDW offers an experience of quality that people know and will return to again and again. For me, Dubai might as well be on Mars.

Amen!!!

Oh love Mushu, too. For years we had a talking Mushu "somewhere" in the back of our SUV. Every so often we would hit a bump and we would hear "I am Mushu the great and powerful!" That would break up the kids and bring back memories.