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The dog days of summer are upon Disneyland, and
while it may seem like the rumor mill
became suddenly quiet over the last few months,
the reality is that after the frenzy of
announcements and rumors regarding California Adventure (DCA) swept
around the web in late '07 and early '08,
park fans don't have much to discuss while
the big concepts get tweaked and polished up.
We've been lobbing so many news items at Team Disney Anaheim (TDA)
over the past 18 months that send them
scrambling with denials and damage
control, we've heard they are quite happy with
the lull in mentionable rumors. Don't forget,
the Billion-dollar DCA makeover is truly
unprecedented in Disney theme park history, and
since the bulldozers have yet to arrive we
really were let in on the big secret almost two
years before Disney would have normally liked to
admit it.
But rest assured things continue to
bubble along on all of the major projects we've
filled you in on over the last year, and there
are now at least enough bits of confirmed info
to roll out a late summer update. We may not drop
another big story on TDA this month,
but there will be plenty more opportunities for
that in the future. In the meantime, there are
enough interesting changes afoot to keep the
average fan interested.
Got the OJ chilled and the breakfast bar unwrapped yet? Better
hurry up then, as we have a big update for you today! - Al
Before We Begin...
MiceChat's Dustysage wants to remind everyone about a huge
upcoming event:
You asked for it
and we are going to deliver - the MiceChat Gumball Rally is going to Walt Disney
World October 18th, 2008! This time around, we challenge you to ride a set of
attractions in all four parks in just one day! It promises to be a fun and
unique way to visit the parks - all of them. Since our first event at
Disneyland over two years ago, this has been your biggest request "Bring the
Rally to Disney World," so we are! Whether this is your first visit to WDW or
your hundredth, this event was designed for you to have a great time:
Gumball Rally Information.
And as if that weren't enough, as long as we'll be in WDW for the
Rally, we are going to make a whole trip out of it. You are all invited to join
us October 15th - 22 for our 3rd annual MiceChat WDW Invasion. This year's trip
is designed to be flexible. The travel dates are adjustable so you can pick the
number of days that work for your schedule. We also have a choice of a budget
or moderate resort so you can work this trip around your budget as well.
MiceChat WDW Invasion Information.
Aside from the regular group meets that you can look forward to, MiceChatters
Mickeymaxx and Rixter are hosting a "Sip and Nibble" around Epcot's Food and
Wine Festival on Sunday the 19th. This event was such a blast last year that we
are doing it again. You won't want to miss the
Sip and Nibble at Epcot's Food and Wine Festival. And to top off the
evening, we are throwing an Epcot Illuminations Dessert Party - what a delicious
way to end a remarkable day -
Illuminations event info.
Come for the weekend or stay for the entire week! Whether you are a casual
reader of this column or a busy member of the boards, we invite you to join
us for any or all of the events above.
All of the events are listed HERE.
We sincerely hope to see you all in
October!
Now let's get started, shall we?
Shake it!
While Disneyland is experiencing the lowest
summer attendance levels its seen in five years,
the lull was jolted along with the rest of Southern
California by the moderate earthquake last
Tuesday. The 11:45 am quake caused no damage at
the parks, but since it was widely felt every
attraction was at least temporarily
shut down. Even rides like the canoes and
Main Street vehicles that were completely
unaffected were closed for a brief time while
the situation was assessed. Within 20 minutes
attractions began to reopen, and only a small
handful of rides were closed for more than an
hour. By mid afternoon every Anaheim attraction
had reopened after being checked out by
maintenance staff and a team of engineers from TDA.
Admission prices went up a few more bucks last
weekend too.
But the sudden closure of every attraction at
both Disneyland and DCA left about 50,000
visitors to just wander around both parks trying
to find something to do. Those staying at local
hotels went back to the room for a swim and a
nap, but many day visitors swarmed City Hall
demanding refunds. Just after Noon the line for
City Hall was stretching down Main Street, and
by 12:30 it was heading towards Coke Corner at
the end of the street.
Most of those folks in
line were visiting from overseas or back east
and didn't understand that Californians get on
with their lives fairly quickly after an
earthquake. And the true irony was that by the
time they made it all the way to the front of
the line to City Hall, almost every attraction
had reopened and Disneyland had resumed its
normal operation. Still, City Hall issued reams
of replacement tickets and a few thousand people
left for the day just as the park returned to
normal service. The parades, Fantasmic! and the
fireworks all performed as scheduled that day,
and overall the response to the earthquake was
really very commendable on the Cast Member's
part.
No
Vacancy
While attendance has softened considerably, with
Disneyland averaging about 41,000 visitors per
day this summer, the spending levels of those
who are visiting is still extremely strong. The
money pouring in to the resort's cash registers this year is boosted by the weak
dollar and a big increase in visitors from overseas, particularly Europe,
Australia and New Zealand.
That overseas demographic is the big catch for Disney, as per capita they outspend an
American tourist nearly 2 to 1, and
a day-tripping local or Annual Passholder by nearly 4 to 1. While overall attendance has
softened, the foreign visitors have arrived in
bigger numbers and with nice fat pocketbooks, so
Disneyland continues to see very strong spending
inside the parks.
Remember the days when monorails and hotels
ran as they should?
Where things have really softened in Anaheim is at the
hotels, with occupancy rates declining 15% or
more from last summer. This is where the absence
of locals and West Coast visitors is being felt
the most, and it's really throwing a monkey
wrench into the original plans to expand the
Disney-owned hotel presence in Anaheim.
We'd
told you about the plans to revamp the
Disneyland Hotel one tower at a time, and while
that project has been sent back to the planning
room due to the archaic 1960's infrastructure
that can't support the changes needed, the
sudden decline in occupancy is causing a rethink
of the timeline if the towers need to
be destroyed and a new hotel is built from
scratch. The jury is still out on what is to
happen to the Disneyland Hotel since the tower
refurbishment plan fell apart, but nevertheless the concept
of imploding the towers and building a grand new
hotel is gaining a lot of traction in both
Glendale and TDA.
No Walk in the Garden
The other wrinkle in the plans for new Disney
hotels in Anaheim is over at GardenWalk. That
new mall finally opened last month, after 8
years of delays and false starts. And unlike the
response to Downtown Disney when it first
opened, the reaction to the grand opening of
GardenWalk has been the sound of crickets
echoing off the blank cement walls of that empty
mall. While about one third of the mall spaces
have been opened, or are in the process of
installing shops that will open in the months
ahead, the San Diego developer that owns the
mall has had a few major tenants like Swedish
retailer H&M, or Beach Boy Brian Wilson and his
planned surf party restaurant, ultimately back
out of signing leases at the mall.
While either end of the mall gets some
activity due to the theaters and restaurants...
The mood
amongst the current retailers there this summer
is quiet disbelief that the place is as empty as
it is, even during summer evenings, when
Downtown Disney continues to pack in locals and
tourists alike. The restaurants on Katella are
doing moderate business at least at dinner on weekends,
although they are still far below the numbers
they had planned on and built for.
The trendy
"300" bowling alley, the new movie theater and
the ultra lounge on Disney Way have now all
opened to very few customers, although they may
be able to build a local clientele over the next
few months. Clearly however, right now the tourists don't
know how to get to GardenWalk at least for its better dining and newer movie
theaters, or why they
should bother skipping Downtown Disney for the
place.
... but the rest of it remains empty, as seen
last Sunday at dusk in these two photos.
That's all left the development without a
critical mass of anchor tenants, a collection of
struggling smaller stores, and a location that
still seems cut off from the major tourist
action on Harbor Blvd. The GardenWalk location
in working class central Anaheim, instead of the
more affluent neighborhoods to the east in
Orange, Villa Park and Anaheim Hills, also isn't
helping the upscale stores and restaurants
attract a steady crowd of locals while the
tourists pass on the four block walk from the
Hilton. And while rumors swirl in the mall
development world that Excel Realty Holdings is
trying to find a buyer for the struggling mall,
Disney is now waiting for a resolution to the
potential sale before they agree to
move forward with plans to operate two new
hotels attached to the malls eastern half.
Unfortunately, it's a vicious cycle as the mall
can't be sold without more tenants and
customers, new tenants won't agree to go in
until the hotels are built, and Disney won't
agree to build the hotels until the issue over
mall ownership and tenant mix are hashed out.
The very least the mall owners could do is buy
some MiracleGro in bulk and put some meaning
behind the name GardenWalk. As it is now, it's
really just a sterile cement canyon that bears
little resemblance to any kind of garden.
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