Avatar Posted February 8, 2007 Share Posted February 8, 2007 LOS ANGELES, Feb 7 (Reuters) - The Walt Disney Co. (DIS.N: Quote, Profile , Research) is considering "blue sky concepts" of creating smaller theme parks and stand-alone hotels, retail, dining and entertainment centers, Jay Rasulo, chairman of Disney's Parks and Resorts told analysts at a conference on Wednesday. Building stand-alone hotels in urban areas where families already travel would give Disney the chance to reach out to parents who feel their children are still too young to appreciate a trip to a Disney theme park, Rasulo said. Along those lines, Disney could locate versions of its Downtown Disneyland, a high-end retail, dining and entertainment district, in urban areas far from its parks, he said. The company also was exploring alternatives to full-size theme parks, including "a smaller, deeply immersive park" that would offer consumers a more interactive experience at higher prices. These ideas are "blue sky concepts" that will not be executed unless the new businesses could achieve a high return on invested capital, Rasulo said. Disney also was looking into expanding its water park offerings beyond Typhoon Lagoon and Blizzard Beach and possibly adding ships to its two-vessel cruise lines, Rasulo said. Rasulo had little to add about the lackluster performance by Hong Kong Disneyland, which opened in September of 2007, and failed to meet first-year attendance target of 5.6 million. "Hong Kong Disneyland developed a little more slowly than we expected in 1999 when the deal was put together" but the company was confident of its growth trajectory, he said. "We identified some challenges to be addressed in the near future in sales and marketing and seasonality," he added. Build one here Please!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vortex Posted February 8, 2007 Share Posted February 8, 2007 I don't know how well at Down Town Disney with a Disney hotel would do in Ohio or Kentucky. It might do well the only other thing we have is Cedar Fair, Six Flags and some smaller parks and zoos. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tubaman Posted February 8, 2007 Share Posted February 8, 2007 That article mentioned more cruise ships. I definetly recommend Disney doing that. Having been on a DCL cruise, I can say that it is one the most fun things that I have ever done. Disney just knows how to do things so well sometimes, and they definetly did a cruise line the right way. You think that kids would be running around screaming all of the time, but they don't. They also have things for everyone to do on the cruise, and I highly recommend it. And as for small parks like those, I really don't know. When I go on a Disney Vaction, I want to be at the World, Land, or on a DCL cruise, not at a smaller Disney park. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jzarley Posted February 8, 2007 Share Posted February 8, 2007 Deja Vu? Anyone recall the "Disney Regional Entertainment" division that was launched in the late 90s and shut down a few years later? That was the goal of that division too...to develop stand-alone enterainment venues in metro areas away from their hubs of Anaheim & Orlando. I particularly found this part of the press release interesting: "The company also was exploring alternatives to full-size theme parks, including "a smaller, deeply immersive park" that would offer consumers a more interactive experience at higher prices." Wasn't that what Disney Quest was supposed to be? Only two of several planned ever opened...Chicago's shut down within a few years. Orlando's is still (currently) open in Downtown Disney's West Side, but it will be shutting down within the next year or so for develop of a bigger ESPN Zone. I found this press release somewhat strange considering a nearly identical attempt to do very similar things a decade ago... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WooferBearATL Posted February 9, 2007 Share Posted February 9, 2007 OK I wasn't imagining things then. I remember this too and I remember what a failed concept this was. Sounds like Disney is moving into making some bad moves again. That's very unfortunate as I thought they got their act together. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Avatar Posted February 9, 2007 Author Share Posted February 9, 2007 Yes; I do remember all those points and your factual in the timeline of the events. It also says that they will only go forward with the new areas if the are a potential for a high profit margin. I know they tried Disney Quest and that id did not work well in Chicago, but maybe they have learned from their mistakes. Lets hope anyway. I agree with tuba man I think I would rather go to the World than visit a water down Disney Park. But if they do put a few new parks out there, I think that will get the seasonal parks to take notice and try to up the ante somewhat.. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jzarley Posted February 9, 2007 Share Posted February 9, 2007 An area where I think they could do well in regional markets is the hotel resort/in door waterpark concept. Not only is it a hot segment right now, but the Disney name on it would add a lot of prestige. Maybe they could start out by buying Great Wolf and "Disneyfying" those properties...they're already pretty similar to Disney's Wilderness Lodge anyway, and in good markets. (Plus, I wanted CF to buy them out, but it doesn't look like that will happen anytime soon.) The last time I looked, Great Wolf only had a market cap of about $300M. There's probably that much in spare change in Bob Iger's office sofa Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WooferBearATL Posted February 9, 2007 Share Posted February 9, 2007 See the only problem with Disney is that so much is all plastic. Don't get me wrong, they do many many things right. But it's one of those things that they think that they can do everything and it takes away from the experience that is the "Major" Disney attractions. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tubaman Posted February 9, 2007 Share Posted February 9, 2007 Why fix something if it ain't broke? Instead of experimenting and hoping for the best with smaller parks, build a new park at WDW. That's just what I think. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
italianchef Posted February 18, 2007 Share Posted February 18, 2007 HELLO! Can anyone say, Newport on the Levee? Disney can come in, take what we have and revamp it. They can purchase adjacent land and build a Disney hotel with an indoor water park and Disney Quest arcade - and restaurants with Disney characters. Oh yes! That would so rock. I hope that Disney does embark on such a project. However, being a smaller city, I doubt that Disney would build a presence here. Pleasant Day! Italian Chef Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
italianchef Posted February 18, 2007 Share Posted February 18, 2007 "An area where I think they could do well in regional markets is the hotel resort/in door waterpark concept. Not only is it a hot segment right now, but the Disney name on it would add a lot of prestige. Maybe they could start out by buying Great Wolf and "Disneyfying" those properties...they're already pretty similar to Disney's Wilderness Lodge anyway, and in good markets. (Plus, I wanted CF to buy them out, but it doesn't look like that will happen anytime soon.) The last time I looked, Great Wolf only had a market cap of about $300M. There's probably that much in spare change in Bob Iger's office sofa," said Jlarzey. _______________________________________________________________________ HEY! That is a great idea. I've visited Disney parks in Japan, Florida and California. And after staying at Mason's GWL, I can assure you, as a travel writer, that the GWL is on par with Disney for quality, hygiene, and service. I think the GWL company would fit very well in Disney. Have a great day! Italian Chef Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Discodude3737 Posted February 18, 2007 Share Posted February 18, 2007 I think a Disney hotel would fit in great with the atmosphere at Newport on the Levee, besides the fact that the surrounding area isn't exactly what Disney would be looking for. Don't get me wrong, it's a pretty nice area, but it consists of many residential neighborhoods which would probably turn Disney away. Newport on the Levee improved that area so much, and I think there is still room to expand. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Browntggrr Posted February 18, 2007 Share Posted February 18, 2007 They can purchase adjacent land and build a Disney hotel with an indoor water park and Disney Quest arcade - and restaurants with Disney characters. Oh yes! That would so rock. Pleasant Day! Italian Chef From what I have heard, Disney Quest is on it's way out. It has not been the big draw as it was to planned to be, mostly because technology is constantly changing in the video game industry. When Disney introduced Disney Quest, it was the best thing out there, but the return on investment was not as fast as they would have liked and they would have to keep pouring big time money for new attractions to keep the guests intrested. It is really too bad though, I loved Disney Quest and spent almost 8 hours there. But would I spend the same amount of time everytime I went to one without major upgrades? If the weather was terrible, yes, but on a nice day, probably not. http://jimhillmedia.com/blogs/jim_hill/arc...04/24/2051.aspx Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WooferBearATL Posted February 18, 2007 Share Posted February 18, 2007 I think a Disney hotel would fit in great with the atmosphere at Newport on the Levee, besides the fact that the surrounding area isn't exactly what Disney would be looking for. Don't get me wrong, it's a pretty nice area, but it consists of many residential neighborhoods which would probably turn Disney away. Newport on the Levee improved that area so much, and I think there is still room to expand. Much more area to expand in Newport than Disneyland. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
italianchef Posted February 18, 2007 Share Posted February 18, 2007 Being the pessimist that I am, I SERIOUSLY doubt Disney would open up a hotel or any type of entertainment complex in Greater Cincinnati. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ragerunner Posted February 18, 2007 Share Posted February 18, 2007 The concept of individual Disney hotels is not new. They have a Disney resort hotel in Hilton Head and another one in Vero Beach. They both seem to do very well an I would like to see Disney do more of these. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Browntggrr Posted February 18, 2007 Share Posted February 18, 2007 The concept of individual Disney hotels is not new. They have a Disney resort hotel in Hilton Head and another one in Vero Beach. They both seem to do very well an I would like to see Disney do more of these. It depends on how you look at it. This was released on February 8th. http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/17045506/ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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