So What's REALLY Going On?

[JNota0005DakMC]

i agree. Iger's plan would have taken a few years... remember from film to park alot of Eisner's plans and oks were a few years ahead... So when Iger took over in 2005 he had to steer through a few years of Eisner plans (or squash them... effectively causing Disney to do nothing for 5 years) outside of the Pixar purchase which was a Bob Iger bandaid fixing the problem Eisner left him, he has had to navigate through pretty tumultuous times... this is the fruit of his labors now... (though i do think Fantasyland was a response to HP land...)

[ajwiseman09]

From what I was told when I was there in October, November of last year and then March of this year, it was mostly improvements for the 40th. They are just wanting to make things look good. And as for the tiki room and dinoland ride, those are just being worked on because things were wrong with them (fire and death).

Could be wrong, but I just think they are realizing that it has been 40 years and getting to be proactive.

[Cortini]

I feel that 2012 is going to be a HUGE year! Disney Fantasy, parts of Fanatasyland, and Art of Animation. I feel to that there is something else around the corner. I just wonder what. Especially because of the lack of things for the 40th.

[BamaJenn]

All valid reasons for the improvements going on for sure. I guess I was just working on some wishful thinking that it was more than just a reaction to the changes at Universal.

[WDW1014]

Whatever there doing , just keep on doing it and lets sink universal

[tizzo]

Out of nowhere, in a recession no less, they are completely rebuilding an entire land of MK (Fantasyland), repainting buildings on Mainstreet as well as adding greets etc., refurbing areas of Frontierland, redoing the entire queue of HM, repainting the "legs" of SSE, tons of concrete work all over, redoing the TTA, refurbing Primevil Whirl, bringing back the old Tiki Room (or a version of it), revamping the old Pleasure Island, building a whole new resort, etc. etc.

If you think about it, there is no better time than during a recession to do something like this, provided you have the cash, which Disney does. Everything from materials to labor is plentiful and (theoretically) cheap. Furthermore, if the dollar continues to decline as expected, the value of the infrastructure that Disney ends up with for their investment is going to be worth more than the dollars they spend building it.

On the other hand, it seems certain that the Fantasyland expansion must have been planned starting years before the economy soured. So it seems more likely that it is part of a long term plan, possibly adjusted or augmented in response to the Potter thing at Universal, and that the coincidence with the recession is just a fortuitous coincidence.

[DopeyDancer87]

Keep in mind, Disney refurbs everything (hotels, attractions, etc.) every 10 years - hotels get repainted, things are powerwashed, updated, etc. Some of it is just the general 10 year upkeep (remember, MK is now 40 years old, its a 10 year milestone). I do agree that a lot of it is trying to keep up with Universal, though.

[doconeill]

[QUOTE=tizzo;961603]If you think about it, there is no better time than during a recession to do something like this, provided you have the cash, which Disney does. Everything from materials to labor is plentiful and (theoretically) cheap. Furthermore, if the dollar continues to decline as expected, the value of the infrastructure that Disney ends up with for their investment is going to be worth more than the dollars they spend building it.[/qupte]

Exactly...and if/when the economy recovers and those who stayed away because of it come back, then you're ready for them. That is why there was a lot of expectation that POP Legendary Years would finally be finished (although they changed the theme).

On the other hand, it seems certain that the Fantasyland expansion must have been planned starting years before the economy soured. So it seems more likely that it is part of a long term plan, possibly adjusted or augmented in response to the Potter thing at Universal, and that the coincidence with the recession is just a fortuitous coincidence.

I fully expect that Disney has a LOT of plans sitting in filing cabinets, ready to go if they ever see the need...but I also think that if they REALLY wanted to counter Harry Potter, the expansion should have been done at DHS...

[tarzangoofster]

As much as I hate to see Universal doing better than Disney in some respects, I am very happy that Disney now has some competition. Disney got so used to being the top banana that they rested on what they had, choosing not to add new things unless they had to (or seeing how long they could get away with not putting in something new). Now that they have competition again, I think we're going to start seeing the Disney World of olden days again; new ideas, big things happening. I only hope that out of this necessity to keep up they start to find that old "because we can and should" mentality that used to bring such amazing attractions one after another.

[BamaJenn]

I absolutely agree! They've had the competition for awhile now but didn't take it seriously until the Potter stuff helped bring in more kids!

[tizzo]

...but I also think that if they REALLY wanted to counter Harry Potter, the expansion should have been done at DHS...

Interesting point. One thing to note is that everything is tied together, sometimes in ways that are not obvious.

Consider that despite the economy, Disney has managed to keep the parks pretty full.

Consider also that (as I understand it) the FLE is going to substantially increase the capacity of MK, and is being done without too much in they way of disruption (from the standpoint of capacity).

Seems to me that such an increase in capacity at FLE would decrease the impact, and hence increase the likelihood, of activity requiring a temporary reduction of capacity elsewhere.

I'm just sayin' . . .