The Little Mermaid: Ariel's Undersea Adventure

[ismael flores]

Disney is in a better position now than they were in 2001 and other times when the economy was at its worst.

[Simba]

Disney is in a better position now than they were in 2001 and other times when the economy was at its worst.

I agree, however look at what major additions the DLR has had since 2001. Um... Tower of Terror. Yes, some other good attractions recently like Buzz Lightyear, Nemo, and TSMM, as well as a couple minor additions like Monsters, Inc, but I think by and large the two parks at DLR have had very little in terms of major investments in the years after DCA/DD/Grand Californian opened (unless I'm forgetting something obvious).

Not that they haven't spent money on a few other things, but it's been kinda slow for the DLR as a whole in terms of major additions since DCA opened. That, taken with the fact that the economy is currently in almost as bad of a place as it was after 9/11, and that's why I'm a bit worried about them going ahead with plans.

That being said, I just got back from WDW last week, and I can tell you that for September (school in session), it was about as crowded as it was in 2004 at the end of June and beginning of July (school not in session), so things don't seem to be slowing down very much, at least with that unofficial observation.

And having visited DLR in '05, '06, '07, they don't seem to be struggling to get people to visit, based on what I saw.

Nevertheless, I'm always wary at times of economic unstability as to whether the "money people" at Disney will start to panic, worry about shareholders and the investors, and decide to stall on major expenditures.

The DCA expansion plan is, by far, the most money the Disney Parks division has spent on any one park since the opening of DCA. I hope they don't get gun-shy when the time comes to make the final greenlight for the biggest parts of the project. I don't think they will, but there's just that small fear in the back of my mind.

[ismael flores]

what i meant in terms of better off was that in the 90's the theme parks were about a higher percentage of Disney's business now they are only a fragment.


This story posted on another site is quite interesting. It talks about how some analyst continue to paint the near future for Disney as gloom and doom yet all proof says teh opposite. The hard facts is that Disney is in a good position to invest at the moment and prepare themselves so that they stay on top as soon as the economy turns around

http://www.thestreet.com/story/10440...on-disney.html

[ismael flores]

The DCA expansion plan is, by far, the most money the Disney Parks division has spent on any one park since the opening of DCA. I hope they don't get gun-shy when the time comes to make the final greenlight for the biggest parts of the project. I don't think they will, but there's just that small fear in the back of my mind.

This is somewhat true but only because it is being bundled as one project. The reality is that they have spent close to the same amount in projects at WDW within within the same time span. They have just never been packaged as one large project.

If you were to actually break down the bduget they have set aside for DCA in the 5 to ten year cycle for this project its is basically the same as the budgets set aside for work they have done in WDW within the same period or less.

Mission Space alone had a tremendously high budget which could have been used for more than one attraction for the MK.

It made sense for Disney to announce the huge budget as a package because it brought more attention to their commitment in Anaheim and it also focused the media on the investment

[Majikku]

^ It's already been delayed a month. They were supposed to start last week. <_<

Dont fret,Im sure as it gets closer to Oct 13th TDA will push it back further as they always do with DCA. The mantra will be "we dont want to start a big undertaking during the busy holiday season",then it will be scheduled to go down in Jan,just watch

[Abe22222222]

Im guesstimating it will start right when bluesky cellar opens. That way they have an excuse for when people complain about all the walls that are up.

"WHY ARE THERE SO MANY WALLS? YOU CLOSED ALL THOSE ATTRACTIONS FOR WHAT?"

"It's for our new expansion project, which includes revamping and improving current attractions. May I dirrect you to our preview center at the Golden Vine Winery?"

I'm sure that will be helpful for all the CMs

[KNRG]

Im guesstimating it will start right when bluesky cellar opens. That way they have an excuse for when people complain about all the walls that are up.

"WHY ARE THERE SO MANY WALLS? YOU CLOSED ALL THOSE ATTRACTIONS FOR WHAT?"

"It's for our new expansion project, which includes revamping and improving current attractions. May I dirrect you to our preview center at the Golden Vine Winery?"

I'm sure that will be helpful for all the CMs

People don't ask too many questions though. I always see folks saying that walls will keep people away and such.. but really, it sparks interest and curiosity. Epcot has walls all the time for the various festivals and between them traffic flows normally (for example, between Canada and Imagination on the rose-garden path, you have to walk in a wall-tunnel for about 200 yards for a month befor eevery Food/Wine fest). Even the major refurbs of the entrance plaza and Comunicore to Innoventions (the center of the park was a wall-fest you HAD to walk through) had no major impact.

[Simba]

This is somewhat true but only because it is being bundled as one project. The reality is that they have spent close to the same amount in projects at WDW within within the same time span. They have just never been packaged as one large project.

If you were to actually break down the bduget they have set aside for DCA in the 5 to ten year cycle for this project its is basically the same as the budgets set aside for work they have done in WDW within the same period or less.

Mission Space alone had a tremendously high budget which could have been used for more than one attraction for the MK.

It made sense for Disney to announce the huge budget as a package because it brought more attention to their commitment in Anaheim and it also focused the media on the investment

That definitely makes sense, and I do agree, which is part of the reason I believe most/all of the DCA makeover will go forward. But again, the suits at Disney know the project as a whole is in the neighborhood of $1B, there's always that chance that someone goes "wait, we can't spend all of this money on one single park right now" and they decide to put off an attraction or cut back budget until the economic uncertainty clears up.

Again, I'm not suggesting it will, I hope they don't, and I'm fairly confident it won't happen, but it wouldn't shock me, nor would I blame them, if they starting doing something like that. Even if it's $1B spread out over different attractions over the course of 4 years, it's still part of a "plan", which means that it's all spent on the same park in a relatively short amount of time, and you just know there's an accountant or two within the company who's freaking out about this. Let's say, hypothetically, there are unforseen construction costs that start to inflate some of the new projects. If they go $100M over budget, do they approve the extra $100M right away, or do they cut back on something else until the money is available? These are the kinds of things you can't always see coming.

I'm extremely confident - especially with John Lasseter's support - that the project will get done and done right eventually - that's not a concern to me. Only that it might be 2015/16 before we truly see the "phase 1" DCA that everyone envisions as opposed to 2011/12. That wouldn't be the end of the world, but again, you never know what might change.

But anyway, hopefully not. And as for the Little Mermaid, I hope we get some new concept art once Blue Sky opens!

[KNRG]

That definitely makes sense, and I do agree, which is part of the reason I believe most/all of the DCA makeover will go forward. But again, the suits at Disney know the project as a whole is in the neighborhood of $1B, there's always that chance that someone goes "wait, we can't spend all of this money on one single park right now" and they decide to put off an attraction or cut back budget until the economic uncertainty clears up.

Or forever.. Epcot opened with signs in the park denoting Equitorial Africa, Israel, and a third World Showcase pavilion whose name escapes me at the moment. Animal Kingdom opened with extensive published artwork for Beastly Kingdom and a dragon included in the park logo.

10 years later, Pocohontas just closed a week ago and dirt should begin moving in AK by mid-month.

[1FoolishMortal]

Hold the phone....Pocahontas closed so they could begin work on Beastly Kingdom??