Featured Image Courtesy: Theme Parks and Entertainment / Not a work of The Walt Disney Company
Two sets of alleged insider information have been circulating around me for months or years in regards to changes at Magic Kingdom in Disney World. One of the bits of information was about the rerouting of Floridian Way, which has now become public. The other thing I’ve watched for close to a decade is the potential and plans surrounding an expansion for Adventureland at Walt Disney World. For the road rerouting, I never really touched it in an article (other than maybe a fireworks report), simply because it’s not the sort of thing that generates major interest for readership. But that also created a blind spot for me, that has now been remedied.
According to some rumors I’m following in back channels, The Walt Disney Company may be looking to do huge work on expanding capacity at Magic Kingdom and alleviating some current issues with the park. The blind spot I mentioned previously was that I was hearing about things that might be happening at Magic Kingdom in the future, but I didn’t put several of these projects together, recognizing that they might be intertwined.
So here is what I have:
Disney is investing heavily into more and more hotel rooms, especially luxury rooming and Disney Vacation Club properties. Disney very much wants to aim for the ultra rich demographic that they currently miss out on. For Disney, the data I’ve seen is that they want to target families making more than $200k per year — a group that tends to vacation in Europe or on Caribbean islands instead of the Magic Kingdom. The problem is they have limited options for people in that socioeconomic class. Sure, the Grand Floridian is nice, but Disney wants to go even nicer. Disney also wants to go even more expensive.
But what do you do if you’re Disney and you want to have a Magic Kingdom hotel that offers more than your top available hotels?
Image Courtesy: Disney Trippers
Well, one thing you can do is give hotel guests direct access to the park. No other hotel offers that. And according to at least one source, that’s exactly what Disney is looking at. Allegedly, Disney may attempt to build a City of Gold type ultra-premium hotel west of Adventureland and north of The Grand Floridian. This hotel, according to the source, is likely to feature the Society of Adventurers and Explorers theme that Disney has been keen to use in the past. While concepts are very early, I’ve been told it would likely be akin to the Star Wars Galactic Starcruiser Hotel in that it would be more like a land-locked cruise. The difference is this would cater to the upper elites, not necessarily cash-flush Star Wars fans.
The key to this rumor is that the hotel would not have a Monorail connection. Rather, the hotel would connect directly to The Magic Kingdom via a fully-enclosed and themed drawbridge which would cross the access canal to a new Adventureland expansion. I’m told this expansion and hotel would be a hefty monetary investment for Disney as they reach out for new sources of attendance. The expansion itself, while available to all guests, would have an entrance/exit point for guests of the new ultra-premium hotel. The expansion is reportedly aiming for a 4-5 acre addition to Magic Kingdom, south of the Pirates of the Caribbean show building, and featuring two attractions (perhaps one E-Ticket), a restaurant, restrooms, and at least one retail location.
Idea Idea For Making Adventureland Expansion Possible http://bit.ly/d1bQD1
— Alltop Disney (@Alltop_Disney) October 18, 2010
While it’s exciting to finally be able to report on a major rumor and potential investment by Disney Parks, please remember that this rumor is reporting on a potential leak for a project far down the line. It’s nice to be the first to put information out there, but it’s also a bit risky in that this may never materialize. Much of what was planned before the pandemic will never be built. If I had reported on the original Fantasyland expansion when it was first conceived, it would look much different than it does today. The same is likely true of this project, should it be built. But I also want to provide information on potential projects on the table. So while this project may not even start construction until the end of this decade, it’s certainly fun to think about what Disney is planning for far down the road at Walt Disney World.
Adding credence to this rumor is the pattern of behavior for Bob Chapek, CEO of The Walt Disney Company. While he is 100% a numbers guy, he’ll spend big money if there’s a chance at a big return. A major expansion linked to a hotel does several things for Magic Kingdom. Not only does it create a source for elite-level revenue, but it also increases overall capacity at a park in need of more and more space. It also provides another exit point at the world’s most popular park, and where the worst experience tends to be leaving through the Main Street bottleneck. So how much would the richest pay to be able to leave away from the throngs of normal guests?
So, to finish, why should we believe these rumors might actually come to fruition? They don’t reroute major roadways just for fun.
Is there any proof to the concept that the uber rich crowd will to go to Disney as opposed to Italy, the French Riviera or Mahe if only they had a hotel of their caliber. This screams of self delusion.
Disney World is a theme park. This is up there with the idea that Euro Disney would be another stop on the crowd going to the Eiffel Tower. All they had to do is build it and the DIsney name alone would guarantee success. I can’t wait for it to be build it, if only for them to realize they are not a premium leisure brand for guests with private jets.
I’ve talked with people who say they’ve seen the documents. One is the same source who detailed exactly how the Lightsaber experience at the Star Wars hotel would work… months before Disney revealed it exactly as reported. They want to offer services for the ultra rich.
Calling it now: Mystic Point comes stateside.
I hadn’t thought of that for the expansion pad, but that’s a strong candidate I would say.
That way Chapek could say “See, I love great non-IP attractions too!” fully aware that a MM clone is now a proven concept, and that it would be more or less subsidized by the high priced resort addition.
It fits the S.E.A. Universe which is becoming an Invest-worthy IP.
Only other thing that might be compelling is the Indy jeep ride, but I can’t imagine them spending big bucks on a new Indy ride when a big referendum on Indy is still two years away.
Then again, there’s the Peter Pan element of Fantasy Springs in Tokyo… kind of Adventureland-ish..
Would be nice to have Indiana Jones and the Temple of the Forbidden Eye on the East Coast.
You already have Indiana Jones and the Temple of the Forbidden Eye on the East Coast and it’s themed as the unmemorable “Dinosaur” attraction which is the Dollar Tree version of the great attraction at Disneyland. I expect more Eisner style budget attraction from Chapek as the heir to profit over quality Eisner.