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View Full Version : Disney breaks into new territory - OC Register, 10/8/02



Darkbeer
10-08-2002, 02:04 PM
Disney breaks into new territory (http://www2.ocregister.com/ocrweb/ocr/article.do?id=6030&section=BUSINESS) - Orange County Register, 10/8/02

QuikQuote: The additions continue to respond to guest feedback and to build value into the price of admission, Rasulo said.
"We like to think about value in terms of the experience we provide," Rasulo said. "I think we have a good balance. (Price) is something we keep our finger on the pulse of, but it's not a huge problem."

Ghoulish Delight
10-08-2002, 02:22 PM
I'm getting dizzy from all of this spin!

Alladin-replaces an existing, hit show. Lose one good show, gain a possibly good, possibly bad, possibly mediocre show. At best, a wash

Playhouse-replaces an eatery. With H&D closed, that leaves hotdogs as your only food option in the backlot. However, the replacement may be a good step towards DCA being more kid friendly, I guess.

Pooh-replaces (sensing a theme?) a classic attraction, albeit one that was failing to draw many people any more. This is probably the most interesting of these announcements and is the most likely to really draw people to the park. Unfortunately, it's not in the park that's struggling and really NEEDS a good draw. Not that I'm begrudging improvements in DL, it'd just be nice if they did the same across the way as well

Bug's Land/FFF-Well, at least it doesn't replace anything. And it's well themed. Kids seem to like it so far. But it's still not a headline event, in my opinion.

Fooey. When all is said and done, these "additions" (ha!) won't ammount to much. Wait until ToT opens. I have no idea whether the resulting effect of ToT will be good, bad, or neutral, but it certainly has more potential to HAVE an effect than these 4 combined.

TP2000
10-08-2002, 09:27 PM
I don't think much will happen with DCA's "performance" (read: attendance) until Tower of Terror opens.

But if Tower of Terror does what many people say it will do, and that is pull a great many more people in to DCA than are currently visiting, then I think we'll see who truly is a DCA fan and who is not. If DCA approaches it's original goal of 7 Million customers for 2004, then line lengths and crowding will grow significantly.

Would you wait 30 minutes to ride the Golden Zephyr? And remember what the Golden Zephyr queue and "pre-show" look like before you answer that. Would you wait 90 minutes to ride California Screamin? Again, picture the delightfully themed and heavily interactive cement switchbacks of California Screamin' as you contemplate a 90 minute wait. Would you waste a Fastpass punch on Muppets, and come back in two hours to bypass a 45 minute MuppetVision Standby wait to see the show? Would you wait for 45 minutes in the switchbacks of Superstar Limo to see the Cher mannequin?

I could go on, of course.

But I think many of us enjoy DCA as much as we do because so many of it's attractions offer minimal and/or nonexistant lines. If DCA were to suddenly become a smash hit, and the talk of Southern California, would we all enjoy it as much wading through giant weekend and holiday crowds?

teri
10-08-2002, 09:42 PM
What TP2000 said. Except that I think ToT will only add a blip in attendance, not a sustained increase, unless they give people other ways to be comfortable, relax, wonder, enjoy and be happy in the park.

Once again, they are going for the preschool-young school age audience here... those little folks come in with parents and grandparents and aunties and uncles who need to be entertained. They have big sisters and brothers who wouldn't be caught DEAD in Playhouse Disney unless they were involved in a campy parody of the show, and you know how that would go!

They had better start thinking of ways to keep these folks busy and enthusiastic about being there...

Bill Catherall
10-09-2002, 07:57 AM
Originally posted by TP2000
If DCA were to suddenly become a smash hit, and the talk of Southern California, would we all enjoy it as much wading through giant weekend and holiday crowds?
That doesn't make sense. In order to become a smash hit it would have to be enjoyable. If there's something preventing us from liking it then it wouldn't become a smash hit. So the answer would have to be "yes." If it's drawing crowds then there's got to be something to it that makes it worthwhile.