[Danno]

Sorry if this has been asked before....

How big is the WDW resort? (acres)
How much of that space is already used? and how much is left?
How many more parks could the Disney folk conceivably add before they ran out of room? - Say a park the size of The Studios.
And do you think that WDW must have some sort of equation of parks to resorts? I'm sure that a new park means more guests, which means "we need more resorts"

Overall, how much space is there? Could we easily see two new parks and 4 resorts in the next 15-20 years or is space an issue? This is of course assuming money would NOT be an issue and the Disney theme park division remains healthy.

[DisneyTeacher]

WDW comprises 47 square miles of land. Only about 1/4 of that is developed and 1/4 is set aside for conservation. Walt set that land (over 7,000 acres) aside himself, it's called the Wildlife Management Conservation Area. About half the land is either developed or set aside for conservation so there is a lot of room for growth.

[Erin]

I dunno. It's PDG, though. (Pretty Darn Giant!)

Welcome to DC!

[Cincy]

Welcome to DC Danno. We were told the same thing that DisneyTeacher just said. They have plenty of room and hopefully will continue to expand.

[wdwspider]

From what I have heard and read, the more parks = more guests is not true. It sounds reasonable, but it only goes so far.

Just before the introduction of Pop Century, Disney hotels were no longer filling up. That is why the new resort took so long to open and has yet to be completed. Partly due to 911. But, you see, with All-Stars Disney tapped a new market of Economic guests who wanted Disney on the cheap. THey got a large influx from the All Stars, but there are so many hotels in this price range and lower throughout Orlando that only so many people could be gained. With Pop Century, it was evident this bar was being reached.

Animal Kingdom has yet to hit the expected numbers they had planned. Of course, each new park starts off slow anyway, but the difference here is that the people visiting Animal Kingdom are guests already visiting the other parks... in other words, no new people or guest increase. If anything, it is adding a day onto a vacation, or taking away attendence from other parks. Disney Caniballism, if you will.

So, you can see why there are no new resorts or parks on the immediate horizon. Currently Disney has one trump card with the Disney Vacation Club. The number of members in that are thriving and new DVC resorts keep coming to Disney World. But eventually it will level off as well.

So despite all the land, Disney may be forced to cool off for a time. Some endeavors like the Disney Institute were too radical to thrive and has cost the company. Also, old sites like River Country and Discovery Island should be address before more growth I feel.

[Erin]

Wow, I'm blown away by all your smart replies. Not that I thought you were dumb, or anything.

I just thought you were the games guy.

[wdwspider]

Originally Posted by Erin

Wow, I'm blown away by all your smart replies. Not that I thought you were dumb, or anything.

I just thought you were the games guy.

Well, I think I reached a point where I just ignore a lot of these threads that are similar to ones I've discussed in the past, but if I have the time, I love to offer some knowledge and try to help out if I can.

My personal favorite thing is to let you guys in on upcoming attractions and changes before most people know about them. That is more fun and I know most of the sources I can trust and that are reliable from being online so many years now.

The games, the goofiness, and the friendship is just one side of me that you see when I'm trying to pass the work days through.

[Erin]

You do seem to always have the inside scoop. You must KNOW people!

[disneyguy]

There truly is no park to resort ratio. Disney would love to see all their current resorts fill to capacity.

As far as building more parks.... Theoretically they could build a ton more parks, but I believe the State of Florida has been frowning on them developing the land so quickly. I believe Disney will expand their current parks, particularly Animal Kingdom.

[wdwspider]

Originally Posted by disneyguy

There truly is no park to resort ratio. Disney would love to see all their current resorts fill to capacity.

As far as building more parks.... Theoretically they could build a ton more parks, but I believe the State of Florida has been frowning on them developing the land so quickly. I believe Disney will expand their current parks, particularly Animal Kingdom.

Yes, this is the best course of action for the consumers and the company. the parks need to have a good period of rebirth and new additions. It is already beginning.

Disney has a new park fund that matures every seven or so years. Well, the time came around, the park ideas were thrown out. At one time a new water park seemed possible. But ultimately it was decided to reinvest the money into the parks themselves. Great move really. A lot of expensive projects are finally on the board and things like filling the 20,000 Leagues lagoon and repairing older rides like Small World are getting the necessary money while real advancements like the new car stunt show and Everest still have funds to move forward. It is highly likely the current parks will continue to get a money boost for some time. I agree Animal Kingdom should get a lot of this, and if Everest pulls the numbers they are hoping, a lot of additions may come to the park to satisfy guest numbers and keep people much later.

[MerlinMatt]

Originally Posted by Erin

I dunno. It's PDG, though. (Pretty Darn Giant!)

Welcome to DC!

I believe the appropriate term is Ginormous!

[This is a pretty good question though. Has there been any talk of adding another park?] <- maybe I should have read the ENTIRE thread first.....

So then, in addition to the stuff that we can already see, what ELSE is going on? AFAIK, Space Mountain is slated for the same rehab that it's West Coast cousin got sometime this winter. But is there any real talk about adding a new Country to Epcot? Or maybe improving some of the existing countries with expanded museum stuff? I've always found that a little furstrating that the education opportunities in the World Showcase are so limited.

[Danno]

Originally Posted by wdwspider2005

Animal Kingdom has yet to hit the expected numbers they had planned. Of course, each new park starts off slow anyway, but the difference here is that the people visiting Animal Kingdom are guests already visiting the other parks... in other words, no new people or guest increase.

Yes, this seems to make sense... but it also could be said that with the addition of new attractions or better still new PARKS, come more guests.
I know people, including myself that have said "I've seen everything at Disney. Nothing's really changed. Let's skip this year"
Then two years later: "But Now they have Animal Kingdom and some new attractions in the other parks! We're going this year!"
So to say that any guest visiting a new park is only doing so because they're already there can't be completely true.
Take a look at the Disney Parks attendance numbers. They grow by the millions of visitors every year.
The new stuff is drawing in new people or people that might not have planned a WDW trip otherwise. Now, how many of those guests are actually staying on property.... I don't know.

Thanks everyone for your thoughtful answers. I learned a lot!

[wdwspider]

Don't get attendance and new guest confused. I believe I understand what you are getting at, however it is not proportional to new resorts. Just because all four parks are hitting higher numbers, it is still the same people visiting those parks (with a few local exceptions).

If there was only three parks that were adding, then people would still come to see the new stuff. According to Disney, the same people are coming because of the fourth park that were coming when there was only three. Possibly it was a bad choice of park, I don't think so... but let's say it was. The figures per year are consistent with the figures from previous years. Orlando has hit a vacationers limit. This factors in repeat visitors and those wanting to see other parks during the stay.

I am propably not the best person to be talking all these figures. My first answer was more genreal, but there is a lot of research I have seen that shows that more parks will not generate more guests. That doesn't mean it won't generate more revenue or attendence on Disney property, but even that is pushing the limit now. Most guests only take week vacations or less. If Disney keeps giving more options then other parks and areas will start to decline cause people will do one or the other instead of trying to do it all.

Also, someone may have a five day hopper and visit Magic Kingdom one day, Animal Kingdom the next morning then back to Magic Kingdom. Basicaly a day longer on their trip or ticket may cause increases in park attendences by the same person hopping to the park multiple days. It doesn't necessarily mean more people are coming overall. There are many many factors to consider.

[Danno]

Originally Posted by wdwspider2005

Most guests only take week vacations or less. If Disney keeps giving more options then other parks and areas will start to decline cause people will do one or the other instead of trying to do it all.

This is so true!
My sister called me the other day because she is planning a trip to WDW with her son. It will be his first trip, and my sister's first trip in 20 years. Se said to me "We'll be staying for a week. Is there enough to do at WDW to fill a whole week?"

I told her that with just a week, it will be impossible for her to do it ALL. She was really surprised.

My point is (or just reiterating wdwspider's point) imagine if WDW was comprised of 6 theme parks?! And 4 waterparks?!
People don't take 14 day vacations. You're right, what will end up happening is people will say let's skip Epcot and the Studios so we can visit [imaginary park] & [future park] instead.

So I wonder if a new park even financialy makes sense?

Of course now I'm completely OT from my original point about space. But it does make more sense for Disney to use that extra space to just add to their existing parks.

[wdwspider]

Not to mention that having land makes the parks seem farther away from reality. It use to be such a long, empty drive to get to the magic Kingdom. Now you pass a lot more stuff and it doesn't seem quite as far away as it once did. I don't think I would like to visit a Disney World were all the land was used. Just knowing you have all that land doesn't mean you have to use it. Keeping all their parks and resorts spaced out gives them a unique edge over all the competition.

I hope that someday the monorail is expanded and that Pop Centruy is completed, and that Wonders of Life and the Odyssey restaurant are revitalized. Maybe with money being invested into the existing parks once again a whole new level of experience may be achieved. Less penny pinching and more creative new lands and attractions. As great as Magic Kingdom is, even Toon Town could be a whole lot more if some time and money was spent into it.