Will Aquatica finally turn Orlando into a three resort town ?

re: Will Aquatica finally turn Orlando into a three resort town ?

Eric M. Davis — Thu, 31 Jan 2008 03:58:45 GMT

I'm pretty sure it's Universal that should be worried about this at the moment. That's FOUR major water parks in Orlando now and none of them are owned by them.

re: Will Aquatica finally turn Orlando into a three resort town ?

Eric M. Davis — Thu, 31 Jan 2008 08:43:03 GMT

I agree with Tuckenie. And I say this not as the typical Disney-dweeb who refuses to ever say anything bad about Disney (au contraire ... I rip them frequently) ....

Disney's not going to be beaten by a waterpark. They're going to be top dog in Orlando for a long time to come. People go to Orlando to see Disney World. And oh maybe they'll take a day or two out and pop over to Universal. Now just substitute "Sea World" for Universal maybe and you have the picture.

On a side note, does this mean at the end of Budweiser commercials now they're going to say, "Brewed by Annheiser Busch Orlando, Florida"??

re: Will Aquatica finally turn Orlando into a three resort town ?

Eric M. Davis — Thu, 31 Jan 2008 09:47:15 GMT

What happened to a "relaxing" vacation in Orlando???

Are people that bored in their everyday lives that they have to have all of their senses raped when visiting Central Florida.

re: Will Aquatica finally turn Orlando into a three resort town ?

Eric M. Davis — Thu, 31 Jan 2008 10:10:31 GMT

Aquatica will come down to marketing. If tourists only see it as Wet n Wild with colorful slides, it will beat the stuffing out of that park (which, BTW Tuckenie, actually is owned by Universal now, they just rarely acknowledge it) and be the jewel of I-Drive, but have little effect on WDW.

However, if SW can sell Aquatica as "Discovery Cove LITE"--lushly themed tropical setting, few lines, interaction with animals (even tho limited) for a fraction of the price of DC--then I think Mickey & Co. will feel some effect. When the new Harry Potter land opens in Universal, these coud defintely be a one-two-punch that starts pulling guests off property again.

re: Will Aquatica finally turn Orlando into a three resort town ?

Eric M. Davis — Thu, 31 Jan 2008 10:37:03 GMT

Actually, Jason does bring up a good point ... the double-hit of Harry Potter and Aquatica could be interesting.

I'm already predicting a drastic drop-off in attendance at WDW next year as the pull of the YoaMD ends and the economy is still in a recession/slow-down. At the same time, guests to the Orlando area will have more to choose from in terms of options.

How will WDW respond? The last time this happened (post-9/11) they really pulled back into their shell, drastically reduced operating hours, laid people off, cut new ride and attraction development down to nil ... will they do the same thing this time?

re: Will Aquatica finally turn Orlando into a three resort town ?

Eric M. Davis — Thu, 31 Jan 2008 11:21:36 GMT

That would be a great point Tuckenie if Universal didn't own Wet 'n Wild. With Wet n Wild's lease reportedly coming up in the next few years, there are already rumors floating around about building the next water park on USF property.

re: Will Aquatica finally turn Orlando into a three resort town ?

Eric M. Davis — Thu, 31 Jan 2008 11:23:08 GMT

Pickstar: Only Busch Entertainment is moving to Orlando. The brew headquarters for Busch will remain in their hometown of STL.

re: Will Aquatica finally turn Orlando into a three resort town ?

Eric M. Davis — Thu, 31 Jan 2008 12:41:50 GMT

Oh boy! Orlando is about to burst their britches. With the Uni-Harry Potter expansion/re-theming, Sea World's addition of Aquatica, and Disney's adding of Four Seasons and Flamingo Crossings, Orlando traffic is going to be a nightmare! Okay, so maybe Disney's plans aren't so spectacular, but in about 5-10 years Orlando traffic will be Hellish!

I'm thinking in about 10 years, Orlando is going to look very similar to Las Vegas.

re: Will Aquatica finally turn Orlando into a three resort town ?

Eric M. Davis — Thu, 31 Jan 2008 13:28:40 GMT

Hmmm... the opening to this article is very similar(almost exact) to the lines used by Jim Hill during his segment on the last MDP (the one on Hannah Montana).

re: Will Aquatica finally turn Orlando into a three resort town ?

Eric M. Davis — Thu, 31 Jan 2008 13:54:56 GMT

Statler's quotation is "I've seen detergents leave a better film than this."

re: Will Aquatica finally turn Orlando into a three resort town ?

Eric M. Davis — Fri, 01 Feb 2008 00:10:50 GMT

I don't think that Disney is holding their breath.

re: Will Aquatica finally turn Orlando into a three resort town ?

Eric M. Davis — Fri, 01 Feb 2008 21:35:04 GMT

I am glad to see Busch stepping up their game. They are a good operator and would like to see them expand, maybe take advantage of Cedar Fair and Six Flags financial troubles of late. Hopefully they will buy a park or two. I would LOVE to see a Busch Gardens closer to CA.

re: Will Aquatica finally turn Orlando into a three resort town ?

Eric M. Davis — Sat, 02 Feb 2008 00:10:17 GMT

Why would I leave the WDW property to go to a water park? WDW has enough of those public bathing complexes to more than meet my need. Harry Potter may pull me for one day, but knowing Universal, theexecution will fall flat.

WDW does need to watch out for the recession since it relies on out of town visitors.

re: Will Aquatica finally turn Orlando into a three resort town ?

Eric M. Davis — Thu, 07 Feb 2008 22:05:08 GMT

Grumpyfan, what's this 5 or 10 years stuff? Traffic is already hellish in Orlando.

On topic, I think the waterpark looks great. I find the waterparks here at WDW to be the hidden jewels of the resort. . .as long as you stay away during summer weekends. You want hellish? Try THAT.

re: Will Aquatica finally turn Orlando into a three resort town ?

Eric M. Davis — Sat, 09 Feb 2008 20:20:38 GMT

Will this help disney? I mean people generally go to orlando for the big D-dubs and then take day trips outside, just as someone above said. So would the addition of Aquatica and Harry Potter encourage people to stay longer in disney?