Over the past five weeks, I swear that I must have gotten a hundred e-mails asking me what I’ve heard about this casino that the Walt Disney Company is allegedly thinking of building in Orlando.
For those of you haven’t already heard this rumor, let me do a quick recap: Disney reps have reportedly been recruiting WDW guests to take part in these discreet focus groups. Where these people are then supposedly shown this elaborate presentation which details what a Disney World casino might look like.
“So are these rumors true, Jim?,” you ask. Well, for the past 10 days, I’ve been actively trying to check this story out. I’ve been calling friends who works for the Disney Company and/or live in the Orlando area. To date, none of these folks that I’ve spoken with have heard anything about the Mouse planning to build a casino in Orlando.
Then — when you factor in what’s actually going on in Florida right now (I.E. Governor Jeb Bush is actively campaigning to try & keep slot machines out of Broward and Miami-Dade counties) as well as what happened the last time Disney even toyed with getting involved with online gaming & gambling (Go on Google and type in the words “Disney” & “Skillgames.” That should tell you plenty) — you’ll see why it’s rather unlikely that the Walt Disney Company would ever go forward with building a casino on property.
But — that said — that doesn’t mean that the Mouse can’t send up a trial balloon every now and then. To see if the public still thinks that it’s inappropriate for the Walt Disney Company to get involved with gambling.
You see, that’s the whole point of a focus group, folks. So that you can get a quick “Yea” or “Nay” on an idea before you actually commit any real resources to a project.
And the Walt Disney Company? They do this sort of thing all the time. Take — for example — last September, when WDI used Craigslist.org to recruit “kids ages 4-16 and their parents” to take part in a focus group for the “Finding Nemo: Let’s Party” attraction. Given that this elaborate redo of Disneyland’s “Submarine Voyage” finally got the greenlight last month, clearly this particular test went well.
But for every focus group that does go well (EX: While I was living in Central Florida back in the early 1990s, I actually got to take part in the focus groups for Disney’s Animal Kingdom as well as GM Test Track), there are also those projects that never quite make it out of committee. Like that national chain of Disney-themed day care centers that the Mouse once toyed with building. Or how about the on-property cemetary that the Imagineers wanted to build in Orlando (For those hardcore Disneyana fans who hope to make Disney World their permanent vacation spot).
And let me tell you, folks, that some of these ideas that Disney eventually opts not to implement are actually pretty snazzy. Take — for example — the lifetime pass to all of Walt Disney World’s theme parks.
I first heard about this concept back in the Summer of 1995. I was standing on the steps of the Main Street Exhibition Hall, watching as the 3 p.m. parade made its way through the Magic Kingdom. Suddenly, I noticed that there was a WDW survey taker at my elbow. She asked if I’d be interested in hearing about some concepts that Disney was considering as part of the resort’s 25th anniversary celebration. I said sure.
The next thing I know, I’m looking at a proposal for a special annual pass which was to have only been sold during WDW’s 25th anniversary year. This pass was to have cost $2500. But — for that one-time fee — you would have gotten a lifetime pass to all of Disney World’s theme parks. Including (the survey taker made a point of mentioning this) any theme parks that the Mouse hadn’t built yet.
I recall that — in addition to that lifetime pass — your $2500 would have also gotten you a special commemorative watch. Plus some sort of certificate. But — to be honest — the big draw here was that this one time payment would have gotten you lifetime admission to all of the Florida Disney parks.
Me personally? I thought that this was a great idea. Admittedly a bit pricey. But — when you think about what it costs to buy a WDW annual pass today — spending $2500 to gain admission to WDW’s theme parks for the rest of your life seemed like a really good investment to me.
Unfortunately, given that this conversation with the WDW survey taker is the first & last time that I ever heard about a lifetime pass to Disney World’s theme parks, I have to assume that I was one of the only people who said that that this was a good idea. Which is why (I’m betting) this concept eventually died in committee.
And — given that all of these stories about the Disney casino focus groups usually end with the people who allegedly attend these sessions reacting violently to the idea — I’m betting that even if the Mouse is toying with the idea of getting into gaming in Orlando, this idea’s tabled too. For now, anyway.
But does that mean that Mickey will be tabling this casino-at-Disney-World concept forever ? … Sorry. But that’s not a bet that I’m willing to take.
Your thoughts?