First off, Jesper A. writes in to ask:
Dear Jim!
I’m very interested in a possible fifth Disney theme park in Orlando. I haven’t heard any rumors about one, so therefore I’m curious to hear, if you(‘ve heard) anything about … such (a project)?
Sincerely,
Jesper A.
Dear Jesper:
According to my sources at WDI, Disney has previously knocked around a few ideas for a 5th WDW theme park. Among the concepts that have allegedly already been considered are an Americanized version of Tokyo DisneySea (Why for? To make the Mouse’s Central Florida resort that much more competitive with Sea World & Discovery Cove) as well as Disney’s Workplace. Which would allow WDW visitors to tour several on-site factories and see a variety of products being made.
And I’m certain that — in the weeks & months ahead — that Disney CEO-to-be Bob Iger will be thoroughily briefed on all of these possibilities.
But even if Iger sees a project that he likes, there’s still not a chance in hell that Bob will actually greenlight construction of a 5th WDW theme park. At least not for another couple of years.
Why for? Because here’s the harsh reality, Jesper: The Walt Disney World Resort still hasn’t fully recovered from the effects of 9/11. Oh sure, things aren’t nearly as bad as they were back in late 2001/early 2002. But — that said — they’re also not as nearly as good as they were back in the mid-to-late 1990s. When virtually every Disney-owned hotel on property was regularly filled to capacity.
As you cruise the Internet, you’ll often hear Disneyana fans complaining about how Disney World seems to have co-opted Disneyland’s 50th anniversary. As in: It’s the Anaheim theme park’s birthday, but it’s the Florida theme parks that got all the presents.
Well, there’s a reason that this was done, folks. Disneyland has a total of three Disney-owned hotels. Disney World has 19 Disney-owned hotels, with an additional 10 on-property hotels that are owned & operated by companies that the Mouse works closely with. So making sure that WDW’s hotel rooms were kept as full of possible had to be the top priority.
Which is why — over the past year or so — we’ve seen all this building inside the Magic Kingdom, Epcot, Disney-MGM and Animal Kingdom. Not because Disney World is in expansion mode. But — rather — recovery mode. All these new shows & attractions were deliberately added to WDW in an effort to put heads in beds.
So — getting back to your original question, Jesper: Yes, WDI has very definite ideas about what they’d like to build. But, no, I don’t think that we’re going to see construction of a fifth WDW theme park begin anytime soon.
Right now, the Mouse’s top priority has got to be figuring out a way to fill all of those Disney-owned hotel rooms that are now on property. And to finally face up to the fact that — back in the mid-to-late 1990s (I.E. When Michael Eisner was pretending to be a patron of architects) — the Disney corporation built at least one too many resorts in Orlando. Perhaps as many as three too many resorts on property.
But how do you deal with a situation like that? I mean, it’s not like the Mouse can just say “Oops. We built too many hotels.” And then start tearing Disney World resorts down.
No. But what Disney can do is start repositioning WDW hotels. As in: Shifting resources from one arm of the company to the other. Take — for example — the idea that’s currently being floated of taking the Contemporary out of Disney World’s hotel reservation system and redesignating this 34-year-old resort as a Disney Vacation Club property.
Now I know that that sounds somewhat crazy. But the fact of the matter is that the Disney Vacation Club is still continuing to sell memberships at a record pace. And all these additional people are eventually going to want to turn in their points for hotel rooms that they can then use during their WDW vacation. And given the Contemporary’s proximity to the Magic Kingdom … You have to admit that there are a lot of DVC members would love to be able to step out onto their balcony and watch the fireworks exploding over Cinderella Castle.
Don’t believe me? Okay. Then keep a close eye on the Contemporary over the next couple of years. This Magic Kingdom area hotel is currently slated for an extensive redo. And the smart money is on — when the renovation of this WDW resort is finally complete — that the Contemporary (Or — at the very least — a goodly portion of this hotel’s rooms) will then become an official Disney Vacation Club Resort.
Next up, Jessica writes in to ask:
Hey Jim!
Just curious if you’ve heard anything about there being a 50th anniversary TV special? I don’t think there’s been a DL TV special since the blitz of DCA. I loved watching those specials and miss seeing them — even when Ryan Seacrest was hosting them. I’m surprised that they didn’t do one for the “new” Buzz ride. Have they given up on these specials? If so, I think it’s a shame.
Thanks and keep up the good work,
Jessica
Jessica —
My understanding is that Disney is currently looking into doing some sort of anniversary special on ABC in July. On or about July 17th (AKA Disneyland’s actual 50th birthday).
However, you should also know that there are a number of executives within the Walt Disney Company who aren’t all that fond of these TV specials. Who view these hour-long, sometimes two-hours-long commercials for the theme parks as complete wastes of time. That — no matter how much care & attention the Mouse puts into these shows’ production — these programs never really draw very high ratings. More to the point, the people who go out of their way to watch these TV specials are the Disney diehards (I.E. The people who were already going to Disneyland and/or Disney World. Which meant that this very expensive television program had little or no impact on their final decision).
I know, I know. This is the same sort of semi-circular logic that Buena Vista Magazines execs recently used to their effort to rationalize shutting down “Disney” Magazine:”That publication is too expensive to produce. It isn’t really catching the attention of the general public. Only the dweebs seem to be responding to the thing. So let’s save ourselves a few bucks and just shut the thing down.”
And — to be honest — these Mouse House executives have been somewhat successful in their efforts to get the Disney corporation to cut back on the number of TV specials that strictly promote the theme parks. By that I mean: When was the last time you saw a “Walt Disney World Happy Easter Parade” special broadcast on ABC?
Anyway … I’ll continue to keep my ears to the ground regarding that Disneyland 50th anniversary TV special that the Mouse reportedly has in the works. If I hear anything, Jessica, I’ll be sure to give you a “heads up,” okay?
Then Chug-A-Freeze chimes in with:
Hey Jim
Love the site. Reading about Disney is all well and good, especially for the upcoming anniversary. But — to change things up — how about talking about the Universal theme parks? More specifically what is future for the Universal parks since NBC took over and what is NBC planning to do to combat Disney’s 50th marketing campaign? I know USH has a Fear Factor show planned for the summer, but what else does Universal have on tap?
Chug-A-Freeze
Hey, Chug-A-Freeze
To be honest, there’s a lot of people in the theme entertainment industry who are kind of surprised that General Electric still owns the Universal Studio theme parks. Back when that mega conglomerate (Which owns NBC, MSNBC as well as dozens of other broadcast outlets) originally made the deal to purchase Universal, the joke out west was that “GE just made this deal so that it could own the ‘Law & Order’ TV franchise outright.” That General Electric’s plan then was to hang out the studio & its film library, but quickly sell off Universal’s theme parks.
Well, it would appear that that version of the plan ultimately fell through. The scuttlebutt now is that — after much hemming & hawing — General Electric has decided that it will be hanging onto the Universal theme parks after all. More importantly, that GE is supposedly looking to make a sizable investment in the two parks that the company currently operates in Florida.
Among the ideas that are reportedly being knocked around right now is a replacement for the theme park’s “Back to the Future: The Ride.” This 15 year old simulator may soon be rethemed around the characters featured in the “X-Men” comic books. Among the concepts currently being kicked around for this proposed “X-Men” attraction is a scenario that would put Universal guests inside the infamous Danger Room during a mutant training session.
Over at Islands of Adventure, there’s talk of Universal borrowing a page from Epcot. As in: Staging a night-time lagoon show that is so spectacular that people just have to stay in the theme park after dark in order to see it. As for the proposed theme of this IOA lagoon show … Sorry. But that would be telling.
I will say this much, though: If all goes according to plan, this will be the first lagoon show at an Orlando area theme park that actually features guest interaction. That something that you — the Islands of Adventure guest — create during the day will play a crucial part in that night’s show. (And — no — I’m not talking about something like DCA’s “Luminaria.” Where holiday cards that theme park guests drew up that day wound up being projected on big screens in the middle of the lagoon that night.)
Sorry, Chug-A-Freeze. But that’s all I can really say right now. Other than this new IOA lagoon show could be up & running as early as the Summer of 2006. And — if everything that’s currently being talked about winds up in the final version of the show — it’ll definitely be worth a trip over to Universal in order to check this thing out.
Next up, Drew T. writes in to ask:
Did you know that Frank Oz is no longer voicing Gonzo in all Muppet related activities? (Including the new “Wizard of Oz” TV movie.) Do you have any insider scoop as to why he parted ways with Henson & Co.? It makes me sad to think of a Muppet movie without him.
Dear Drew —
First of all, Frank Oz doesn’t do the voice of Gonzo. Muppet vet Dave Goelz does.
As to why Frank doesn’t seem to like working with the Muppets anymore: My understanding is that Oz had his initial falling-out with the Jim Henson Company (Or — to be specific — Brian Henson) during the production of “Muppets from Space.”
Frank reportedly felt that Brian wasn’t being supportive enough of “MFS” director, Tim Hill. More importantly, that Jim’s son was more concerned with bringing that Columbia Pictures production in on time & under budget. Rather than giving veteran Muppeteers like himself, Goelz, Steve Whitmere & Jerry Nelson all the time that they needed to properly deliver quality performances with the characters that they’d been performing for decades now.
That — coupled with the Henson family’s decision to sell off the Jim Henson Company to EM.TV in February 2000, followed by the Haffa brothers selling off the Sesame Street characters to the Children’s Television workshop eight months later — led Oz to begin distancing himself from the company. Making himself less & less available for Muppet-related gigs.
These days, virtually all of Frank’s characters are now being performed by a very capable puppeteer named Eric Jacobson. Who initially began just filling in for Oz in 2000. But — nowadays — Eric’s pretty much the “go-to” guy when it comes to Miss Piggy, Fozzie Bear and Animal.
Mind you, Oz still reportedly does some occassional puppeteering for “Sesame Street.” Pulling on the felt again for Grover & Cookie Monster whenever his schedule permits. And I’m told that the Walt Disney Company has actually reached out to Frank over the past year or so. Hoping that — now that it’s the Mouse that’s calling the shots for Kermit & Co., rather than Brian Henson — that Oz might be agreeable to working with the Muppets again.
To date, Frank has reportedly resisted Disney’s overtures. Prefering to focus his attention on his film directing career. During which Oz has helmed such memorable motion pictures as “Little Shop of Horrors,” “Dirty Rotten Scoundrels” and “Bowfinger.”
FYI: Frank (when he feels like it) also does voicework. He provided the voice of Fungus, Randall’s craven assistant in “Monsters, Inc.” And Oz will soon be heard (for the fifth & last time) as Yoda in “Star Wars III: Revenge of the Sith.”
Still, a lot of us Muppet fans are hoping that Disney eventually does persuade Frank to come back to work with the Muppets. If not to perform any of his memorable characters, then to at least produce and/or direct a new film featuring Miss Piggy & pals.
I mean, for years now, Oz has been saying that he has this great idea for a new Muppet movie. Here’s hoping that (someday soon) he gets the chance to show us what he’d actually like to do with the characters.
Well, what I’d actually like to do now is end this week’s “Why For.” So that I could then begin my search for my W-2. But Jeff Lange won’t let me until I remind everyone that we’re still taking names for the notification list for that Disneyland history CD that he & I are currently producing.
So — if you’d like to hear the stories that DL Security felt were just too sensational to be told inside the berm — just drop me a line at jim@jimhillmedia.com. And I’ll make sure that you get on the right list.
Also, Arlen Miller has asked me to remind all of you Orlando-area Disneyana fans that the World Chapter of the N.F.F.C. will be meeting at Vista Del Lago this coming Saturday night at 7 p.m. More importantly, that this meeting’s guest speaker will be Bob Schall. That WDW train engineer who also leads the Magic Kingdom’s “Behind the Steam” tours. So that should make this meeting a pretty fun take-in for all your Central Florida-based train fans out there.
Okay. That’s it for this week, folks. Now — if you’ll excuse me — I’m gotta figure out whether or not I can get away with declaring Nancy’s four obnoxious cats as my dependants.
Have a great weekend, alright? And (hopefully. Provided that Disneyland Security doesn’t sic the IRS on me) we’ll see you all again come next Monday morning.
Til then, take care, okay?
jrh