It was Merissa Marr’s interview with Bob Iger back on December 5th that actually started the controversy. To be specific, it was this question by the Wall Street Journal reporter:
WSJ: What are your plans for the theme parks? Are you planning to expand the existing parks?
Which got this very interesting response from the Walt Disney Company’s new CEO:
Mr. Iger: We’re not currently planning that. There will be more parks built around the world. I can’t say exactly where, although we’ve said publicly we’ve been in discussions about Shanghai for a long time. That will end up getting resolved fairly soon. There are three or four entities in the world, locations with money, that are looking for site-based entertainment, I’ll call them theme parks but they won’t necessarily be along the same lines as parks we’ve built before. I would guess, not necessarily in the next few months, but in the next year to two years that we will commit to creating a new concept or some entity outside the U.S.
… Which put Disney dweebs in an uproar. “Iger’s not going to expand the existing theme parks?!,” they screeched. ” And what the hell is a ‘site-based entertainment’ ?”
Well, to be honest, a site-based entertainment is the very next generation of Disney theme parks. Though — to
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be honest — it’s really not all that new an idea. In fact, Walt Disney himself once proposed building an SBE in St. Louis in the early 1960s. That project was supposed to have been called “Riverboat Square.” And it would have been the world’s first theme park to be totally enclosed, to be housed inside a three-story building.
And — no — we’re not talking about a revival of the DisneyQuest concept. We’re talking about something far more ambitious. The ‘site-based entertainment’ that the Walt Disney Company is currently toying with building in the Far East would be on a much grander scale. Picture an ornate structure that occupies a full city block which is at least least six or seven stories tall. With 15 different full-sized rides, shows and attractions all interwining inside that building.
“But why would Disney turn its back on something that’s as time-tested as the theme park?,” you ask. Well, given the public’s tepid response to Hong Kong Disneyland, there are certain parts of the globe where the old proven formulas just don’t work anymore. Places where it might be time for the Mouse to try something bold and new.
“And where in the world should we expect to see Disney’s first SBE?,” you query. Well, if I were a betting man, I’d say to keep your eyes on Singapore. That Far Eastern country which is about to spend $3.1 billion to build its very first casino resort.
If you click on this link, you’ll see that 12 different organizations had been invited to submit proposals for an “iconic” resort (Something along the lines of Sydney’s Opera House) that would (in theory) help to put this city state on the map. However — over time — that list of candidates has been winnowed. Take — for example — Wynn Resorts, Ltd. (I.E. The company that’s built some of Las Vegas’ most elite hotels & casinos) took itself out of the running earlier this month.
Anyway … Given the stigma & negative publicity that’s usually associated with gambling, I’ve heard that the Singapore government is also interested in building something that’s much more family-friendly. To counter-act this casino resort, so to speak.
“And what sort of family-friendly project is the Singapore government interested in building?,” you continue. Well … Would you believe a theme-park-in-a-box? Some sort of sizeable structure that wouldn’t occupy a whole lot of space within an urban environment but would still provide plenty of entertainment for parents and their children.
And given that the Singapore government is expected to underwrite much of the cost of constructing this family-friendly project … Well, you can perhaps understand why Mickey is supposedly very eager to get in bed with this city state. So that the Walt Disney Company won’t have to spend too much of its own money designing & building this first SBE. Which then would serve as the prototype for all the other “site-based entertainments” that the Mouse would build around the globe.
“So what sort of timetable are we talking about here?,” you ask. Well, given that Singapore isn’t expected to pick the company to build that country’s first casino resort ’til the middle of 2006 … We really shouldn’t expect the government there to start talking about the family-friendly project that would counter-act this casino ’til 2007 or even 2008. Which explains Iger’s ” … in the next year to two years that we will commit to creating a new concept or some entity outside the U.S.” comment.
But as for these “site-based entertainments” that Iger talked about in that Wall Street Journal interview … All I can tell you is what my sources inside the Walt Disney Company have been telling me. And that’s to keep your sights on the Far East, folks. Particularly on Singapore. Where something extraordinary could rise up out of this city state in the next seven-to-ten years.
Your thoughts?