Mouse Extra

There is news all over the internet this morning that has Disney addicts bubbling with excitement.  Jay Rasulo, chairman of Disney’s resorts and theme parks division, spoke in great length to investors recently about plans that they are looking into developing which can expand the division all across the world.  The best article I have read on this comes from Merissa Marr in the Wall Street Journal. 

There is so much information in this article covering so many possibilities that we will really need to slice this into multiple postings.  The first thing we will discuss is this concept of taking the theme park experience beyond the boundaries of the existing resorts…

Disney is hatching plans to take its theme-park experience to the masses, rather than the other way around. Instead of building more big parks, the company is sketching out a string of niche resorts and attractions around the world. That could include such things as stand-alone, Disney themed hotels in cities and beach resorts, Disney branded retail and dining districts, and smaller, more specialized parks.

The “beach resort” idea seems to make a lot of sense.  Disney currently has two such resorts within the Disney Vacation Club at Hilton Head, SC and Vero Beach, FL.  Besides being part of the time-share business, these resorts also rent to the public.  They have been doing this for years now, so one would think that they have a gauge on the potential of building more from the experience they already have.

But “stand-alone, Disney themed hotels in cities” or “more specialized parks”?  What exactly does that mean…?

Disney set to work sketching out some ideas. One concept is to create stand-alone versions of the Downtown Disney dining and shopping districts or resorts like the BoardWalk at Walt Disney World, which includes a hotel, clubs, arcades and other entertainment. An alternative is building a resort around an attraction like an indoor water-park or a theme like pirates or princesses. Another approach is building a family version of a casino, without the gambling.

Let’s just think in terms of North America and the surrounding islands.  Could Disney build a resort on the Jersey shore or Ocean City, Maryland?  How about a high-end pirates theme property outside of Newport, Rhode Island or Savannah, Georgia?  How successful could Disney be building a themed resort and attraction near Gettysburg, Pennsylvanian which gets huge tourist numbers?  Would the Mouse dominate by building an indoor water-park and resort near Niagara Falls?  All these possibilities, and I have not even gone west of the Mississippi River or to the Caribbean.  Texas, Hawaii and California all have millions of tourists going to different spots that Disney can tap in to.

There are places all over the country that families go to vacation, and all Disney needs to do is bring charm and some giant walking rodents and the masses will come.  If you have been to any of these places that I mentioned, stop and think about where you stayed and what you did.  Now, if the price was right, wouldn’t you rather have stayed at a hotel like the Boardwalk, or the Grand Floridian, or the Wilderness Lodge?  What if you could take a weekend getaway…to the Animal Kingdom Lodge?  “Hey kids, this weekend we’re going to take a drive to Jack Sparrows Water Park!” 

Now all of this means nothing but disaster if Disney reverts back to its Eisner-era policy of great ideas turning into disappointments after the budgets get slashed in mid-construction.  This idea can work, but only if Disney truly blows away the competition and its guests.  And they certainly can do that.