Mouse Extra

Could it be after years and years of rumors speculating Disney would be building a new theme park anywhere from North Carolina to Texas we may finally have a new U.S. park outside of California and Florida?  While we can’t say yes for sure, this is certainly the most interesting rumor we’ve seen in many, many years, or so it would seem.  Reports in Branson, Missouri say Disney is ready to plug down over a billion dollars for a new resort theme park there.  The News-Leader of Springfield has a short but interesting story.

In April, a person claiming to be representative of a company looking to build a park in the area met with town officials.  He offered a slight insight into the plans.

A list of specifications Marshall gave the commissioners included first-phase construction costs of $1.1 billion, land purchases of 1,000 acres with the park taking 100 acres, six hotels, 95 shops, 27 rides, 12 stages and 18 restaurants.

This type of proclamation would obviously peak people’s interest, and it started an investigation into the ownership of this company.

The owners are Michael Hill of Wilmington, Del.; Robert Brown, who lists his address as 500 South Buena Vista St., Burbank, Calif.; and Jason Johnson, who lists his address as Corporate Office, Lake Buena Vista, Fla.

On the Internet, commissioners found that the Burbank address is corporate headquarters of the Walt Disney Co. Lake Buena Vista, Fla., is headquarters of Walt Disney World Resort.

That would seem pretty obvious to me, wouldn’t you agree?  Maybe not.  First, we all remember Jay Rasulo’s “blue sky” talk about putting smaller theme parks and resort hotels in places outside the current Disney locations.  This type of plan in Missouri does not jive with Rasulo’s speech at all, as it is much larger. 

Second, people on the internet who are already planning their first Disneyland Branson trip have glossed over the fact that the company is reported to have, “asked about changes on county roads leading to the location the company is considering for a theme park.”  This makes it seem a bit less obvious, and at best case makes this very, very early into the process. Many things have to happen before shovels go into the ground, even if this report is correct.  Disney could also be asking these same questions in many other areas.

Third, doesn’t this seem a little too easy?  This interested party is using a phony company name, yet listing the Disney Corporate headquarters as the address of an owner?  I understand the paperwork being filed, but this just doesn’t make any sense at all.  If it is truly Disney, then it is obvious they wanted investigators to find this out.  They practically sent their representative wearing Mouse Ears, for crying out loud. 

Does it make sense for Disney to build yet another U.S. destination?  Are the hotel rooms in Florida so full that Disney World wouldn’t be hurt by sending some potential Midwest guests to another destination?  So many questions…