Mouse Extra

Well, it didn’t take long for the back peddling to begin on the rumor Disney is buying land in Branson, Missouri.  Today the News-Leader, the same paper who started all of this over the past weekend, is now reporting the rumor to be a bunch of hooey.

After rumors flew last week that Disney was planning to build a $1.1 billion theme park in the area, Presiding Commissioner Jerry Carter got the word Monday that, as he put it, it’s “shenanigans.”

“I just talked to the vice president of public affairs for Disney, and she said there’s nothing to it,” Carter said.

But don’t just take Disney’s word for it.  Apparently the representative we talked about yesterday gave a telephone number that is always busy and an email address that is never answered.  The whole ruckus started because investigating reporters traced ownership of the company claiming to be building a theme park to addresses within the Walt Disney Company.  But the addresses also went to other places…

Also, the business address listed on the registration form is 1826 S. Glenstone Ave., Springfield, Suite 353. That address is the site of a UPS store with a mailbox numbered 353.

And lending an odd touch, the name of one of the company’s owners is registered as Robert Brown. While it may be a common name, it also is the name of the deceased first husband of Walt Disney’s daughter, Sharon Disney. That Robert Brown died in 1967.

As we said yesterday, this rumor sounded too obvious.  No one in the Disney Company would risk having to pay inflated land prices by being this careless.  It sounds more like a goofy prank or an attempt to inflate land prices under false pretenses gone wrong. 

One thing we can always be sure of is that a rumor like this will pop up every year or so.  Usually it starts on the internet and involves an area of Texas, but Branson has been an old favorite of the Disney rumor mill as well.  Being that it appeared in a newspaper, and not an online chat room, gave this a bit more legitimacy, at least on the surface.  But suspicion surrounded this from the very beginning.

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…

The Saratoga Springs Resort and Spa is the home resort for many Disney Vacation Club members, myself included.  It is a beautiful sprawling resort with a wonderful main pool, interesting architectural details, and pleasing landscaping.  But it does lack a bit in the food and drink department.  There is one bar called the Turf Club, and it does not live up to the standard set by the rest of the resort.

As you can probably tell from the name, the Turf Club tries to maintain the general resort-wide theme of Saratoga Springs, NY and its rich horseracing history.  But beyond the name, and a few wall decorations, it does little more to offer an immersive experience.  In fact, the atmosphere here is not much better than a hotel lobby, even though this is not a lobby bar. 

The space has much potential.  It is odd shaped room off in a quiet corner of the building.  But Disney planners never even bothered to build an actual bar, which makes the hole thing very frustrating.  It says “bar” right on the sign, but there is no bar.  Instead there are various chairs spread haphazardly across the room, and a small walk-up area to get a limited selection of drinks.  My wife and I went there once for an NFL playoff game.  We decided after a few seconds to go and watch it in our room because there was only one television and you could only really see it from certain places.  What resulted were dozens of fans standing in front trying to catch a glimpse. 

The Disney Vacation Club created a terrific resort at Saratoga Springs, but failed miserably at creating a bar where you can simply hangout.  Thankfully, Downtown Disney with all the bars you can want is only a boat ride away.  But it would have been nice to build something inviting on property that fit’s the theme.

There are many reasons why Jim Hill Media is required reading for the Disney addict.  His site is filled with rumors and stories about every aspect of the Disney Company.  Though Mr. Hill seems more focused on the studios and not the theme parks, he does focus on the parks often enough.  The stuff that is truly fun is when he gives us some undisclosed piece of history, like he did yesterday when discussing the Magic Kingdom resorts that nearly happened.

The original plans for the Seven Seas Lagoon  included many additional hotels than the two that stood for so many years.  There was supposed to be a Venetian Resort, a Thai-theme Asian resort, a Persian Resort, and even a Yellowstone lodge-type hotel which sounds an awful lot like the current Wilderness Lodge.  But things changed in the world, and this wonderland needed some time to develop.

Long story short: When attendance at the resort dropped off by more than 20% due to the Oil Embargo, Disney officials realized that they should probably cut back on the number of new on-property resorts that they were planning on building. And — instead — give people a truly compelling reason to come down to Orlando and then stay on the hotel rooms that the Mouse already owned. Which is why — starting in 1974 — development of Epcot was fast-tracked, while plans for any additional on-property resorts were quietly tabled.

Mind you, the Imagineers always hoped that they’d be eventually able to get back to Disney World’s “Master Plan.” But then a decade went by and suddenly the Walt Disney Company had a brand-new management team. And Michael Eisner? He wasn’t all that enthusiastic about the idea of building a Thai-themed hotel at Walt Disney World. But an elegant new resort that paid tribute to those grand old hotels that you used to find in Sarasota & Boca Raton around the turn of the century? That Disney’s new CEO could get behind.

So here is finally one decision I think I can applaud Mr. Eisner on.  Though the plans for the resorts seem interesting enough, the current Grand Floridian is much more beautiful to me.  Yes, these more exotic resort probably are more suited for a “Seven Seas” motif, but let’s be honest.  How was the Contemporary suited for that same motif?

Take a look at Mr. Hill’s article.  Beside the great information, he has some wonderful concept drawings of the properties he’s referring to.  Many of these you may have seen before, but it is always fun to think of what may have been.

It has finally been announced who is taking over the restaurant at Epcot’s Ital Pavilion, after Alfredo’s closes at the end of this summer.  The Patina Group, a multi-concept chain, has been awarede the property from Disney, though the name and the exact changes  coming to the World Showcase have not been released.  Take a look at AllEarsNet.com for the full story…

The Patina Restaurant Group is the nation’s leading multi-concept operation in the premium segments of the restaurant and food service industry. In New York City its portfolio includes the world-famous Ice Rink and The Sea Grill at Rockefeller Center; the Brasserie; and the Grand Tier at the Metropolitan Opera House. On the West Coast, the portfolio includes the renowned Patina Restaurant in Walt Disney Concert Hall; Nick and Stef’s Steakhouse; Catal and three other restaurants in the Anaheim Disneyland Resorts Downtown Disney District; Leatherby’s Cafe Rouge at the Orange County Performing Arts Center; Julia’s Kitchen at COPIA in Napa; Pinot Brasserie in Las Vegas; and catering and food service in museums and cultural centers throughout Southern California

I think we can all agree that this is a rather extensive resume.  But what the World Showcase is suppose to be about is bringing a slice of the real country to Walt Disney World.  Alfredo’s was an authentic Italian experience brought across the Atlantic.  This is not going to be that, though it may be a good facsimile.  While this is not the nightmare scenario of a huge chain of pseudo-Italian restaurants taking over, it is the perfect scenario either.

Perhaps the best advice I can give to people going to Walt Disney World for a short trip, and by that I mean less then 4 days, is to know what you want to do.  If it is your first time, read the guide books.  But if you are a Mouse veteran like me, all you need to do is think it out and make a short list.  You don’t have to make a list of everything you plan to do and turn it into a color-coded spreadsheet for your entire party to follow or risk the punishment.  You just need to know what you want to make sure you don’t go home wishing you had more time.

My list may be a bit different from the average guest, but here’s what I want to be sure I do before I leave…

1. Monsters Inc. Laugh Floor because it’s new
2. Gran Fiesta Tour for the same reason
3. Turtle Talk so I can see the new theater
4. Spaceship Earth so I can see it before it changes
5. Eat at Alfredo’s so I can see it before it closes
6. Nemo Musical because it stopped in mid-show due to technical problems the last time I attempted to see it.
7.  Kali River Rapids because it will probably be hot

Those are the main objectives, everything else is gravy.  I do plan on doing a lot more than just that, but these are the things that will leave me disappointed if I don’t get them done.

Just from this short list, you can make a plan.  For instance, we know the Laugh Floor, Turtle Talk, and the Nemo musical are all fairly popular, and therefore could have some lengthy lines.  So that means we want to go to those parks in the morning as much as we can.  In order to free up time to do the other things, the gravy, we need to make sure we don’t get caught on a 70 minute line for the stuff we’re really trying to accomplish.  Also, a 70 minute line is often how start talking yourself out of doing something you really want to do.  How many times have you walked up to an e-ticket, saw the wait time and walked away?  Fastpass can help, but remember the trip is short.  Some of the most popular attractions often have return times that are hours out.  If we are planning on doing more than one theme park each day, that could be tough.

As you can see from my list, the Disney-MGM Studios is expendable.  Though I love the Tower of Terror and my wife was very disappointed we didn’t get on the Rock n’ Rollercoaster last time while it was getting a facelift, there is nothing new.  I can’t imagine we’ll skip it altogether.  If we get the list done, we should have plenty of time.