So what is an LBE?
Tuesday, we talked about MiceAge’s Kevin Yee and the rumors he’s heard about the new Disney-MGM Studios Pixar-themed “land”. However, that section of Mr. Yee’s report was not the section that made the rounds on nearly every Disney forum and website on the internet. Instead, the Disney community is talking about what he had to say regarding the possibility of “Location-Based Entertainment”, (which we are now predictably calling LBE) Jay Rasulo’s idea to bring themed hotels and small parks to locations outside the current theme parks.
The thrust of what is causing the conversation comes from this paragraph…
It turns out Disney may have much more in mind than just a hotel. What if it were a hotel, an indoor water park, a shopping area, and an E-Ticket ride all bundled together and themed into one seamless region? Imagine Fort Wilderness, an indoor River Country, and a Splash Mountain all plopped down together and forming a contiguous themed environment. Or Animal Kingdom Lodge and Kali River Rapids and an Africa-themed indoor water park, again, of modest size and scope, but highly themed.
Certainly the topic is fun to talk about, and we will discuss these ideas in just a minute. But the reason I didn’t discuss this topic when the piece we released is because it is nothing new. Mr. Yee makes it seem as though he is bringing us some great scoop, but this is something the Wall Street Journal reported back in February. Here is the link to the Mouse Extra story.
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 article also mentioned water-parks and the like. The only difference between the two is the Journal didn’t use the term “E-Ticket”, probably because it doesn’t mean anything to non-Disney addicted readers. But just the mention of what may be down the road in a city near you gets the Disney community excited. And quite frankly, it gets me pumped up for the future possibilities as well. So even though there may be nothing new this week on the LBE front, it’s always fun to talk about.
So, what do you think of the ideas Mr. Yee has floated? Do you think one “E-Ticket” at a resort is enough to drive the revenue needed to operate it? What would you like to see in a town near you? My idea is coming to Mouse Extra soon, so check back with us…
Ray said,
June 21, 2007 @ 2:55 pm
Granted I’m a DINK (dual income no kids), so my opinons may change once ankle biters are in the picture, but when I decide that I’m going to take time off of work I need to have two things:
1. A reason to be off of work that takes me away from home for an extended period of time
2. Something fun to do
I think a resort with a single E-Ticket attraction wouldn’t be enough for me to try and convince my wife to go there or vice versa. When I travel for work (which is often), such things don’t play into the equation. It’s always location and business-centric amenities (aka broadband internet). Same thing tends to hold true for traveling for conference except the fun-quotient is sometimes factored in for conferences but not at the expense of ease of getting to and from the conference (hence our staying at Paradise Pier resort at Disneyland for my wife’s conference at the Anaheim Convention Center).
Now, it’s possible that it might work if they were very, very strategic on where they placed the resorts. There would have to be other things to capture the attention of their paying guests that may not be provided by this particular resort.
Branson, Missouri comes to mind. Most people I know who go there don’t go for what is offered at the place they are staying. They are going for what the entire city has to offer and from what I hear there is alot being offered.
I’m sure there are other places in the country that have this kind of appeal. I just cannot think of one off the top of my head. I’m not that seasoned of a traveler inside the United States
Biblioadonis aka George said,
June 21, 2007 @ 6:31 pm
My brother, Andrew and I have been writing about this on our blog since May. There is a rumor that an entertainment based comapny is looking at the Greensboro, NC area for a hotel/destination center. It is also swirling with the rumors about an ACC Hall of Fame with a potentially big backer.
http://disneygeeks.blogspot.com/search/label/Action%20Greensboro
Here is an excerpt from our latest ruminations:
“But what really gets this Disney Geek going is the thought of a Soarin’ based attraction in Greensboro. Imagine having your choice of three different films: the original one in the parks now, one that showcases the best of Disney around the world and one that flies you into the greatest ACC games of all time. Imagine watching Michael Jordan during the 1982-1983 Chapel Hill season. Flying through historic games. And historic stadiums. Smells, sounds and motion.”
“When we examine the possibility of an attraction that would be appropriate for everyone and would fit the constraints of an LBE, we scanned the parks for an idea that would fit. The best attraction we came up with was Soarin’. It has a smaller footprint than a traditional roller coaster ride and the ability to customize/update with a new movie makes the idea fitting. Let’s leave it up to the Imagineers to come up with a new and exciting variation that would fit the theme being offered. In scanning the internet for dissenters to Soarin’, we were hard pressed to find anyone that did not love the ride (or at least find it appealing). We still have trouble believing that a piece of the magic could end up in our own backyard, even though the concept seems so intuitive:
–half way between New York and Orlando
–the heart of ACC country
–a downtown that is in the infancy stages of revitalization. Real estate prices are still growing at a developer’s pace, as opposed to being valued by the already revitalized area.
–the proximity to major transportation (I-40/I-85 meet in Greensboro) and three international airports
–the ability to promote the brand with a small weekend getaway type feel”
We are both extremely excited about this opportunity (or even the thought about it). We don’t want Disney to start sniffing around and then get a response like Manassas. We are trying to be cheerleaders…so to speak.
David said,
June 21, 2007 @ 8:57 pm
No disrepsect to the kind folks of Greensboro, but I think Disney will shoot a bit higher than that. I think if they are going to latch onto a city, they need one with tourism and convention appeal. Memphis or Nashville come to mind, as does DC or Boston, or NY. The other choice is to cuddle up to a tourist area, a highly populated one where they are not the only attraction. Virginia Beach, Savannah, or Hawaii come to mind, or even a western ranch or ski resort.
A place like Greensboro, just doesn’t seem to fit what I would expect. Remember, considering the amount of investment being put into these ideas, the area really needs to support it.
Gordon said,
June 22, 2007 @ 12:48 am
Agreed David. I think in order for this to work, it would have to be built in cities that are already getting high tourist and convention traffic and with well established transit infrastructure. I could see how this might work in Chicago, Boston, or even Hawaii.
Andrew said,
June 22, 2007 @ 1:52 am
Agreed that Greensboro may not have the size or scale of some of the DC’s and Boston’s of the world, but there are multiple reasons the area deserves a second look. Listen folks, I know we are dreaming here….what’s wrong with that? A little rumor about a piece of the magic in your city (of course, if its done right) is certainly something to have fun with.
I also understand the appeal in “cuddling up” to a tourist attraction as well, but that is certainly not what Disney did with ‘The Florida Project’. It was the intangibles that put them there…the weather, the space, THE CHEAP CHEAP CHEAP PRICE OF REAL ESTATE. There is something to be said about making an investment in a community at the beginning of the revitalization phase as opposed to the end of it. Trust me when I say that there is more potential at the prices in the Greensboro market then there are in Nashville or Hawaii.
Here is the result of some factual digging. Greensboro is ranked as the number one metro in the country for number of new projects by Site Selection Magazine, Number one city for singles by Forbes, top twenty safest cities by Quinto City Crime Rankings, number one in the country in utilities service (Duke Power) by Site Selection Online, and an honor roll grade of A+ for Community Life from Kidfriendlycities.com. According to the Census Bureau, Greensbor is a one and a half hour drive away from 4,000,000 people in the metros of Charlotte and Raleigh (Home of the Carolina Panthers, Bobcats, and Hurricanes- all pro sports franchises as well as the storiedACC schools of Carolina, Duke and NC State). Greensboro is also the permanent home of the ACC Hall of Champions. Ooooh, I can smell the synergy!
Anyways, I love the discussion and I appreciate the dissent, but it won’t stop me from dreaming about riding a ‘Soarin’ on a Thursday night after a long day at work. Awesome!
watcher said,
June 25, 2007 @ 3:34 pm
Ok here is what is proposed in this project in downtown Greensboro
- high-rise luxury hotel with 300 to 600 rooms
- 50 room luxury boutique hotel
- convention center
- significant and major entertainment venues that attract big time national acts and hold between 500 and 2,500 people (entertainment complex which sounds like having venues such as The House of Blues)
- entertainment for families, children and singles (possibally an IMAX theater in this project as well)
- multiple restaurants
- residential with as many as 250 units (rentals and luxury condos, also a potential high-rise)
- commercial/retail/shopping space (there are rumors that a supermarket could be in this. There is a chance major shopping chains could be involved given the nature of this project)
- office space
Also keep in mind Ray Gibbs of downtown Greensboro Inc is dealing directly with this Greensboro project. BTW the main developer of this secret Greensboro, NC project is based in Orlando, Florida and has been said that the development firm has been looking at sites throughout the southeast for this development and that Greensboro is the frontrunner due to its central location among several metros. This secret unidentified project in Greensboro has also been descibed as being a destination for the southeast United States and as being a tourist/convention development. Interntational developers are involved to so as you can see Greensboro can be considered for a big tourist project. Something like this doesnt have to be in Memphis, Atlanta, Mrytle Beach or Virginia Beach. You just never know…this could be Disney behind this project in Greensboro.
watcher said,
June 25, 2007 @ 3:42 pm
Also Greensboro does have a few decent attractions such as the Grandover Resort and Wet ‘n Wild Emerald Pointe waterpark which happens to be the 12th most popular waterpark in the United States. Also otheraattractions in the area are Old Salem, similar to Williamsburg, Virginia near Busch Gardens but a little smaller then the North Carolina Zoo is nearby.
watcher said,
June 25, 2007 @ 6:45 pm
Also…I forgot to mention that Ray Gibbs, president of downtown Greensboro inc said this secret Greensboro project is like a “theme park” without rollercoasters and waterslides.
majortom1981 said,
June 25, 2007 @ 7:05 pm
There is a rumour stating that disney just recently purchased some buildings and land in manhattan .
I can’t find anything about it. Somebody on wdwmagic stated this is a fact and will be announced soon. The only other info I have found about it was that somebody at one of the bars that was bought up said that disney bought the land the bar is on and the bar had a couple of months to leave.
THe thing is the fact that nothing can be found about this. Disneys BIG projects have all been extremely secret.
Also on one of the rcent annual reports it hints at a project like this in a city.
Anybody have any more info on something like this being built in manhattan (consider the location right by their broadway plays)
David said,
June 25, 2007 @ 7:57 pm
I suppose anything can happen. But I simply do not see Disney investing in a city that is not a top tourist destination for their first attempt at this. No disrespect to Greensboro, but I just don’t know anyone who has even gone there on vacation. Perhaps I am wrong, and we’ll see, but I think something grander is in the cards.
watcher said,
June 26, 2007 @ 4:55 pm
majortom1981…..the timing certainly seems to be a big coincidnece because the developer behind this project in Greensboro will be ready to announce soon as well and both proposed projects are being planned by a development company in Orlando, Fl. We at least know the identitiy of the developer for New York’s project. But I did read something a while back in reference to Disney urban entertainment complexes that Disney would be building projects that are appropriate for the size market which means thier developments wont be exclusively in major cosmopolitan cities such as New York and Chicago
Mouse Extra said,
January 14, 2008 @ 5:24 pm
[...] we have all read about the “LBE”, or location-based attraction. This was the idea floated by Jay Rasulo, the head of Disney’s [...]