This was back when it was clear Disney believed they could put Disney on the box and sell anything. Clearly there’s still some of this thinking going around, but maybe they’ve learned their lesson with the timeshares at least.

The Hawaiian DVC will tell us a lot. There’s no shortage of premium competition there, and frankly Disney again doesn’t exactly have a prime location, so I can’t see them succeeding without really putting some effort into it. I also don’t think they can rely solely on the Cruise Line to make it a hit, should they tie the two together.

Whether an attraction would help things would, just like with the resort, depend on the details. There are other instances of standalone attractions doing well in these locations. Tahoe has a Gondola ride that leads up to an observation area and restaurant overlooking the lake, above South Lake Tahoe. There’s a couple of riverboats that do dining/dancing cruises. Hawaii of course has dinner cruises, snorkeling tours, even submarine rides.

But I’m not sure if this is the type of thing Disney has in mind, or if they are seriously considering more traditional theme park rides, like Pirates or Everest for example. Honestly, I think that would be more risky as the market for one offs like that isn’t proven in the areas they are talking about.

Like I said, good questions.