Mouse Extra

Yesterday we discussed the possible negative impacts the economy will likely have on Walt Disney World and the Disney Company.  But there is one division of the company that is certain to turn 2009 into a banner year.  The Disney Vacation Club, the company’s timeshare organization, is poised for a huge year that will see multiple new resorts and the opening of what will doubtless be its biggest and most anticipated location in its history.

Yes, while the parks may see a cut in development and the slashing of operating hours and show times, the DVC will see three new resorts open its doors at Walt Disney World.  The biggest of these will be the Bay Lake Tower at Disney’s Contemporary resort.  For years, members, and potential members, have been waiting for a resort located on the famed Magic Kingdom Monorail line.  Well, in the fall of 2009 that is exactly what they will get.  The crescent shaped monstrosity, the design of which has enraged more than a few purists, will offer what has been promised to be the most spectacular views of the Magic Kingdom yet seen at a Disney World resort. 

For lovers of Imagineering imagination, the new Kidani Village at the Animal Kingdom lodge may be the resort for you.  With its very own savannah filled with African wildlife, this property is being billed as the most visually impressive and immersive experience the DVC has yet to offer.  This may turn out to be one if those place people stand in awe over.

And finally, with a nod to the purists, the Disney Vacation Club is resurrecting the Treehouse Villas which have long been wasting away in the Florida swamps.  Just up the river from Downtown Disney, these classic villas have always been a popular talking point among guests.  In recent years Disney has closed them to the public and let them sort of deteriorate.  This coming summer the DVC plans to open them again.

The Disney Vacation Club also is scheduled to open its first west coast resort when the Grand Californian opens at Disneyland in Anaheim.  Right now, the opening is scheduled for the fall of 2009 making the coming year big for DVC on both sides of the country.  As a DVC member myself, I can say with honestly that this particular project excites me.  I can’t wait to use my membership at Disneyland.

Despite the recession and all the negative effects it will certainly have on Walt Disney World in 2009, the Disney Vacation Club is pushing forward and spending money as if nothing can slow it down.  The coming year is scheduled to be the biggest and most important in the Club’s entire history.  We may not be getting many new e-ticket attractions in the parks, but DVCers have much to look forward to this year.

This week we usher in a New Year, and to commemorate the event we thought it would be a good idea to look forward to what stories may define Disney’s 2009.  We’ll focus mostly on what may be the big moments at Walt Disney World, but we might add one or two from outside the Orlando theme parks.  We’ll be talking rumors and predictions, and this time next year we can look back and see how close we were.

As we spend the next few days talking about what we think, and what we hope, may be added to Walt Disney World this coming year we will always feel the constant presence of a giant elephant, or a thousand pound gorilla if you prefer, in the middle of the room staring at us.  Because everything we think may happen in 2009 is “subject to change” so to speak, thanks to the economy.  It may very well be the dominant issue throughout the world next year, and it will most definitely exert a massive influence on everything happening at the Mouse.

It seems every week we discuss something new with regards to the economy.  Cutbacks are already a reality and the future will see more.  Some of them will not be noticed too much by guests, but others will likely make the Disney World experience suffer.  The decision to slash showings of Fantasmic! was a perfect example of a budget cut that just plain stinks, any way you look at it.  Besides show times, park hours are already being cut and there is almost certainly more to come.  Cast Member jobs might be lost and budgets for new attractions will be decreased.  How significant these decreases are is the question we will all be watching to see how it is answered by Disney’s bean counters.

Now, it is important to note that not everything the economy influences at Disney World will result in something negative.  While we can certainly expect cutbacks, we can also expect deals.  Disney has already launched aggressive marketing and discount programs to try and lessen the bleeding and hopefully there is more to come.

Disney has also showed a desire to project ahead and try to stay in front of the trends.  When the recession turns around, Disney may want to be ready with new and exciting attractions so that when people start hunting again for vacation spots Disney World has something different to offer.  Did Disney know what was coming and thus cutback on development in 2008?  Will that change in 2009?  Only time will tell.

As the year changes on the calendar, we take a look back at the stories that grabbed our attention at Walt Disney World.  2008 was certainly not the most eventful of years in the Mouse’s recent history, but there were still a few major happenings that we won’t soon forget.

Toy Story Mania Opens:  In a year that saw little in the way of major attraction openings, Toy Story Mania was the biggest addition.  Disney’s Hollywood Studios was in need of an e-ticket, and even though some have debated whether TSM deserves the e-ticket status, it certainly is a fun and popular attraction.  Only time will tell if it will have the staying power of other e-tickets, my guess is that it will not.  But the Imagineers put an amazing amount of effort into developing Toy Story Mania and it deserves our appreciation. 

Pleasure Island and the Adventurer’s Club move to the history books:   It stinks when a closing makes this list, but in 2008 that is exactly what we have.  Pleasure Island may soon be a distant memory, but Disney World fans, and especially purists, will not soon forget the Adventurer’s Club.  It was the place where classic Disney imagination was brought to the resort’s nightlife.  It was the perfect compliment to the Magic Kingdom, full of Disney-style details and immense story and creativity.  Mark me down as someone who holds out hope this idea will be brought back.

Disney’s Animal Kingdom turns 10:  It didn’t come with the outcry Epcot’s 25th anniversary came with, but it still annoyed its fair share of Disney fans.  Disney World’s fourth gate celebrated a milestone, which was nearly ignored by the company and fans were forced to create their own anniversary celebration.  On a personal note, I struggled to include this, as I did not care too much if DAK celebrated a birthday or not.  But I understand it meant a lot to many fans, so it deserves a mention.

Now this is only a select few, I know.  But I prefer to look forward that backwards.  As the New Year begins, we will have a preview of what might happen and what to look forward at Walt Disney World.  2009 may be a difficult year, but it is potentially an eventful one as well.

All of us hear at Mouse Extra would like to wish you and your family a Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays.  We can’t thank you enough for coming back to Mouse Extra and reading what we have to say.  And we would especially like to thank all of you who have taken the time to comment and send emails. 

wishing us Happy Holidays!

And here is my favorite Christmas photo I took a few years ago.  It was my final day of this trip and I was leaving the park for the last time and heading for the airport.  But as we left the World Showcase on our walk towards the front gate, it seemed like all the characters came around to wish us a Merry Christmas. 

Please have a safe and joyful holiday.  And don’t forget to watch the Walt Disney World Christmas Parade tomorrow morning.

Kevin Yee at MiceAge.com has an interesting column this morning that discusses Disney’s economic future and how the current recession may hurt plans for expansion and new attractions.  Amid the normal clang of Mr. Yee’s usual anti-Disney nonsense, there is a good point to be made here.

image courtesy of WDW News Today

In my opinion, the most powerful tool for luring people to the park is new attractions.  Build a crazy-sized yeti inside an enormous mountain rollercoaster and people will come to see it.  Disney’s Orlando competitors are doing just that.  But in 2009, which appears to be shaping up as a rough economic year, Disney has little to offer but the American Idol Experience.  While Disney seems very excited by this attraction, I share Mr. Yee’s questions…

And Disney? Well, for 2009 Disney has the American Idol Experience. Not exactly on par with the monster coasters of the local competitors. There is significant chatter from fans that the American Idol juggernaut will peak soon, if it hasn’t already, so the entire concept is questionable. Will this type of attraction even fly? Will enough tourists take such a big bite out of their day to participate? Will people really warm up to a gigantic and oversized karaoke experience, or could the notion of being judged perhaps lead to almost everyone getting cold feet?

As I have said in the past, I am the absolute wrong person to ask when it comes to this new American Idol Experience.  Personally, I find the television show absolutely unwatchable and nearly nauseating.  But no matter how popular this show might be, I just can’t see a reproduced version of it as being something that can capture the imagination of guests who come to a Disney park like a Disney e-ticket ride can.

Mr. Yee is correct.  If Disney really wanted to do some recession busting they would blow people away with an incredible e-ticket.  Unfortunately it is too late now to make an impact on 2009.

If you are looking for something to watch tonight, and you want get some holiday spirit, give the Muppets a try.  NBC will be airing a new special tonight called A Muppets Christmas; Letters to Santa at 8pm eastern. 

The plot finds the Muppets trying to get last minute letters to the North Pole so Santa can read them.  There is also the compulsory slate of cameos found in the usual Muppets productions.  Nathan Lane, Uma Thurman, and Whoopi Goldberg are among those you’ll see.

There have been a few reviews to come out over the last 24 hours and they are not exactly glowing, but they aren’t panning it either.  The Detroit Free Press calls it “mediocre”.  The Tampa Tribune says “The plot is lame and the music is forgettable”, but also calls it “the best Muppets special in more than a decade.”    Personally, I give everything the Muppets do a try, maybe it’s the nostalgia in me for the good old days of Jim Henson.

Kermit the Frog from Disney's Hollywood Studios

I think many people forget the Muppets are in fact a Disney property, and showing this on a competitor network certainly reinforces that idea.  Disney has done so little with theses great characters since they acquired them.  But let us not allow that to ruin our holiday spirit.  We will get the Muppets in all their glory for an hour tonight and hopefully it will be worthy of the Jim Henson name.

For those looking to add some Muppets to their holiday DVD collection, give the Muppets Christmas Carol a try.  Michael Kane plays Scrooge, and does a terrific job holding on to his character while the full cast of Muppets lampoon the rest of parts.  It is hilariously funny, but also hold on to the spirit of Dickens at the same time.  It’s one of my absolute favorite Muppets films.