Fifth Gate?

[sethschroeder]

With Universal announcing the new park today do we think this will get Disney to respond in short order?

 

[rteetz]

No.

So much goes into a gate and Disney isn’t there yet. Universal is much further along.

 

[Douglas Dubh]

I’m pretty sure the next two parks Disney opens will be in China. Both Hong Kong and Shanghai have areas reserved for second parks and those will take a lot of Disney’s resources and capital over the next 10 to 20 years. Maybe we’ll see another domestic park between 2040 and 2050.

 

[rteetz]

I’m pretty sure the next two parks Disney opens will be in China. Both Hong Kong and Shanghai have areas reserved for second parks and those will take a lot of Disney’s resources and capital over the next 10 to 20 years. Maybe we’ll see another domestic park between 2040 and 2050.

Yeah China is the best bet.

Orlando needs to really beef up the amount of people in it in order to support more parks. 14,000 people for this new Universal park and that will be tough to fill. Disney would certainly need probably that much as well. The Orlando market can't support 30,000 more jobs right now because there just aren't enough people.

 

[vacationer1954]

The Orlando market can't support 30,000 more jobs right now because there just aren't enough people.

I'm heading down there to help...

 

[MassJester]

No matter how many times I see a speculation thread on a 5th gate, I just can't help myself from reading it.

 

[Future_WorldPhonencian]

Im interested to see how Disney will respond. New gates do slurp up a lot of attention. The problem is they are a massive investment in time and money that takes a long while to make back. The last two times Universal built a true gate (sorry Volcano Bay) Disney pre-empted it with another park to steal publicity.

While Im sure there is a division in Disney that is scrambling to come up with a "counter" to this at D23... It would be quite an announcement and steal Universal's thunder. The Best we can hope for are some new lands and expansions... Maybe SWGE and Pandora start filling up those expansion pads, DHS and AK get a new land, the Waterparks can get some new attractions, Epcot will get 1-2 more attractions for its overhaul, maybe Bombadier can finally get some new monorails .

I say the absolute earliest we see a Disney 5th gate in Florida is 2030... more likely 30's-40's.

 

[Dr.Mickey]

Orlando needs to really beef up the amount of people in it in order to support more parks. 14,000 people for this new Universal park and that will be tough to fill. Disney would certainly need probably that much as well. The Orlando market can't support 30,000 more jobs right now because there just aren't enough people.

I wonder about construction capacity, of the specialized type it takes to build theme park lands and attractions. I remember hearing an interview with a historian about Disney's move to Florida in the late 60's. In particular, the historian noted a lack of expertise that already existed in the LA/Hollywood area and the challenges that presented for Florida. Of course, with theme parks providing the lion's share of the Orlando economy for the last 50 years, the infrastructure is there. But how thin will it be spread with one massive project like Universal's, vs TWO massive projects if Disney builds another park.

 

[Dr.Mickey]

No matter how many times I see a speculation thread on a 5th gate, I just can't help myself from reading it.

I know! It's like a new gondola video!

 

[tlmadden73]

Adding Pandora, SWGE, TSL and a few new rides at Epcot is almost like adding a 5th gate. All those parks have net-new rides amounting to the same we'd probably see in a new park.

Do we want more additions to these parks or just another small park like DHS or AK were at opening with only 4 new rides and a few shows?

Disney just needs to add on to their existing "half day" parks. After the Epcot overhaul, Disney needs to go back to AK and either expand Pandora or change up Dinoland (to get rid of those carnival rides). AK still is pretty light on attractions.

Sure . there is more excitement around a brand new park, but we'll probably see Disney add in yet another new hotel in their vast space before we see a 5th gate.

 

[ELLH]

Adding Pandora, SWGE, TSL and a few new rides at Epcot is almost like adding a 5th gate. All those parks have net-new rides amounting to the same we'd probably see in a new park.

Do we want more additions to these parks or just another small park like DHS or AK were at opening with only 4 new rides and a few shows?

Disney just needs to add on to their existing "half day" parks. After the Epcot overhaul, Disney needs to go back to AK and either expand Pandora or change up Dinoland (to get rid of those carnival rides). AK still is pretty light on attractions.

Sure . there is more excitement around a brand new park, but we'll probably see Disney add in yet another new hotel in their vast space before we see a 5th gate.

I really do agree with you. However, the one argument I'd make as a Pro for a 5th gate would be thinning the crowds. Having more rides at the existing parks just makes them more crowded. Having another place for people to go to would at least spread the attendees out. If for no other reason than that, I'd love to see a 5th gate. But like I said, I do agree with you aside from that aspect.

 

[tlmadden73]

I really do agree with you. However, the one argument I'd make as a Pro for a 5th gate would be thinning the crowds. Having more rides at the existing parks just makes them more crowded. Having another place for people to go to would at least spread the attendees out. If for no other reason than that, I'd love to see a 5th gate. But like I said, I do agree with you aside from that aspect.

That is a good point. But does adding a 5th park draw even more people so it is a wash? Making the existing parks bigger helps thin crowds too. SWGE will make the "area" of DHS so much bigger. Pandora helped spread out crowds down in a separate corner, add better attractions in the Dinoland area and that would pull crowds that way too. The new rides in World Showcase help pull crowds to that often-skipped part of the park (for families).

Disney Springs overhaul probably helps thin out crowds too. I am sure that is more of a draw than Downtown Disney was, especially with all the food and shopping choices there now.

But Disney may want to answer -- a 3rd park (plus a waterpark) for Universal will definitely draw people to Orlando for a Disney-like 5+ day vacation ... AT Universal - skipping Disney altogether.

Really not sure what Disney would do for a 5th park without the Marvel properties though. Would we be happy with just a park filled with all the rides in foreign parks we don't have here? Heh. Call it the Disney International Park.

 

[YesterDark]

I'm going to go with a no on a 5th gate. There would have been some kind of solid-ish rumors about it. The biggest "new park" announcement we could probably4 see for North America would be the announcement for plans for another park expansion. Even then, I doubt we'll see plans for another SWGE type of project given all the recent news about their anxiety about it.

We already know a lot about Epcot plans.
We may see plans for a Dinoland revamp/Pandora expansion in AK?
I doubt they're planning anything in DHS that they are ready to announce. I'd have to think any new land here would be still on the drawing board.
The Magic Kingdom already got New Fantasy Land not THAT long ago. So any MK changes would be doubtful.

A "Secret Disney Project" is an interesting turn of phrase. The word project evokes a lot emotion and imagination because the first thing I think of is Florida Project especially in the context of Uni announcing their new park. I'm sure we'll all be let down though.

 

[jknezek]

Why is it any thread about a Fifth Park is like the ultimate click bait for me? I know it's not happening. I argue against it happening. I still can't help myself from clicking on it? It must be a personal failing...

 

[JenboJambo]

I don't know you guys. I'm convinced that a 5th gate will be announced before Iger leaves. All these new hotels, attendance up, Universal's new gate (to name a few reasons I think so) Now there is a surprise announcement at D23 added to the schedule right after Universal announced the name of their new gate? It's been 21 years since Disney has added a gate? Isn't that the longest they've gone? And what has Joe Rohde been up to anyway? Has he been working on any big projects (besides the 5th gate )? I have a feeling that my comment is going to be ripped apart by all of you, but I'm a believer! I just hope the 5th gate is something to get excited about (DisneySea). A girl can dream.... right?

The only thing that has me thinking no 5th gate is all of the comments on here (by Disney aficionados) saying "NO WAY".

5th gate posts are total click bait for me.

 

[JenboJambo]

We may see plans for a Dinoland revamp/Pandora expansion in AK?

I know this isn't popular opinion, but they better not dare touch DinoLand! I love that area.

 

[YesterDark]

I love 5th gate threads. rteetz likes to delete them!

 

[jknezek]

I don't know you guys. I'm convinced that a 5th gate will be announced before Iger leaves. All these new hotels, attendance up, Universal's new gate (to name a few reasons I think so) Now there is a surprise announcement at D23 added to the schedule right after Universal announced the name of their new gate? It's been 21 years since Disney has added a gate? Isn't that the longest they've gone? And what has Joe Rohde been up to anyway? Has he been working on any big projects (besides the 5th gate )? I have a feeling that my comment is going to be ripped apart by all of you, but I'm a believer! I just hope the 5th gate is something to get excited about (DisneySea). A girl can dream.... right?

The only thing that has me thinking no 5th gate is all of the comments on here (by Disney aficionados) saying "NO WAY".

5th gate posts are total click bait for me.

Nothing wrong with being a believer and dreaming. Just don't let it intrude too much on reality. The stage and room for the "secret Disney Project" is not the biggest. It's unlikely they would announce a new gate without being able to take full advantage of it. We will see, but I think this is just a dream. SW:GE is still a huge focus. Seeing how that land actually does once it is fully realized will consume the bean counters in the Parks area for quite a while. Once that affect is realized and quantified, and the 50th and all that is going for the 50th, plus the EPCOT reimagining finishes, then attention might turn. But there is so much going on right now that will all need to be finalized, opened, analyzed and evaluated before a Fifth Gate becomes a priority.

I know, we're all greedy. But you look at everything that has opened and is scheduled to open between 2017 and 2023, and you realize that Disney has essentially built a Fifth Gate (though they've destroyed half of a gate to do it, so it's less a capacity thing than I'd like to see). But multiple hotels, multiple rollercoasters, multiple dark rides, multiple restaurants, new fireworks shows, new transportation, new entry work to every park. If they took everything they've done from 2017 to 2023 and put it in one park, you'd have a heck of a gate.

Of course, the flip side of that is the dearth of everything they didn't build for the decade before when they dropped a billion dollars into Magic Bands Plus. So it's all a tradeoff. But it's hard to look at Disney and say they aren't working hard right now to grow and improve the parks. A Fifth Gate just doesn't fit into the massive redo and infilling they are currently focusing on. And I maintain the redo and infilling is what needs to happen. DHS and EPCOT were shells, Pre-Pandora AK was lacking in attractions. Tron I think is going in so they can take Space Mountain down for a drastically needed refurbishment.

 

[atricks]

Universal has enough room for another park (4th gate) beyond epic universe also (especially if they convert the Epic parking area into a garage and use the lot land for the park, like they did for Islands of Adventure). I'd suspect that is 12-15 years out though. My guess is Universal is long term aiming to match park count, both in Water Parks and Theme Parks.

 

[Steph15251]

Yeah China is the best bet.

Orlando needs to really beef up the amount of people in it in order to support more parks. 14,000 people for this new Universal park and that will be tough to fill. Disney would certainly need probably that much as well. The Orlando market can't support 30,000 more jobs right now because there just aren't enough people.

I live in the Orlando area ,and many of our community’s are fast growing and lots of job growth ,odd because last month unemployment was up ,what I feel we do not have enough of is construction workers and central Florida has all these building codes .Also before a place can even build something they have to submit the plan’s to the county ,and there are a few things in central Florida that have been announced but have been delayed or cancelled .Yes this new park is happening but imo it would take years to build.