Originally Posted By jonvn That would be nice, but I don't think Disney will do that. They may run a bus service, though. When the hotels are open, the place will do well, barring further economic meltdown.
Originally Posted By EighthDwarf Cheesecake Factory is like the Field of Dreams. "If you build it...." Just wait and see. And I'm sure at some point they will do a transportation system. As long as it's not the Disney Bus system, I may be tempted at some point. I hate the system at WDW.
Originally Posted By mawnck >>That really wouldn't be that far.<< Plenty far enough. The expensive part of the Peoplemover is the track. They'll build additions to it when hell freezes over. Ditto the monorail. Busses and trams are the only "modern transportation" that makes sense for the resort as it exists now. (Disclaimer: I expressed a similar opinion a few years ago about the subs reopening. I still don't think it made sense to do it, but that didn't stop them.)
Originally Posted By Hans Reinhardt According to bean there has been some talk of expanding the Monorail around the Resort. I'd be surprised though if it were extended to AGW, even if Disney decides to operate the planned hotels there. Making AGW that easy to get to for DLR guests would mean those folks wouldn't be spending money in Disney owned shops and restaurants. And we all know how much Disney hates competition.
Originally Posted By dshyates I believe there will be a PM. Galaxie500 dropped a subtle hint and it makes sense. I don't believe it will be an extention of the existing PM. An entirely new PM that connects GW to the Esplanade. Yes, it would be expensive. But it would also be cool enough to do. WDW used the monorail as an actual transportation system. DLR could use the first PM as real transportation. Doing things that are too expensive to do is what Disney does. Thats why we love them. Its really not the cartoon characters.
Originally Posted By dshyates "Making AGW that easy to get to for DLR guests would mean those folks wouldn't be spending money in Disney owned shops and restaurants." First and for most it would make the parks accessible from the Disney Hotels@AGW. There will also be Disney operated shops, restaurants and the coolest martini bar in Anaheim in the Disney Hotels. It also make DtD accessible to AGW hotel guests to shop and dine. Right now Disney is doing a lot of things in symbiotic relationships on a level like never before. We thought a McDs frycart was stunning. What about a full blown Disney Resort hotel that is actually off-prop. This blows the "I'll never stay off-prop" guy's mind. At WDW they are moving the non-Disney cheap hotels on-prop.
Originally Posted By bean transportation around the resort that will eventually connect all three gates and Disney hotels is not out of the question. Somekind of elevated transportation system has also been in consideration. As far as I know Burbank is working on diferent ideas of a transportation system that would be utilized to move guests from one gate to the other. The original plans were to have a peoplemover type transportation go from the east esplanade east to the Pumbaa parking structure (not yet built) then south via clementine down to the thrid gate. With the big possibility of two Disney operated hotels in Gardenwalk along clementine, the possibility of that system coming true is quite high. It is in Disney's best interest to make sure that guests are able to park hop from one gate to the other two without having to depend on walking through busy city streets.
Originally Posted By bean Also, the backers of Gardenwalk are still optimistic of eventually buying the Anaheim hotel land to build the second phase expansion of Garden walk. This would basically give Garden walk a major entrance though Harbor. That would also create the perfect pedestrain friendly walk from the third gate to the other two gates. This is something the Gardenwalk developers are looking forward to. It would really increase foot traffic.
Originally Posted By bean Like dshyates, its not really about competition right now. Its all about working working together as a resort to offer a variety of food areas and entertainment facilities that will help expand guests choices. Even the future expansion of DTD will be designed to compliment what is there as well as AGW. The resort business community is trying to work in unity to really create the area into a full blown dstination that would include three world class theme parks, one of the largest convention centers in the nation, two unique shopping,dining and entertainment areas all within walking distance. Its actually a shame that they did not consider to run a portion of Harbor blvd below ground with a large walking brdge over the area (similiar to the bridge connecting east DTD to west DTD)
Originally Posted By jonvn They could still do a walking bridge like that. I don't see why they would have considered it before, because six years ago, that area was in total flux. The whole thing sounds very exciting. While I personally wouldn't go to any of the places in Garden Walk, I hope the businesses do well, not just because I don't want to wish anyone ill, but also because it will entice more development and growth to the area. If they can get DCA to be packed, and then a third park and that to be packed, who knows what could happen after that. Maybe Disney could end up buying more land even. I'll probably be dead before that happens, but there is no reason it can't happen.
Originally Posted By dshyates That's what I was saying. Trader Vic's is starting a new chain of Mia Tia Bars. Trader Vic invented the Mia Tia and started the Tiki Bar Culture in America. There are only 2 of these so far, but I would love to have one of these at AGW. <a href="http://tinyurl.com/2y98kt" target="_blank">http://tinyurl.com/2y98kt</a> They are having a Roy's of Hawaii, but that isn't a Tiki Bar.
Originally Posted By FerretAfros The only thing I can see against a bridge over Harbor (assuming it means lowering the street like they did on the other side) is that it would make it really tough to get in and out of the hotels. On the other side, everything is owned by Disney and was easy enough to access from one entrance farther up. On this side, it's owned by a whole bunch of people and it would probably be a lot more tough to convince them to make it hard for motorists to get to their hotel/restuarant. (But then they would have the added bonus of really easy access to the parks by foot, which might look better in brochures and gloss over the fact that it's tough to get in and out with a car. And who really drives all that much once they've gotten to DL anyway?)
Originally Posted By bean "They could still do a walking bridge like that. I don't see why they would have considered it before, because six years ago, that area was in total flux." There were reasons why the street could not have obstacles like bridges before. One that i was made aware off and am not sure if it was true or not is that HArbor was an emergency landing area. At one poitn suppodesly the road was long enough and wide enough to allow anykind of emergency landing due to the old El toro air base being just miles away. Whether this was true or not i am not sure. If it was it was probably an old proposal that was still on the books from when the area was still lightly congested. Now i would think it would be the least favorable area since you have thousands of tourist
Originally Posted By jonvn "One that i was made aware off and am not sure if it was true or not is that HArbor was an emergency landing area." I have a hard time believing that. There is an urban legend that Interstates were originally designed such that a plane could land on them in an emergency. That was part of the national defense concept of them. This is not true. There is absolutely no way a plane of any but the smallest size could safely land on harbor blvd. And even then, a plane would likely crash into vehicles, or whatever is down the median.
Originally Posted By oneyepete The two times that I visited Hawaii I was told that their insterstate was build for the purpose of emrgency landings. And, I had heard that also about mainland interstates. So, instead of just bluting this out and being told I was wrong I did some research and this is what I found. <a href="http://geography.about.com/library/faq/blqzinterstaterunways.htm" target="_blank">http://geography.about.com/lib rary/faq/blqzinterstaterunways.htm</a> I have been set straight. Thanks jonvn for prompting me to research before I speak.
Originally Posted By fkurucz <<When the hotels are open, the place will do well, barring further economic meltdown.>> I have wondered about what kind of impact the housing meltdown will have on visits to DL. I wonder how many families will forego APs (or downgrade them to cheaper ones) and how many out of town visitors will instead visit Grandma as we plunge into the upcomimng recession (which I expect to be a doozy).
Originally Posted By Hans Reinhardt "Like dshyates, its not really about competition right now. Its all about working working together as a resort to offer a variety of food areas and entertainment facilities that will help expand guests choices." Clearly there has been a major shift in the mindset at Disney. 10 years ago this kind of collaboration would have been unthinkable. Does anyone remember the big debate in Orlando when a high-speed airport train was being considered and Disney derailed it because the proposed route would have taken it near or to Universal Studios?
Originally Posted By Hans Reinhardt "There is absolutely no way a plane of any but the smallest size could safely land on harbor blvd. And even then, a plane would likely crash into vehicles, or whatever is down the median." Not to mention the power lines that cross the street near Tower of Terror.
Originally Posted By Nobody ^^Those and the I-5 overpass do make for a tricky landing, I suppose. (There are so many things wrong with that "alternate landing strip". I wonder where the idea really came from?)
