Originally Posted By EPCOT Explorer If anything, this would have been decided WAY before the switcheroo.
Originally Posted By Doobie And if I'm not mistaken, Rilous Carter was already in charge of special events across all the parks.
Originally Posted By -em I am not a sports fan but I am shocked that they are getting rid of the event- esp with how much they've done to promote the ESPN brand lately... I wanted to run the ESPN 5K next year- guess not... So it seems Studios is down to Star Wars Weekends for their special events now days.. Crazy -em
Originally Posted By -em >>Can someone explain to me why he is generally revered in fanboy circles?<< Cause he's pretty and people liked his dad.. IMO he's not the best nor the worst leader I've seen and he does get out on stage more often than some but overall I'm not a huge fan...
Originally Posted By EPCOT Explorer Upkeep has been good under him, though... something I am missing?
Originally Posted By Lee hisownself For what it's worth... I hear the ESPN weekends were cut in order to undergo a makeover and should resurface in a couple years over at the WWoS complex. Kinda makes more sense to have it over there.
Originally Posted By HokieSkipper <<I hear the ESPN weekends were cut in order to undergo a makeover and should resurface in a couple years over at the WWoS complex.>> But Lee...NO ONE wants to go to WWoS. There's nothing to do at the complex. <<Kinda makes more sense to have it over there.>> I can't really agree there. The event made perfect sense at the studios, which also deals with TV/radio entertainment as well as movies.
Originally Posted By EPCOT Explorer >>>I hear the ESPN weekends were cut in order to undergo a makeover and should resurface in a couple years over at the WWoS complex.<<< A make over to DHS?
Originally Posted By leobloom So moving ESPN weekends to WWoS would probably turn it into a hard-ticket affair, right? So this is another way to upcharge. So, so surprising.
Originally Posted By Lee hisownself >>But Lee...NO ONE wants to go to WWoS. There's nothing to do at the complex.<< I think that's the point. They believe putting a high-profile event over there, like a bigger/better ESPN weekend, will give the place a boost. >>A make over to DHS?<< No, to the event. >>So moving ESPN weekends to WWoS would probably turn it into a hard-ticket affair, right?<< Not necessarily.
Originally Posted By leobloom >>So moving ESPN weekends to WWoS would probably turn it into a hard-ticket affair, right?<< << Not necessarily. >> Then I really WOULD be surprised.
Originally Posted By skinnerbox <<They believe putting a high-profile event over there, like a bigger/better ESPN weekend, will give the place a boost.>> Seems completely logical to me, although I must confess that I've never been over there. For those of you who are fans of this particular event (Doobie please chime here, because I know how much you enjoy it), I have a few questions about the ESPN Weekend from a business perspective: 1) From your personal experience, does park attendance get a significant bump during the event? 2) Do you get the sense that additional spending beyond the usual food/drink/souvenir spending is incurred by guests during the event? 3) Do you believe there is enough synergy (don't hit me, please) created between the ESPN "stars" or sports celebrities at the event and the guests attending the event that could actually be measured in terms of increased traffic to ESPN channels? In other words, is this an event mainly for the die-hard ESPN fans? Or do park goers who aren't die-hard ESPN fans also participate? If the event is mainly attended by die-hard ESPN fans who don't increase their spending in any significant volume during the event, wouldn't moving it to the WWoS complex make more sense? It seems to me that WWoS would be a more fitting venue for it.
Originally Posted By Doobie Just my guesses <<< 1) From your personal experience, does park attendance get a significant bump during the event? >>> Yes. I don't see that it impacts regular guest attendance in a negative way but there are tons of people there who otherwise wouldn't be. Just about every event I go to is well attended and the outdoor stuff if generally packed. I don't think we're talking Star Wars numbers, but I think it helps. <<< 2) Do you get the sense that additional spending beyond the usual food/drink/souvenir spending is incurred by guests during the event? >>> I don't get the sense that it's any more or less than normal, so just having the event bring in more people would bring in more money. But that's really a guess. <<< 3) Do you believe there is enough synergy (don't hit me, please) created between the ESPN "stars" or sports celebrities at the event and the guests attending the event that could actually be measured in terms of increased traffic to ESPN channels? In other words, is this an event mainly for the die-hard ESPN fans? Or do park goers who aren't die-hard ESPN fans also participate? >>> I think this is an event for sports fans. And I've always had the impression it was funded by ESPN, not by Disney World, which would go along with that assumption. I thought this was an event to promote the ESPN brand and now, for whatever reason, ESPN no longer wants to do that. I could be wrong - lots of people here are better connected than I am. But at least right now my personal blame goes more to ESPN than to WDW. Doobie.
Originally Posted By WDWVacationer <<For what it's worth... I hear the ESPN weekends were cut in order to undergo a makeover and should resurface in a couple years over at the WWoS complex.>> That'd be really nice. Could make it a much larger event. <<But Lee...NO ONE wants to go to WWoS. There's nothing to do at the complex.>> I kinda want to go...:lookaround: I mean, I'd have to catch the right event there, but then there's the Play Station Pavillion and an interactive ESPN area and a couple restaurants. It's not meant to be really an attraction for much beyond taking in a sports game.
Originally Posted By Doobie My impression (at least from Disney's statements) is WWoS makes its money from events that are held there and the associated fees and guest visitation. It's not meant to be a destination on its own for regular WDW visitors. Maybe I'm wrong. But since they've got the space and (assuming ESPN pays for it) I'd guess WWoS is cheaper to rent out than the Studios and offers a lot more flexibility, it could work there. If they did move it there, I'd be surprised if they charged for it (WDW would collect their parking fee). It could be the coolest fan fest on the planet and most fan fests don't charge any money. It would get great exposure for the ESPN brand and for WWoS for all those Pop Warner and Little Leagues around the country. It could work. It could ruin it. I just hope it comes back one way or another. I know at one time they were even surveying ESPN the Cruise ... that would be awesome! Doobie.
Originally Posted By asianway >>Upkeep has been good under him, though... something I am missing?<< Like -em said, not the best, not the worst, Id use the term mediocre. My question is mainly why does middle of the pack get you elevated to the second coming of Walt?
Originally Posted By HokieSkipper <<1) From your personal experience, does park attendance get a significant bump during the event?>> Yes. I went during my CP, and the weekend it was there, DHS was very crowded for a non-peak period. <<2) Do you get the sense that additional spending beyond the usual food/drink/souvenir spending is incurred by guests during the event?>> They do have event-specific merchandise that seemed to sell well when I was there.
