Originally Posted By ChiMike >>But they are already handling more people than DCA with all I listed plus 1 more E-Ticket and a walking trail. And no parades or night time entertainment. And I bet they would add at least one more table service restaurant.<< But not at night, in a compressed timeframe. Not sure if you have been out to DCA to check it out yet, but it has substantially CHANGED that park from a guest management issue. ..And before it did have the MSEP which brought crowds. There is NO WAY that AK could come close to appeasing the crowds that would center around a WOC offering. There is not that much nighttime capacity. It would get VERY ugly. People would not stay late to see Lion King or ride Kali. There would be very limited offerings for a nighttime crowd. Now, I think AK is gorgeous at night and wish they would focus in bringing it to where it needs to be in order to support a full slate of operating hours. Simply plopping down WOC quite possibly would be worst thing for them to do first.
Originally Posted By SeventyOne <Though I have to wonder, is there really an issue of lack of traffic at DtD in the evenings?> Not that I've seen. The problem is that people go to DtD when they don't feel like spending any more money. You'll see crowds, just not carrying bags, and not eating in restaurants (other than the kid-friendly ones and Earl of Sandwich).
Originally Posted By ChiMike Rides guest would ride 7pm on: AK: Everest CTX Primeval Whirl TTBAB DCA: Screamin Soarin Monsters ToT Toy Story Midway Mania The Little Mermaid Muholland Madness Other stuff is a wash or inconsequential Dining is another huge issue, almost a bigger one. There is no comparison between DCA and Downtown Disney next door and AK all out by itself. MK, EPCOT, and MGM are complete messes when it comes to dining before shows, I can't imagine the demand that would be placed on AK for dining near WOC showtimes.
Originally Posted By EPCOT Explorer >>>Maybe in 7 years after multiple additions and a new management crew.<<< Oh, is that the time frame? LOL
Originally Posted By dshyates Oh, I forgot that DAK also has a sizable Rainforest Cafe to make 3 table service restaurants.
Originally Posted By dshyates And remember WDW doesn't have the huge local fanatical AP crowd that DCA has to deal with.
Originally Posted By ChiMike Dshyates, I don't think it matters much. I'm telling you, dca is night and day during the night.
Originally Posted By Lee hisownself >>I am aware of the "plans" making the rounds on the interwebs. You know the ones. They include doubling the dining/retail of DtD, adding parking garages, and a WOC lagoon show.<< Have those gotten out? I was under the impression those were still under wraps....
Originally Posted By wahooskipper How loud is WOC? Would there be an issue with volume/decibels for the live animals at DAK? I don't know many zoos around the country that are open late except for certain special events. Is there just more to the story of zoos that we aren't familiar with that might be a cause of the limited hours at DAK?
Originally Posted By Bolna <<There is NO WAY that AK could come close to appeasing the crowds that would center around a WOC offering.>> But how is DTD going to handle them. Disney transportation to DTD is already now pretty horrible. I can only imagine what a nightmare it would be to get back to a Disney hotel with Disney transportation after a WoC show - it is bad enough at the parks. And I think part of that is not only due to the faults of Disney transportation itself, but also the road layout in that area of the property.
Originally Posted By ChiMike Some zoos have inside exhibit spaces or IMAX screens that allow them to stay open later. Some of those IMAX screens are used in the community for commercial films. I think you help my point wahoo, until AK has many more attractions and is not reliant on animal exhibits (the animal exhibits are the best part of AK, imo) I do not see how they can credibly stay open late on a daily basis. I'm sure they would be able to find a way to engineer the sound from the show so that it doesn't interfere with the animals. It is quite unusual where you CAN and CANNOT hear WOC around DCA. For the most part, it's just a soundtrack.
Originally Posted By ChiMike >>But how is DTD going to handle them. Disney transportation to DTD is already now pretty horrible. I can only imagine what a nightmare it would be to get back to a Disney hotel with Disney transportation after a WoC show - it is bad enough at the parks. And I think part of that is not only due to the faults of Disney transportation itself, but also the road layout in that area of the property.<< I guess the hope would be that the timing of the show would not create mad rushes. That enough guests would arrive before or stay after to shop and/or dine. The area is actually pretty conducive to getting guests to a lot of their resort locations, just not the monorail resorts!
Originally Posted By vbdad55 Not that I've seen. The problem is that people go to DtD when they don't feel like spending any more money. You'll see crowds, just not carrying bags, and not eating in restaurants (other than the kid-friendly ones and Earl of Sandwich). ----- same problem the major malls are having which is why I saw many empty stores at Mall of america earlier thisyear- and see the same at Woodfield in Schaumburg IL.. people's disposable incomes are virtually non existent- and even those who are spending on vacations ( many charging them) are being more cautious with spending.. not the only factor but a major one
Originally Posted By sjhym333 A couple of things. WOC will never be done at DTD. Too much money to run with no direct payback. If I remember correctly, I was told during DAK construction (I was part of the opening team) that DAK would never have fireworks due to the animals. I heard that from Imagineers, park VP and a couple of the animal folks. So I am not sure they would do WOC there. DAK is an interesting park. Disney's intention was to be open later than it currently is. Before the park opened the animals would be taken off of the Safari to be fed and stuff around 5pm each day. After a bit they found that the animals would line up at the back gate around 5pm because they learned it was feeding time. Before the park opened and even after Disney tried to unlearn the animals be scattering feeding times and removal of animals from the Safari. Didnt matter. At 5pmish the animals would start making their way over to the back gate and wait. I rode the Safari several times pre-opening late afternoon and saw it for myself. We would call it Noah's Ark because it looked just like those pictures of the animals lined up to get on the ark. The other interesting thing about DAK was guests learned early on that if you wanted to see animals roaming you needed to get there early. Once the sun got warm the animals would go into resting mode and be fairly lethargic. That idea has stuck at DAK and the park still has a get there early feel to it. Disney thought Everest would change that but it never really did. I think if DAK opened another E-Ticket ride and some sort of evening show it could break out of that early park syndrome but I am not sure WOC is that show.
Originally Posted By ChiMike Interesting to read your thoughts on DTD, I remember you mentioning it earlier too. I wish they folks were more comfortable with what AK 'is' rather than what it is not (no Spirit, I know Disney thinks it's Not-A-Zoo) I wish they would expand on the animal exhibits with more animal exhibits. Too me that is what makes the park a success. We've been over it on other threads, but Everest is a superficial attraction, imo, if they were to go the route that dshyates and others want them to go in, they would need to substantially need to invest in a new attraction heavy land at the character camp area.
Originally Posted By ChiMike They would need to ramp up more than what Busch did, and even that doesn't allow for very late attraction hours.
Originally Posted By sjhym333 I think Disney should use its China influence and do a Panda exhibit. I think that would be a huge hit and in theme.
Originally Posted By ChiMike I agree! That was one of the more fun rumors a while back. I think a Panda exhibit, or other bears, polar, grizzly, would be great for the park! I understand the hesitance to bring Australia for no other reason but that most of the animals are small, but I have seen some zoos take on an Australia area even with free roaming kangaroos, and they are pretty well done.
Originally Posted By HokieSkipper <<That was one of the more fun rumors a while back. I think a Panda exhibit, or other bears, polar, grizzly, would be great for the park! >> I still want a Grizzly Gulch variant to replace Camp MinnieMickey
