Originally Posted By jonnyrzone420 I was just thinking about river country. From what I have been told by cast members the entire property is sitting there unused and ready to go. I heard rumors of a third water park at WDW. Does anyone know if they are going to do anything with the property like turn it into a new water park since the groundwork has already be laid, or are they just going to get rid of it?
Originally Posted By FerretAfros My guess at this point is that they aren't planning on adding a new water park there. They have really let that area go, and the only thing that would be realistically salvageable would be the bathroom building that is still being used for Mickey's Backyard BBQ. Since, all things considered, that doesn't really save them much money when they are building a brand new park, I would expect that if they build another, it would be in a location accessable to more people, and on more of a main route through WDW.
Originally Posted By Spirit of 74 They are letting it sit and rot away, and there are no plans to do anything with it. It will likely remain that way until some kids or drunken guests walk in, it's quite easy to do, and wind up drowning. Then, they'll likely invest in removing the area and -- probably -- returning it to nature.
Originally Posted By Sport Goofy River Country's biggest problem is that the focal point for its largest swimming area, Bay Cove, was directly connected to Bay Lake. Even though they heavily chlorinated the water there and had a barrier to ensure water flowed from the cove to the lake and not vice versa, scares over bacteria in natural lakes and streams throughout Florida that began over 10 years ago really made the whole facility unattractive from a liability standpoint.
Originally Posted By TDLFAN >>They are letting it sit and rot away, and there are no plans to do anything with it<< I think they should re-name it "Gatorland" since some report seeing alligators hanging in those water in the last few years... Oh wait! That name is already taken, but that would not stop Disney from stealing someone else's concept in hopes to discourage yet another mom and dad operation from operating. And we all know the Brits loves Gatorland in Kissimmee, and Disney for added insult.
Originally Posted By ExplorerDave It seems like all of the Disney World hotels have slides etc. Some built that way and some recently renovated. At this point the Fort Wilderness Meadow pool seems to be the blandest pool on the property. With River country so close, it seems like they should be able to reuse some of those things at the meadow pool area, and make that a great pool too.
Originally Posted By dshyates It will be interesting to see what Disney does about the new crop of hotels with attached indoor water parks. If Disney does this it will kill Typhoon Lagoon and Blizzard Island. If they don't they will lose a lot of business to competitors. Marriot has a giant Nickalodeon one on the way and Great Wolf and Kalahari are planning on moving to Otown.
Originally Posted By ExplorerDave ^^^ Actually I think that would be a great business for disney at their parks and in stand alone locations. Disney Quest did not work as a stand alone, but I think if you did something like that or a few attractions with a resort, plus indoor waterpark, shopping and dinning that it could do very well.
Originally Posted By DVC_dad I went to River country one time and was someone ill at ease of the swimming area...it seemed too natural for my tiny tots. Once was enough for us and evidently we weren't alone in that respect.
Originally Posted By Sport Goofy << It will be interesting to see what Disney does about the new crop of hotels with attached indoor water parks. If Disney does this it will kill Typhoon Lagoon and Blizzard Island. >> I don't see the indoor water park business making much of a dent on Florida's water park market -- people go to Florida for the warm weather and sunshine. For all the fun, these indoor parks don't have the greatest atmosphere when it comes to the overpowering chlorine odor that fills up the facility -- sometimes it feels like you are just inside a giant stinky gym locker room. These facilities have appeal in cold weather climates, not so much when you know you have warm weather and sunshine right outside the door.
Originally Posted By dshyates In Orlando I guess a heated water outdoor waterpark would work well, or an indoor/outdoor water park. I'm just talking about the breed of resorts that will invade the area that have free attached waterparks with family siutes. The Disney hotels with one slide and the $35 Water Park tix will be harder to sell. And these resorts are on the way.
Originally Posted By jkayjs <<Marriot has a giant Nickalodeon one on the way and Great Wolf and Kalahari are planning on moving to Otown.>> I can't speak for the other 2 but I can tell you that with the Great Wolf that "free attached waterpark" comes with a pretty heafty room charge. Unless it is really cold weather I'm not sure there is enough appeal to really cut into either WDW or Universals resort buisness.
Originally Posted By dshyates GWL runs about $250/night high season. But the rooms are HUGE with micro/fridge. The Lodges are VERY similar WL. And I would imagine that in florida the bigger waterpark would be outside. But they all have both indoor and outdoor waterparks. They have an in house Aveeda Concepts Spa. A casino sized game room. Kalahari (similar to AKL) runs about $150/night high season. Marriot/Nickalodeon hasn't been built yet, but I bet will come in at $199/night high season. And the service will blow right past Disney. I believe this one will actually be on Disney property. They are going to have a Spa, a nice restaurant, and a nice Nickalodeon theme. It should be very nice place for families to stay. The great thing about some of these places is that they don't sell tix to non-resort guests so the lines on the slides are not too long. That is why I don't go to BB, TL, or WnW.
Originally Posted By Sport Goofy ^^ Based on the financial reports from GWL, they'll need to charge a whole lot more per night if they ever expect to make a profit. They lost $49M dollars last year (2006), which was double what they lost in (2005). I don't think they've ever turned a profit and they keep piling on debt to build even more unprofitable hotels.
Originally Posted By DVC_dad Is the Orlando area super saturated already with hotel rooms or is there a market for more more more more more?
Originally Posted By Spirit of 74 ^^The Orlando market was oversaturated with hotel rooms (except at the very top end of the market) when this decade started. That hasn't stopped anyone from building though. Much like the subdivisions that keep building while foreclosures in Central Florida are some of the highest in the nation. Much like the idiots who run CVS and Walgreen's and are following some business model that says they need to build one on every block in the state. Eventually, there are going to be a lot of hotels shuttered and sitting and decaying and becoming eyesores because no one in business seems to actually have any common business sense these days. But, hey, I can go stay at WDW value resort for a week next month for $350, so keep building ... idiots.
Originally Posted By magnet >>>Much like the idiots who run CVS and Walgreen's and are following some business model that says they need to build one on every block in the state.<<< I was wondering if anyone else had noticed that. It always amazed me.
Originally Posted By figment1986 <<Much like the idiots who run CVS and Walgreen's and are following some business model that says they need to build one on every block in the state.>> You forgot the model that says build them on every block, at least a quarter of a mile from each other in the larger cities, a mile from each other in the rural cities.
Originally Posted By jonvn I thought that was the starbuck model. In some places in SF, they are literally on every corner. There are about 80 of them in a city of 47 sq. miles, and that counts parks and housing neighborhoods, too.
Originally Posted By dshyates In Aurora, Co. there is this target center with a Starbucks inside the Super Target and another right outside in the parking lot.
