Orlando Attractions Area News & Developments

[spenser1058]

23 minutes ago, jrs2 said:

Spenser, Spenser, Spenser...

Do you own a bunch of Disney stock or something?

Not at all. I just have to wonder why the Uni fanboys keep saying this new park or this new attraction or whatever is gonna bring Disney down! Well, it’s been 32 years here in Florida, when does this happen?  The facts have shown otherwise - get over it.

It’s like me saying, any moment now, UCF is going to replace Alabama as the premiere team in college football. Sure, UCF’s had lots of success and will have even more. Their rise has been the shortest in college football. At the end of the day, though, Alabama’s still Alabama.

What’s even funnier is that, from the very beginning, Uni’s been in the shadow of Disney (Walt encouraged Uni’s chief on ideas for the original studio tour). And, were it not for WDW, Uni likely wouldn’t even be in Orlando. So yeah, show me the numbers. You can’t because they’re just not there.

And there’s nothing wrong with being a strong #2. Heck, Walmart just blows Target away on the numbers (Target has about 1/3 as many stores). By differentiating themselves, both have strong brands. I won’t set foot in a Walmart but that doesn’t stop me from knowing who rules the roost in discount retail. Acknowledge the facts, say you prefer Uni (generally because you’re a swm between 12- 40) and be happy. 

 

Edited September 12, 2022 by spenser1058

[jrs2]

1 hour ago, spenser1058 said:

Not at all. I just have to wonder why the Uni fanboys keep saying this new park or this new attraction or whatever is gonna bring Disney down! Well, it’s been 32 years here in Florida, when does this happen?  The facts have shown otherwise - get over it.

It’s like me saying, any moment now, UCF is going to replace Alabama as the premiere team in college football. Sure, UCF’s had lots of success and will have even more. Their rise has been the shortest in college football. At the end of the day, though, Alabama’s still Alabama.

What’s even funnier is that, from the very beginning, Uni’s been in the shadow of Disney (Walt encouraged Uni’s chief on ideas for the original studio tour). And, were it not for WDW, Uni likely wouldn’t even be in Orlando. So yeah, show me the numbers. You can’t because they’re just not there.

And there’s nothing wrong with being a strong #2. Heck, Walmart just blows Target away on the numbers (Target has about 1/3 as many stores). By differentiating themselves, both have strong brands. I won’t set foot in a Walmart but that doesn’t stop me from knowing who rules the roost in discount retail. Acknowledge the facts, say you prefer Uni (generally because you’re a swm between 12- 40) and be happy. 

wow.

SWM = Single White Male. 

So it's a gay thing with you.

[spenser1058]

1 hour ago, jrs2 said:

wow.

SWM = Single White Male. 

So it's a gay thing with you.

No, single (not straight). Although I do imagine more gay men are pro-Disney than Uni just from the small sample of folks I know (we’re not as Princess-averse <g>).

That shouldn’t come as a shock, btw - from the time Uni came to Florida they sought out to target the markets they thought Disney was missing. They succeeded admirably. Bob Iger later recognized bringing  Marvel and Star Wars into the parks was a way to balance that.

It’s also notable that the Mouse’s Princess obsession was largely started in the Eisner era. Back at the beginning in the ‘50’s, the park opened with the whole Davy Crockett, TSI, adventure and sci-fi things which tended to be more boy-oriented at the time.

In case you’re wondering, I’ve been studying this stuff since the first book I read about Walt that I checked out from the Lake Silver Elementary library. Walt is a hero of mine, although it was initially more about his dropping the idea of EPCOT in our laps than about the parks.

Disney is not only the market leader in the parks, they’re also the biggest film company and, as they recently edged past Netflix, are on their way to being #1 in streaming. I chuckle at the fact the Mouse also profits from Uni since its IP is now in Uni’s parks and of course Comcast pays lots of money to Disney to carry ESPN on its cable systems.

Who could ask for anything more?

Edited September 12, 2022 by spenser1058

[jrs2]

19 minutes ago, spenser1058 said:

No, single (not straight). Although I do imagine more gay men are pro-Disney than Uni just from the small sample of folks I know (we’re not as Princess-averse <g>).

That shouldn’t come as a shock, btw - from the time Uni came to Florida they sought out to target the markets they thought Disney was missing. They succeeded admirably.

It’s also notable that the Mouse’s Princess obsession was largely started in the Eisner era. Back at the beginning in the ‘50’s, the park opened with the whole Davy Crockett, TSI and sci-fi things which tended to be more boy-oriented at the time.

In case you’re wondering, I’ve been studying this stuff since the first book I read about Walt that I checked out from the Lake Silver Elementary library. Walt is a hero of mine, although it was initially more about his dropping the idea of EPCOT in our laps more than about the parks.

Hmmm. fair enough.  I just know that when one park spends $$$ the other usually follows.  That's my only interest; in seeing the eventual product quality increase, and you can only do that with competition and vision.  Walt had a good vision, but when you take him out of it, the quality goes down when accountants get involved and parent companies get involved.  Vivendi or what have you took a dump on Universal, but Comcast has doubled down on the parks.  And, frankly, that should be celebrated no matter if you're gay or straight, single or married, young or old.  

[spenser1058]

1 minute ago, jrs2 said:

Hmmm. fair enough.  I just know that when one park spends $$$ the other usually follows.  That's my only interest; in seeing the eventual product quality increase, and you can only do that with competition and vision.  Walt had a good vision, but when you take him out of it, the quality goes down when accountants get involved and parent companies get involved.  Vivendi or what have you took a dump on Universal, but Comcast has doubled down on the parks.  And, frankly, that should be celebrated no matter if you're gay or straight, single or married, young or old.  

I completely agree. Disney and Uni targeting different markets can only be a win-win for the Orlando tourism destination.

[spenser1058]

Something else that strikes me. If I posted in a general site using the names Steve Burke or Tom Williams, I suspect the, ummm, universe of folks who have any idea who they are would be vanishingly small. 

Otoh, a much larger circle of people could probably get close to identifying Michael Eisner and Bob Iger.

They also would have little problem telling you who started the Mouse House. Conversely, wanna guess how few people know who started the Universal Studios Tour in the ‘60’s or even Universal Studios itself? Disney is a part of both the American and worldwide experience that Universal isn’t, certainly not for a long time to come. It’s a big reason Uni tried to take over Disney while the latter had no particular interest in acquiring Uni.
 

Edited September 12, 2022 by spenser1058

[spenser1058]

“Based on the 2019 TEA attendance report, the average daily attendance for the WDW theme parks was @40k, while the Universal Orlando parks averaged @29k. Even if Epic Universe is a massive hit, it's not going to close a 10k/day gap in 10 years.

I do think Epic Universe will help UO level the playing field with WDW, but they'll still be second fiddle in the Orlando theme park market in terms of attendance.”

- Theme Park Insider comment by contributor Russell Meyer. He was responding to a previous poster asserting Epic would lead to Uni eclipsing WDW by decade’s end.

What’s also interesting is that WDW has opened several new attractions since those pre-COVID numbers, so the gap has likely widened and will do so again with TRON in 2023 and Epcot construction finishing up, all before Epic opens.

Edited September 13, 2022 by spenser1058

[jrs2]

18 minutes ago, spenser1058 said:

“Based on the 2019 TEA attendance report, the average daily attendance for the WDW theme parks was @40k, while the Universal Orlando parks averaged @29k. Even if Epic Universe is a massive hit, it's not going to close a 10k/day gap in 10 years.

I do think Epic Universe will help UO level the playing field with WDW, but they'll still be second fiddle in the Orlando theme park market in terms of attendance.”

- Theme Park Insider comment by contributor Russell Meyer. He was responding to a previous poster asserting Epic would lead to Uni eclipsing WDW by decade’s end.

What’s also interesting is that WDW has opened several new attractions since those pre-COVID numbers, so the gap has likely widened and will do so again with TRON in 2023 and Epcot construction finishing up, all before Epic opens.

Universal has 2 parks, 1 water park, an entertainment complex, the water taxi, and 8 hotels (2 which are off-site).  

WDW has 4 parks, 2 water parks, an entertainment complex 4x the size of Citywalk, 2-3 sets of water taxis, 2-3 sets of big boats, the Monorail to 2 parks and 3 resorts, and the Gondolas to 2 parks and 3 resorts, and like 30+ total hotels, and Disney Vacation Club properties (6+), and Golden Oak CC...

Universal has like 1/3 to 1/2  of WDW's total offerings yet yielded 75% of WDW's daily attendance numbers.  If anything, Universal should only be raking in 15k visitors/day.  Instead, they are attracting 29k.

What that means is that Universal's product is WAAAAAY more desirable or market-effective than WDW.  A statistician can figure out the numbers, but I gather they are getting 2.5x the bang for their buck.

WDW:  Star Wars Land opened in 2019.  Toy Story Land opened then or earlier. Avatar Land opened a few years prior.  So did Mine Train at MK (Fantasyland?). Diz Springs was revamped around 2015-16.  That's 4 lands (1 revamped land). Disney also took a dump on all of its animals at AK and changed park hours to close later at night (as opposed to dusk) with an added amphitheater for a night show.  They also added fake sunsets not to confuse the animals.  Thanks, Mick.  That was mighty conservationist of you.  You know, people can slam Sea World all they want for the Telicum incident, but what Disney did at AK to make more money is unforgivable and not laudable in the least.  A bunch of hypocrisy.  Conservation Station my a$$. 

Anyway: 

Universal:  Velocicoaster opened this year.  Hagrid's coaster opened 2 years ago.  Fast & Furious in 2018.  Kong Skull Island in 2016.  

Epic U will open with 3 new resort properties in 2025.  It will tie into the convention industry as well ala entertainment venue requirement for conventions (this will also add a little to it's numbers).  Super Mario World will be bigger than anything else in Orlando.   Harry Potter III MoM might end up being just as huge.  A few years after that Sunrail will stop at Epic U & OCCC station, as will BL.  

Will they beat the 40k/day?  According to these numbers they should, because with just 2 parks, they yielded 29k/day or 14.5k/day per park average.  The resorts is a completely different issue b/c Universal doesn't have the inventory Disney has.

[aent]

13 minutes ago, jrs2 said:

Universal has 2 parks, 1 water park, an entertainment complex, the water taxi, and 8 hotels (2 which are off-site).  

WDW has 4 parks, 2 water parks, an entertainment complex 4x the size of Citywalk, 2-3 sets of water taxis, 2-3 sets of big boats, the Monorail to 2 parks and 3 resorts, and the Gondolas to 2 parks and 3 resorts, and like 30+ total hotels, and Disney Vacation Club properties (6+), and Golden Oak CC...

Universal has like 1/3 to 1/2  of WDW's total offerings yet yielded 75% of WDW's daily attendance numbers.  If anything, Universal should only be raking in 15k visitors/day.  Instead, they are attracting 29k.

What that means is that Universal's product is WAAAAAY more desirable or market-effective than WDW.  A statistician can figure out the numbers, but I gather they are getting 2.5x the bang for their buck.

WDW:  Star Wars Land opened in 2019.  Toy Story Land opened then or earlier. Avatar Land opened a few years prior.  So did Mine Train at MK (Fantasyland?). Diz Springs was revamped around 2015-16.  That's 4 lands (1 revamped land). Disney also took a dump on all of its animals at AK and changed park hours to close later at night (as opposed to dusk) with an added amphitheater for a night show.  They also added fake sunsets not to confuse the animals.  Thanks, Mick.  That was mighty conservationist of you.  You know, people can slam Sea World all they want for the Telicum incident, but what Disney did at AK to make more money is unforgivable and not laudable in the least.  A bunch of hypocrisy.  Conservation Station my a$$. 

Anyway: 

Universal:  Velocicoaster opened this year.  Hagrid's coaster opened 2 years ago.  Fast & Furious in 2018.  Kong Skull Island in 2016.  

Epic U will open with 3 new resort properties in 2025.  It will tie into the convention industry as well ala entertainment venue requirement for conventions (this will also add a little to it's numbers).  Super Mario World will be bigger than anything else in Orlando.   Harry Potter III MoM might end up being just as huge.  A few years after that Sunrail will stop at Epic U & OCCC station, as will BL.  

Will they beat the 40k/day?  According to these numbers they should, because with just 2 parks, they yielded 29k/day or 14.5k/day per park average.  The resorts is a completely different issue b/c Universal doesn't have the inventory Disney has.

And to further your point... Universal has in its master plans much more then just adding Epic Universe to the lineup. The South Campus is supposed to have everything the North Campus has when its completed, except higher end according to the rumors and leaks... This includes another theme park after Epic Universe, another water park, and another shopping center....  Considering Universal is planning on more then doubling its offerings over the next decade or 2, if they succeed with the plan, presumably they could and should double their daily numbers. Obviously if that happens, they beat Disney if Disney doesn't start investing in their parks again. I firmly believe Disney will at some point realize the gains Universal is making and do what it take to retain the lead, but I'd be very surprised if Universal hasn't cut the attendance gap in half by the end of the decade.

[spenser1058]

1 hour ago, jrs2 said:

Universal has 2 parks, 1 water park, an entertainment complex, the water taxi, and 8 hotels (2 which are off-site).  

WDW has 4 parks, 2 water parks, an entertainment complex 4x the size of Citywalk, 2-3 sets of water taxis, 2-3 sets of big boats, the Monorail to 2 parks and 3 resorts, and the Gondolas to 2 parks and 3 resorts, and like 30+ total hotels, and Disney Vacation Club properties (6+), and Golden Oak CC...

Universal has like 1/3 to 1/2  of WDW's total offerings yet yielded 75% of WDW's daily attendance numbers.  If anything, Universal should only be raking in 15k visitors/day.  Instead, they are attracting 29k.

What that means is that Universal's product is WAAAAAY more desirable or market-effective than WDW.  A statistician can figure out the numbers, but I gather they are getting 2.5x the bang for their buck.

WDW:  Star Wars Land opened in 2019.  Toy Story Land opened then or earlier. Avatar Land opened a few years prior.  So did Mine Train at MK (Fantasyland?). Diz Springs was revamped around 2015-16.  That's 4 lands (1 revamped land). Disney also took a dump on all of its animals at AK and changed park hours to close later at night (as opposed to dusk) with an added amphitheater for a night show.  They also added fake sunsets not to confuse the animals.  Thanks, Mick.  That was mighty conservationist of you.  You know, people can slam Sea World all they want for the Telicum incident, but what Disney did at AK to make more money is unforgivable and not laudable in the least.  A bunch of hypocrisy.  Conservation Station my a$$. 

Anyway: 

Universal:  Velocicoaster opened this year.  Hagrid's coaster opened 2 years ago.  Fast & Furious in 2018.  Kong Skull Island in 2016.  

Epic U will open with 3 new resort properties in 2025.  It will tie into the convention industry as well ala entertainment venue requirement for conventions (this will also add a little to it's numbers).  Super Mario World will be bigger than anything else in Orlando.   Harry Potter III MoM might end up being just as huge.  A few years after that Sunrail will stop at Epic U & OCCC station, as will BL.  

Will they beat the 40k/day?  According to these numbers they should, because with just 2 parks, they yielded 29k/day or 14.5k/day per park average.  The resorts is a completely different issue b/c Universal doesn't have the inventory Disney has.

But they’ll also be dividing the average by three parks then instead of two. Perhaps I should ask you the same question you asked me yesterday - are you a Comcast shareholder? For 32 years, all the Universal fanboys have said Disney is doomed and yet the Mouse still sits comfortably atop the rankings. Why are you so bothered by this?

Just be happy that you’re getting another park, even if that probably means we’re going to keep being 50 out of 50 on wages because we’re doubling down on the industry that got us in this mess in the first place.

[spenser1058]

OK, all you Uni fans - the Dark Arts at Hogwarts Castle is returning through Halloween:

https://www.themeparkinsider.com/flume/202209/9135/

From Theme Park Insider 
 

[jrs2]

4 hours ago, spenser1058 said:

But they’ll also be dividing the average by three parks then instead of two. Perhaps I should ask you the same question you asked me yesterday - are you a Comcast shareholder? For 32 years, all the Universal fanboys have said Disney is doomed and yet the Mouse still sits comfortably atop the rankings. Why are you so bothered by this?

Just be happy that you’re getting another park, even if that probably means we’re going to keep being 50 out of 50 on wages because we’re doubling down on the industry that got us in this mess in the first place.

oh, fiddlesticks.  I never pressed [Submit Reply] and I just ran a Bill & Melinda Gates spy update on my PC and it didn't save what I typed.

Short version:  No to Comcast. Not bothered by Disney's status.  I am the one simply stating that Super Mario World would be a major hit in the tourist industry in Orlando.  I don't favor Universal b/c I am a SWM; last I checked, all of the "action" is at EPCOT.  

As for the 50/50 wages status, aren't you the one that ran off "I Am Reality" because he questioned why everyone was so excited about the theme parks, i.e., the industry keeping the wages low, yet now, you are criticizing same?

 

[jrs2]

6 hours ago, aent said:

And to further your point... Universal has in its master plans much more then just adding Epic Universe to the lineup. The South Campus is supposed to have everything the North Campus has when its completed, except higher end according to the rumors and leaks... This includes another theme park after Epic Universe, another water park, and another shopping center....  Considering Universal is planning on more then doubling its offerings over the next decade or 2, if they succeed with the plan, presumably they could and should double their daily numbers. Obviously if that happens, they beat Disney if Disney doesn't start investing in their parks again. I firmly believe Disney will at some point realize the gains Universal is making and do what it take to retain the lead, but I'd be very surprised if Universal hasn't cut the attendance gap in half by the end of the decade.

according to those numbers, the two resorts are much closer than people think.  Disney's overall size masks it.  I am sure there are a ton of guests staying at Disney resorts that don't even go into the parks; they just hang out at Diz Springs or the resorts themselves and relax while family members wait in long lines and sweat in the parks.  Disney is smart with regards to that.  Universal copies DIsney then Disney copies Universal right back and vice versa.  It goes on and on and new stuff keeps getting built and things improved upon.

If Disney really wants to put their money where their mouth is and not be a bunch of land wasting tree cutting hypocrites, then they should build parking decks at the parks and plant more trees.  If they want solar farms, put them over existing parking  like Darden did and over roofs like Ikea and the OCCC did.  And if they care about animals so much, then close AK at dusk like they used to.  I should just make a repetitive post about how Disney used to close AK at dusk but now closes it at 11pm sometimes with a pantomime sunset for the wildlife, in case the Millennials aren't aware of this fact.

Look at Universal...every inch of that property has been developed.  Granted, Cabana Bay takes up too large of a footprint for my taste, but they have since its opening built two garages on property.  Aventura Tower is literally built halfway over their pool deck in that tight space.  They have a garage.  So does Sapphire Falls.  So does Portofino Bay.  So does Royal Pacific.  So does the Surfside Inn and each of the Dockside Inn towers.  Hard Rock Hotel does not.  Unfortunately, Epic U's parking will be a surface lot (hopefully just at the beginning of it's life.  

Disney should have had more parking lot islands with trees in them, but they don't care.  When you put yourself out there, expect criticism.

As for the parks' development, Universal needs more resorts.  Granted, Boardwalk is a gorgeous resort as is Grand Floridian, but after Yacht & Beach Club, Grand Destino Tower, and the new Riviera Resort and the "coolness" of Contemporary and the uniqueness of Wilderness Lodge and AK Safari, the quality goes down drastically.  Same with Universal, except a higher percentage are "nicer".  

Anyway, Universal is also building that back of house section along SLR and I'm sure those warehouses will be made large enough to handle the future expansion projects too.

[spenser1058]

17 hours ago, jrs2 said:

oh, fiddlesticks.  I never pressed [Submit Reply] and I just ran a Bill & Melinda Gates spy update on my PC and it didn't save what I typed.

Short version:  No to Comcast. Not bothered by Disney's status.  I am the one simply stating that Super Mario World would be a major hit in the tourist industry in Orlando.  I don't favor Universal b/c I am a SWM; last I checked, all of the "action" is at EPCOT.  

As for the 50/50 wages status, aren't you the one that ran off "I Am Reality" because he questioned why everyone was so excited about the theme parks, i.e., the industry keeping the wages low, yet now, you are criticizing same?

 

First of all, I firmly believe “Reality” never left - he/she/they are just here under another name.

I did make the case at one time that some of the major players in the market provided benefits unusual at that time for service employees.

But you see, I go where the facts take me. I learned that many of the players in the market, unlike companies such as Disney, Uni and Rosen, provided no such benefits.

Further, the Orlando market is among the worst in the nation for rent inflation and has precious little affordable housing given our constant recruiting for entry-level employees. There was a time back when there were just a couple of parks in town that Orlando was among the most affordable MSA’s in the country. I acknowledge that until I began to research just how badly those numbers had skewed, I didn’t realize the major change (in addition, the powers that be in town were doing nothing to suggest a problem was exploding, particularly after the Great Recession and the massive hiring in the aftermath of Harry Potter coming online).

In fact, prior to Potter, it looked as though the theme park companies were using the Orlando parks as cash cows to fuel international growth. If that continued, the stable nature of things suggested the region would finally look at ways to diversify our economy and look for more promising industries with higher wages. In effect, we could grow our way out of the hole we were in as the parks became a smaller part of the pie.

Of course, instead, things went the other way. Folks like Scott Maxwell and the Sentinel focused on how that decision led us to 50 out of 50 in wages and “The Florida Project” shined a light on how bad housing had gotten, not unlike Edward R Murrow once exposed the horrible conditions Florida agricultural workers endured (that was 60-some years before in CBS News’ classic “Harvest of Shame”).

Interestingly, when we came in bottom of the list on pedestrian and bicycle fatalities, a hue and cry went up to raise us from the bottom (known in the South as “Thank God for Mississippi” syndrome). However, the area’s power players are strangely content with being at the bottom on wages. Of course, they’d have to challenge the tourism/development cabal to change that. God forbid we finally address the problem  - instead, the response seems to be “please sir, may I have some more?”

We can do better and there are wonderful little green shoots now popping up that will one day push out the good ol’ boy players who could care less. For the sake of our families, the sooner the better.

Edited September 14, 2022 by spenser1058

[spenser1058]

Imagine if Uni offered theme park food to all our local fanboys. Sales of butterbeer and green eggs and ham would launch faster than a SpaceX Dragon!

https://www.themeparkinsider.com/flume/202209/9136/

From Theme Park Insider 
 

[jrs2]

16 hours ago, spenser1058 said:

First of all, I firmly believe “Reality” never left - he/she/they are just here under another name.

I did make the case at one time that some of the major players in the market provided benefits unusual at that time for service employees.

But you see, I go where the facts take me. I learned that many of the players in the market, unlike companies such as Disney, Uni and Rosen, provided no such benefits.

Further, the Orlando market is among the worst in the nation for rent inflation and has precious little affordable housing given our constant recruiting for entry-level employees. There was a time back when there were just a couple of parks in town that Orlando was among the most affordable MSA’s in the country. I acknowledge that until I began to research just how badly those numbers had skewed, I didn’t realize the major change (in addition, the powers that be in town were doing nothing to suggest a problem was exploding, particularly after the Great Recession and the massive hiring in the aftermath of Harry Potter coming online).

In fact, prior to Potter, it looked as though the theme park companies were using the Orlando parks as cash cows to fuel international growth. If that continued, the stable nature of things suggested the region would finally look at ways to diversify our economy and look for more promising industries with higher wages. In effect, we could grow our way out of the hole we were in as the parks became a smaller part of the pie.

Of course, instead, things went the other way. Folks like Scott Maxwell and the Sentinel focused on how that decision led us to 50 out of 50 in wages and “The Florida Project” shined a light on how bad housing had gotten, not unlike how Edward R Murrow once exposed 60-some years before in CBS News’ classic “Harvest of Shame” the horrible conditions Florida agricultural workers endured.

Interestingly, when we came in bottom of the list on pedestrian and bicycle fatalities, a hue and cry went up to raise us from the bottom (known in the South as “Thank God for Mississippi” syndrome). However, the area’s power players are strangely content with being at the bottom on wages. Of course, they’d have to challenge the tourism/development cabal to change that. God forbid we finally address the problem  - instead, the response seems to be “please sir, may I have some more?”

We can do better and there are wonderful little green shoots now popping up that will one day push out the good ol’ boy players who could care less. For the sake of our families, the sooner the better.

Aside from a general commentary, what is your point here?

[spenser1058]

12 minutes ago, jrs2 said:

Aside from a general commentary, what is your point here?

You asked if I ran off Reality with arguments and I responded, pointing out the evolution in my thinking since you seemed to be suggesting I flip-flopped.

This issue is at the very heart of the potential success or failure for our community and, more importantly, all its citizens. 

[jrs2]

9 minutes ago, spenser1058 said:

You asked if I ran off Reality with arguments and I responded, pointing out the evolution in my thinking since you seemed to be suggesting I flip-flopped.

This issue is at the very heart of the potential success or failure for our community and, more importantly, all its citizens. 

I meant the section about  theme park industry growth, good ole boys, rental rates, etc.

[spenser1058]

Just now, jrs2 said:

I meant the section about  theme park industry growth, good ole boys, rental rates, etc.

That’s what the discussion with Reality was about.

[jrs2]

8 minutes ago, spenser1058 said:

That’s what the discussion with Reality was about.

ah...

[shardoon]

Can we get back on track here or should I throw some politics onto this thread too............

Can we just be happy that both Disney and Universal are in fact investing in this community which will bring more tourism dollars to the community? 

[spenser1058]

14 minutes ago, shardoon said:

Can we get back on track here or should I throw some politics onto this thread too............

Can we just be happy that both Disney and Universal are in fact investing in this community which will bring more tourism dollars to the community? 

Sure, just have Uni give back that $125 million they got from the county and the various taxing districts they asked for (we won’t even talk about RCID) and we’ll go politics-free!

[jrs2]

here's a map from 2016 article showing the first set of parcels that Universal purchased for the current project.

 

Of note is the parcel that is earmarked for the BL station.

[jrs2]

3 hours ago, spenser1058 said:

Sure, just have Uni give back that $125 million they got from the county and the various taxing districts they asked for (we won’t even talk about RCID) and we’ll go politics-free!

last I checked, the Kirkman extension was talked about for over a decade; maybe longer.  they wanted a big company to come in to trigger it's construction- well they got one.  and that money was for area transportation projects as well.  While Universal is busy building theme parks and infrastructure, Disney is busy making headlines in other ways.

[spenser1058]

9 minutes ago, jrs2 said:

last I checked, the Kirkman extension was talked about for over a decade; maybe longer.  they wanted a big company to come in to trigger it's construction- well they got one.  and that money was for area transportation projects as well.  While Universal is busy building theme parks and infrastructure, Disney is busy making headlines in other ways.

You know that’s always hilarious to me. When WDW was 27, they had 4 parks, two water parks, 3 golf courses and twice as many hotels while Uni at 32 has only 2 parks, 1 water park and half as many hotels.

For heaven’s sake, why are the folks at Universal such laggards?

I also love the spin you’re putting on Kirkman Road. That is truly rich. To the extent there’s any truth to it, it’s the same old cabal that makes up uses for other people’s money like their white elephant convention center.

While we’re on conventions, WDW has infinitely more convention space in its hotels than Uni. Guess they were lagging on that also.

 

Edited September 14, 2022 by spenser1058