WDW@50

"Walt Disney World is tribute to the philosophy and life of Walter Elias Disney...and to the talents, the dedication, and the loyalty of the entire Disney organization that made Walt Disney's dream come true.  May Walt Disney World bring Joy and Inspiration and New Knowledge to all who come to this happy place...a Magic Kingdom where the young at heart of all ages can laugh and play and learn - together."

Roy O. Disney, October 25, 1971

Yesterday, Walt Disney World celebrated its 50th anniversary.  On October 1, 1971, the Magic Kingdom opened its gates for the first time.  At that time, Walt Disney World was a lot smaller than we would think of today, consisting only of the Magic Kingdom theme park, the Ticket and Transportation Center, and the Contemporary and Polynesian resorts, all located on the monorail line circling Seven Seas Lagoon.  

With the success of Disneyland in Anaheim, California, Walt Disney began exploring several options for a second theme park location.  Primarily, Walt wanted to find space to combat the encroachment of motels and shops that had sprung up right next to Disneyland.  

"The Florida Project", as it was known, was intended to present a distinct vision with its own diverse set of attractions. While a theme park would be included as an attraction, it was only a small portion of Walt's vision.  His original plans also called for the inclusion of an "Experimental Prototype Community of Tomorrow" (EPCOT).  Instead of the theme park we know today, this EPCOT was a master planned community intended to serve as a testbed for new city-living innovations. 

Walt's death in 1966 during the planning phase of development left the company wrestling with the idea of whether to bring the Florida Project to fruition. However, Walt's older brother, Roy, came out of retirement to make sure Walt's biggest dream was realized.   And it was Roy who insisted the name of the entire complex be changed from Disney World to Walt Disney World, ensuring that people would remember that the project was Walt's dream.

Though the pandemic put a damper on a lot of the celebration plans, the company is still celebrating in true Disney fashion, with two nighttime spectaculars, EARidescent decorations and costumes, and lots of nostalgic food and souvenirs.  The pandemic also didn't stop massive crowds from arriving yesterday to celebrate the anniversary, with the Hub area filling to capacity in early evening for the new fireworks show.

The celebration will be continuing for the next 18 months in typical Disney fashion, and we will look forward to celebrating this December.  

Happy Birthday, Disney World!  Here's to 50 more magical years!

The Travelers' Report 11 - Walt Disney World

The continuing travels of the Keeler Crew.

For my parent's 40th wedding anniversary, they wanted to get all the family together for a trip to Walt Disney World.  They used their vacation club points to get a three bedroom villa at the Grand Floridian.  The room clocks in at a whopping 2,800 square feet, the largest villa in Walt Disney World property.

This trip to Disney World was marked by a few distinctives.   We attended a lot of character breakfasts, we rode a lot of new rides, and tried a couple of new restaurants.  Our first character breakfast was at Minnie's Beach Bash at the Beach Club Resort.  Here we found out the older two kids loved the characters and the younger two loved to see them, but not to interact with them.  You can see how Jude is very cautious of Minnie above.

This is what Granna and PapaRock wanted.  All four of the grandkids together and enjoying themselves.  

Jamie and I were able to break away for our date night at Epcot.  With Flower & Garden going on, we were able to try a food booth and to get this great photo at the entrance.

As we are working our way around the World (Showcase) with their signature restaurants, our date night was at Tokyo Dining for some excellent sushi and tempura.  One of our favorites in our eating around the world.

The family photo 2019. Trying to get all four grandkids looking at the camera at the same time was a challenge.

And our Keeler subset picture.

Jude rode every ride like this, no matter what type.  The above is the Teacups.  He likewise rode Small World like this, but thoroughly enjoyed it.  He loved everything with music, especially The Country Bear Jamboree.  For that, he danced.

This was what Jude wanted the most: Meeting Mickey and Minnie.  And though he wouldn't get down and walk up to them, he loved this so much.

Character meal #2 - family style dining at Ohana at the Polynesian Resort.  The kids weren't as familiar with Lilo and Stitch, so there was a little more hesitancy.  The food was pretty great though.

Our Keeler crew with Pluto following the meal.

I think these are the most appropriate faces we could have made for the Haunted Mansion.  I particularly loved Avalyn's disbelief.

This trip, Avalyn became a rider.  On our last trip to a theme park in Dollywood over Thanksgiving, Avalyn cried and screamed through the entire small kiddie roller coaster.  This time, she was ready to ride.  She asked to ride the Goofy coaster, the Barnstormer, and loved it.  From there she progressed to Big Thunder Mountain Railroad, Splash Mountain, Kali River Rapids, and Dinosaur.  That smile made it all worth it.

This was Avalyn's other high point: getting to be a mermaid.  She had mermaid lessons at Caribbean Beach resort and had the time of her life.  She had one of the best swim instructors I have ever seen as well.

One of Avalyn's favorite rides - Dinosaur.  I was really surprised she enjoyed this one, but she did.

For the anniversary surprise, my parents rented the Grand One Yacht at the Grand Floridian for a fireworks cruise.  This vessel was a complete seaworthy yacht with three bedrooms, two bathrooms, a small kitchenette and dining/living area, as well as the bridge on the upper deck.  Here Avalyn and Jamie are popping up through the sunroof in the master bedroom.

Now a picture peering down through the sunroof looking at Jamie, Avalyn, and Ezra on the master bed.

The view of the fireworks from the upper deck.  One of the best seats to see it all.

Another highlight for Avalyn: getting to meet Anna and Elsa.  She became very shy at the time, but loved getting to see and talk to them.  In addition, I ran into a former colleague in the line.  It truly is a small world after all.

A great shot from the resort on one of our last days there.  The rainbow after the afternoon shower.  Truly picturesque.  A great finale to the vacation.

This marked the first of several trips over the summer.  For the next series, Jamie's tour with students of Costa Rica.

If I Were Disney CEO Part 32B - Walt Disney World Holiday Offerings

"From all of us to all of you a very merry Christmas!
And at this joyful time of year we want you to be with us.
So get around a lovely tree where all the lights are shining.
We'll be as happy as can be while all the bells are shining."

As a bonus entry into this If I Were Disney CEO series, a festive holiday treat focusing on holiday offerings for the stateside Disney parks.  I'm of the opinion that few can celebrate the season like Disney and would love to ramp up and diversify the offerings that the parks have.  I'm focusing on the stateside parks, because while the international parks do celebrate, the offerings are nowhere close to the extent that the stateside parks undertake.  Were I to elaborate on the international parks, I would want to focus on the celebrations and customs within the particular country.

With that in mind, my goals for this exercise are to give each stateside park a unique feeling for the Christmas season, focusing on a particular component of the holidays and playing into the parks strengths.  One thing I will discuss specifically for each park to highlight the unique attributes is the tree lighting ceremony.  Each park should have one, and they should each be unique and reflect that specific park.

Today, the Walt Disney World Resort.

The Magic Kingdom:
When discussing the differences in Disneyland and the Magic Kingdom, Disneyland always comes down on the nostalgic side and the Magic Kingdom carries a bit more grandeur.  Disneyland has even been described as quaint, where as the Magic Kingdom is a bit more majestic.  Part of this comes down to the size of the castle and the image it portrays.  I think this can be used to describe the difference in the holiday offerings between the parks as well.  The Magic Kingdom's holiday offerings should focus more on the magic of the season.  Here's my holiday wishlist for the Magic Kingdom:

• A condensed Nutcracker Ballet for the Main Street Theater - The Main Street Theater needs to be used to contain a large scale Christmas production and what better and more theme appropriate than a performance of the Nutcracker ballet.  A condensed ballet would be a wonderful seasonal addition.
• Jingle Cruise - a holiday overlay of the Jungle Cruise offered since 2013.  A holiday shipment exploded over the jungle with lots of fruitcake jokes.  Allow spiked eggnog and this might be a perfect ride.
• Decorations and appropriate music in the Swiss Family Robinson Treehouse - one easy addition would be to add Christmas decor to the Treehouse, to mirror the scene in the Swiss Family Robinson Movie.  Appropriate music as played on the Treehouse organ could make this a quick, holiday addition.
• Country Bear Christmas Special - As was mentioned for Disney California Adventure, this is a holiday overlay that needs to be brought back.  This version was previously offered in the Magic Kingdom and is a must to be reinstalled.
• Christmas Show in the Diamond Horseshoe - As mentioned for Disneyland, there should always be a show in the Diamond Horseshoe, and there should absolutely be a Christmas show at this season.
• Holiday Costumes for Belle and Beast in Enchanted Tales with Belle and Be Our Guest - Belle and Beast are one of the few princess and prince combinations that have appropriate holiday attire thanks to the Belle's Enchanted Christmas straight-to-dvd special.  These new costumes would make a nice festive touch.  A new storyline for Enchanted Tales with Belle would also be an easy holiday overlay.
• Broader scope for decorations in Fantasyland - the New Fantasyland area started getting Christmas decorations in 2013.  This should be expanded into Fantasyland proper, even if just for garland around the ride signage.  
• Tomorrowland decorations - Tomorrowland does have the Totally Tomorrowland Christmas and Club Tinsel shows, but there needs to be decorations in the land.  Here, it would be fun to see what a cyberpunk Christmas would look like.
• Frozen Holiday Wish - This has been a cute addition, where Elsa covers the castle in ice and causes it to snow.  Their costumes could be changed out for their holiday versions from Olaf's Frozen Adventure, but otherwise this is a solid offering.
• Once Upon A Christmastime Parade - a classic.  
• Holiday Wishes - perfect for the park.  This fireworks spectacular utilizes Jiminy Cricket, who I believe should be the voice of the park.  Excellent musical arrangements.  I would just get it out from the upcharge party earlier.
• Tree Lighting Ceremony - The Magic Kingdom's tree lighting ceremony should be accompanied by music from a town band, like the Magic Kingdom Marching band.  To me, the song I most associate with the Magic Kingdom and Christmas is We Need A Little Christmas.  That is what I envision for this ceremony.

EPCOT:
EPCOT is the park that celebrates Christmas around the world.  The cultures, the music, the variations on Santa Claus.  EPCOT should center on the majesty of the season.  With that in mind, here is my holiday wishlist for EPCOT:

• A restored Lights of Winter - The one portion of the holiday offerings that helps bridge the Future World and World Showcase sections.  With the Osborne Festival of Dancing Lights no longer offered at Hollywood Studios, the resort needs a Christmas light focused offering.  I would update them to LEDs, as those could be used to synchronize with other holiday offerings.
• its a small world holiday - With the attraction rebuilt here, the holiday offering would be a natural fit.  The Lights of Winter could lead up to the facade and tie into the projection and clock shows.  This would be the seminal attraction to tie all of the holiday offerings together.
• Festival of the Holidays - as in DCA, Disney has expanded their holiday offerings to include food booths to celebrate the holiday foods of different cultures around the world.  One area EPCOT needs to beef up would be the seasonal entertainment acts that are part of this Festival.  DCA has several incredible holiday acts.   EPCOT should have the same.
• Feliz Navidad overlay in Grand Fiesta Tour - This would seem to be an easy overlay, given the projections.  The Three Caballeros celebrating Feliz Navidad.
• Anna and Elsa in their holiday costumes - As in the Magic Kingdom, the meet and greets for Anna and Elsa should have them in their Olaf's Frozen Adventure holiday costumes.
• Holiday Storytellers - One great offering at EPCOT is the various storytellers in each country telling of their version of Santa Claus or their Christmas traditions.  I wish these were highlighted more.
• Voices of Liberty Caroling - the Voices of Liberty are one of my favorite parts of EPCOT and their Christmas Carols are amazing.  These singers are some of the best I've heard and the arrangements are impeccable.
• Candlelight Processional - A wonderful variation of the Candlelight Processional from Disneyland.  This is a classic presentation of the classic Christmas story, no changes needed.
• Holiday Illuminations - Currently Illuminations has a holiday Peace on Earth tag.  I would create a full Holiday Illuminations, designed to highlight Christmas and Holiday celebrations around the world.  For personal preference, I would highlight Heather Headley as the prominent singer of the show.  She has been in both the World of Color Seasons of Light and Winter Dreams variations.
• Tree Lighting Ceremony - EPCOT currently has a wonderfully majestic tree lighting ceremony I would continue.  A musical theme by a symphony orchestra.  It is composed of no specific identifiable Christmas melody, but is instantly recognizable as a holiday tune.

Disney Hollywood Studios:

The mission of Disney Hollywood Studios is to have guests experience their favorite movies - to put them into the worlds of their favorite films.  Christmas should be no exception and the goal should be to put them into their favorite Christmas films.  Thankfully, this could be achieved fairly easily, especially with the 20th Century Fox acquisition and the iconic Christmas film it made.

• Christmas Tree decor on the lights on Hollywood Boulevard - Taking an inspiration from Hollywood history, I would love to see these classic Christmas tree additions recreated down Hollywood Boulevard in Hollywood Studios.
• Mickey's Holiday Railway - I would start working now on animation for a Christmas version of the Mickey's Runaway Railway attraction being added to the Chinese Theater.  With the screen based attraction, the animation would be most of what is necessary for a quick conversion.
• Echo Lake Christmas tree and 1950s decorations - this has been the best addition to Disney Hollywood Studios.  I would keep these attractions going, looking to plus them with the fountains in Echo Lake.
• Seasonal Shows in Superstar Television and ILM Special Effects - Superstar Television in particular would be a great place to recreate a Christmas Special.
• Jingle Bell Rock 'n Roller Coaster - This seems like a no-brainer.  A storyline centering on needing to get the gifts to Santa as quickly as possible with Run, Run Rudolph and  Jingle Bell Rock as example songs.
• Life Day acknowledgement in Galaxy's Edge - Like Disneyland, this should not be overt, but should be there.  An opportunity to celebrate the holidays in the Star Wars Universe.
• Christmas Toy Story Playland - Alien holiday tunes on Alien Swirling Saucers, jingle bells on Slinky Dog Dash.  Giant Christmas decorations, including the Angel Kitty.  Experience Christmas as a toy.
• Holiday Midway Mania - Again, the screen based attraction could be easily swapped for a Christmas themed version.  The animation should already be in progress.
• Christmas MuppetVision - I would replace the MuppetVision*3D Movie with a version that presents a tour through Muppet versions of Christmas classics.  It's A Wonderful Log, and the like.
• Muppets Present...Great Moments in a Christmas Carol - I would use the facades on Grand Avenue to present Muppets telling the story of A Christmas Carol from the windows, with a walk-around Ghost of Christmas Present character from Muppet Christmas Carol available for meet and greets.  Again, this one seems like it should have been implemented ages ago.
• Nightmare Before Christmas section - as my plans for DHS called for a Nightmare Before Christmas dark ride, this area would be perfect to play up during the holiday season.  Meet and Greets with 
• Miracle on 34th Street - One big coup in the 20th Century Fox acquisition is the inclusion of A Miracle on 34th Street.  For Christmas, this gives Disney access to THE Santa Claus. It would be great to setup a recreation of the Santa chair from the movie in a "department" store in the park for the official Santa Claus photo and wishlist opportunity.  It would also open up the next option.
• Get the Macy's Holiday Parade back from Universal - Years ago, Disney had partnered with Macy's to have the Macy's Thanksgiving Day parade balloons on their Streets of America section during the Christmas season. 
  
  When that went away to eventually be replaced by the Osborne Family Lights, Universal picked up the license, creating their Universal's Holiday Parade Featuring Macy's.  With the acquisition of Miracle on 34th Street, I would be working to partner with Macy's to pick up the license as soon as it expires with Universal.  Then Disney could have the official parade and the official Santa Claus.  It would seem like a wonderfully symbiotic relationship.
• Wonderful World of Christmas fireworks - Jingle Bell, Jingle Bam is a fun show, and I like the idea of the Prep & Landing team running Christmas in Disney Hollywood Studios, but I would love to see a firework show that is a true celebration of Christmas movies.  The acquisition of 20th Century Fox presents the opportunity to work in films like Home Alone, Miracle on 34th Street, Die Hard, and Jingle All The Way with existing Disney properties like Mickey's Christmas Carol, Muppet Christmas Carol, Babes in Toyland, and Nightmare Before Christmas, in addition to the shorts and specials.
• Tree Lighting Ceremony - The tree lighting ceremony should be a celebration of Christmas in entertainment.  It's a studio chorus and orchestra playing White Christmas.  Tied to the golden age of Hollywood with searchlights on the tree.

Disney's Animal Kingdom:

Disney's Animal Kingdom has a typically subdued Christmas offering. It previously had a parade, but that is no longer an option.  I would like to keep the subdued spirit, but expand into an appropriate area - to celebrate and explore the connection of animals to the seasonal holidays.  Accordingly, here is my holiday wishlist for Disney's Animal Kingdom:

• Diwali celebration in UP - The Diwali recognition in Up! A Great Bird Adventure Show has been a great addition.  I would like to see that expanded into Asia, with the colors and lights.
• Oversized decorations in a bug's land - For my proposed bug's land addition, I would also bring the oversized decorations from Disney California Adventure.  This area was always cute in California over the holidays and should be the same here.
• Manger scene between Africa and Asia with camels, sheep, donkey - With the connection of the traditional nativity story to the Middle East and Asia continent, it would be a perfect opportunity to have a manger scene with just the animals present.  To recognize the connection of the camel, the donkey, and sheep to the Christmas story.  A scene that could be viewed and potential opportunity for an animal encounter.
• Santa's Stables at Conservation Station - Likewise, the other great animal connections to the season are reindeer and the yule goat.  The season presents a perfect opportunity to bring in these animals as seasonal attractions in an appropriate space.  Santa's Stables could also be designed to help keep the normally far northern animals cooler in Florida.
• Winter celebration in Dinoland with Ice Age takeover - With 20th Century Fox, Disney has also acquired the Ice Age franchise and has been looking for ways to bring them into the park.  Winter would seem to be the perfect opportunity to take a space from a celebration of the reptilian/avian dinosaurs to the mammals of the Ice Age.  Could be done in an appropriately tacky and delightful Chester and Hester Style.
• Holiday Tree of Life lighting ceremony - Disney Animal Kingdom presents a different challenge with the tree lighting ceremony.  The park's tree is located outside the park itself, in front of the main gate.  There is not really a good space to put the Christmas tree, but the park's central icon is a tree.  I would love to see a Holiday segment added to the Tree of Life tree lighting projection show that could serve that function for the park, with an appropriate world music score.

All together, these additions and plussings could make the holiday offerings of the Walt Disney World resort truly a place for a world-class celebration.

As always, thank you for reading.  After the new year, the series will continue with Disney's television offerings.

If I Were Disney CEO Part 13 - The Walt Disney World Resort - Hotels

A hotel or campground right for everyone.

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The Walt Disney World resort has over twenty distinct hotel and resort properties within its boundaries, offering a wide variety of accommodations.  Motel style rooms.  Family suites.  Wilderness cabins.  Three bedroom treehouses.  And a variety of multi-room villas.

Currently, resorts are grouped by price point. Value, Moderate, Deluxe, and Villa.  The company is likely switching to a location based grouping, with price points reflecting the proximity.  Magic Kingdom resorts, EPCOT Resorts, Disney Hollywood Studios Resorts, Disney Animal Kingdom Resorts, and Disney Springs Resorts.

The company is also going through an impressive expansion in its hotel offerings.  The construction of the new tower and general expansion of the Coronado Springs Resort.   The construction of the Riviera Disney Vacation Club Resort adjacent to the Caribbean Beach Resort.  The immersive storytelling Star Wars Resort.  There's even the new non-Disney, but Disney property C2 hotel going in among the Swan and Dolphin.

That does not even begin to address the rumors of further hotel expansion.   The Project 89 work at Fort Wilderness, likely for a new resort complex there.  (Addressed in the previous entry to this series).    And the EPCOT entrance hotel.

Accordingly, there is a lot of anticipated growth in the hotel and resort segment of Walt Disney World.  Once these additions, are complete, I believe there are just a couple of additional remodelings and expansions that should be undertaken to fully flesh out the resort.

Primary Goals:

• I want to make sure that a balance is maintained regarding the mix of types of amenities and price points.  Between hotel and DVC units.
• There should be a return to unique and thematic architecture and interior design.  Recent additions to the resorts are getting very structurally similar, with just the details left as unique. Compare the Coronado tower and Riviera Resort renderings above and then compare that to the difference between the Contemporary and Polynesian.
• I would want to further group the resorts by transportation type.  Beyond location specific, there should also be the Monorail resorts, the gondola resorts, the boat resorts, and the train resorts.  Unique and appropriate offerings for the particular location grouping.

Rather than discuss every resort and potential additions, I'm going to focus on the specific additions and changes that I would make.  Most resorts function well and just need periodic refreshing of the decor and interior design.  There's no need for me to discuss each of those instances.  Instead, I want to focus on larger construction needs and potential new resorts that should be added.

Magic Kingdom Resort Area:
Generally, the hotels of the Magic Kingdom resort area are the stalwarts of the Walt Disney World Resort.  The Grand Floridian, The Polynesian, The Contemporary.  There are just a couple of additions that I would propose to really cap off this area.

First, I would add a second tower to the Contemporary Resort area to balance the Bay Lake Tower addition.  This would take over the Garden Wing section and should be either a circular copy of the Bay Lake Tower or a new complimentary geometric shape.

New Contemporary Tower

Second, I would add a fourth resort to the Seven Seas Lagoon.  This hotel should be Fantasy themed.  Disney's Magic Kingdom Hotel.  This is to complete the theme.  The Grand Floridian reflects the past like Main Street, Liberty Square, and Frontierland.  The Polynesian represents adventure.  And the Contemporary looks to the future.  There is a need for a fantasy resort.

A place to sleep in a palace.  Tokyo is adding a new fantasy resort in its addition to DisneySea, and while I would not copy that architecture, I feel a similar resort here would be a very big draw.  For the architecture, I would look to French design.  Versailles.  Loire valley chateau, like the John Horney  concept art below.

Existing concept art to dust off and put to use

This hotel would be a great location for a royal table princess character dining meal and a third Bibbidi Bobbidi Boutique location.

The only question with the resort is where to put it.  There have been several plans for additional resorts along the Seven Seas Lagoon/Bay Lake.  Particularly the Venetian, the Persian, the Asian, and the Mediterranean in the old Venetian location.  The Asian location eventually became the Grand Floridan, but the Venetian/Mediterranean and Persian sites are still open.  Both locations have been deemed suitable for development (or at least marginally suitable), but evidence shows the Venetian/Mediterranean plot may be more expensive than desired due to the swampy condition of the land.

Magic Kingdom Area Hotel Plots

I would propose an alternate location for this fantasy resort.  The land north of the Grand Floridian also shows to be suitable (or at least marginally suitable) for development.  I would look to add the fantasy resort here.  This would keep it on the monorail line, would allow for a greater possible expansion plot, and would help continue a sidewalk/jogging path all around the Seven Seas Lagoon.  This would leave the Venetian/Mediterranean and Persian plots available for further development.

In those previously identified locations, I would actually propose alternate uses.  The Persian plot would make a good second location for another 360 immersive hotel like the upcoming Star Wars hotel.  It is a good isolated location that could be more tightly managed to keep the entire experience in the hotel immersed in the particular story to be told.  Good immersive themes for this hotel would be a Haunted Mansion resort or even an additional immersive princess/royalty experience (Renaissance on steroids with a Disney flair).

If the Venetian/Mediterranean plot can be developed, I think it would be much better served as a mixed use facility than strictly a hotel resort complex.  Something like the Boardwalk or Disney Springs lite.  Disney Center Port/Pier.  Shopping and dining on the first floor, hotel rooms on the second and third.  An option to relieve the crowds at Disney Springs and also to allow guests to come out of the Magic Kingdom and into one of the restaurants there.  Ticket and Transportation parking would be sufficient.  Arguably, this could be a part of the revitalization of Ticket and Transportation, bringing it out of the dated 90s look and into an integral part of this shopping and dining district.

Wilderness Lodge/Fort Wilderness Area:
I've previously discussed the potential hotel at Fort Wilderness.

Fort Wilderness Hotel

I feel these would be a good addition.  What I would add is the previously discussed narrow gauge train connecting the Wilderness Lodge and Fort Wilderness.  This has been long proposed to connect the two resorts, as well as to serve as a guide through the passage of time between the two settings.

Potential Train

I would dub this train the Wilderness Express and would seek to expand on the property in between these two locations.  There had been plans for a Wilderness Junction/Buffalo Junction Hotel in the middle.  This would be a great location for a more boutique hotel or even for another immersive hotel, themed to a wild west town.  Similar to the Hotel Cheyenne at Disneyland Paris.

Wilderness Junction Hotel

EPCOT Area:
EPCOT has a proposed new hotel for the entrance to the park.  Rumor has it that the hotel could completely envelop the entrance, so that you would pass under the hotel to enter the park, or it could flank the entrances. Another possibility is that it would be located in the current bus drop off area.

EPCOT Entrance Hotels

I'm partial to the hotel spanning the entrance.  I like how this has been done at other Disneyland resorts (Paris and Tokyo) and feel that with the appropriate design, the hotel could complement the view to Spaceship Earth very well.  This would require an accommodation for the monorail, but that could only serve to increase the hotel's popularity.  I can envision the hotel looking a lot like the design for the new Disneyland hotel.   For simplicity's sake, I would call this the EPCOT Hotel, especially given the proximity to the entrance.

The Yacht & Beach Club and Swan and Dolphin hotels are all well developed as is.  The Boardwalk Hotel is as well, though I feel there are additions that should be made to the actual boardwalk itself.

Proposed Boardwalk Additions

The Boardwalk needs more things to do. For a boardwalk, it is really uneventful. There are seven restaurants, one dueling piano bar, and a dance club.  The latter two primarily become cast member hangouts.  I would propose to add two attractions to give the boardwalk like.  A carousel in the garden behind the main entrance.  (It's a shame that a resort that has so much carousel theme does not actually have a carousel.)   And a Ferris wheel.  The Ferris wheel does not need to be the biggest or oversized like the Pixar Pal-Around at Disney California Adventure. This can be something a little closer to traveling fair size.  Especially as it will be a pay to use ride, with a necessarily lower capacity and likely lower demand.  I think these two attractions would go along way to giving a little vitality to the area, particularly at night.  The midway could be moved further around the boardwalk, opposite the Ferris wheel.  If desired, another carnival attraction, like the swings, could be added on this side.

This is also a good place to talk about the upcoming gondolas, as the end result is connecting a lot of resorts to EPCOT and Disney Hollywood Studios.  The current plan will connect the Art of Animation, Pop Century, Caribbean Beach, and Riviera resorts to both parks.

Current gondola plan (L) with proposed extension (R)

I would propose an extension of the gondola from where it turns to go the International Gateway at EPCOT.  This extension could connect it to the Coronado Springs Resort and potentially the new Swan and Dolphin extension.  This would at least tie the Coronado Springs Resort to a specific resort/location, as it is a bit isolated now.

Disney Hollywood Studios Area:
The main hotel in the Hollywood Studios Area will be the Star Wars hotel.  An immersive experience where you will be living Star Wars for your two or three night stay.

Star Wars Hotel Location identified above

This area does need a Disney Hollywood Hotel.  Disney has used Art Deco glitz and glamour for its Disney Hotel New York in Paris, Hollywood Hotel in Hong Kong, and Ambassador Hotel in Tokyo.  An Art Deco Hollywood Hotel would be a great addition to the park and would be a great opportunity to connect and create a Hollywood Studios Area.

There are a few options for the location.  I've indicated them on the map below.

Hollywood Hotel Options

I lean towards options one or two as they would help provide a bridge to a Hollywood Studios area with Caribbean Beach, Pop Century, and Art of Animation (the latter two would tie especially well with Disney Hollywood Studios).  Either location would work.  Ideally, there would be a park specific shuttle, perhaps like a stretch limo, to give guests of the hotel direct access to the park.

Disney Animal Kingdom Area:
The Animal Kingdom lodge and villas are beautiful resorts.  They may be two of the most beautiful resorts in all of Disney property.  Their only downside is their distance from other locations.  To keep the grounds for the animals on the savanna, there is a needed distance from everything else, which comes with the price of seclusion.  It is definitely worth the stay, but requires a car for ease of access (I would never tell anyone to rely solely on bus transportation here and the cost of uber or the Minnie Vans can add up quick).

One thing that could go a long way in easing the disconnected feel would be a transportation system connecting the lodge to the Animal Kingdom park.  Here, I would go with a train, like proposed Fort Wilderness and the Wilderness Lodge.  The Wildlife or Wildebeest Express. I can envision two different paths for the train.  One connecting you to the main entrance.  This would likely also require the reworking of the bus pick-up and drop off locations.  The second would be to connect to the Africa section of the park.  This in many ways makes the most sense to me.  It creates a unique perk for the resort and thematically ties the resort to the specific entrance.  This would require a security checkpoint and ticket gate at the lodge, but Disney has a history of this kind of transportation (the Disneyland monorail).

The Wildlife or Wildebeest Express proposed routes

Disney Springs Area:
The Disney Springs hotels all work and do not have a lot of room for expansion.  Port Orleans Riverside and French Quarter, Old Key West, and Saratoga Springs all offer different themes, tied together by the water.  All connected to Disney Springs by the boat transportation system, they each serve their purpose well.

As discussed in the Disney Springs post, the only thing I could add that I feel would make particularly the Saratoga Springs resort better utilized, is a night time entertainment show on Lake Buena Vista for Disney Springs.  Ideally the particular show would be visible from both sides of the lake.   My favorite option is still updating and moving the Electric Water Pageant to these waters.

ESPN Wide World of Sports Area:
The Wide World of Sport complex generally shares the All-Star Resorts (All-Star Sports, All-Star Music, and All-Star Movies).  These are the go to resorts for the various competition groups that are competing at the Complex.

The two could be better coordinated by creating a direct path from these resorts to the Complex.  I've envisioned a new path from the center of the All-Star resorts to the Complex.  I've included a new stadium pitched in the Olympics post with new parking, which could help serve as a new entrance complex.  I can see either dedicated mini-buses or vans running this route.  "Team shuttles".

All-Star Wide World of Sports Connection

Further, within the All-Star Complex,  I would add large capacity golf carts for intra-Resort traffic.  Like the kind that are used in Studio tours (all-star movies) or for sporting events (all-star sports).

We've used these at the Warner Bros. Studio Tour and they would work great for getting around between these three properties.  Tying them together to feel like a greater whole.

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With this, I think the Disney resorts are well situated for the years to come. And in light of all the additional hotels, motels, and non-Disney resorts just on the edge of property, there will be no shortage of rooms in the future for every price point.

Next time, general thoughts about the future of the Walt Disney Resort including thoughts on park number five.  Thanks, as always, for reading.

Could Walt Disney World Host the Summer Olypmics?

Here me out...

In researching the ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex for the previous If I Were Disney CEO blog, I came across an interesting news item.  Orlando will host the 2022 Special Olypmics at the ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex.  And it seems this is not the first time Disney has hosted a large, multi-event games at the Complex.  In 2016, Disney hosted the Invictus Games, Prince Harry's international sporting event for wounded, injured and sick service personnel.

And that got me thinking.  Could Walt Disney World host a Summer Olympic Games?

I think the answer is yes and it's not as crazy as it first sounds.  It's very unlikely to happen, and it would likely require shutting down the resort to all but guests of the games, but I think the games could be something very much within Disney's wheelhouse.  Here's why:

Disney is already uniquely suited to handle the crush of crowds:
The Walt Disney World Resort is 40 square miles, or roughly the size of San Francisco.  As a whole, the resort handled over fifty-eight million people in 2016.  Between the four theme parks, the resort could handle around 300,000 guests at a single time.  That's just in the theme parks.

Guinness has the largest attendance for an Olympics on record as the Atlanta games in 1996.  8.3 million tickets were sold, averaging out to roughly half a million guests each day.  The more likely scenario is that the resort would essentially be at New Year's Eve levels for the duration of the games.  Not ideal, but something Disney has experience dealing with.

Disney already has the bones for the infrastructure in place, including many athletic venues:
Just at the ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex, Disney has five baseball diamonds, four softball diamonds, four flex baseball/softball spaces (can be used for other field events), seventeen well-manicured fields to host field events, a track and field complex, ten tennis courts, and three indoor facilities (including one that can have four basketball or volleyball games going simultaneously).  That's just at the Wide World of Sports, which could cover the basketball, gymnastic, volleyball, track and field, badminton, baseball, field hockey, football/soccer, rugby, softball, and tennis events.

The entire resort also has four world-class golf courses for the golf events, beach volleyball courses at various resorts for the beach volleyball competitions, several lakes and rivers for the sprint canoe events, and five large convention centers which could house the wrestling, boxing, fencing, judo, karate, table tennis, taekwondo, and weightlifting events not housed at the Complex. 

Fort Wilderness would be perfect for the equestrian and archery/shooting competitions.  Disney is already adept at hosting marathon length running events through the property with its runDisney events.

And for the sailing events, Disney has its own resort on the beach at Vero Beach roughly two hours away, or has connections at Cape Canaveral one hour away with its Disney Cruise line.

Disney also has a transportation fleet of 486 buses, 12 monorails, 3 ferries, 34 other boats, and 28 parking lot trams.  Thousands of hotel rooms to house visitors.

That is not to say more would not need to be built.  There is a clear need for swimming and diving venues.  A sport climbing venue.  A BMX venue.  A skateboarding venue.  Fort Wilderness will need venues created for the Equestrian events.  Even an artificial canoe slalom path would be needed.  An additional track would also be needed, and likely a grand one that could serve as the official Olympic Stadium.

But, unlike other cities, I see this need as a positive.

Building new facilities can be more easily monetized by Disney than other cities:
Each new facility built by Disney represents a potential new revenue stream for years beyond the Olympics.  Construction of a swimming and diving facility could lead to continued swim competitions of all levels held at Walt Disney World.   Construction of a skateboarding venue and a BMX venue would be beneficial to bringing the ESPN X games to the Wide World of Sports Complex.  A sport climbing venue could be used for future events and for amateur recreation.  The equestrian venues could be designed to be used on a regular basis by Fort Wilderness.  The artificial canoe slalom could be used for a whitewater rafting experience for resort guests.  Even the grand Olympic Stadium could be constructed in a way that would have multiple uses including American football games, soccer games, track and field events, etc.   The build out of the Complex could only benefit increased use of the Complex for a variety of sporting events in the future.

The complex will also need a great amount of additional parking and dining options added.  Again, both would be long term benefits the complex.

Thankfully, Disney has a lot of available land to work with in building out the complex.

A lot of land

I've zoomed out fairly far so you can see the available land.  This does not even include the large parcel available to the south.  There is enough room to expand the facilities and parking (garages) and build an Olympic Village to house the athletes.

Even the Olympic Village could be turned into a guest resort following the games.   If not a guest resort, Disney is always in need of housing for the College Program cast members.

The Olympics at Walt Disney World could also be a part of a larger bid to televise the games on ABC/ESPN:
While expanding the facilities for events and guests, it would also be the perfect excuse to build a large facility for ABC Sports/ESPN production coverage.  This is one of the scenarios in which complete integration could be a wonderful thing, enabling a better finished product.  Disney constructing the venues with their sports coverage in mind.  And again, something that would pay off for future events held in the space.

Disney has a history with the Olympic Games:
Walt Disney left his mark on the Olympic games when he served as Chairman of the Pageantry Committee for the 1960 Winter Olympic Games in Squaw Valley, California.  During his time, Walt organized the Olympic torch relay and designed the games' medal ceremonies, produced the opening and closing ceremonies, introduced corporate sponsorship to the games through the sponsoring of the 30 flag poles placed throughout the valley, had his artists design the statues in the Avenue of the Athletes and to design a new Olympic torch which is still the base today.  Disney brought in a mass of entertainers to perform for the Olympic athletes.  The IOC chair would go on to say that the 1960 Winter Games were the "greatest games ever staged."  A reported for the Los Angeles Times proclaimed that "It is my conviction that you'll never see anything of that kind so well done in your lifetime."

The Disney team would also contribute to the 1984 Summer Olympic Games in Los Angeles by designing the mascot Sam the Eagle.

It would be fitting to bring the games to Walt Disney World, to show what a full, modern Olympic Games presented by Disney could be.  Imagine the opening and closing ceremonies using all the techniques and technologies they have at their disposal.

If I were CEO, I would at least run that feasibility study.

If I Were Disney CEO Part 12 - Typhoon Lagoon, Blizzard Beach, EPSN Wide World of Sports, and Fort Wilderness

Welcome to the Vacation Kingdom of the World!

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In this post, I will address the other attractions and offerings of the Walt Disney World resort.  Particularly, the water parks Typhoon Lagoon and Blizzard Beach, the ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex, and Fort Wilderness.  These options represent the wide variety of activities and settings that had prompted Walt Disney World to tout itself as the vacation kingdom of the world.  It was more than theme parks and shopping.  It was more than the hotels.  It encompassed a wide variety of adventures and activities that would appeal to the widest demographic.  And it is this type of branding that I would love to return to.  To market to all ages and a variety of vacationing types.  To appeal to people who would never set foot in one of the theme parks, or perhaps only minimally.  After all, they are well-enough attended already.

As none of these locations within the resort require as extensive of an expansion as the parks, I'm going to address each location briefly, instead of fully walking around each water park and location.

Typhoon Lagoon:
Typhoon Lagoon was Disney's second water park, after the now closed River Country.  Added at the height of the Eisner era, it represents one of the best themed spaces in all of Walt Disney World.  Modeled after a Pacific beach location after it has been hit by a typhoon, the water park is littered with beautiful touches and sight gags.  While it does not have the most thrilling water slides that have been invented, it does have a great assortment of water rides including the very inventive Miss Adventure Falls and the Crush n Gusher water coaster.  While the park is very well fleshed out, I can envision two additions and would like to address one area where I feel it could use some improvement.

Typhoon Lagoon overview and noted expansion ideas

The Miss Adventure Falls ride replaced the Shark Reef snorkeling section.  While I might leave the sharks out of the new addition, I would like to see a new snorkeling reef added in the expansion land between Miss Adventure and Crush n Gusher.

Further, within the Miss Adventure Falls slides, I would love to add a flowriding surf attraction, a la Boogie Bahn for those that have been to Schlitterbahn.  Given the Pacific/surf theme, an actual surfing attraction, beyond the wave pool which does not allow boards, would be a great addition.

I would also like to add a little variety to the menu of the various eateries in the park.  The food generally has an American/theme park food flare to it.  Given the setting, I would change the menu a little to focus on Californian and Hawaiian food offerings.  There can still be recognizable options for those picky eaters, with a bit more of a location specific menu.

Blizzard Beach:
For Disney's third water park, they went for a really different park concept.  An Alpine Ski village where the snow is melting rapidly, lending to the conversion to a water park.  As such, Blizzard Beach is one of the most unique water parks in the world, and probably the only water park with a working ski lift in it.  The park is likewise well developed, but I would propose a similar improvement and one addition (potentially at the expense of a fan favorite area).

Blizzard Beach overview and Winter Summerland replacement

Like Typhoon Lagoon, Blizzard Beach could use a greater variety in it menu.  While the food options have traditionally been better here, there is still room to tighten the offerings.  Given the Alpine like setting, I would focus on BBQ like options (as one of the greatest meals we had in Switzerland was the hotel owners having a BBQ for us).  Definitely would bring back the ribs.

In terms of attractions, I would absorb the Winter Summerland miniature golf course into the park proper.  While I know the mini-golf course is enjoyed, the space can be greater utilized as park of the water park itself and there are better places within the resort for the courses.  My plans have already replaced the two existing courses that I have removed with locations at Disney Springs and the ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex (discussed below), and I could envision additional courses throughout the property.

I would replace the golf course with a tornado funnel slide.   Disney's water parks have generally stayed away from enclosed tube slides, as they necessarily are difficult to theme to anything other than a water park.  I do feel the melting ice motif gives Blizzard Beach a little leeway to theme the tornado funnel into an ice bank/formation. If the material could be semi-transparent, it would be all the better.  If not, blueish-white would definitely work.  The Winter Summerland space would likely be large enough for additional expansion as well.

ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex:
The ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex is a well used, but little known part of the Walt Disney World Resort.  Anyone who has competed in a runDisney event, or been part of a Pop Warner, Cheerleading, Little League, or similar event has been here, but most guests probably have never set foot in this space.  According to Disney, "The ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex can host more than 60 sports across ten world-class venues designed to give every athlete the best possible competition experience.  It's the pre-eminent mult-sport facility of its kind in the world."  The space can house baseball, basketball, cheer & dance, cross country, field hockey, football, gymnsastics, lacrosse, soccer, softball, track & field, volleyball events, and many, many more.  The facility is also the home of the Atlanta Braves during Spring Training.

While the space is definitely utilized during events, I would focus on additions that could make it a year round draw.  Particularly positioning specific additions in a way to create a continuously open thoroughfare, leaving the specific fields and tracks open as needed.

ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex - Year Round Segment in Red

The new additions will be added on existing parking, requiring the expansion of parking options outside the traditional box the complex has been confined to.  As indicated above, there are several options that could be developed, all of which are still close to the facilities.

The goal would be to make the center spine and main entrance a segment of the complex that has continuously open options for merchandise, dining, event tickets, and sports recreation available for guests.

This section already houses the Box Office, ESPN Clubhouse Shop, Information Booth, Playstation Pavilion, ESPN Wide World of Sports Grill, Custom Tee Center by Champion, and Welcome Center.  It is also adjacent to the Champion Stadium (home of the Braves spring training and minor league Gulf Coast Braves regular season), HP Field House, and Visa Athletic Center, all of which will be most likely first used for events.

To these options, I would add a set up for batting cages near the Visa Center (identified in orange above) and a golf option (identified in green above).  The golf option would come with a specific entry and ticket kiosk and a separate pro shop.  Both batting cages and the miniature golf or driving range option would be the most likely used recreational sports venues.  For the golf option, I can see going one of two ways.  First, a miniature golf course designed to represent a series of eighteen putting greens.  Since this complex is designed for true sporting events., focusing on the true sport of golf would be the best method.  So no ramps or clown's mouth style holes, instead a collection of putting greens of various complexities.  The other option would be a driving range, and potentially a stacked driving range like Top Golf.  Given the size required for a driving range and the presence of Top Golf in Orlando already, I would imagine the putting course would be a much more desirable option.

I would further add a permanent runDisney store, providing sale of the branded shoes, attire, and other branded accessories.  runDisney is becoming such a large part of the Disney experience, a permanent store in an appropriate facility would a boon.  It would also be a great space to house permanent information and on site registration for the event.

Additionally, I would look to add an indoor facility for sport climbing.  Climbing gyms and recreational climbing are both increasing in popularity.  A facility for such activities would be another space that could be marketed and continuously operated.

Further down the road, I would like to see Disney include a new building for swimming and diving events (dedicated professional level pools) and to go forward with the professional bowling center previously filed for (though in a new location).  Both would open up new options for professional and amateur competitions furthering the use of this great complex.

An ultimate goal for this venue would be to expand the type of sporting events that are housed here.  If nothing else, the Summer X Games should have a permanent home at this facility.

Fort Wilderness:
Another area that most guests forget still exists.  An amazing place where you can still camp in the Walt Disney World resorts, whether your idea of camping is a tent, a trailer, or a cabin.  Fort Wilderness is also the place in the resort where you can unwind and enjoy a variety of recreational activities, from walks through nature, tennis, archery, playgrounds, bicycling, fishing, sand volleyball, basketball, tetherball, and arcades.  The space has two pools, and access to bay lake with boat rentals, watercraft, water skiing, wake boarding, parasailing, and specialty cruises.  The Tri-Circle-D Ranch is here, housing the horses of the resort. From here you can enjoy pony rides, carriage rides, watch a blacksmith affix horseshoes, or take a nightly wagon ride.  (During Halloween the stables also house a viewing of The Legend of Sleepy Hollow with a nice encounter with the Headless Horseman).  Chip and Dale also host a nightly campfire program with a sing-along, marshmallow roast, and outdoor movie screening.  And there is always the Hoop-Dee-Doo Musical Revue, a long running diner music theater show.

In many ways, a visit to Fort Wilderness is like a visit to a long past vacation.   A slower pace, an older selection of offerings.  It's amazing to look at how large of a portion of the Walt Disney Resort Fort Wilderness encompasses.

Fort Wilderness Overview

The image above shows how far I had to zoom out to get a complete picture.  You can see it butting up to parts of the Tranquilo Golf Course at the Fourt Seasons resort.

There really is not much I would add to Fort Wilderness.  I do not really want to disturb much of the natural beauty that makes it a wonderful place.  If anything, I would simply change a visual aesthetic, embracing its 1970s campground roots.  Disney has done this magnificently with the new version of the Chuck Wagon used at the campfire.  Instead of mimicking a real chuck wagon, the new food truck is a great looking 1970s camper.

In all its self-referential 1970s glory

This is a great addition and a great clue for how to approach the visual identity of the area.

I do know Disney is looking to build a new resort past Pioneer Hall and the Mickey's BBQ pavilion, with an addition that would span the old River Country property.  Hopefully they can build a resort that will fit in this king of theme, a bit of a rustic, campsite theme.  More refined than the timber log Wilderness Lodge, but less polished than the Arts and Crafts Grand Californian.  Probably somewhere close to the low country Hilton Head resort.  Hopefully no larger than five stories.  And since it is encompassing River Country, it would be nice to see nods to River Country in the pool and water features of the resort.

A rough approximation of the new resort location

This could be a great resort and a great additional to the overall property if done well.  One further addition I would fight for is to develop a narrow gauge railroad train that would connect the new resort with the Wilderness Lodge - the Wilderness Express.  Disney is known for its transportation methods - the monorail, the buses, the boats, the soon-to-be gondola.  Having the train used in very appropriate resorts would be a great benefit to both.

Wilderness Express

All in all, each of these properties makes the Walt Disney World resort a location like no other.  I want to see each of them reach their full potential and to be developed in the best possible ways.

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Thank you for reading.  Next up, the Walt Disney World Resort Hotels.  Nearing the end of Walt Disney World.  Two to go.