Final week, Universal Parks and Resorts surprised a lot of people with a significant expansion announcement. The theme park firm was already onerous at work building the new Epic Universe park at Common Orlando Resort, so no person was anticipating extra to be on the best way. However the factor that is maybe much more thrilling is that what was introduced was not a conventional Common theme park in both location or design.
As an alternative of an growth to an current Common Park, we’re going to see the development of a brand new resort positioned in Frisco, Texas. The park will likely be considerably smaller than what we’re used to seeing from Common, however it is going to be particularly designed to enchantment to households with younger youngsters. It appears like a Legoland design with Common characters and branding. A second location in Las Vegas, Nevada will likely be even smaller and geared to enchantment particularly to horror followers.
This needs to be seen as overwhelmingly excellent news for any fan of themed leisure. Whereas nothing that Common is doing right here is solely new, that is the largest themed leisure firm on the planet to do that type of growth. Evidently, our buddies at Disney Parks may study a number of issues from these new endeavors.
Growth Exterior Of California And Florida Is Good, And Crucial
For years, the focal factors for themed leisure in North America have been in Southern California and Central Florida. After Hollywood grew to become dwelling to the film trade, it made sense for each Disney and Common to construct their parks in the identical basic neighborhood as their studios; in Universal’s case, the park grew out of a studio tour. After Walt Disney decided to build his East Coast park in Florida, different firms, like Common, flocked there to construct off the now-existing tourism enterprise.
However since then, all we’ve actually seen is an growth in these two areas. Whereas it’s good to have a number of comparable leisure in a single place so individuals on trip can go to a number of areas in a single journey, there’s additionally one thing to be mentioned for increasing outward. Las Vegas is a serious vacationer vacation spot already, so having one thing, actually something in any respect, {that a} fan of themed leisure can go expertise there’s a welcome boost.
We all know that folks save up cash to take large holidays, probably of the “once-in-a-lifetime” selection, to locations like Walt Disney World. That’s not going to alter so long as the resort exists, but when there are extra locations individuals can go the place they will get an identical expertise the place perhaps the price isn’t as excessive as a result of the situation is nearer to them or it’s designed to be a smaller expertise, there is a good probability that visitors will spend more cash over time visiting these different spots in between the massive journeys to the large resorts.
Completely different Theme Parks Can Focus On Completely different Markets
Along with being put in areas the place main theme parks don’t at present exist, Common’s two new areas are additionally meant for (doubtlessly) very totally different visitors. Whereas almost each theme park has at the very least a number of sights particularly designed for youthful visitors, the brand new Texas park will likely be solely centered on these visitors and their households. If this isn’t you, then this can be a park you’ll be able to very simply skip.
And that’s utterly high quality. Not each theme park must enchantment to all people, particularly when you will have a number of choices to select from. Disney World is there to be the catch-all that has one thing for everyone. You may as well have the small park for households or the opposite park devoted to younger adults stuffed with thrill rides and costly eating areas.
In the identical approach that this new horror-themed location in Las Vegas appears to be designed to attract fans of Halloween Horror Nights year-round, Disney may have total areas designed to draw followers of Marvel, Walt Disney Animation Studios or Star Wars. In actual fact, the corporate already has that, which results in the following level.
Not Each New Location Wants To Be A Large Theme Park
Disney Parks already is aware of that it’s attainable to construct a singular, themed leisure house geared towards a selected type of buyer that additionally didn’t must be a full-sized theme park. Final yr, the corporate opened the Star Wars: Galactic Starcruiser, a two-night themed leisure expertise that acts as a lodge and theme park multi function. The issue was, it might have been constructed within the fallacious place.
It’s clear now that following an preliminary interval of pleasure, Disney is having trouble filling the Galactic Starcruiser. I’m wondering how a lot of that is because of the truth that it’s a part of Walt Disney World. Resulting from Starcruiser’s price and length, it’s basically its personal trip, and households trying to make a journey to Orlando, and even simply Disney World, for trip could also be trying to do extra than simply the Starcruiser, and they also select to skip it solely.
If Star Wars: Galactic Starcruiser was a standalone location, with the lodge constructing and a model of Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge hooked up to it, and it was positioned someplace away from present Disney Parks, it would enchantment to extra individuals who wish to journey someplace aside from Orlando. One may simply think about a number of Starcruiser areas, as they’d be a lot simpler and cheaper to construct. We may additionally see them accomplished with different themes, like a Stark Tower lodge constructed with a model of Avengers Campus for serious Marvel fans.
If Common Parks and Resorts constructed a everlasting Halloween Horror Nights expertise at Common Orlando Resort, individuals would like it, to make sure, however it will be unlikely to truly see that many visitors that the bigger resort wasn’t going to get anyway. By placing it Vegas, Common will get clients, and their cash, that it seemingly wouldn’t see in any other case.
We all know that Disney Parks is planning on doing extra with its current parks. There have been plans introduced for a major expansion of Disneyland Resort. Eventually yr’s D23, we realized there’ll seemingly be an growth of Magic Kingdom at Disney World as nicely. However all that is simply constructing on what the corporate already has. It must be trying towards increasing elsewhere and in different methods, and at this level, there’s no indication that’s on the horizon. After all, we didn’t actually anticipate Common to do any of that both, so something is feasible.
