Today's lead item is breaking news you aren't going to read about anywhere else: Walt Disney World (WDW) is planning to add another lodging, shopping and dining district to its Central Florida property. In some ways, it will be like having another Downtown Disney area. This time, the new zone will be on the exact opposite end of the property, at the junction of Western Way and the 429 toll road. The final product is still several years away from opening, and Disney doesn't seem anywhere near close to announcing it publicly yet, but things are already in motion to make this particular plan a reality.
As predicted in this space many months ago, the millions of dollars Disney invested building Western Way recently were not spent merely to capture a few dozen cars per day from the 429 toll road. While excitement built (including in my column) that there might be a fifth theme park on the horizon, the reality is both more mundane and more predictable: Disney built the road to make even more lodging, dining and shopping easily accessible. We just knew Disney wouldn't be building a "road to nowhere," which is basically what Western Way is today.
A view of the 429 from the edge of the Disney property.
Details are still pending, but the "Western Beltway Development Project" (a placeholder name until a better one comes along) seems to be proceeding through the various pieces of red tape needed to actually occur. Spearheaded by Walt Disney Imagineering-Florida, it's to be a whopping 450 acres of retail and lodging with:
That last item, in particular, may give you pause. This isn't exactly a clone of Downtown Disney, which aims for a more upscale market. In fact, it's more likely that this shopping zone will mimic the offerings commonly found on the roads that ring WDW, namely SR535 and US192. Those tourist-trap retail outlets and fast-food eateries are always clogged with people. Specifically, people looking to save money. People who eschew the higher prices seen at Disney hotels and in Downtown Disney. So they've been flocking to the off-property offerings.
The far side of the 429—these orange groves may not last!
Well, credit Disney with once again identifying exactly how and why visitors leave the Disney property to spend time and money elsewhere. Disney did that with virtually all other Central Florida attractions competitors, and created their own attractions to counter the competition:
- People went to Church St. Station and clubs in Orlando to dance, so Disney created Pleasure Island/Downtown Disney.
- Universal Studios wanted to build a studios park in Orlando, so Disney rushed the Disney-MGM Studios to market before Universal could open (they actually announced first).
- People were going to Busch Gardens-Tampa, so Disney created Animal Kingdom.
- People were going to Cape Canaveral to see space-related exhibits, so Disney created Mission:Space at Epcot.
The most comprehensive plan of all was the "Destination Disney" program, now over a year old. There are several facets to this initiative (the PhotoPass program, the Pal Mickey program, etc), the most insidious of which are the revamped ticket price structure, which makes it increasingly difficult to justify spending time at Busch or Universal parks, when your Disney park tickets become cheaper the more days you buy, and the wildly popular Magical Express program, whereby visitors are whisked by bus directly to WDW from the airport. Fewer folks now rent cars, and thus decide not to visit Busch or Universal, not to mention Cape Canaveral or other venues.
The Western Beltway Development (to be built in five phases, per market conditions) will be just another piece of the Destination Disney program. Those people who want to visit Disney parks but save money by staying off-site and eating off-property will now have another option. This time, it may be equally as cost-effective, but it will be Disney itself reaping the financial rewards, not their competitors.
Disney plans to avoid the tacky look of the US192 shops and motels by instilling a sense of place to the new development. There will be a central fountain, a park, and even footpaths around. It may feel more like a city park than anything else, with universal signage, and even a grocery store. The makeup of offerings implies a cross between the shopping center Crossroads, once owned by Disney and containing a grocery store, an outlet mall, and the Disney-created town of Celebration. Resort bus stops are also planned for what appears to be yet another tier of Disney value-oriented lodging. And they have even taken into account that thousands of WDW Cast Members may also use many of the offerings there (fast food, markets, etc) on their way into or out of the property.
A look at the northwestern corner of the intersection of Western Way and 429.
What sticks out in my mind is the victory, yet again, of the "Destination Disney" concept. The entire idea behind it is to keep Guests on Disney property and spending money at Disney shops and restaurants. It's been wildly successful in the past, and it looks like they've finally hit upon a way to capture that one last portion of the market which has eluded them up to now. In the end, even the most value-oriented customer may find the Disney product hard to resist.
But what does all this mean? Is it good news or bad news? For some, I imagine, it's going to be good news. Now these value-oriented customers can save the money they want, and still revel in knowing they are purchasing Disney goods and services, rather than knock-offs.
But for others, myself included, there will be serious questions about the brand erosion. Disney hawking cheap goods? That's pretty much the exact opposite of the "premium brand" image they cultivate with the theme parks (which are nobody's idea of a bargain) or the Disney Cruise Line. Since the days of Walt, a Disney product was meant to be one of the highest quality, which often meant paying a higher price.
To dilute the brand is to risk washing out the experience to an ever more homogenous shade of gray. Is it really necessary to capture every last dollar? Former Disney Attractions VP Dick Nunis once allowed for Disney World to be a "good neighbor" to the rest of Central Florida, and realized it wasn't required for Disney to soak up every last tourist dollar. Nunis understood that a rising tide raising all boats was still a rising tide--and that was enough.
Obviously, much depends on the execution of this plan. If the town center idea is cute, well themed, not tacky, and still somehow affordable, then the company might have dodged a bullet. But if not, watch out. The road to mediocrity is paved with good (profit) intentions.
