Imagine, just for a moment, that Disney announced today that it was building a fifth “gate” or park. Let’s not get caught up in what the park will be themed like or what rides or attractions it will have. Let’s really think about how this sudden change will affect you, the Walt Disney World park guest. At first, it seems like this could be nothing but good news. After all, another park means another day of fun! But it’s not that easy. Building another park could mean lots of headaches and confusion for the average guest who wants nothing more than a relaxing family vacation, although it could have some unexpected benefits. So let’s take a look at what would happen if Disney did in fact decide to build a fifth gate.
1. A rise in ticket prices
This is perhaps the most obvious side effect of a fifth gate. Disney tickets have been steadily rising for the past few years, and it seems fairly certain that if Disney added another park it would boost up ticket prices again. And while Magic Kingdom tickets are always a little more money than the other park tickets, there is a good chance that Disney would charge more for people to visit its newest park, which would probably have a high attendance for the first few years.
On top of that, it wouldn’t be surprising if Disney also started charging more for its Park Hopper addition. After all, guests would be dying to visit the new park. However, the Park Hopper fee would probably be fairly popular, because…
2. More stress (and decisions) for weekend or short trip visitors
Image: Disney
While some guests come to Disney for a week or longer, there are many more, especially locals, who visit the parks for a long weekend or just a few days before returning back to school or work. Already, this is an issue. A group who may only be going to Walt Disney World for three days already has to decide if they want to just skip visiting one park or if they want to buy a Park Hopper and split one day between two or more parks. Adding a fifth park would only make these decisions more stressful for these short term visitors. There simply isn’t enough time to spend a full day at each park over a weekend, so adding a fifth park means guests would need to stay a week or longer to get the “full” Disney World experience.
3. A more chaotic transportation situation
Anyone who has stayed at a Walt Disney World resort and used the free bus service has at least one story of a disastrous bus trip. Already, it is common for buses to come to stations infrequently, leaving guests waiting 15 minutes or so for their bus as they see half a dozen other buses come and go. Also, it’s not out of the ordinary for the buses to be filled to capacity so that some guests are left standing, especially in the early mornings or late at night as the parks are opening and closing.
Another park would mean more connecting roads, more construction, and more traffic as thousands of vehicles crisscross Walt Disney World, coming and going from five parks, one shopping district, two water parks, and 20+ on-property hotels. While there are other transportation options like monorails and shuttle boats, there are limited to certain destinations. If the transportation situation is already fairly chaotic, it’s very likely that a sixth gate would only increase this problem.
4. Less renovations in other parks
You may hate them as they are happening, but renovations are a necessity in any theme park. Attractions become old, outdated, or consistently broken and need to be fixed up or just changed after a period of time. However, as large as Disney is, it can only focus (and budget) a few projects at a time. Take a look at this great timeline of Walt Disney World. You will notice that there was very little development in existing parks the years before a new park opened, especially before Epcot and Disney’s Animal Kingdom. While parks like Hollywood Studios and Animal Kingdom are currently going through major renovations, there have been rumors and hopes of a “New Frontierland” in Magic Kingdom or a redesigned Future World in Epcot. If Disney was going to seriously consider a fifth park, these renovations would most likely be pushed back indefinitely.
5. More resorts or resort expansions
Image: Sam Howzit, Flickr (license)
This one might actually be a positive point for many. Consider this – Disney resorts often sell out during the busy seasons like Thanksgiving and Christmas, and during other times certain room types (like standard rooms) can be limited. If Disney added a fifth park, it’s almost certain that there would be larger crowds, especially from long time Disney fans would want to revisit the World to see the new park. And if there were larger crowds, they would need to stay somewhere. Take a look at Google Maps or any other satellite pictures of the Disney World property and you will notice lot of trees and natural areas. There is certainly room for more resort hotels, as well as room for resort expansions. As Disney expanded some of its deluxe resorts to accommodate Vacation Club buildings, they could certainly add more standard or suite rooms.
6. More competition from other parks
Image: Universal
Recently, Universal Orlando Resort bought a couple of packages of land, that grouped together, equals a lot of space. Universal has been quite about its plans with this land, but considering in the past six years they added two huge park expansions, built another hotel, and are in the process of building another hotel and a water park, it’s clear they are not afraid of expanding. So if Disney decided to build a fifth park, it wouldn’t be surprising if Universal also announced a third park. All together, this would be an advantage not only for the Orlando economy but for theme park fans itching for new experiences. Sure, it would mean higher prices and more headaches for tourists trying to plan everything into one vacation, but in the end it just means more opportunities for visitors.
