So…I just get back from a week at Disney World with the kiddies and I have a bumper crop of questions…
Are there plans for a 5th major theme park?
Are “cast members” cross trained to do other tasks? (ie. if the Jungle cruise is slow that day do they work the Tiki Room).
Do cast members work in more than one park?
I was told that Disney will close parks due to capacity. Specifically I was told that last July 4th they closed the Magic Kingdom at 10am.
What do you estimate it costs to build a major attraction?
I noticed that, compared to other theme parks, Disney’s maintenance seems top notch. You never see a threadbare costume or grease on a ride. Does Disney spend more on maintenance than other theme parks?
Do the cast members in the shows get paid comparable to what an off-broadway type actor would earn? What about the musicians?
There are rumors of a 5th major park, supposedly to be named “Dark Shadows,” which will focus solely on villains. Instead of the pretty, inviting Cinderella Castle, the centerpiece will be a black, brooding Barad-dur-esque tower. Rides will be more aggressive (closer to what you’d find at Six Flags or someplace). At least, that’s the rumor. And it’s just that; a rumor. There have been rumors of this Dark Shadows park for as long as I’ve been using the internet, and no one has ever produced a single press release or any other shred of evidence that such is park is on the drawing board. A good source for the latest scoop in what’s happening, not happening, and rumored to be happening at Walt Disney World is http://www.intercot.com. Sign up for their message boards if you want to interact with Disneyaholocis.
Cast Members at the Magic Kingdom are cross-trained on duties within their own particular area. For example, a ride operator at Splash Mountain (Frontierland) will have other duties at other Frontierland attractions, and they rotate duties during the workweek (and maybe during the workday). I’d assume that a similar arrangement is in place at other theme parks.
I can’t say for certain if cast members work in more than one park. I doubt it.
Theme parks will stop admitting guests when they reach a certain capacity. It happens all the time during the busy seasons. That’s why it’s important to get there early and try to go during less busy times.
Questions 5 & 7: No idea.
As for question 6: maintenance at Disney parks is top-notch. I don’t know how it compares, dollar-for-dollar, against Six Flags or wherever, but I’m sure their maintenance budget is much higher. Walt Disney himself was quite fanatical about making sure that everything was spotless in his parks, and that the banalaties of the parks (wires, pipes, lubricant on the tracks, etc.) were hidden from public view as much as possible.
NOW, I’m going to answer the question that you didn’t ask.
Absolutely, 100%, uniquivecobly NOT. Go during the off-season, when the temperature is more agreeable, prices are lower, and most importantly, crowds are smaller. I recommend October or November (but not during Thanksgiving week :eek: ).
I don’t know about Disney specifically, but the theme parks competing for the biggest, scariest thrill rides are now spending $25 - 50 million on the latest. Source: July edition of FunWorld. Web site at http://www.funworldmagazine.com/. They haven’t got the July edition on the web yet.
Anyway, as far as the time of the year and the park, bear in mind a couple of things:
Most/many/all Florida students go back to school in early August. Couple that with most other schools back in session by Labor Day and from a crowds perspective you’re getting fewer kids both locally and tourist-wise post Labor Day.
September here can be less hot/humid than the previous parts of the summer, or it can be just as or more oppressive than June/July/August. Varies pretty much each year. In any case bring sunscreen/rain gear/ sweatshirts or be prepared to buy it in the parks. September is still in the midst of hurricane season and although not many hurricanes end up in Kissimmee, a nice tropical depression parked off the coast somewhere can bring you copious amounts of rain anytime from June-December. For a week or more at a time. Or not at all.
:: sits back and waits for RTFirefly to pop in and say you should come in February so that you can attend the Plant City Strawberry Festival ::
I lived in central Florida for a few years about 4 years back and had season passes to all the Disney and Universal Parks.
The best time to go by far is the first two weeks of NOVEMBER.
Christmas through Easter it is packed with Americans from the midwest and northeast.
Easter through Halloween it’s just too hot to stand in lines outside. June through August is even worse because not only is it hot but the place is PACKED!
Business starts picking up right after Thanksgiving.
The only drawback to going during those fist two weeks in November is that
The parks close at 6 p.m. (which doesn’t really matter since you can see everything in 6 hours with no lines).
Since crowds are very thin the parks like to use this time to do maintenance on attractions which may mean certain ones are closed.
Realted question/hijack: We’re going to Orlando for just a couple of days the first week in August. We’ll be skipping DW, but who can recommend the best places to go to maximize the fun-to-inconvenience ratio?
(Coloradoan now, but I guess since I lived an hour or so away from there for 30+ years, I can put my two cents in…)
The area around International Drive (or “I-Drive”, as the locals say is chock full of things to do. Hotels, Restaurants, the Ripley’s Museum, Gameworks (giant video arcade), etc.etc.
This area is also not very far from Universal Studios (which has their “City Walk” area you can go to without actually going into the park…or at least used to coulda). Also close to the Lake Buena Vista area (Disney’s version of City Walk…can’t think of the name off hand). Lots to do over there as well.
Hey Squeels! The weather not nice enough for you around here?
Like Cherry2000 says, i’d go to International Drive and shop, go to small attractions, and eat.
Universal’s City Walk isn’t bad but you’ll end up paying $8 for parking. They have shops and restaurants like NBA Cafe, Hard Rock Cafe, NASCAR Cafe, Jimmy Buffet’s Margaritaville, Emeril’s Cafe, Motown Cafe, Bob Marley’s Cafe. They also have a movie theatre.
Downtown Disney is the other “free” place to walk around. Free parking also.
It’s got tons of Disney related stores, a Rainforest Cafe, Ghiradelli’s ice cream, LegoLand, Virgin Records MegaStore, House of Blues, DisneyQuest (big interactive arcade $20-$40), Wolfgang Puck’s Cafe, Bongos (Gloria Estafans cafe), a movie theatre, and Planet Hollywood. They also have Pleasure Island which is free to walk through during the day but have to pay to get into the Nightclubs at night.
I wouldn’t go near any themeparks though. Way too hot to stand in lines, the crowds are enormous, and people start to smell real bad in that heat.
Oh yeah, don’t bother with anything in downtown Orlando. There’s nothing left to see there.
sqweels, are you bent on staying in Orlando/Lake Buena Vista proper? Because Cape Canaveral is only an hour’s drive away. When my family went to Florida for three days, we spent two in Disney, and the other at the Kennedy Space Center.
Thanx for the input. We’re leaning heavily in favor of Universal (not interested in shopping or food). I was just wondering if there’s something along the lines of nude midget alligator rasslin’ my GF and I could check out. Also, a water park is a must. What’s the cheapest/least crowded? Is there one connected to Universal?
I currently work on disney property, so i think i can try to tackle these two questions.
From what i’ve noticed, and heard from other employee’s in other parks, Cast members typically have one job or set of jobs to perform. The ferry boat operator drives the ferry boats, the epcot greeter greets, and the food service people serve in their specific resturants. From what i’ve heard, Disney does not allow overtime persay, so even if one full time employee wished to take on another position, he could only do so if he didnt have 40 hours that week already. I guess thats the specifics of it.
Disney’s maintenance is almost unmatched. Disney is almost Naziesque when it comes to maintaining their image of perfection. Disney’s regulations for employees
are fairly standard, but Disney makes it a point to accept nothing but perfection - often terminating employees for non-compliance. While I don’t have specific figures, I would like to say that Disney really spends a proportionate amount on maintanance for their parks and facilities when compared to other theme parks. I just believe the Disney ethic has more to do with the prestine appearance and visitor experience.
Most of Disney’s top tier attractions are well north of $100 million. Splash Mountain, Tower of Terror, Test Track, Rockin’ Roller Coaster and Mission: Space, etc, etc are just some of these attractions. Then in 2006, Animal Kingdom’s new Expedition Everest will open also has a $100 million attraction.
No waterpark connected to Universal. Your choices for the big ones are Blizzard Beach (Disney property), Typhoon Lagoon (Disney property), or Wet N Wild (on it’s own lot along International Drive very near Universal).
All about the same price but no way to beat the crowds during the summer. Unless you go from open til 11, leave, then come back around 6.
Blizzard Beach has tons of water slides of varying types all set in a ski resort setting with plastic snow everywhere (my favorite). The only thing it lacks is a big wave pool. Typhoon Lagoon is smaller but if you want a kick-ass wave pool they have the biggest one i’ve ever been in (dwarfs those at Noah’s Ark) that gradually get to 10 feet deep. Typoon lagoon is also very secluded with lots of sand and lush tropical vegitation.
Wet N Wild is all rides on concrete in a parking lot (similar to Noah’s Ark). I’ve heard they have some innovative rides though.
Wear lots of sunscreen and if it starts raining wait about a half hour and it will pass and crowds will thin.
