RE: Close the Park
Yeah, I was thinking more along the lines of a rail...it doesn't even have to a classic monorail. It could be a train or tram. Basically, it's a 4 mile shot by the existing roads. That could be shortened quite a bit by moving in a straight line. However, without a tie-in retheme, I don't know how viable this is as an idea. Either way, it would be most effective with the addition of a resort hotel.
There are two golf courses within short distance, and Colonial Williamsburg is also an extremely popular (although unaffiliated) attraction. The entire area could be treated more effectively as a single resort than it currently is.
Probably, the reluctance is that the vast majority of park goers are still locals...it is not a destination in the way that Orlando is. Now, the argument would probably come up as to which of these phenomena is causing the other. Is it not a destination because they don't treat it as one, and therefor lack the kind of infrastructure destination vacationers would expect, or do they not build the infrastructure because they know it would be a waste of money since people would not come to Williamsburg from somewhere like Omaha, anyway, even given the proper facilities.
I tend to believe the old adage "if you build it, they will come." I also think the park and the area has a unique position for vacationers, because of two things:
In the first place, it may offer a quieter, less expensive vacation than Orlando, because it is not in the universal center of all things kitch and vacationy, and in the second place, Virginia offers a history-centered concept, as opposed to one centered on TV and media characters/personalities, which is certain to be an attracting premise to at least some potential visitors (Obviously, how media-centered Disney parks actually are is a cause for some debate...but I think it would be hard to argue that the average Indiana or North Dakota native doesn't immediately associate the entirety of Walt Disney World with Tinkerbell and Mickey Mouse, regardless of the various parks' actual offerings).
A shut-down-for-re-theme at WCUSA would be a good idea, in my view, only so long as they were doing it for the right reasons.
Yeah, I was thinking more along the lines of a rail...it doesn't even have to a classic monorail. It could be a train or tram. Basically, it's a 4 mile shot by the existing roads. That could be shortened quite a bit by moving in a straight line. However, without a tie-in retheme, I don't know how viable this is as an idea. Either way, it would be most effective with the addition of a resort hotel.
There are two golf courses within short distance, and Colonial Williamsburg is also an extremely popular (although unaffiliated) attraction. The entire area could be treated more effectively as a single resort than it currently is.
Probably, the reluctance is that the vast majority of park goers are still locals...it is not a destination in the way that Orlando is. Now, the argument would probably come up as to which of these phenomena is causing the other. Is it not a destination because they don't treat it as one, and therefor lack the kind of infrastructure destination vacationers would expect, or do they not build the infrastructure because they know it would be a waste of money since people would not come to Williamsburg from somewhere like Omaha, anyway, even given the proper facilities.
I tend to believe the old adage "if you build it, they will come." I also think the park and the area has a unique position for vacationers, because of two things:
In the first place, it may offer a quieter, less expensive vacation than Orlando, because it is not in the universal center of all things kitch and vacationy, and in the second place, Virginia offers a history-centered concept, as opposed to one centered on TV and media characters/personalities, which is certain to be an attracting premise to at least some potential visitors (Obviously, how media-centered Disney parks actually are is a cause for some debate...but I think it would be hard to argue that the average Indiana or North Dakota native doesn't immediately associate the entirety of Walt Disney World with Tinkerbell and Mickey Mouse, regardless of the various parks' actual offerings).
A shut-down-for-re-theme at WCUSA would be a good idea, in my view, only so long as they were doing it for the right reasons.