Will Las Vegas Inspire a New Disney Park?

A new form of entertainment is arriving sooner than you think. I’m not being hyperbolic when I say that it’ll redefine experiential activities.

You could argue that Disney has already taken a place at the forefront of this technology…or you could say that it’s already playing catch-up.

Will Disney rip off Las Vegas and other similar projects, or are they all ripping off ideas Imagineers have already done with proof-of-concept?

Let’s discuss the next wave of interactive entertainment and how it will impact Disney.

What’s the New Immersive Experience?

Have you seen this?

Or the updated video?

Or the latest drone footage?

At a minimum, you likely heard about the U2 residency happening in Las Vegas. It was the longest Super Bowl ad this year, after all:

I’ve just thrown a lot of video at you, but there’s a reason for it. What I’m about to discuss is visual in a way few people have seen before.

Friends, when you hear the terms metaverse and Web 3.0, you misunderstand the terms because few reporters appreciate them, either.

When people mention those terms, what they really mean is the next generation of immersive, interactive entertainment.

What they really mean is the MGM Sphere in Las Vegas. This gigantic sphere looks vaguely like Spaceship Earth and includes features eerily similar to other Disney experiences.

Specifically, when you dine at Space 220 or Star Wars: Hyperspace Lounge on the Disney Wish, you’re witnessing the small-scale version.

We are not that far away from a future wherein digital displays surround us. You can think of the whole thing as the next generation of television viewing.

However, you could also argue that we’re about to experience the precursor to those Star Trek holodecks and Ready Player One virtual worlds.

This isn’t technology that’s only a few years away, either. We have it right now! The catch is that it’s expensive to produce, which is why it’s still new-ish.

Not every company can afford to build a 366-foot by 516-foot circular stadium for up to 20,000 guests.

MGM has spent a reported $2.1 billion on this project, which broke ground in September 2018.

The Sphere should open in September 2023, presuming no further delays. And I’m not joking when I say this is what’s next in mega-entertainment.

About the Sphere

If you watched the videos, you already know the gist here. MGM wanted to do something, well, grand.

So, leadership signed off on one of the most daring architectural projects of the past 40 years.

Still, Disney fans will find it intimately familiar. By any description, this is Spaceship Earth improved generationally by new technology.

During Walt Disney World’s 50^th anniversary celebration, EPCOT has illuminated its architectural marvel with a Beacon of Light show.

EPCOT added that tech after the fact, as management continually plusses its most recognizable landmark.

The MGM Sphere has taken the same approach from the ground up, as it builds an exterior with 600,000 square feet of programmable LED lighting.

Inside the MGM Sphere, a wraparound screen covers 160,000 square feet of the building’s interior.

The resolution for this video is 19,000 by 13,500 pixels, a level that makes 8k HDTV look like an Atari 2600 video game.

Imagine – or at least try to imagine – a 33-story building that shows a constant loop of video and live performances with such stunning precision.

On special occasions, the next hub of Las Vegas entertainment will show broadcasts of UFC fights, professional sports games, and concerts.

That statement applies to people watching outside the building. Paying guests at the MGM Sphere will be treated to the future of entertainment.

High-speed wireless internet connects to all seats, allowing and, in fact, encouraging guests to interact with the show.

During some concerts, musicians will run live polls to ask what song the crowd wants. It’s that fluid and adaptable.

When the Sphere opens, it’ll immediately set the standard for what tourists expect in immersive entertainment. Everything else will expand from there.

Other Immersive Experiences

Anybody with deep pockets has already committed to this form of emerging technology. Here’s a tweet that may blow your mind:

A gateway to another world: #TheMukaab will be the world’s first immersive, experiential destination. Large enough to hold 20 Empire State Buildings, the global icon will feature innovative technologies to transport you to new worlds.#NewMurabbahttps://t.co/5R4DqQdPyS pic.twitter.com/vr9M8cTI1I

— Public Investment Fund (@PIF_en) February 16, 2023

The only way I can describe that thing is, “If a Borg Cube were painted gold…”

The Mukaab is straight out of a science-fiction movie, one that rarely ends well for humanity. And yes, the narrator said it could hold 20 (!) Empire State Buildings.

I no longer feel quite so good about my 82” television.

Anyway, the point is that we’re moving away from the entertainment standards we’ve held since Walt Disney built Disneyland.

Consumers want and will soon expect more. Not coincidentally, when Bob Iger was away from Disney, he worked as an incubator for some metaverse businesses.

Similarly, Disney just brought back Bruce Vaughn, a creative legend, as Chief Creative Officer at Walt Disney Imagineering.

During his time away from Disney, Vaughn became something of an expert as – you guessed it! – an experiential storyteller with Airbnb.

Before that, Vaughn had left Disney for a VR company. In short, here’s someone who understands how the future of entertainment will look.

Just as importantly, Vaughn spent 22 years as an Imagineer and protégé of Bob Weis and Tony Baxter.

This hire allows Disney to bridge the gap between the Imagineering style of old and what’s coming next.

That’s significant because the competition understands this as well.

In the time between when I started researching this article and publishing it, Universal Parks & Resorts rebranded as – wait for it! – Universal Destinations & Experiences.

I’ve mentioned several times that the data shows that people under 35 prefer experiences to a historically unprecedented degree.

Tourism strategists must account for this emerging dynamic in the industry.

Will Disney Rip Off Las Vegas?

Here’s the tricky part of the conversation. If we ignore scale, Disney already beat the rest of the tourism industry to the punch.

Space 220 has established a new standard in theme park immersion. Technically, you board an elevator to the second floor of the restaurant and eat.

Thematically, Disney immerses you in a story wherein you board a Stellarvator that carries you from Florida to an orbiting space station 220 miles above Earth.

Anyone who has eaten here can confirm that it feels believable and stunningly realistic.

Disney has also built Spaceship Earth, which feels important to mention since the MGM Sphere so shamelessly rips off this design.

Even so, in terms of scale, nothing at Disney can match the grandeur of the Sphere, much less the Mukaab.

However, Disney’s recent changes hint that something bigger could be in the offing.

I’m starting to wonder whether Disney intends to build a new theme park…but not in Florida.

An Unlikely Scenario That You Shouldn’t Discount

I’ve previously mentioned Amazon’s HQ2 and how many cities happily bid for the project. Amazon has since paused development on the expansion.

Also, many metropolitan areas have stopped doling out massive tax incentives to attract businesses. But Disney’s different.

If the company announced the intent to build a new theme park elsewhere, cities would happily offer incentives that effectively multiplied HQ2 by a factor of Reedy Creek.

Disney is a rainmaker that the state of Florida has foolishly taken for granted lately and frankly mistreated.

Now strikes me as a good time for Disney to explore other options and thereby change the narrative.

A project like the MGM Sphere would make an exceptional anchor landmark for Disney in building a next-generation theme park.

In the process, Disney could create a new tourist mecca while simultaneously throwing a purpose pitch at Anaheim and Florida officials who are risking their golden goose.

Currently, Florida seems to favor Universal Studios, a tourism business whose intake is fractional relative to Walt Disney World.

Similarly, Anaheim hasn’t given Disney what it wants lately, either.

So, Disney’s building a fifth gate in Orlando has grown much more difficult, while it lacks the space for a third gate in Anaheim.

A new project elsewhere could remind everyone who has the real power here. That answer has always been Disney.

If Disney does kiss and make up in Florida, something akin to the MGM Sphere could still anchor a fifth gate there, though.

I’m pretty sure that Bob Iger is planning something big here. What do you think it is? Let us know in the comments.

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Feature Photo: Getty