Fascinating Disney Rumors for April 2020
We’re another month into the Coronavirus pandemic. While we still don’t know an exact date when Disney theme parks will reopen, we have heard a couple of juicy tidbits this month.
What’s Up with Reflections?
During the pandemic, mixed messages abound. One of the most curious ones involves Reflections, A Disney Lakeside Lodge. Disney plans to open this Bay Lake resort by the end of 2022.
Obviously, the arrival of a new luxury Magic Kingdom property brings excitement. The intrigue is a bit surprising, though.
Florida currently has a statewide stay-at-home order, which Disney has generally honored. However, the Orlando Business Journal caught everyone off-guard when the publication stated that construction has continued here.
What’s the deal?
The answer apparently involves a third party. Disney has outsourced part of the construction to a local business, Balfour Beatty Construction LLC.
This organization obviously values Disney as a client and wants to curry favor. So, its construction crew has worked under orders to maintain social distancing guidelines while making progress on the hotel.
Even in this scenario, the pandemic and its fallout have limited productivity. Balfour is using smaller construction crews on the job site. So, it’s not ideal and arguably not worth the associated risks. That’s not for me to decide.
What We Know about the Reflections Project
What’s interesting is that Disney has laid off most of its own construction employees. Buena Vista Construction Co. downsized by eliminating 1,215 out of 1,360 jobs. That’s nearly 90 percent of the workforce.
I should mention that not all these people worked in construction. Some of them were painters, carpenters, electricians, and the like. Still, it’s weird that Disney cut its own employees while a subcontractor kept going.
Even so, Disney has made progress in other phases of the Reflections project. The company has filed a bunch of permits, even as its workers are either furloughed or working from home.
The most exciting part is the restaurant, which we already know has a The Princess and the Frog theme. Since Tiana works as a chef in the film, expectations are high for this place.
Still, we really don’t know what will happen next with Reflections. Construction is well past the ground-breaking phase. However, beyond the clearing of land, there’s not the foundation of a building per se.
If you’re interested, you can follow the progress via Google Maps. You’ll notice some structures in place, but it’s extremely early in the build right now.
The current belief is that Disney will spend $350 million on the construction of Reflections. Due to the pandemic, some people understandably wonder whether a new resort represents the best use of funds for Disney right now.
Again, I don’t have a great answer for that. In fact, I would add that nobody does, not even Disney. They’re somewhat pot-committed, but they’re not completely locked into the project if they do decide to divert funds.
What we know is that Disney continues to pay an outside firm to work on Reflections. As such, it seems likely that the plan remains the same.
Disney will add a new Bay Lake resort over the next two or three years. I wouldn’t view 2022 as the guaranteed opening date, though. The pandemic could easily cause a delay until 2023.
Ariel vs. the Black Box
The other hot rumor this month involves Disney’s Hollywood Studios. While the parks are on hiatus, Disney strategists are evaluating a lot of upcoming plans.
During the downtime, an old bit of gossip has resurfaced. Imagineers reportedly have a revolutionary style of attraction that they’re itching to debut. First, they must make room for it, though.
A couple of years ago, Voyage of the Little Mermaid reduced its showtimes. The change was neither permanent nor consistent. Sometimes, it would run all day, but it also had limited performances at other times.
Then, the show underwent a brief closure during the summer of 2019. Disney officials indicated that they needed to repair some of the props, many of which had been in use since the attraction opened in 1992.
When Disney announced this renovation, speculation ensued about whether Voyage of the Little Mermaid would return. Its attendance was already in decline, but operating the attraction isn’t cheap.
The show’s use of live actors forces Disney to keep a recurring full-time staff on hand. Ariel, Eric, and the people manning the puppets are all on the payroll. Plus, Disney must keep multiple performers for each one since cast members don’t work each day of the week.
So, even though Voyage of the Little Mermaid hasn’t changed much in almost 20 years, it’s a million-dollar show…and one with lessening popularity. Perhaps you’ve heard that money is tight at Disney right now.
You can guess where this conversation is heading. A Disney insider is reporting that Voyage of the Little Mermaid won’t return when Disney’s Hollywood Studios reopens.
Shutting down this show could shave the park’s operating budget. Unfortunately, this wonderful attraction has become a troubling number on a spreadsheet.
A Replacement or Not?
Presuming that Disney does close Voyage of the Little Mermaid, what happens next? That answer isn’t as positive as I’d prefer.
The belief is that Disney wants to construct a Black Box attraction inside this show building. I previously discussed the concept in May of 2019.
The gist is that Imagineers can create a programmable attraction space. Here, an attraction could mimic a Disney classic like World of Motion at EPCOT on one day.
Then, virtually overnight, park operators could modify it into an entirely new attraction. Let’s use Raya and the Last Dragon as an example. This movie comes out next March.
As part of the marketing for the movie, Disney could create a Black Box experience that recreates some scenes from the film.
These two are random theoreticals, neither of which is likely to occur. I’m mentioning them more as a demonstration of the concept.
You can see how a Black Box attraction would drive admission at Disney. However, you shouldn’t get your hopes up right now that Disney will begin construction at it if/when the park closes Voyage of the Little Mermaid.
Again, Disney has liquidity issues right now, like many other companies. Unlike other businesses, Disney has committed many resources to projects that are nearing completion.
So, the company must finish what it started at Ratatouille, Tron, and Guardians of the Galaxy at Walt Disney World. Similarly, Avengers Campus at Disney California Adventure can’t stop now.
With so many projects underway, Disney may decide not to build its Black Box attraction until the company is on more stable ground financially. It’s the rational choice, albeit not one that we theme park fans want to hear.
For now, we’ll probably lose Voyage of the Little Mermaid without gaining a replacement. And yes, that sucks.