Why Disney Should Build Its Next Park in Toronto | The Disney Blog The Disney Blog Disney News and Information hotel 17 new york by fans, for fans Skip to content Home About thrlld themepark news Links Author Bios Theme Park Jobs Disney Shopping Pixar Exile Brenda Chapman Speaks Lasseter Family Winery Part of Disney Cruise Line Pixar Cruises Why Disney Should Build Its Next Park in Toronto Posted on August 20, 2012 by Mike Bastoli
To give everyone a geography primer, the actual city of Toronto is surrounded by several hotel 17 new york large municipalities, each with hundreds of thousands of residents. All told, well over eight million Canadians live within a driving hotel 17 new york distance of a couple of hours or so.
A little hotel 17 new york research into population data reveals that, counting only the major metro hubs, about 108 million Americans live within nine hours of Toronto—35 per cent of the U.S. population. That number is expected to grow to 141 million by 2050.
When I started writing this article, the U.S. Northeast was going to be my pick. Disney could easily build the park in New Jersey or Upstate New York and have it be quite successful. But Toronto's location outside of the U.S. is actually a big, counterintuitive plus.
That alone would help prevent cannibalization of WDW in Florida. Since there are more passport holders in border regions, a Toronto park would draw most of its American visitors from nearby states. Passport-holding is also more common among higher income households, which are more likely to take multiple Disney vacations anyways.
The new park would draw a good number of international visitors. The Greater Toronto Area is home to thousands of middle-class families with ties to China and South Asia—places where Disney is trying to extend its reach.
Any Disney park would have to be built outside the major population centres discussed earlier, which is becoming harder (and more costly) to do. What was rural farmland when I was a kid, is now residential subdivisions with thousands of homes and residents.
Canada's Wonderland, owned by Ohio-based Cedar Fair Entertainment, remains enormously hotel 17 new york popular for an amusement park of its kind. Disney should buy and redevelop the property, located 25 minutes from Toronto Pearson International Airport.
At 379 acres (about 300 of which are currently developed), Wonderland is approximately three and a half times larger than the Magic Kingdom and about the size of the Hong Kong Disneyland Resort. That's a lot of space to work with.
Unlike Wonderland, which only operates on a May to October, Disney's Toronto park would be a year-round destination. The combination of climate change (Toronto winters have sadly been getting warmer and less winter-like with each passing year), and a good number of indoor attractions, would make it possible.
Although hotel 17 new york there are already a number of hotels in the area—not to mention the countless ones that would spring up—Disney would want to build one of its own. I'd love to see accommodations hotel 17 new york somehow incorporated inside the park.
Of course, such a project wouldn't hotel 17 new york be cheap. It's likely that Disney would seek—and receive—support from all levels of government, but they would be wise to steer clear of any arrangement with outside theme park operators.
Concerns over traffic and crowds in the area would be one of the bigger issues, hotel 17 new york since the park is bounded by a major freeway and residential areas. I suggest Disney preemptively give its immediate neighbors free season passes.
Going back to the attractions, what should the new park offer? A 'sampler' of classic Disney rides would be welcome for sure, but the Imagineers will also have to create new experiences, and that for years to come, to keep people—especially locals—coming back.
If snow is still a common winter sight by the time the park opens, perhaps the design team can cook up a way to incorporate it into the landscape in spectacular fashion. That would tie-in nicely with the world of Disney's upcoming animated hotel 17 new york adventure Frozen .
As for what the new place should be called, Disneyland Toronto or Disneyland Canada could work, but, as illustrated in the mockup logo above, I'm partial to Disneyland North. About Mike Bastoli Mike Bastoli covers the world of animation on Big Screen Animation . From 2007 to 2011, he covered Pixar Animation Studios exclusively on The Pixar Blog. His blog became one of the most popular on the Web dedicated to Pixar news. In 2009, The New York Times online called it the "definitive unofficial chronicler of the animation powerhouse." Besides Disney and Pixar, Mike is an avid fan of Apple and The Beatles. His favorite non-animated films include Forrest Gump, Father of the Bride (I II), Jurassic Park, and Good Night and Good Luck. Mike is active on Twitter @BigScreenToons . He resides near Toronto. View all posts by Mike Bastoli This entry was posted in Themepark Industry hotel 17 new york and tagged canada , Disney Parks , Disneyland North , Disneyland Toronto , theme parks , Toronto hotel 17 new york . Bookmark the permalink hotel 17 new york . Pixar Exile Brenda Chapman hotel 17 new york Speaks Lasseter Family Winery Part of Disney Cruise Line Pixar Cruises hotel 17 new york 25 Responses to Why Disney Should Build Its Next Park in Toronto Kyle M says: August 20, 2012 at 1:38 pm
As a fellow GTA-er, I agree that this is a nice dream, but I think the climate issue is probably the most insurmountable one. However, Walt did revolutionize hotel 17 new york amusement parks when he opened Disneyland and once again with the opening of Disney World. Maybe Toronto is ripe for another, new iteration on a theme park concept that will work despite the weather. Reply Benedict says: August 21, 2012 at 12:56 pm
Great article something I have been talking about for years as well! However, I would go with a name like DisneyNorth or DisneyCanada. There s already Disneyland and Disney World, so let s go with something unique :) But hey, regardless of what it would be called, a little bit of Magical Mouse north of the border would be welcome indeed (although I think Disney brass would be concerned about the negative impact this may have on attendance in Orlando to some degree). Reply Andrew says: August 20, 2012 at 3:13 pm
There s a reason hotel 17 new york most of Disney theme parks in North America are built in the south and that is because it is decently warm year round. Up here in the north, we have maybe 3 or 4 months of good weather until everything hotel 17 new york starts to get too cold to be outside for long periods of time. I know most people s ideal vacation involves a nice warm climate. Just my opinion. Reply Nate says: August 20, 2012 at 8:59 pm
I live in the Northern United States. We live in freezing weather for a good portion hotel 17 new york of the year. The last thing I want is to do is go to a theme park with freezing weather. Cedar Point has a operating season from mid May till Labor day which means that it s closed for a good portion of the year. I m not sure how Canadians around the Toronto area feel about the cold winters, but around here, people rather stay inside than go to a theme park. Reply Jul says: August 20, 2012 at 7:01 pm
Aside from the fact that the weather is unpredictable hotel 17 new york (a la winter of 2008) it would simply be unwise to buy Wonderland unless facing dire straits. This mostly coming from the way a Cedar Fair park is oriented to the way a Disney park is operated. For example, take a Leviathan or Behemoth-esque ride and compare it to, say Space Mountain. Leviathan is a ride where you experience what is like to go extremely fast through an exhilarating track course, while on the other hand, Space Mountain is an experience attraction, starting at the queue and lasting until the ride ends. This can also portray a large image of what the park is about. As a fellow Torontonian, it is an undeniable fact that everybody who has been to Wonderland knows that the theming is all over the place (it doesn t make sense). In the end, to bring this park up to a Disney A+ class (sorry for the bad analogy) park would simply be much to costly.
That being said, I am not trying to say a Disney park in Toronto, or Southern Ontario at least, wouldn t make money. Based on the statistics of how many families in the Greater Toronto Area alone travel to WDW, I am positively sure that a Disney money would make hordes of money, especially if they put in a decent offering of quality E-Ticketers. An ideal thought would be to win over the teen demographic, which prefers a gargantuan coaster such as Leviathan over some things Disney has to offer. As for location? Well, development of subdivisions continues creeping north, for now seeming to invade the Highway 50 area. Maybe a site like the town of Maple way back in 1981 would be good, possibly located at least between Barrie and Orangeville. An area which is completely unschathed but also offers lots of space. Or even between Toronto and Niagara Falls, considering the location should be accessible to people living in the Northern most corner of New York state. Reply Geoff says: August 20, 2012 at 8:04 pm
Love your idea and your article Mike. Some very well thought out points. I personally would love to have Disney represent in Canada and your name choice is excellent! hotel 17 new york I do fear that our climate would be a major con in the decision making though :-(. But, like the Toronto Zoo Disney could build some attractions both inside and out that would make everyone happy! I personally love visiting the zoo when there is snow in the ground, so why not a Disney hotel 17 new york park?!!
Both Tokyo Disney Resort and Disneyland Paris operate quite successfully (and look beautiful) through snowy winters, however I don t think they get quite as cold or quite as much snow as Toronto. Reply j says: August 21, 2012 at 5:05 am
Sorry Toronto, but with your unpredictably cold winters this simply wouldn t work. Vancouver would be a better fit. Climate-wise, but it s only a few hours away from Disneyland, and Toronto is only a few hours away from Disney World, so really what is the point of building a park/resort in either location.
If Disney were to consider another park Toronto is a
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