News

• Jim, per-park pricing for Genie+ went into effect this week in WDW:

• Multiple Parks (valid with park hopper ticket) - $27
• Magic Kingdom - $27
• EPCOT - $18
• Disney's Hollywood Studios - $24
• Disney's Animal Kingdom - $16

• Also, Jim, you remember our friend John Tierney, the one who figured out which Disney hotels were being offered in those Priceline and Hotwire ‘hidden deals’ a few years ago?  John’s built a search engine to find  deals on DVC points rentals, and it’s available at https://tinyurl.com/jjtdvc.

• Lots of sites offer DVC points rentals
• John’s site consolidates that data

• If two places have DVC points to rent for your trip, it’s easy to see which one is cheaper
• John also tracks the cost of those rooms over time, so you’ll know if the deal you’re looking at is better than average.
• For example, on our internal Slack channel this week, John pointed out a 2BR at Kidani available at David’s DVC for 4 nights starting July 12, at a rate of $413 per night all-in.  Not only is that rate almost 70% off Disney’s rack rate for that room, it’s $500/night less than the average DVC points rental for that room.  It’s an astounding deal, and things like this are easier to find using John’s new tool.

Surveys

Listener Questions

Jim, lots of suggestions for our listener Julia, who wrote in last week to ask how she and a friend might freshen up for dinner at Citricos after a full day at the Magic Kingdom.  Several listeners, including Erin and Erica, suggested getting a day pass at the Grand Flo Spa, which has showers, air conditioning, and refreshments.  

Listener Matthew writes in to say:

In an episode of the Disney Dish that was aired during October of 2021 (I don’t remember the exact date), you made a comment regarding the pizzas from PizzeRizzo - that they could be bought wholesale. I was wondering if you happened to know where folks could order them?

It’s Cast Connection, and they last time I checked they were 30 pizzas for $30.

From Mark:

What we discovered as we were working our way through WDW is that when a ride had downtime, or was experiencing issues of any kind, they would basically grind the Standby lines to a halt and seemingly focus on the Lightning Lane people.  For example, when we got into line at Avatar: Flight of Passage the posted wait time was 60 minutes.  

The line made steady progress for about 30 minutes and then we practically ground to a halt. I'm not sure exactly sure what they were doing but it felt like they were taking one family at a time after that.  Our wait time ended up exceeding 120 minutes. They later made an announcement that the ride was experiencing issues (But not until we had already been standing there for almost 2 hours).  

We had a similar issue with Tower of Terror the day before and learned later that ride was also experiencing issues.  So my question is; do you have any idea what ratio of Standby vs. Lightening Lane Disney uses when the ride is experiencing issues?  

Also, do you think Disney is obligated to notify Standby riders that in some cases their wait may GREATLY exceed whatever the posted wait time was when they got in line?  

Len says: The ratio can be up to 99-to-1. Which sounds a lot worse than 4-1, but isn’t really.

Mark’s email hit home because we had 4 people doing touring plan testing in DHS this week, and there was so much downtime that it affected every single person.  We ended up not being able to do an apples-to-apples comparison of the plans, which was the entire point, because there was so much downtime. Some examples:

We already recommend purchasing ILL for ROTR because it has so much downtime, so we didn't test it in the plans today.

Rock 'n' Roller Coaster did not open with the rest of the park. One of our people had that as their first attraction, so they were no longer at the front of the line for their first attraction. Because everyone else was, that ruined this test for this person for today.

Millennium Falcon had a rough day:

• Posted 30 minute wait at 9:15 AM. Actual wait was 51, or +70%
• Posted 40 minute wait at 9:29 AM. Actual wait was 83, or +108%
• Posted 100 minute wait at 12:58 PM. Actual wait was 87, so -13%
• Posted 75 minute wait at 1:20 PM. Actual wait was 85, or +13%
  

Red Carpet Dreams went offline around 11:10 AM for vomit. It was down long enough to affect the plans of 2 other testers.

• Posted 25 minute wait at 9:38 AM. Actual was 12.
• Posted 20 minute wait at 9:50 AM. Actual was 11.
• Posted 30 minute wait at 1:50 PM. Actual wait was 4.

Research/Patents (use query "disney enterprises".as AND "theme park".ab)

• CHARACTERIZING AUDIENCE ENGAGEMENT BASED ON EMOTIONAL ALIGNMENT WITH CHARACTERS
• SYSTEMS AND METHODS TO COMPILATE AN EXPERIENCE SUMMARY BASED ON REAL-WORLD EXPERIENCES
• PARK RIDE WITH DROP SWING PROPULSION

SYSTEMS AND METHODS TO ADJUST IN-VEHICLE CONTENT BASED ON DIGITAL ASSETS

A patent application filed by Disney and published in February.  The idea is that you’d buy a digital … something … (Disney references NFTs here, but I think that idea is dead), and based on what you buy, your in-ride experience would change:

In some implementations, adjusting the in-vehicle content may include adding one or more of the in-vehicle content, removing one or more of the in-vehicle content, and/or substituting current or active in-vehicle content with other ones of the in-vehicle content described herein. For example, current in-vehicle content may include music playing, and adjusting the in-vehicle content may include adding the light projection patterns with the plurality of lights, thus adding in-vehicle content. As another example, a first projected image at a given ride attraction may be substituted with a second projected image. As another example, a third projected image may be added alongside the second projected image.

[0037]

In some implementations, individual ones of the digital assets and their correlated content correspond to one or more adjustments to the in-vehicle content. In some implementations, the adjustment may include adjusting one or more of the in-vehicle content described herein so as to provide or modify a corresponding value to the in-vehicle content. For example, the first digital asset may correspond to adjusting the voiceover voice to a first character's voice and adjusting the sound effects to emit a “boing” sound responsive to the interfacing with vehicle(s) 103. Further, the second digital asset may correspond to adjusting the overhead lighting to pink.

And I was thinking to myself, wow, this is a way of adding more upcharges to attractions, while still keeping the basic attraction the same for everyone else.  Like, you could go through Spaceship Earth but instead of getting the regular narration, you could pay $5 (or whatever) and have Kermit the Frog do the commentary.

Walt Disney World Speedway feature story
Part Two

Jim, at the end of last week’s show, you mentioned that the very first race at the WDW Speedway was on January 27, 1996.  And listener Daniel Owens, who goes by the name nascarman_rr on Twitter, not only sent in video from that race, including an interview with Roy Disney, but also noted that driver Buzz Calkins held off Tony Stewart for the win, and it was the ONLY INDY RACING LEAGUE WIN of Buzz Calkins’ career.

Daniel’s also got YouTube video of the races held at the Speedway: https://tinyurl.com/wdwraces

And speaking of Tony Stewart, listener Michael King points out that Tony came back to the WDW Speedway and won, in 1998.

Walt Disney World Speedway feature piece – Part Two

Okay. When we left off last week … It was the latter part of 1995 / early 1996. Walt Disney World had just completed construction of its brand-new Speedway (which was a 1.1 mile-long tri-oval. Which had been built in the south-eastern corner of the Magic Kingdom parking lot). All was in readiness for the inaugural running of the Indy200. Which would air on ABC on Saturday, January 27th. The day before Super Bowl 30.

It seemed like The Walt Disney Company was on the verge of launching big here. A bold new enterprise for the Company. Unfortunately, it was at this exact moment that the wheels began to come off at the WDW Speedway.

So what went wrong? A number of things, actually. You’ll recall that – on last week’s show – we mentioned that the Walt Disney World Speedway had only cost the Mouse $6 million to install. And that one of the biggest cost savings on this project had been that … Well, because the Company was effectively building this race track on top of a seldom-used section of the Magic Kingdom parking lot, they really didn’t need to do the usual site prep (i.e., clear trees, grade the land, watch out for sink holes [This is Central Florida, after all]). That work had already been done back in late 1969 / early 1970. Which is when the 125 acre parking lot for the Magic Kingdom had originally been built. In theory, anyway, the Company could just step into this space and then quickly construct a race track.

And built it quickly, Disney did. Ground was officially broken on this project on June 27, 1995 and the last bit of asphalt for the track was put into place on October 18th of that same year. 12 weeks total from start to finish.

Except (if we’re being completely honest here) the WDW Speedway wasn’t really finished. When Disney reached out to Indy Racers and invited them to come on down to Orlando and participate in the very first Indy200 race, these racers were enthusiastic. I mean, they could compete for that racing competition’s top prize (The winner would take home $125,000). And – in theory, anyway – these racers’ families could then enjoy the WDW Resort while the drivers were over at the Speedway practicing.

So these race drivers then turned to Disney and said:  “Cool. I’ll go let my pit crew know. Out ahead of this race, when can we get access to your onsite garages? We want to be able to stash all of our gear, stockpile supplies like extra tires before we then begin practicing, learning the quirks of this new track, etc.”

To which Disney replied, “Yeah. About that. We haven’t built any onsite garages at the WDW Speedway. Not yet, anyway.” That part of this project, Disney World officials has been pushed off to Year Two. The thinking was that the racers who agreed to take part in the inaugural run of the Indy200 would just trailer all of that stuff down to Walt Disney World and then set it up outside trackside.

That won’t be a problem, will it? I mean, not unless it rains. And how often does that happen in Central Florida?

Then factor in that – in order to actually qualify for this race – drivers and their pit crews would have to travel down to Orlando right after the holidays. And given that the month of January had previously traditionally been downtime for all Indy Car drivers, the idea that they now had to leave their families right after New Years and then haul all of their crud down to Lake Buena Vista and then set up right-out-in-the-open trackside at the WDW Speedway where they were open to the elements. No rain cover. No shade. No air conditioning. And this was just to qualify, not actually participate in the race. To put it bluntly, the WDW Speedway did not make a great first impression when it came to the Indy racing community.

And the same could be said for the folks who attended the very first race at this new facility. 50,742 people bought tickets to the inaugural running of the Indy200 at Walt Disney World. Which is a 10th of the 500,000 people who typically a running of the Indianapolis 500. But hey, you gotta start somewhere.

But when these people arrived at the WDW Speedway, they didn’t find the sort of permanent grandstand like they’d encounter if they attended a Indy race in Indiana. Instead, what they found waiting for them in Florida was a rickety set of temporary bleachers that had been set up trackside.

Once again, this was a case of Disney being financially prudent when it came to Year One of its WDW Speedway project. And in much the same way that they put off building any permanent structures in the pit crew area ‘til Year Two … Well, that was the same thinking when it came to building an actual permanent grandstand onsite in Florida. Someplace where people could sit in the shade and view the race from comfortable seats which had plenty of refreshment stands & restrooms nearby.

Disney’s thinking (at least when it came to the inaugural run of the Indy200) was “Let’s see how many people actually show up to watch this thing before we then commit to building a permanent set of grandstands right rather onsite at the WDW Speedway.”

You also have to remember that – at the same time that the inaugural running of this Indy200 race is underway – Walt Disney World still has to operate as a destination resort. A place where people go for that once-in-a-lifetime family vacation. And there’s a theme park right nearby that still has to operate that day. Not to mention several high end hotels like Disney’s Wilderness Lodge and the Poly that are right across the way which then still have to accommodate hundreds of Guests.

So okay. On the heels of last week’s show (where we talked about the early, early history of the WDW Speedway project), our buddy Biorenconstruct reached out to share what he remembered about what went on at the Magic Kingdom on January 27, 1996. The day the very first Indy200 was held at the WDW Speedway.

The way Bioreconstruct remembers it, this race was very …

,,, Disruptive to Magic Kingdom attendance. First season, there was nowhere for MK day guests to park.

Wait. It gets worse. Anyone who’s ever been to the Indianapolis Motor Speedway knows that an Indy race is loud. I was talking with Aaron Adams about this recently (He’s the talented guy who edits the “Disney Dish” podcast. Not to mention being my co-host on the “Marvel US Disney” show). And Mr. Adams was telling me about the time he was onsite at that track during Race Week and Aaron was actually down in the tunnel under the Speedway doing some recording of the cars as they passed directly overhead. And Aaron talked about how deafening this all was.

So picture this. You’re a family that has saved up for years for your once-in-a-lifetime Walt Disney World vacation. And you’ve opted to splurge on a stay at the Polynesian because you love the idea of resting & relaxing in a tranquil tropical island setting. Only you mistakenly booked your vacation package for the very same week that the Indy200 is being held at the WDW Speedway. And now you can’t hear yourself think over the constant roar of 20 race cars zooming around a one mile long tri-oval at 180 MPH.

From what I’ve been told, the folks who worked at the front desk at the Poly as well as Wilderness Lodge (which – again – remember had a National Park theme, stressing the tranquility of being out in the forest among those majestic trees) were absolutely inundated with angry Guests. People who – in no certain terms – got across to those Cast Members that their WDW vacations were being ruined by all of the noise that was now coming from the WDW Speedway.

I’ve been told that Disney comped all sorts of things in an effort to try & placate these Guests. We talking meals, rooms, tickets to the Parks. I’ve also been told that the front desks at the Contemporary, the Grand Flo, even over at Shades of Green also had to deal with some Guest complaints. But not nearly as many as what was going on over at the Poly & Wilderness Lodge.

So now it’s February of 1996. The inaugural run of the Indy200 – the very first professional race to be staged at the WDW Speedway – is now officially in the rear view mirror. And as part of this event’s after-actions report, WDW management is now trying to get its arms around the final tally when it comes to what the Resort spent on Guest Recovery over the weekend that this race was held onsite. And from what I’ve been told, the amount that Disney spent on comps over just that one weekend was more than the Company had spent on the initial construction of the whole WDW Speedway.

I mean, Disney had assumed that – in order to establish the WDW Speedway as this brand- new venue of the racing circuit – they’d obviously have to operate the place at a loss for a few years. But no one at the Company had anticipated that the actual running of this race would impact attendance at the levels Magic Kingdom. Or – for that matter – wind up costing the Resort over $6 million dollars in free meals & rooms & theme park tickets.

I’m told that Michael Eisner (when that after-actions report finally landed on his desk) took one look at the thing and then “Let’s put a pause on any further spending when it comes to the WDW Speedway project.”

And that – as they say – was that. All plans to build permanent buildings along Pit Row to accommodate  those racer’s crews were effectively dropped. The same was true for any plans to build some sort of permanent grandstand in the south eastern corner of the Magic Kingdom’s parking lot.

Going forward, in an effort to try and lessen the negative impact that each year’s Indy200 race would have on operations over at the Magic Kingdom … Well, Disney World tried things like having all event attendees park over in the Epcot parking lot. With the idea that these same people would then board buses, which would then take over to those temporary grandstands which had been set up in the old Magic Kingdom parking lot.

As you might imagine, when Disney tried out this idea in January of 1998 for that year’s running of the Indy200, event attendees just hated that. It made attending a race at WDW such a hassle that … Well, advance ticket sales for the Indy200 in 2000 fell through the floor. Which is why – for that year’s race – Disney went from erecting a temporary grandstand for 50,000 people to one for 20,000 people).

And every year when this race was being held, the folks who worked the front desks at Wilderness Lodge and the Poly braced themselves for all those angry Guests that they’d then have to deal with over race weekend. As Guests checked into those on-site resorts, they’d first be warned about the noise associated with this race from the Front Desk staff. They’d also find flyers in their rooms. It didn’t matter. Once the race actually began and that sound (which could often reach 140 decibels over at those two hotels. That’s the equivalent of having a rock concert happening right outside of your hotel room door), the complaints would begin to roll in. And that’s when the freebies would start to flow.

Interesting side note: I had a friend who was a racing enthusiast (He was really more of a NASCAR guy, if we’re being honest here. But he also liked the Indy stuff) who went down to WDW for every running of the Indy200. And back in January of 1996, when he got back to the Wilderness Lodge after a day of sitting in the bleachers over at the WDW Speedway and then saw that line of angry Guests at the Front Desk who were now demanding reparations … Well, he got in line too.

“It was a pretty sweet deal,” he said. “Each year, after I’d spent the day over at the Speedway watching the race, I’d then go back to the hotel, drop by the front desk and then complain about all the race noise. And the Cast Members there would first apologize and then offer to comp the cost of my room. So I effectively got to stay at Wilderness Lodge for free four years in a row.”

The freebies ended after the 2000 racing season. That year was an especially tough one for the WDW Speedway. The venue had been given a black eye when racer Sam Schmidt had been left paralyzed following a crash that occurred during preseason testing. Among folks who drove the circuit, the WDW Speedway had – by this time, anyway – acquired a bad reputation for … Well, it was either because the place had been built too fast. Or it was because the place had been built on the cheap. Something like that. And given that the Company hadn’t really spent anything on the project after its initial construction phase back in the Summer of 1995 … Well, it was hard for the WDW Speedway to shake that reputation.

Wait. That’s not entirely true. In the Summer of 1996, to help with drainage at the track, that’s when they dug that Mickey-shaped retention pond in the middle of the Speedway’s infield. Which was then dubbed Lake Mickey.

Anyway … After the 2000 season, Disney and racing officials couldn’t agree on a date when it came to the running of the next Indy200 race. You see, Super Bowl 35 was supposed to be held in Tampa in January of 2001. And the thinking was that – because so many people were going to want to be over Tampa on Saturday to attend all of the Super Bowl pre-game festivities – there’d be no one left in Orlando to come sit in the stands at the WDW Speedway for that day’s race.

Which is why -- for a time -- there was then talk of moving the race date for the Indy200 from January 2001 to the Labor Day Weekend that same year. Around this same time, there was also talk of Disney just flat-out abandoning the Brickyard in the Magic Kingdom parking lot and then building a brand-new, state-of-the-art race track over by Disney’s Wide World of Sports Complex along 192.

But by this point, Michael Eisner had really had his fill of Indy car racing. What he decided to do was pull the plug on Disney’s involvement in the Indy200 race and let the WDW Speedway largely become a place where Guests with deep pockets could then try their hand at driving a high performance vehicle by dropping by the Richard Petty Driving Experience.

That actually began operations back in February of 1997 and basically kept the lights on at the WDW Speedway after the Company walked away from the racing business in late 2000. But when Guests’ interest in test driving fast cars dwindled down to only a handful of people each day, the handwriting was now on the wall.

March 27, 2015 -- Disney announces that the WDW Speedway would be closing on August 9th of that same year  so the track could then be razed and transportation improvements could then be made to the area directly around the Magic Kingdom parking lot (These are those flyover ramps that Len & I discussed on last week’s show). On June 1, 2015, the Richard Petty Driving Experience closed down and packed up.

Demolition began in late August of that same year. By the Fall of 2015, the WDW Speedway was no more.

You can go on Google Earth now and see images of what this place once looked like back in its heyday. Lake Mickey in the infield.

Just this morning, loyal Disney Dish listener Daniel Owen reached out to share a video that nascarman underscore rr (That’s his Twitter handle, people. Check it out) … Anyway, nascarman underscore rr – over on Twitter – has posted some of ABC’s coverage of the inaugural race at the WDW Speedway back in January of 1996. If you go check that out, you’ll get to see racing legend Bobby Unser. Not to mention Walt’s nephew, Roy E. Disney. Who – at that time, anyway – was Vice Chairman of the Walt Disney Company.

This video is kind of a great time capsule for what the WDW Speedway was like back at the beginning. Right before the wheels came off, I mean.