Disney Cans Food and Wine in Disneyland for 2011 and 2012

Disney announced today that they will not be holding the 2011 or 2012 Food and Wine Festival in Disney Land.  The construction going on at the parks will affect both the entry area and the "hub area" which Disney claims would make it difficult to put on the festival. Right now it looks like Disney has no plans to relocate the event.

There are two things we can expect here.  First there is no possible way Disney can hold this event in it's normal location.  I haven't seen the plans but the fact that Disney is putting off a cash cow for two years in a proof that there is no way they can pull it off in it's normal location.

The second thing you can expect is Disney to have an alternate event for 2011 and 2012.  I can't imagine they'd let that income go without trying to do something else. This is Disney we're talking about.

The Problem with Planning

I’ve heard some people complain that attractions are not timed correctly. They feel that an attraction is coming out after the fact. Two good examples are Pooh and American Idol.

Pooh had made a little comeback in the early to mid nineties. I don’t know what caused it but I remember people liking Pooh. For Disney to time the opening of Pooh correctly they would have had to open Pooh around 1994. Instead it opened years later.

Idol opened about three years too late. A lot of people have scratched their heads trying to figure out the timing. Why would you open a big attraction when what it’s based on seems to be waning?

The big thing to remember in both cases is the risk / reward. Opening Pooh in 94 would mean you’d have to start planning it around 91. Construction is typically is fastest step. It takes a long time to develop a ride and get it off the drawing board. In 91 the Pooh thing had barely started if it had started at all. In 91 the idea would have seemed foolish. It would have been a huge risk.

What if Disney had opened Idol a few years ago? Big risk. The first season was huge. The second season was big too. However, how many TV shows, especially reality shows, last more than three or four seasons? Disney could have found itself opening an attraction for a canceled show. By waiting they know the show will be around for at least a few more years and they found a sponsor to pay for it. In other words – low risk.

In both cases if Disney could have opened them during the peaks of Idol and Pooh they would have attracted far more people but that just wasn’t possible. Despite the rumors, Disney does not have a crystal ball or a time machine (yet). If they did do you think they would have opened Stich’s Great Escape, overhauled Journey Into Imagination, or opened any of the other shockingly bad attractions over the years?