[Dave Marx]

I hope I manage to cover most of the questions here...

I don't think this is evidence of a policy shift by Disney. More likely, it's just a decision based on specific circumstances. And I don't think we'll see anything like PI at Western Way - there's nothing in its descriptive materials to suggest it, and if PI didn't succeed in such an easy to access location (right off I-4, just a few minutes from I Drive and Orlando's major population centers ), I can't see Disney trying it way out in the sticks.

At the moment, Disney seems to be showing a preference for operating Downtown Disney and similar facilities like shopping malls, with tenants, rather than many Disney-owned facilities (the new hotel project over by the Eagle Pines golf course is also being done by another company). The company has gone back and forth on this kind of thing over the years. Disneyland had concessioneers from the very beginning, and that's how the Disneyland Hotel was built and operated for much of its life. The Crossroads Shops and Hotel Plaza Boulevard in Lake Buena Vista are more examples (they just dusted off that concept for Western Way). That shifts the risk of profitability (and the capital investment) onto someone else. I could certainly see an upper-level manager saying (about PI), "Gee, that seems like a whole lot of work and complication for the money we're making on it." Another factor that comes to mind is that Disney has had challenges finding enough CMs (they have over 60,000, and typically 3,000 job vacancies). If they reduce employment at Downtown, they can shift the CMs elsewhere. A good cast is hard to find, and they've got a bunch of them (in entertainment) at PI.

Disney has been fishing around to "fix"PI for some years. It worked well for a while, but didn't grow in popularity (except, perhaps, among local young people). It's open alcohol policies were by special arrangement with state authorities, and I'm sure the security and legal compliance costs added extra challenges.

While new tenants may certainly find ways to re-use existing facilities, others may decide to start from scratch. Disney's press release says they're currently considering proposals from various companies. We'll just have to see what happens. If you're in the themed restaurant/entertainment business, it must be awfully tempting to be involved with Disney. Like they say in the song... "If I can make it there, I'll make it anywhere.." The industry exposure and credibility coming from a successful operation as a Disney "partner" is substantial.