A Fifth of Disney World?

Rumors are always going around about Disney parks. A persistent rumor is the "next park gate" rumor. It applies to Disneyland and Walt Disney World especially. Right now a rumor is making the rounds that the WDW 40th celebration wasn't very big because Disney wants to save it for the 50th in 2021 when they can celebrate with all 5 parks.

I really don't see this happening. Team Disney Orlando opens their purse strings so infrequently that this is really hard to believe. They routinely balk at cost-sharing research deals with other parks on new attractions. They have opted to clone attractions from around the world rather than invest in something new and unique or original. Just look at Disneyland's 50th celebration for evidence of this. What did WDW do? They brought Cinderellabration from Tokyo to the Magic Kingdom and Soarin' from California Adventure to Epcot. Really original. Minimal cost seems to be the mantra at Team Disney Orlando.

Coupled with the economic future looking as uncertain as it does at the moment this rumor begins to look even more ridiculous. Were things on a steady and strong improvement, that might be a bit different, but it's anyone's guess right now when things will show marked and steady improvement. Without a steady predictor of growth and attendance it would be pretty hard to justify the expense of a 5th gate.

Granted, we could all be surprised on this one, but the odds are not in favor of betting on a 5th WDW gate.