Bowling Alley to be added to WDW

[daguru]

Well, looks like the bowling center has been nixed for now:

Economy stalls Disney bowling center
Mark Pino | Sentinel Staff Writer
November 2, 2008

Plans to bring thousands of bowlers to Disney's Wide World of Sports in 2011 have landed in the gutter — at least for the time being. Blame the economy. The private — and still unnamed — company that would build the 100-lane bowling stadium in Osceola County is having trouble getting financing because of the credit market. The first tournament in the new bowling complex is not scheduled until 2013, Disney World spokeswoman Jacquee Polak said.

Back in June, officials lauded the deal. Planned for 100 lanes, stadium-style seating and a restaurant, the facility was to be complete in about 18 months. Under terms of the deal, the United States Bowling Congress was supposed to bring 13 events to Central Florida beginning in 2011. Each tournament is played over four to six months. The event, though delayed, is still expected to be a boon to Osceola hotels and tourist-related businesses.

Source: Orlando Sentinel; http://www.orlandosentinel.com/news/local/osceola/orl-disney-bowling-alley-110208,0,7955371.story

Bummer....
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[TiMickey]

That is sad. We were looking forward to seeing the lanes and building.

[DylansDisneyDad]

It's funny. When the penny pinchers down in WDW realized that people were sneaking out of The Land to play mini golf, they made it a priorty to build their own course.

I would think that if they thought it was the same issue all over again, they would have taken a more proactive approach either in funding, or in actually constructing the facility. They could have recouped the cost by charging the USBC a "royalty" or usage fee on the 13 events on a sliding scale, for example, 75% of revenue to Disney-25% to the USBC in year 1, 50%-50% the next and so on. They could write off the cost of building on one hand and still list the revenue on the other.

Just my 2 cents. That and $2.25 will get you a gallon of gas here in NJ! LOL
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Pop Century 2005 and 2006, Saratoga Springs 2007, Inagural Pirates and Princess Party 2007, can't go 2008 =(

[WDWFan]

I'm hearing the Disney is very concerned about business at this point. With the economy being perceived the way it is being reported, that has to be limiting the number of folks that are planning large vacations....