televisedconfession Posted August 31, 2009 Share Posted August 31, 2009 Disney is like a giant vacuum cleaner. Pretty soon Disney will pay a trillion dollars for your soul. But Gosh Darn-it, you gotta love their theme parks. This move is a surprise to me, but it makes sense. I really don't think we'll see any of the characters in the theme parks ANY time soon. The Disney Parks are way too family friendly for something like that. I think the only way they would use it would be with a Magical Villains and Superheros 5th Park in Walt Disney World. And we all know that's GOING to happen. What I think we will see, are new saturday morning cartoons on ABC and the Disney Channel. Only time will tell though. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
arson Posted August 31, 2009 Share Posted August 31, 2009 OMG, do you really think IOA could retheme an entire Island!??! I don't think, from the other announcements made today, that Disney would buy out a contract (not for movies, merchandise, theme parks, video games, etc). Disney seems like they're more than happy to ride out contracts (like I said before, $4 billion isn't going to break the bank for the Mouse). But, if companies don't like paying Marvel (and in turn, Disney, a major competitor) to keep using these franchises, they could just buy out early. I can imagine Universal doing this in a couple years, since they have other franchises (or room to make new franchises) they could use in the parks. Speculation. But I don't think Disney will pay to end any existing contracts. That will come from outside. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
denning Posted August 31, 2009 Share Posted August 31, 2009 Fact is disney has smart lawyers and likely did due diligence, their is zero way that would allow the purchase if it required them to let Universal keep its properties just down the road. Spiderman is a big draw for IOA and losing it will hurt. Therefore making Potter seem like a lateral move as opposed to an improvement. This is not like the videogames where they will take a wait and see approach, the Orlando themepark is the core of their business and the rivalry with Universal is very real. They need to protect it. I'm not sure why everyone keeps looking at this deal from a theme park point of view. $4B is A LOT of money to spend on something that will only cause a competitor in one of their businesses to have to spend a fraction of that to re-theme one section of one of their theme parks. Not to mention the fact that if Universal does have to re-theme that island, Disney just gave them the platform to launch a new ride/marketing blitz... But the bigger picture of why Disney made this deal is what what Wes said: filling a hole in their demographics. Now they have their foot very much in the door for an extremely lucrative demographic that was previously untapped. Look no further than how all the Marvel movies have done at the box office to see why they REALLY made this deal... Except the theme parks represent 30% of the companies revenues and licensing only 7%. Even outside of our TPR bubble, Universal is the only major competitor to Disney. They compete in the same markets, Orlando, California and Japan. This may not be the only reason for the purchase, but it is certainly a very important piece. If it isn't, then this was a very poor investment. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
robbalvey Posted August 31, 2009 Share Posted August 31, 2009 It fills a hole in their entertainment offerings for demographics. Obviously the existing Disney brand caters very well to families with kids from 0-12 or so with various characters and licenses. The tween/teenage girl market has been good for Disney, they can just pump out new versions of Hannah Montana/Jonas Brothers. For adults, they have Miramax. They never really had a good property for the teen to early 20's male demographic. Well, now they do. I'm going to re-quote this again because it's one of the only *really* intelligent comments posted to this thread (and I encourage others to re-post this again if the thread goes off on some stupid tangent.) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ebl Posted August 31, 2009 Share Posted August 31, 2009 ^ Proof that by acquiring this property, Disney is not losing its Marvels... Eric Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sir Clinksalot Posted August 31, 2009 Share Posted August 31, 2009 The future of WDW Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CorkscrewFoley Posted August 31, 2009 Share Posted August 31, 2009 Yes, Spidey will replace Mickey, and Wolverine will replace Donald--their temperments are about the same--should make for interesting visits. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Homeboy23 Posted August 31, 2009 Share Posted August 31, 2009 The future of WDW Alright. I had a good laugh at this. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
doom1001 Posted August 31, 2009 Share Posted August 31, 2009 Can you picture Spider-Man replacing Tinker Bell during the Wishes fireworks. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ginzo Posted August 31, 2009 Share Posted August 31, 2009 Spending billions to screw your competition out of millions = business for Pollocks. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ebl Posted August 31, 2009 Share Posted August 31, 2009 Could you see these characters being adapted for It's a Small World like the regular Disney characters were? Eric Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
the ghost Posted August 31, 2009 Share Posted August 31, 2009 Disney is like a giant vacuum cleaner. Pretty soon Disney will pay a trillion dollars for your soul. But Gosh Darn-it, you gotta love their theme parks. This move is a surprise to me, but it makes sense. I really don't think we'll see any of the characters in the theme parks ANY time soon. The Disney Parks are way too family friendly for something like that. I think the only way they would use it would be with a Magical Villains and Superheros 5th Park in Walt Disney World. And we all know that's GOING to happen. What I think we will see, are new saturday morning cartoons on ABC and the Disney Channel. Only time will tell though. I tend to disagree about not seeing the characters in the theme parks soon. I mean, Fantastic 4 Silver Surfer was rated pg, and Spiderman is a movie that I know that many people(regardless of age) have seen. Also, marvel is generally into the good will defeat evil thing. Don't expect characters like Spawn or Ghostrider, but I wouldn't be surprised to see characters like Spiderman and some of the Xmen walking around soon. I am expecting this to move to Disneyquest first and see how people tend to respond to the superhero thing there using the gaming things. Also, considering that the Incredibles is just like a family friendly superhero movie that still has powers and violence(although being family friendly) is not that much unlike a Marvel comic. I mean Syndrom is a lot like Doctor Octopus, and all the characters can be traced to a common superhero. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SharkTums Posted August 31, 2009 Share Posted August 31, 2009 Let's have some fun with this! Check out the new photoshop contest: http://www.themeparkreview.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=52333 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CoasterDude211 Posted August 31, 2009 Share Posted August 31, 2009 I don't understand why Disney felt the need to buy Marvel for its super heroes when they already have the best super hero out there - Handy Manny. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jarmor Posted August 31, 2009 Share Posted August 31, 2009 I wonder how the incredibles feel about this move... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jew Posted August 31, 2009 Share Posted August 31, 2009 Fact is disney has smart lawyers and likely did due diligence, their is zero way that would allow the purchase if it required them to let Universal keep its properties just down the road. Spiderman is a big draw for IOA and losing it will hurt. Therefore making Potter seem like a lateral move as opposed to an improvement. This is not like the videogames where they will take a wait and see approach, the Orlando themepark is the core of their business and the rivalry with Universal is very real. They need to protect it. I'm not sure why everyone keeps looking at this deal from a theme park point of view. $4B is A LOT of money to spend on something that will only cause a competitor in one of their businesses to have to spend a fraction of that to re-theme one section of one of their theme parks. Not to mention the fact that if Universal does have to re-theme that island, Disney just gave them the platform to launch a new ride/marketing blitz... But the bigger picture of why Disney made this deal is what what Wes said: filling a hole in their demographics. Now they have their foot very much in the door for an extremely lucrative demographic that was previously untapped. Look no further than how all the Marvel movies have done at the box office to see why they REALLY made this deal... Except the theme parks represent 30% of the companies revenues and licensing only 7%. Even outside of our TPR bubble, Universal is the only major competitor to Disney. They compete in the same markets, Orlando, California and Japan. This may not be the only reason for the purchase, but it is certainly a very important piece. If it isn't, then this was a very poor investment. Lets assume this was solely for the theme parks... $4 billion is a big price to pay to say "haha, now you have to stop writing us checks AND build all new attractions/redo the island to market against us!" Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kennyweird Posted August 31, 2009 Share Posted August 31, 2009 Also, considering that the Incredibles is just like a family friendly superhero movie that still has powers and violence(although being family friendly) is not that much unlike a Marvel comic. I mean Syndrom is a lot like Doctor Octopus, and all the characters can be traced to a common superhero. Are you really comparing Marvel to the Incredibles? That's like saying Looney Tunes and Saw are similar because they both have violence, weapons and dangerous machines. I see what you're saying, but it's a very poor comparison. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RCFreak Posted August 31, 2009 Share Posted August 31, 2009 I'm sure this had a LOT to do with the popularity of DisneyXD (formally Toon Disney) in attracting younger boys while the Disney Channel is overrun with programing that appeals more toward the girl mindset. Wes is right this is definitely filling a hole that Disney never really had a handle on (I would say Pirates was the start) and to quote it again just because it's awesome in it;s wisdom: It fills a hole in their entertainment offerings for demographics. Obviously the existing Disney brand caters very well to families with kids from 0-12 or so with various characters and licenses. The tween/teenage girl market has been good for Disney, they can just pump out new versions of Hannah Montana/Jonas Brothers. For adults, they have Miramax. They never really had a good property for the teen to early 20's male demographic. Well, now they do. I also see this as a great way for Disney to re-launch their Hollywood Pictures brand leaving Mirimax as their dramahouse, Walt Disney Pictures and Pixar as their mostly kid friendly fare and Touchstone which has the Dreamworks deal being released under it as well as most of the Bruckheimer blockbusters. And yeah I'm not even really looking at this from the Theme park angle, I'm sure it had a little to do with it, but nothing as much as access to most of the characters for various projects. Sony has Spiderman forever as long as they keep making movies (similar to the Superman Deal Warner Brothers has that they will soon lose that license if they don't make a movie soon, I know it's a DC character, but the licensing is similar) and I'm sure their are other deals such as that out there with the other characters in various aspects. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
robbalvey Posted September 1, 2009 Share Posted September 1, 2009 IMO, if we end up seeing Marvel Super Hero Island re-themed it's either because: A. The original contract between Universal and Marvel was not very strong, or... B. Disney bought Universal out of that contract. There really is no other way. --Robb Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
netdvn Posted September 1, 2009 Share Posted September 1, 2009 Ummm... Did anybody catch this? I posted this on another board and I thought I would repeat it here.. Certain Marvel characters can be immediately integrated into Disney’s theme parks in California, Paris and Hong Kong. (For now, Walt Disney World in Florida is off limits because of a pact Marvel has in place with Universal Studios there.) Obviously Universal doesn't have parks in Europe or around Hong Kong (unless you count the new Singapore park). There's no mention of Japan either so my guess is that USJ can still use Marvel. There's also CA, but I can't think of any Marvel-related rides/attractions at USH that will affect anything. Florida is still safe though. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
King_K. Posted September 1, 2009 Share Posted September 1, 2009 Here's the official response from UO. Universal Orlando said Marvel characters will remain a staple at its parks. "Marvel Super Hero Island at Universal's Islands of Adventure and the Marvel characters are an important part of the Universal Orlando experience. They will remain so," said Tom Schroder, a Universal spokesman. "Our agreement with Marvel stands for as long as we follow the terms of our existing contract and for as long as we want there to be a Marvel Super Hero Island." Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PCW_Nut Posted September 1, 2009 Share Posted September 1, 2009 Good, so we can all rest now....Glad to see that nothing will change...unless they want it to that is. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jim1013 Posted September 1, 2009 Share Posted September 1, 2009 Given the way Disney mismanaged Jim Henson and the Muppets, I can see where Marvel fans would be a bit discouraged. Disney would be smart to limit theme park involvement to the 'studio' parks. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sir Clinksalot Posted September 1, 2009 Share Posted September 1, 2009 That was Eisner that screwed up the Muppets. And yes, it was sad considering all of the awesome stuff that would have come with the Muppets, or was rumored to come with the Muppets. I'm still waiting for the Great Muppet Movie Ride. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tkkyj Posted September 1, 2009 Share Posted September 1, 2009 Could you see these characters being adapted for It's a Small World like the regular Disney characters were? Eric I made up a picture of that on page 3! now everyone's doing it! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Create an account or sign in to comment
You need to be a member in order to leave a comment
Create an account
Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!
Register a new accountSign in
Already have an account? Sign in here.
Sign In Now