Kodak sponsorship with Disney Parks to end this year

No surprise, their finances have been in the dumpster so long its amazing they've hung on to date. It is sad to see one of the original sponsors leave.

I wonder if this will help greenlight a certain mountain in Epcot? Hmmmmmm.

Sad day for Disney and Kodak ... those spots will look a lot different now. Are there any original sponsors left that don't have anything to do with food items?

Any word on a replacement?

Although I am sure we could of all seen this coming, it is very sad to hear this.

It has been a part of the parks for as long as I can remember.

Also how about the park maps?

They print those locally, so no issue with removing what needs to be removed.

What else did Kodak do with WDW besides the park maps? They left Imagination years ago. Were they the only film/sd cards sold on property?

It certainly would be a boost in Epcot if it were greenlit, but I am not having high hopes. World Showcase needs something of this caliber to lure more people over.

They sponsored a number of attractions over the years in nearly every Disney park on the planet. They were also the exclusive provider of film related merchandise property wide.

So this does open up an opportunity for some company to become the official supplier of camera/ sd card stuff on property. that is huge. A captive consumer.

As a exKodak employe this does not surprise me. I still miss going to the private lounge in Imagination it was great right into HISTA after the Kodak movie.

Well kind of. I guess the big questions would be is there really a market for that sort of thing anymore? Back in the day you had film and disposable cameras to sell. I can not think of a consumable (need over and over again) product related to photography these days. Sure you could sell cameras, memory cards, etc, but purchases of those would be pretty sporadic and more for emergency needs (eg I forgot my memory card) vs a product line that continuously moves like film once did. At best I could see a single full service camera shop in WDW working, but nothing that could fill an end cap in multiple stores.

Not much of a surprise, but still sad to see happen.

I always enjoy looking at the old ads (and tips!) in park maps. A couple of my favorites, from Angry AP:

I could see a market for kiosks and maybe instant prints like at your local walmart or cvs. Another way to insert disney characters into a photo other than the photo booths or photopass. Vending machines for sd cards. Let's face it, people forget to bring things. But being at Disney mat be cost prohibitive, as Disney will want all the $$$$$$$.

Kodak was indeed a great company. Too bad it did not navigate the sea change so in camera technology so well.

That is why I was thinking that maybe one full service camera shop on property might be about the most you could do. You might be able to do memory cards behind the counter at a few places, but that is about it. I doubt Sandisk is just waiting for 1/1/13 to roll around so they can pounce on Disney. But who knows? I have been wrong before, probability states I will be wrong again.

Without even knowing it, you just basicaly defined the reason why Kodak is going out of business.

You think world showcase is having a problem with attendance? In my experience it is the exact opposite.