Should Disney introduce a "Plus Ultra Society" mythology into their parks like S.E.A.?

[ChrisFL]

Disney already has a brilliant mythology around the Society of Explorers and Adventurers aka S.E.A., so how about doing something similar for Plus Ultra (which is the society of futurists/inventors mentioned in the movie Tomorrowland)

I can imagine that characters such as the Timekeeper, the family in Horizons/Carousel of Progress, Dreamfinder and Figment, the Capcom from Mission:Space, in addition to the ones mentioned in the movie, Nicola Tesla, Alexander Graham Bell, Thomas Edison, and others could be part of the lore.

(Just because attractions are closed doesn't mean they can't retcon the way SEA did for Adventurers Club)

Thoughts?

 

[Kamikaze]

Considering that Tomorrowland bombed, no.

I like and enjoy the movie, but they aren't going to throw good money after bad.

 

[ChrisFL]

It doesn't need the Tomorrowland movie to be related though....SEA has no movie tie-in

 

[Kamikaze]

Disney already has a brilliant mythology around the Society of Explorers and Adventurers aka S.E.A., so how about doing something similar for Plus Ultra (which is the society of futurists/inventors mentioned in the movie Tomorrowland)

I can imagine that characters such as the Timekeeper, the family in Horizons/Carousel of Progress, Dreamfinder and Figment, the Capcom from Mission:Space, in addition to the ones mentioned in the movie, Nicola Tesla, Alexander Graham Bell, Thomas Edison, and others could be part of the lore.

(Just because attractions are closed doesn't mean they can't retcon the way SEA did for Adventurers Club)

Thoughts?

...

So you want them to pull the 'society' from the movie, and the people in the society from the movie, but not mention the movie? 10/10 logic.

The difference is S.E.A. was not created for something else and then used in the parks.

And hell, if they were even a tad smart, they would have just called S.E.A. 'The Adventurer's Club'.

 

[ChrisFL]

...

So you want them to pull the 'society' from the movie, and the people in the society from the movie, but not mention the movie? 10/10 logic.

The difference is S.E.A. was not created for something else and then used in the parks.

And hell, if they were even a tad smart, they would have just called S.E.A. 'The Adventurer's Club'.

Yes, that's exactly what I'm saying. Just because the movie didn't perform GREAT doesn't mean it wasn't a worthy idea for the parks. Disney has used lots of ideas from movies that didn't do insane box office numbers.

EDIT: Also notice I said "similar to"

Also, why would they call S.E.A. as the Adventurers Club as it would just confuse people who think the restaurant/theater is still open somewhere? Also DisneyTheAdventurersClub is a weird name for a theme park.

 

[Kamikaze]

Yes, that's exactly what I'm saying. Just because the movie didn't perform GREAT doesn't mean it wasn't a worthy idea for the parks. Disney has used lots of ideas from movies that didn't do insane box office numbers.

Not in recent times. Especially when there is no reason to do so.

EDIT: Also notice I said "similar to"

No you didn't. You said similar to SEA for Plus Ultra. You didn't say 'similar to Plus Ultra' and we both know exactly what you meant.

Also, why would they call S.E.A. as the Adventurers Club as it would just confuse people who think the restaurant/theater is still open somewhere? Also DisneyTheAdventurersClub is a weird name for a theme park.

Are you insinuating that the park was called 'Tokyo DisneySea' because of S.E.A? S.E.A. might have been named that way to fit into the existing park name, but it didn't have to be that way.

No one was going to get confused over whether or not AC still existed. Everyone that loved it knows its gone. And naming this 'group' after the Club would have been at least a nod to 'we messed up'. I mean, what is S.E.A. after all but a club of adventurers.

 

[Minnie Mum]

Ask the average WDW visitor about the Tomorrowland movie, and 99% of the time they'll answer "they made a movie about Tomorrowland?" The movie bombed. No one outside of a small number of Disney nerds has even heard of Plus Ultra, so why would Disney want to do anything with it?

 

[ChrisFL]

Ok, IGNORING THE MOVIE ITSELF, the idea for a futurist society idea for the parks that could be called PLUS ULTRA or something else I think would be a good idea.

 

[Kamikaze]

Ok, IGNORING THE MOVIE ITSELF, the idea for a futurist society idea for the parks that could be called PLUS ULTRA or something else I think would be a good idea.

So basically your idea is now 'They should have a story that ties all of the attractions together'.

Do I have that right?

 

[The Empress Lilly]

Nah. Tesla, Bell, Edison are actual real life people. The CoP and Horizons families are ordinary families, just like the guests. This is the strength of the MK, especially of TL, and of EPCOT. Both places would lessen from reducing them to fiction.

All disregarding of course current developments which idiotifies TL and FW into toon and live-action superhero land respectively.

 

[ChrisFL]

Nah. Tesla, Bell, Edison are actual real life people. The CoP and Horizons families are ordinary families, just like the guests. This is the strength of the MK, especially of TL, and of EPCOT. Both places would lessen from reducing them to fiction.

All disregarding of course current developments which idiotifies TL and FW into toon and live-action superhero land respectively.

Finally, a well-reasoned response!

 

[JIMINYCR]

I could see them bringing in a society IF they could tie it into a broad story line that flowed through all of the Tomorrowland attractions. Unfortunately Tomorrowland as it is today isnt connectable. Theres such a mish-mash of attractions with no stories/ themes pulled together in one direction in the land. Tomorrowland as it was conceived was supposed to be themed around the future and the possibilities which Disney hasnt done as time has gone on.

 

[Chester&Hester Enthusiast]

Not in recent times. Especially when there is no reason to do so.



No you didn't. You said similar to SEA for Plus Ultra. You didn't say 'similar to Plus Ultra' and we both know exactly what you meant.



Are you insinuating that the park was called 'Tokyo DisneySea' because of S.E.A? S.E.A. might have been named that way to fit into the existing park name, but it didn't have to be that way.

No one was going to get confused over whether or not AC still existed. Everyone that loved it knows its gone. And naming this 'group' after the Club would have been at least a nod to 'we messed up'. I mean, what is S.E.A. after all but a club of adventurers.

So basically your idea is now 'They should have a story that ties all of the attractions together'.

Do I have that right?

You're being weirdly aggressive about this...

 

[celluloid]

I think it is a fun idea! Not sure why it one would be so cynical about it. There plenty of passion projects that make it into the parks from bombed or.forgotten movies. Good thinking original ChrisFL.

 

[AndyS2992]

So basically your idea is now 'They should have a story that ties all of the attractions together'.

Do I have that right?

I don't see why not, Frontierland or 'Thunder Mesa' at Disneyland Paris has a story tying Phantom Manor, Thunder Mountain and the Riverboat all together. I think it works nicely. Tomorrowland would be more difficult though, how do you link Toy Story and Monsters Inc to CoP and Space Mountain?

 

[rio]

I don't see why not, Frontierland or 'Thunder Mesa' at Disneyland Paris has a story tying Phantom Manor, Thunder Mountain and the Riverboat all together. I think it works nicely. Tomorrowland would be more difficult though, how do you link Toy Story and Monsters Inc to CoP and Space Mountain?

This isn’t a reply just to you, but it felt like an ok jumping off point.

This is one big problem right here. All of those attractions at Paris are permanent feature attractions, unlike Stitch and Monster’s, which can change on a whim, or even the speedway, which seems to be shortened every time there’s an expansion in the MK.

They’d also have to decide what Tomorrowland and Epcot both are at once. Are they futuristic cities, glimpses of our ability to overcome whatever challenge we face, something else, or a combination?

How can you design a story about the place your in that is resistant to change, stays current, and isn’t completely cheesy or simplistic so that it honors the principles you decided above?

That being said, a good idea from a media property should be considered, regardless if that media was successful or not. I’m just not sure this one is appropriate here in this format.

Edit: that is to this one in the last paragraph

 

[MisterPenguin]

So, we have a DisneyLand, a DisneySea, and now, a DisneyP.U.!

Of course, I'm just joking, it would be DisneyPUS.

 

[FettFan]

Of course, I'm just joking, it would be DisneyPUS.

The most magical staph infection on Earth!

 

[Astro_Digital]

Tomorrowland did not bomb, it was not as successful as anybody would of liked but it did not lose money. I enjoy the movie, have purchased the movie and I do watch it from time to time even now. However I do believe most people would have no idea what Plus Ultra was. Even not referring to the movie, many never seen "Song of the South" either but ride Splash mountain to pretend as society exists to promote technical advancements and futuristic societies it would be good if Tomorrowland actually did this.

 

[MisterPenguin]

Tomorrowland did not bomb, it was not as successful as anybody would of liked but it did not lose money. I enjoy the movie, have purchased the movie and I do watch it from time to time even now. However I do believe most people would have no idea what Plus Ultra was. Even not referring to the movie, many never seen "Song of the South" either but ride Splash mountain to pretend as society exists to promote technical advancements and futuristic societies it would be good if Tomorrowland actually did this.

The Box Office gross of a movie is shared between the movie theater and the production company(s). It's usually 50/50. In the U.S., Disney can sometimes manage a better deal than 50/50, but overseas, the production company regularly gets less than 50%. So, let's just call it 50%. IOW, if a Disney movie makes $400 million, Disney gets only $200 million of that.

The production companies' cost for making the movie, the budget, is generally well known in the biz. However, that number doesn't include the cost of marketing. As a general rule, the marketing cost is as much as 50% of the budget to produce the movie. So, if it costs $100 million to make the movie, then the company will spend around $50 million to market it. So, the true cost of the movie is $150 million. (The exception to the rule is if the company knows they have a bomb on their hands and will spend very little for advertising.)

Now, Tomorrowland the Movie: It cost $180 million to make. So, Disney probably spent $90 million to market it (it did indeed have prime time TV ads). So, the true cost to make Tomorrowland is $270 million.

At the Box Office, Tomorrowland's worldwide gross is $209 million. Disney only got half of that: $105 million.

Tomorrowland lost $165 million net.

Tomorrowland bombed. It's Tomatometer is 50% (only half of critics recommended seeing it). It's critical score is 60% which translates to "while not horrible, not very good, either."