A Spirited Valentine ...

[Kman101]

So what exactly is your premise? That TZ is more popular? By what standard? The show is off the air. Attempts to make TZ movies or bring back the series have failed.

That TZ is more well-known? Probably. But there are many well known IPs that wouldn't necessarily elicit excitement. Would you make an E-Ticket ride out of "I Love Lucy"?

A decade from now a father will tell his tween daughter about how great the ToT was when it was Twilight Zone themed and she'll just roll her eyes from Anaheim to Alaska not even wanting to ask what the heck a Twilight Zone is and hear him reminisce nostalgic. She just can't even.

Because it doesn't resonate with you it's basically a failed/dead IP? No, that's not how it works ...

 

[Kman101]

In the end, I'm sure there will be more people interested in the GotG brand than the TZ brand.

That doesn't mean it was the right move for the park or the attraction in the long-term. Think more outside of the box. Think like a fan, not like Disney. I'm going to guess you will be #1 in line for GOTG Mission Breakout since you seem to want to defend it at every turn .... that's not to say the ride can't be great. I'm sure If I ever ride it it will be a fun time but as someone who had ToT in their avatar for about 10 years, this was a poor move to shoehorn an IP where it doesn't belong and to boost merch sales. But I'm sure you'll argue back that's just not true.

EDIT: Sorry for the TOT talk! I hadn't finished the last few pages before I posted .... moving on ...

 

[Kman101]

So, again, you get to express your opinion of the movie (it's mediocre right?) and tell everyone else to shut up about it.

You still don't see the irony of what you're doing?

Or the irony of what we ALL do here?

 

[Daveeeeed]

It won't fail, but It's an ending/dying franchise. It sticks out sort of like a sore thumb amongst all the Marvel and Star Wars money makers. It's a different game. I really would be stunned to see a Pirates 6, but man, who knows? I liked the trailer but I had someone with me absolutely stunned Pirates was still around though ...

Glad to see more postings from @WDW1974 again! Welcome back! No questions at the moment .... but I want to point out that in one of your posts you mentioned, or maybe it was someone else, that it's like they don't even have a gameplan. Yep, that's exactly how they come across to me. Everytime Martin or another insider (not named you over the last year-ish) comes around and says, well, this is changing or they have stalled on this, or they can't decide what IP to stick where .... screams they are flying by the seat of their pants. Wouldn't, as a company, you have plans years out? You know what goes where and when and how much? In general? No?

You remember that Transformers is around right?

 

[Kman101]

You remember that Transformers is around right?

Those are fluff action/CGI movies. I've seen the first movie and the ride is nice (a little too herky jerky for me, it's almost painful). That's going to die off too. I was surprised we got the latest movie we did. Pirates is about the same, just .... with Pirates on the water. They'll make a buck but the excitement about these franchises isn't there anymore. For me, with Pirates, it's almost like "why"? And I like the franchise for the most part.

 

[Daveeeeed]

Those are fluff action/CGI movies. I've seen the first movie and the ride is nice (a little too herky jerky for me, it's almost painful). That's going to die off too. I was surprised we got the latest movie we did. Pirates is about the same, just .... with Pirates on the water. They'll make a buck but the excitement about these franchises isn't there anymore. For me, with Pirates, it's almost like "why"? And I like the franchise for the most part.

Internationally there's no reason they won't do even better. I don't think you understand the markets for these films. You go see Transformers for visuals (I still hate the movies except the 1st) you to Pirates to go see a genre which never gets done any other way. Pirates, people go for Deep, Bloom, the series itself, the visuals, and if it has a great story even more will come. You are seriously underestimating the fanbase.

 

[Kman101]

Internationally there's no reason they won't do even better. I don't think you understand the markets for these films. You go see Transformers for visuals (I still hate the movies except the 1st) you to Pirates to go see a genre which never gets done any other way. Pirates, people go for Deep, Bloom, the series itself, the visuals, and if it has a great story even more will come. You are seriously underestimating the fanbase.

No, I'm not. I'm not saying they won't make money. Or that they aren't justified in being made. And no, I'm not educated in overseas movie watching habits, LOL, I know the international market is a massive player.

It's just my opinion that the buzz around them isn't as it once was, like most things in life, excitement dies down. That's all I was really trying to say. But I'm not looking at it from the perspective you have. I fully admit Transformers does little for me, but I know they make a ton of money.

I just found it a bit odd that, like Alice last year, we have a Pirates in the middle of Marvel/SW/Pixar, etc. It just seems out of place to me. No doubts it will do gangbusters but this is the first Pirates movie where I think there could be some concern. We'll see though.

You seem to have taken a bit more time to study the movie industry though.

 

[the.dreamfinder]

One thing that's in Pirates 5's favor will be China. The last film came out in 2011 as the Chinese box office was beginning to grow and it made $70 million, an outsized success at the time. The question will be whether the Chinese will grow the film's total BO over Pirates 4 or just make up for lack of interest elsewhere.

 

[FigmentJedi]

One thing that's in Pirates 5's favor will be China. The last film came out in 2011 as the Chinese box office was beginning to grow and it made $70 million, an outsized success at the time. The question will be whether the Chinese will grow the film's total BO over Pirates 4 or just make up for lack of interest elsewhere.

But will the Chinese government even let it in? Remember, China has this weird ban on ghosts in movies.

 

[Princess Leia]

But will the Chinese government even let it in? Remember, China has this weird ban on ghosts in movies.

Movies and theme parks, which is why Hong Kong has Mystic Manor instead of a Haunted Mansion.

 

[MotherOfBirds]

Its not a ban. Its more of a cultural difference. Not only are they someone's dead relatives, but they are believed to be actively involved in mischief-making. Much like the Wu Tang Clan, ghosts are not to be trifled with.

 

[ford91exploder]

Yes and often cost less than a 1 Day Value Ticket to MK.

Including tip!!!!

 

[wannabeBelle]

Sometimes it seems like they forget that if they add great stuff it attracts people...

The new hotel is a plus and needed too.

THIS So much THIS. Marie

 

[rd805]

My family loves Potter and very much look forward to seeing Diagon Alley, but for the life of me, I cannot see spending more than 2 days at Universal now or in the next 5 plus years.

Rumblings of a 3rd park would change that. Obviously, a project of that size puts you minimally 5 years down the line. I'm not a huge waterpark goer, but i'm sure Volcano Bay will be a great addition to UO this year.

 

[ford91exploder]

That is fine if you actually believe Universal will not simply continue to raise their prices as well. . .

The difference of course is the UNI will building stuff which can be enjoyed NOW instead of slow rolling building projects into the next decade. As for SWL we all know it's never going to finish on time at DHS especially since the DLP deal will suck CAPEX out of WDW the only remaining question is how many years will SWL be delayed...

 

[skyphotographer]

All I will say, before my PML pals start whining to Mom about political posts, is that the prior administration believed a good relationship with China was in the best interests of everyone, while the current one seems intent on painting them as en enemy and there are parties in the inner circle who (in what truly can only be described as insanity) would like to engage them militarily.

That 'tude is simply going to destroy the relationships of Disney and Universal with the Chinese, whether or not they have 'partial ownership' of resorts there or business agreements, if the rhetoric turns to action. I am 100% sure that is why Iger wanted in on Trump's advisory group of business leaders.

An American company building in China is a risky proposition, doesn't matter who is in the White House.

 

[ford91exploder]

I have little confidence in Rohde after seeing that eyesore towering above the city of Anaheim.

I have confidence in Rohde. I suspect what Iger/Perlmutter wanted was far uglier. And you have to keep the boss happy if you want to keep your job

 

[lazyboy97o]

This is a head scratcher to me because if Iger is concerned about his "legacy" why do this ... it doesn't work with the theme of the park, it creates tons of sight line issues because you could see the tower from practically ever land, and the response was overwhelmingly negative ... how does this help his legacy?

An attraction opening in conjunction with a film has been an elusive goal since the Pixar acquisition.

Movies and theme parks, which is why Hong Kong has Mystic Manor instead of a Haunted Mansion.

Hong Kong doesn't have the same [official] restrictions regarding cultural content as the Mainland. On the Mainland the legal restriction is due to the official atheism of the Communist Party and the People's Republic. That though is fairly easy to get around, typically done by revealing that it was all a dream. In Hong Kong the issue was more cultural, due to the traditional Chinese beliefs.

 

[Daveeeeed]

No, I'm not. I'm not saying they won't make money. Or that they aren't justified in being made. And no, I'm not educated in overseas movie watching habits, LOL, I know the international market is a massive player.

It's just my opinion that the buzz around them isn't as it once was, like most things in life, excitement dies down. That's all I was really trying to say. But I'm not looking at it from the perspective you have. I fully admit Transformers does little for me, but I know they make a ton of money.

I just found it a bit odd that, like Alice last year, we have a Pirates in the middle of Marvel/SW/Pixar, etc. It just seems out of place to me. No doubts it will do gangbusters but this is the first Pirates movie where I think there could be some concern. We'll see though.

You seem to have taken a bit more time to study the movie industry though.

Alive in wonderland the first only was a hit because of the source material. Alice through the looking glass semi-flopped because once the reviews came out that it sucked there was not an incentive to go. Pirates is different due to epic characters, only pirate series today among other things, but it has to get mostly positive reviews to succeed over a billion

 

[Kman101]

Alive in wonderland the first only was a hit because of the source material. Alice through the looking glass semi-flopped because once the reviews came out that it sucked there was not an incentive to go. Pirates is different due to epic characters, only pirate series today among other things, but it has to get mostly positive reviews to succeed over a billion

I watched Alice in the theater (a friend was obsessed and wanted to go; I'd never pay to see it in a theater, LOL), and then I just tried watching the second one on TV a few weeks ago and I literally struggled to get through it. I almost didn't even finish it.