News Announced: Mary Poppins Attraction in UK Pavilion

[Matt_Black]

I'm curious about this "re-releasing it in theaters" thing - what is that in reference to?

Oh, starting last week, Disney is putting several films back in theaters at AMC and other venues. Beauty and the Beast was last week, Mulan is tomorrow through next Thursday, followed by The Princess & The Frog, Tangled, and Brave.

 

[TiggerDad]

Yet, everyone knows Maleficent, Prince Phillip, Fauna, Flora and Merryweather

Brave is 5 years old and nobody remembers the characters anymore.
That's kind of what "being forgotten" means

Even IMDB doesn't know the names of many of the characters. From what I remember of the movie, a lot of it was "Mommmmmm" (in a whiny tone)

 

[Matt_Black]

Even IMDB doesn't know the names of many of the characters. From what I remember of the movie, a lot of it was "Mommmmmm" (in a whiny tone)

Without even looking it up- Queen Elinor, King Fergus, Lords Macintosh, MacGuffin, and Dingwall, Young Macintosh, Young MacGuffin, and Wee Dingwall, Mordu the Demon Bear, Angus the Horse. I want to say the 3 little brothers are named Haggis, Hamish, and Hubert.

 

[TiggerDad]

Without even looking it up- Queen Elinor, King Fergus, Lords Macintosh, MacGuffin, and Dingwall, Young Macintosh, Young MacGuffin, and Wee Dingwall, Mordu the Demon Bear, Angus the Horse. I want to say the 3 little brothers are named Haggis, Hamish, and Hubert.

Quite impressive. Haggis is food. The third brother is Harris.

 

[Matt_Black]

Quite impressive. Haggis is food.

So is "stew". There are people named Stew.

 

[huwar18]

So forgotten that they show it on TV a lot, are re-releasing it in theaters in a few weeks, included Merida on an episode of Sofia the First....

Honestly, Disney can make anything relevant. They will force feed their movies until they become popular. Also, Disney re-releases movies to try to prop up their box office sales. Companies do this all the time.

 

[mikejs78]

Honestly, Disney can make anything relevant. They will force feed their movies until they become popular. Also, Disney re-releases movies to try to prop up their box office sales. Companies do this all the time.

Sure, but Brave made 540 million dollars. Thats more than Princess and the Frog, Wreck It Wralph, Wall-E, and almost as much as Tangled. There's no need to prop up that number. Brave is already popular.

 

[marni1971]

If you look back in this thread, @marni1971 indicated that Mary Poppins was an option, but at the time of specific posts he didn't think it was the lead option. @WDW1974 said no Mary Poppins. Jim Hill on the other hand made a single suggestion and that was that the attraction WOULD be based on Mary Poppins.

Here are the relevant posts from my rumor tracker:

August 17, 2017: WDWMagic.com user marni1971 is reporting that the attraction being added to the United Kingdom Pavilion would be a ride.

July 26, 2017: WDWMagic.com user WDW1974 is reporting that no Mary Poppins is currently in development for Walt Disney World.

July 20, 2017: On the latest episode of The Unofficial Guide's Disney Dish podcast, Jim Hill and Len Testa discussed that the new ride coming to the United Kingdom Pavilion is expected to be a carousel themed around Mary Poppins. The ride is unlikely to be announced before Mary Poppins Returns debuts in theaters in Christmas 2018.

April 17, 2017: WDWMagic.com user marni1971 is reporting that one theme being considered for the UK Pavilion addition is Mary Poppins.

It isn't Poppins.

 

[Darth Sidious]

I’m guessing it’s Brave given the wording of @WDW1974’s post on the subject. I’m probably just being an idiot but I’m just speculating he dropped a subtle hint.

I hear people are making all sorts of predictions about the UK attraction for EPCOT. Good to see some people are braver than others.

 

[HauntedMansionFLA]

It isn't Poppins.

Thanks and that's depressing. I know you have already stated that you can't go into detail of what's going in. I'm confirming that before you have 50 people asking for hints.

 

[disneygeek90]

I'm going to bet on Brave. Spirit commented on this project in his newest topic, he said this-

"I hear people are making all sorts of predictions about the UK attraction for EPCOT. Good to see some people are braver than others."

I don't know for sure whether this was a hint or not, but I would not put it past him. And if i'm being honest with myself, Brave is probably the most logical and safe choice, and a safe bet as to what will happen IMHO. What else could even be a likely candidate under this particular leadership?

If this wasn't an intentional hint by you @WDW1974 then I apologize. Though if it was, it'll be yet another piece of info you broke first and I hope you're properly credited.

*excitement intensifies*

 

[disneygeek90]

It isn't Poppins.

Not asking for specifics. But do you know exactly what is going in, or just what is off the table?

 

[Casper Gutman]

Beyond Spirit's hint - and he does tend to know what he's talking about - is there any reason to think it's Brave over Alice? Alice makes so much more sense; it's both classic and currently popular and it doesn't get WDW tied up in Scottish Referendum politics.

 

[smile]

I hear people are making all sorts of predictions about the UK attraction for EPCOT. Good to see some people are braver than others

i read that as to not only allude to Brave, but Martins 'semi endorsement' lol

 

[Casper Gutman]

Following up on my earlier post about Brave vs. Alice, this is one of the weirdest elements of the modern Disney. Hollywood is IP driven. That's just the way it is. And Disney is going to be motivated to add IPs to their parks. That's not necessarily bad, if the attractions are thematically appropriate (they often aren't) and succeed on their own merits (they often don't).

What is incredibly strange about Disney is the way they seem to value their IPs. Mouse house execs seem to feel all IPs are equal, regardless of box office, cultural footprint, or future prospects. This manifests in a lot of ways. Firstly, Disney owns three of the four most valuable IP packages in the world - SW, Marvel, and Disney animation - but doesn't seem to grasp their value. As soon as Disney got SW, they should have started construction on the related land, and should currently be building the fourth or fifth related attraction. Disneyland should be full of actual Marvel attractions (not thin overlays). Each of the major classic Disney toons should have an attraction or at least be in consideration for one. Frozen, a true cultural phenomenon, should be in line for a land, not another lousy overlay.

Instead, Disney pushes shaky IPs that don't seem likely to build their brand. we have Avatar. We are getting a Tron ride (which is just absurd given the history of the series and the likelihood of future installments). We seem likely to get a Brave ride. WDW cannot stop adding Toy Story content but has nothing related to Monsters, Incredibles (which has a sequel due out next year), or Cars. Wreck-It Ralph is getting another movie but no attraction. GMR got scrapped for a ride based on versions of the Disney stars that will be obsolete in well under a decade.

What is so vexing about Disney's obsession with IPs in the parks is not that it exists but that they are so bad at handling it. Exec thinking seems to stop at "IP equals ride" and go no deeper in evaluating the IP or considering how its inclusion in a park will advance corporate goals. It's kind of mind boggling.

 

[marni1971]

Not asking for specifics. But do you know exactly what is going in, or just what is off the table?

I do.

 

[yensidtlaw1969]

Without even looking it up- Queen Elinor, King Fergus, Lords Macintosh, MacGuffin, and Dingwall, Young Macintosh, Young MacGuffin, and Wee Dingwall, Mordu the Demon Bear, Angus the Horse. I want to say the 3 little brothers are named Haggis, Hamish, and Hubert.

Only two of those even registered an "oh yeah, I remember that now" response in my head as I read this. Couldn't have told you the King or Queen's name unprompted, and I enjoyed the movie.

I'm hardly a large enough test pool, but I think you might be a very rare breed that remembers all of those names. Most people probably couldn't give you one of them.

 

[Casper Gutman]

I do.

Can you hint whether the ride will be a simple flat ride or something more? I fully understand if you can't.

 

[disneygeek90]

Here comes the "it's not a worthy attraction unless you can recall and name more than one character" *cough Avatar* argument again.

 

[Matt_Black]

Honestly, Disney can make anything relevant. They will force feed their movies until they become popular. Also, Disney re-releases movies to try to prop up their box office sales. Companies do this all the time.

They can, but they don't always want to. Isn't that right Kida?

That's Kida's sad face over her movie never being shown on TV.

Following up on my earlier post about Brave vs. Alice, this is one of the weirdest elements of the modern Disney. Hollywood is IP driven. That's just the way it is. And Disney is going to be motivated to add IPs to their parks. That's not necessarily bad, if the attractions are thematically appropriate (they often aren't) and succeed on their own merits (they often don't).

What is incredibly strange about Disney is the way they seem to value their IPs. Mouse house execs seem to feel all IPs are equal, regardless of box office, cultural footprint, or future prospects. This manifests in a lot of ways. Firstly, Disney owns three of the four most valuable IP packages in the world - SW, Marvel, and Disney animation - but doesn't seem to grasp their value. As soon as Disney got SW, they should have started construction on the related land, and should currently be building the fourth or fifth related attraction. Disneyland should be full of actual Marvel attractions (not thin overlays). Each of the major classic Disney toons should have an attraction or at least be in consideration for one. Frozen, a true cultural phenomenon, should be in line for a land, not another lousy overlay.

Instead, Disney pushes shaky IPs that don't seem likely to build their brand. we have Avatar. We are getting a Tron ride (which is just absurd given the history of the series and the likelihood of future installments). We seem likely to get a Brave ride. WDW cannot stop adding Toy Story content but has nothing related to Monsters, Incredibles (which has a sequel due out next year), or Cars. Wreck-It Ralph is getting another movie but no attraction. GMR got scrapped for a ride based on versions of the Disney stars that will be obsolete in well under a decade.

What is so vexing about Disney's obsession with IPs in the parks is not that it exists but that they are so bad at handling it. Exec thinking seems to stop at "IP equals ride" and go no deeper in evaluating the IP or considering how its inclusion in a park will advance corporate goals. It's kind of mind boggling.

Again, if the ride is good, it doesn't matter if people have seen the movie or not. Just ask Splash Mountain.