I think the problem with anyone looking at something like a "10-year plan" is that, in terms of "business years," that's forever. I mean, look at how much Disney has changed just in the last decade.
It was a pretty big risk buying Marvel when they did. Yes, Iron Man made money, but The Incredible Hulk didn't. Lots of people forget that film and think of Iron Man as the beginning of what we know as the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Iron Man came second. So, you had one successful film, a comic book publishing company in an age when print comics are on life support. There were a huge number of characters, but a huge chunk of the movie rights to their most popular ones were with Fox and Sony and Universal had theme park rights to nearly all of the rest of them. The fact that their acquisition paid off is amazing. It could have just as easily gone the other way.
The success of Marvel gave Disney the money and clout they needed to purchase both The Muppets and, more importantly, Lucasfilm. The Muppets, sadly, haven't been as successful, but there's still a lot of goodwill toward the characters. Lucasfilm, on the other hand, has pretty much paid for itself at this point. Even with divisive opinions on Last Jedi and Solo looking to fall far short of box office expectations, the ancillary rights owned by Disney are guaranteed to be a steady source of income for decades to come.
Let's take a look at what new attractions opened at WDW ten years ago.
Toy Story Midway Mania.
That's it. A fun attraction, but the only new thing in all four parks that year.
While I wish that all of the money being thrown at the parks in anticipation of the 50th were being spent on attractions that I actually cared about or that I think would be evergreen, E-ticket family attractions, the fact that all four parks are in the midst of seeing new attractions added at all is great news for the future of the parks. I do think that some more money should have been spent sprucing up attractions that could use some TLC (adding the Hatbox Ghost to the Mansion, giving Spaceship Earth an exciting and breathtaking finale once again) I'm happy that the parks aren't being left to rot any longer. While I will be eternally sad to see the final demise of my beloved Future World, it's been like watching a loved one deteriorate for two decades at this point. Future World will never again be what I loved, but I'd rather see Epcot hopefully bring in some crowds that aren't just there for Food & Wine. As long as Spaceship Earth isn't gutted, I can go on that and remember what caused me to fall in love with EPCOT Center in 1983. The rest of the attractions aren't for me any longer and that's fine.
if there was any news it'd be here
