disney 5th and 6th gate?

[CDavid]

I fully expect NBC/Universal to buy out Blackstone, but a Disney purchase of the Orlando Universal parks would be one way to deal with getting the Marvel licenses out of the hands of a competitor. In theory, Disney could then sell the parks (minus the Marvel theming) to a third party, though I don't know who, or perhaps brand them as a non-Disney experience ("ABC's Islands of Adventure").

 

[Rich1]

NBC/universal is actually Comcast at this point. From the beginning, Comcast has said they want out of the Theme park business. I actually see a third party getting involved. Probabky not Disney unless the price is right. And I think you would eventually see Disney put their name on the parks bc they are kicking themselves for not doing Potter to begin with. I'm just thinking the standard park hopper wouldn't be in affect lol. If the price were right...disney would buy. Iger likes to buy things that make money today with a bright future. As far as WB goes, I think they'd be fine with Disney.

 

[fractal]

What exactly is up for sale?

The Universal Parks or the entire company - Universal Studios?

If it's just the parks - is it all of their Parks worldwide or just in Orlando?

 

[jmick71]

What exactly is up for sale?

The Universal Parks or the entire company - Universal Studios?

If it's just the parks - is it all of their Parks worldwide or just in Orlando?

only the orlando parks from my understanding
read the article that was posted above from the orlando sentinel for more info

 

[jmick71]

Hmm. Don't really see Disney buying Universal. They already have a movie based park.

i would imagine that it would run as separate entities( probably not with the disney name) , so 2 movie parks would not really make a difference but they could make it so that all of disney's other movie companies(touch stone, Miramax Films, Hollywood Pictures, parts of dream works, ect.) would have rides in universal, while DHS would be strictly for disney and pixar branded titles

 

[LALALand]

This is all very interesting. I don't see Disney buying, but I hope someone does. Universal is a great park(s). It's all speculation at this point, but damn interesting...

 

[jmick71]

This is all very interesting. I don't see Disney buying, but I hope someone does. Universal is a great park(s). It's all speculation at this point, but damn interesting...

yupp probably wont happen, but interesting to see disney has the option to!

 

[Rich1]

The thing is, if it gets to a 3rd party then Disney will take the time to look into it. My point is, I'd be willing to bet that research is being done to some extent. Did anyone think they'd ever buy marvel? Hell, Disney already owns the rights to half of the characters in IoA.

 

[yensid67]

your right it does not seem far fetched. it just seems unlikely, but if they do buy it it could easily just use it as a separate entity. and it might be good that disney has competition with itself(if quality of universal goes up becaue of disney's ownership it would cause a grater increase in WDW quality, more so than it is today!)

I understand what you are saying, but if Disney DID buy Universal think of how high the ticket prices for ALL the parks would go up without competition! One of the posts mentioned, 'it already had a movie themed park'...PLEASE DHS NEEDS A COMPLETE DCA-STYLE REFURB BACKTO A WORKING STUDIO!(I just had to get that out! )

 

[yensid67]

The thing is, if it gets to a 3rd party then Disney will take the time to look into it. My point is, I'd be willing to bet that research is being done to some extent. Did anyone think they'd ever buy marvel? Hell, Disney already owns the rights to half of the characters in IoA.

Just wondering how long it will take those characters to hope on the Lynx bus and be found in a Disney park!?:ROFLOL:

 

[Crockett]

I'm going to go out on a limb and predict that Disney will, in fact, buy the Universal Orlando parks. Bet money on this? No. But just a wild guess. Simply put, there was a time not too long ago when I was mocking the rumors of Disney buying Marvel. It was unthinkable. It was ridiculous. It made no sense. It...holy crap...Disney bought Marvel! So now here we sit with this wild Universal rumor floating in the wind. I'm putting nothing past the House of Mouse. Disney is a bold company. To surf the waves of a recession you have to be bold. Nothing can seem more bold than to buy out your biggest competitor. If Pres. Obama gets elected a 2nd term, he will usher in the high-speed rail era for America. You can bank on that. It's coming. Maybe a setback right now, but we're knocking on the door. I wouldn't be surprised if one day you could get from MK to IOA..er..I mean, the new Disney park formerly known as IOA by just hoping on a train and taking a short ride. I am optimistic of this. If/when this happens, it would be ideal for Disney to create two locations; one entity in Orlando. This is my wishful thinking, and as outlandish as it may seem, it is more likely than you'd imagine.

Here is what I am not so optimistic about. If there is no steep competition right down the road from Disney anymore, will the parks continue to be invested in; to evolve? Competition keeps you on your toes. It keeps you pushing the envelope. If Orlando became Disney-Mega-Monopoly, with only Sea World to fight against for tourist $$$, would we as guests still continue to see quality improvements and additions for years to come?

Either way, I've learned from the past to never assume something is too "far fetched". Especially when you are dealing with a company sculpted by a visionary as abstract & imaginative as Walt Disney.

 

[flavious27]

now that Universal is basically for sail and disney now owns marvel dose anybody think disney would purchase universal??
i know it would probably never happen, but you never know
disney is starting to buy up alto of companies( marvel, parts of dream works)
and if they did they would not have to worry about competition/ or worrying about potter.
i know this sounds crazy and it will probably never happen but just wanted to see what you guys would say

( universal/Comcast Corp/Blackstone probably would not even sell to disney)
this is for kicks and giggles:ROFLOL:
please don't be too harsh i am not being that serious about it LOL

It would be a logistics nightmare for transportation alone. After that, disney would have so many license agreements to sort through and see how much they would lose with the buyout clauses.

Then there would be employee relations to handle along with the merging of many different divisions.

Buying the universal florida property would cost disney more than developing through own assets.

 

[flavious27]

according to the orlando sentinel
http://www.orlandosentinel.com/busi...fers-sell-universal-s20110316,0,5366092.story
Disney would only have to be the highest bidder.(it is only for the orlando parks)
also if they sell it to another company the rights for WWOHP can be revoked

i still am saying this is EXTREMELY unlikely being that universal was on the auction block a few times before

I agree, the market for theme parks is a very small one in 2011 because companies are no longer diversifying their assets as much.

And looking at the amusement park corporations, the list is shrinking.

merlin won't buy them, blackstone would have merged the two companies.

Parques Reunidos's owners are liquidating assets.

Six flags can barely keep their parks open.

busch won't buy them, blackstone would have merged the two companies.

cedar fair was just attempted to be bought; they are valued at half of the universal orlando property. also the attempted buyer, apollo, wouldn't try if they couldn't buy cedar fair.

oct parks china lost a boatload of money when they built their own park in
orlando, their stated focus is to grow domestically.

Compagnie des Alpes only wants to expand it current offerings.

aspro group only runs some water parks in Europe.


I only see comcast buying out blackstone's share at a lower rpice.

 

[flavious27]

NBC/universal is actually Comcast at this point. From the beginning, Comcast has said they want out of the Theme park business. I actually see a third party getting involved. Probabky not Disney unless the price is right. And I think you would eventually see Disney put their name on the parks bc they are kicking themselves for not doing Potter to begin with. I'm just thinking the standard park hopper wouldn't be in affect lol. If the price were right...disney would buy. Iger likes to buy things that make money today with a bright future. As far as WB goes, I think they'd be fine with Disney.

If comcast is getting out of the theme park business, why is universal hollywood studios in the works to be expanded?

 

[alphac2005]

"If comcast is getting out of the theme park business, why is universal hollywood studios in the works to be expanded?"

These expansion plans are years worth of an undertaking and most likely all predated Comcast striking a deal with GE over NBCUniversal. Comcast has made it quite clear in many business publications that they don't sound enamored with being in the theme park business as their stake in NBCUniversal is for content to drive their cable and future online streaming of content businesses.

Disney will not buy the Universal properties. There are various reasons as to why from the countless non-Disney properties (besides Marvel at IoA) and on the West Coast, Universal Hollywood is directly tied to the Universal production studio. Plus, we're not even exploring the anti-trust issues that could clearly lurk.

My guess is that yet another private equity firm gets involved and buys the 50 percent of Blackstone, Comcast surprises the market and takes hold of 100 percent of the property, or Comcast finds another private equity firm to buy both owners outright. We'll see!

 

[Mickey is King]

I bet disney is freaking out....you know they would love to have IOA because of them recently buying marvel.

but the original Universal Studios park, hhmmmm..... can't see it ever happening, every attraction (practically) is a universal owned movie right?
That peticular park would have to be totally re-themed no? plus like everyone says ,it's totally diconected from WDW.
Although there are resort hotels on premises, but sounds like a very expensive re-theme once again.

I still bet they would love to get their hands on IOA though...

 

[RSoxNo1]

Here's a question: Is it worth it for Disney to purchase the Universal parks and liquidate them?

 

[DocMcHulk]

Would there be any legal/regulatory issues if DIsney bought Universal Studios?

 

[Lucky]

Here's a question: Is it worth it for Disney to purchase the Universal parks and liquidate them?

No way.

 

[JEANYLASER]

very interesting!