Disney/MGM Studios name change...not anytime soon?

Jerm

Well-Known Member
Original Poster
So it has been months since we have had a good thread about the "name change" of The Disney/MGM Studios...guess we will have to wait till the next vacation planning video comes out for that. But I did want to pass along something interesting to help slow down that burning flame, http://www.dizpins.com/monthly_releases/2006/wdw_june2006.htm if you look on that page there are 2 Disney/MGM Studios pins what that name on the pins. But the most interesting thing is the 4th of July pin has the old archway as the backdrop, in the past it has been the Hat or the Earful tower as the backdrop?!?!?!? Just pointing out the odd......oh and lets not even get started on the EPCOT pin with no arm on it.

J
 

Ansem

Member
I won't rule out that the pins couldn't have had future planning put into them, if that is the case, it's very good clue hunting on your part. However it could just be artistic favoritism...as an artist myself, I often take out things that I find don't suit the atmosphere of an image. It could be the same happening with the pins, one artist prefers to project the image he/she believes is most attractive, or will suit the overall mood. If an artist likes the historic qualities of WDW's monuments, they may choose an image without modern celebratory additions, unless specifically required to do so.:king:
 

marni1971

Park History nut
Premium Member
Funnily enough, I was watching a 1993 planning video this week, and every reference was to "The Disney Studios."
 

darthjohnny

Active Member
Sometimes, pins were done keeping in mind future plans, but then Disney changes their minds, like the one pin that has a "2001" on the top of Spaceship Earth because after the Millenium Celebration, they were supposed to change the year, but then it was decided they would just put Epcot
 

Jerm

Well-Known Member
Original Poster
Why is it no matter what some people have to find a reason or a hint for them to change the name? The rumor has been going around for how many years now and it still has not happened. I posted those pics to show that Disney itself is not planning on it happening right away. Everyone remember last year, where it was supposed to happen by the end of June?!?!? Well here we come on another June and it is still the same with a band new retiled arch with Leo the Lion on it. I know at somepoint it could happen but the point of me posting that link was to show it is not happening "soon"

J
 

Ansem

Member
Well the fact of the matter is, we really don't know either way. There are going to be people who agree and disagree. This is all purely speculation, just another topic to talk about. You're never going to convince everyone, so there's no reason to stress. :)
 
Interesting to note too that the animal kingdom pin that is on that page says similar to the one released in 1999 and that pin still has the dragon as the middle animal on it. so maybe its another hint of things to come?
 

ctwhalerman

New Member
Maybe Disney and Sony just quietly signed a deal to keep it. After all, it gives the MGM brand the best naming-rights deal I've ever seen, as Sony doesn't have to pay a dime but still has 9 million people a year go through the gate of a theme park with MGM in the name. There is a lot of goodwill between the two studios, as I think Disney endorsed Sony's new hi-def DVD format, so who knows.
 

shaelyn

New Member
marni1971 said:
Funnily enough, I was watching a 1993 planning video this week, and every reference was to "The Disney Studios."

Yeah, I have a loooot of the old videos, and for a good few years it was all "The Disney Studios"
 

Rob562

Well-Known Member
Don't read into the whole "Disney Studios" on the planning videos too much. The most recent DVD has it, but it's been like that far as long as I can remember them making the videos.

I'm sure it's been mentioned on the forum many times before, but this has something to do with the legal agreement to the use of the name. Disney can only use the MGM name in promotional stuff within the state of Florida. (That's why in the TV commercials and billboards in Florida it says "Disney-MGM Studios") But on promotional video stuff they send out, they can't use MGM, so it says "Disney Studios".
People have been using this name switch as "proof" since the mid-90's that a real park name change is about to happen, and to date it never has.

I also wouldn't read too far into the pin designs, either. WDW was selling Dixie Landings pins right up to and even after the name was changed to Port Orleans Riverside.

-Rob
 

uglybug2005

New Member
According to Michael Eisner's biography "Work in Progress" the rights for Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer names, logos, and film library images were granted to Disney for use in connection to the Studio-themed park in Florida "in perpetuity," which means that there is no ultimate time-table for or eventual goal of removing "M-G-M" from the park's name. It certainly could happen at any time, just like any other nomenclature change that WDI and WDP&R leadership might approve for anything at any of the park or resort locations around the world. This "The contract is running out!" bit is, I'm pretty sure, an urban legend. While other license agreements associated with the parks have the potential to be discontinued at the behest of the ultimate copyright owner, MGM was in poor financial condition in the late 80s and their leadership signed those rights away pretty much forever.
 

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