Disney Playing catch up with Universal... Potter Disney's biggest mistake in 20 years...

[Tony Perkis]

I'm not 100% sold he's a troll though... I give people the benefit of the doubt

Exactly. There's a distinct possibility that he's just really adamant and passionate about a topic he isn't informed about.

 

[tirian]

It's not a gif but........View attachment 58063

Exactly.

 

[disney4life2008]

From Yahoo News. Not the type of national buzz Disney wants to have.

Link: Universal makes big bet on Harry Potter — again
video on link, from Yahoo news..

"Universal management never expected the Wizarding World of Harry Potter to become as successful as it has – and neither did Disney (DIS). The media giant dropped its bid for the licensing rights to Harry Potter in 2006. “That was [Disney’s] biggest mistake in the last 20 years,” says Neil Begley, senior analyst at Moody’s Investors Services. Disney passed on Potter because it was costly and J.K. Rowling and Warner Bros. controlled the intellectual property, which goes against Disney’s modus operandi. “Universal was the beneficiary of that,” Begley adds.

Wizarding World’s popularity may have driven Disney to sign a long-term licensing agreement with "Avatar" director James Cameron, his producing partner Jon Landau and 20th Century Fox, to build an “Avatar”-themed land based on Cameron’s mythical planet of Pandora (expected to open at Disney’s Animal Kingdom in 2017).

“Disney did not want another ‘Harry Potter’ on its hands and is now playing catch up,” says Begley. The "Avatar" deal shows Disney is “willing to break the formula where essentially they had to own all the intellectual property and all the films and the rights around it, and they're doing what's necessary to remain fresh and attractive for consumers.”

20 years ago was 1994 - what was their mistake in that year?

 

[lazyboy97o]

20 years ago was 1994 - what was their mistake in that year?

I guess the decision would have been made beforehand, but it's the year EPCOT Center became EPCOT '94.

 

[Mike S]

I guess the decision would have been made beforehand, but it's the year EPCOT Center became EPCOT '94.

We did get the great Jeremy Irons version of Spaceship Earth that year though, so it wasn't all bad at Epcot.

 

[wdisney9000]

We did get the great Jeremy Irons version of Spaceship Earth that year though, so it wasn't all bad at Epcot.

Have you tried Jeremy Irons cereal? If your looking for marshmallows, there are none. Its quite bland, I assure you. If your looking for a prize at the bottom of the box, there is none. Only more cardboard.

 

[PhotoDave219]

I wonder how he is going to twist the fact Universal put in a permit for their new park while Disney still hasn't even put anything in for Star Wars.

Budgetary stage. Be patient.

 

[GrammieBee]

Applying to this thread is a recent cartoon where the person is saying that he's not arguing, he's just explaining why he is right.

 

[Disneyson]

Have you see Inside The Magic's Facebook stream recently? The posts alternate Frozen and Harry Pottter, it's hilarious. And probably very astutely timed: Alice in Wonderland re-opens, Universal opens Hogwart's Express, Disney released the pictures of the Frozen Funland, Uni soft-opens Diagon Alley - Hope Disney has another bit of news lined up!

 

[asianway]

Have you see Inside The Magic's Facebook stream recently? The posts alternate Frozen and Harry Pottter, it's hilarious. And probably very astutely timed: Alice in Wonderland re-opens, Universal opens Hogwart's Express, Disney released the pictures of the Frozen Funland, Uni soft-opens Diagon Alley - Hope Disney has another bit of news lined up!

How much mental illness?

 

[Pumbas Nakasak]

we can but wait expectantly for the next exciting instalment of wed better do something.

 

[iheartdisney91]

Correction: Disney COULD have done better. Dollars to doughnuts says that they WOULD not have done better.
Also, Uni takes great care of keeping their buildings looking good, and it's probably in their Potter contract that it has to be repainted every so often. So... you know, there's that.

You're probably right about the repaint contract but I'm just saying the marvel, and seuss landing areas were soooo color drained last time I was there.

I don't think that Disney made a mistake by not making the deal. The deal was a bad one for them. It wasn't bad for Universal because Universal really, really needed it.

Disney's mistake was not pushing a DHS expansion quickly, whether it be Pixar Place, Carsland, or Star Wars. I don't see it as an unsurvivable error, however, since they can (and should) still push forward.

Totally agree on the DHS expansion!

 

[TubaGeek]

You're probably right about the repaint contract but I'm just saying the marvel, and seuss landing areas were soooo color drained last time I was there.

When was this?

 

[Padraig]

When was this?

Didn't they just have a major repaint of SL (happens quite often IIRC) and they've definitely replaced the character billboards in SHI this past year.

 

[FigmentFreak]

Great Movie Ride isn't that dull (just needs a little love)

I see the Great Frozen movie ride in our future.

 

[Disneyhead'71]

I see the Great Frozen movie ride in our future.

Disney's Frozen Sing-a-long Ride 3D

 

[DinoInstitute]

Disney's Frozen Sing-a-long Ride 3D

Sponsored by *company*

 

[grunter]

When you say show buildings I assume you mean show scenes and the answer is 1. In the end, it doesn't matter how nifty the transitioning mechanism is, the final result is still a bunch of people watching a movie for 5 minutes. The best part of Soarin is the initial ascent from the ground. After that, you're stuck in place shimmying from side to side to a poorly produced video with no transitions. I wonder what artificial fruit smell they will pipe in on the Pandora ride to convince people that hanging benches in front of an IMAX screen qualifies as the next great Disney ride. Sigh.

This. This. This. A thousand times this.
Avatarland just sounds like a total disaster in the making.
I know I have zero interest in ever returning to Animal Kingdom.
Aside from the broken Everest coaster, that park is a bust.

 

[seascape]

This. This. This. A thousand times this.
Avatarland just sounds like a total disaster in the making.
I know I have zero interest in ever returning to Animal Kingdom.
Aside from the broken Everest coaster, that park is a bust.

I love AK and millions of people a year go there so it can't be that bad. Everyone has the right to their own opinion and we can disagree. As for Pandora I didn't like the movie that much but I expect great things from Pandora and if others don't want to go that's fine too. More space for those who like it.

 

[Beholder]

It's odd how AK seems to elicit such extreme reactions in people. The things is, I really get why people land on the sides of the arguments they do. Personally, I LOVE AK. The environment, the lush setting, the feeling I get when I'm there, that I'm actually on an adventure in an exotic land. Now, I understand people don't want to pay what Disney wants to walk around a really nice "garden". Or zoo. But, to each their own I suppose. And I am looking forward to Pandora. If it's not great, then that'll stink. But I'll reserve that call based on my own experience. Just my opinion folks.