Interview with Bob Iger about the Parks

[jaxonp]

For what it's worth, my daughters favorite ride ever? Flight of passage (followed closely by everest). How is that relevant? She has no idea what avatar is. Shes never seen the movie, never seen much of anything about it. It is not ip to her, it's a nondescript dragon ride that is done ridiculously well. Again, the Ip doesnt matter, it's the theming and story of the ride/area. Use ip to your hearts content, just do it well.

Exactly, everyone is getting caught up on “IP” way too much. There have been some instances where it was silly or just wrong. Frozen being in Norway is still a mess being in the wrong place but it’s a better ride that what it replaced. I think we should give the imagineers a chance to tie Guardians into EPCOT like they fit Pandora into AK. Have some faith.

 

[jaxonp]

Don't you think part of this was the fact that they didn't have any good IP to pick from? Disney movies basically bombed from the late 60's until Eisner arrived... They also had no money to buy other people's IP.

This is an important point people glaze over.

 

[eliza61nyc]

Call me an old curmudgeon, but you cannot compare Maelstrom with Frozen. Sure, it was old and moldy... But I suspect most people here prefer the Maelstrom for various reasons. Frozen is shiny and new but it's also boring beyond belief.


Last I checked, Avatar was in 2009. It's 2019 now - a full ten years later. Who cares about Avatar TODAY? Nobody.

lol sorry BoarderPhreak, we're old. that's pretty much it in a nutshell. now I'll agree, Avatar is going to be one of those "cult" type favorites. but no way do I think today's gen prefers Maelstrom.

I do think that's one of the issues, folks here look through these rose colored lenses of yesteryear. We are older, many here have been going since the early days and there is absolutely NOTHING wrong with that. NOTHING. the culture is different now, they want frozen, they want Wakanda and Arendelle. Now I think the Frozen ride is misplaced, WS wasn't the place for it but I'm glad it kicked out Maelstrom.

 

[BoarderPhreak]

lol sorry BoarderPhreak, we're old. that's pretty much it in a nutshell.

Yeah, I guess so. LOL... Now get off my lawn!

 

[RandySavage]

No doubt it's a change and people hate change. But Frozen is a vastly better and more entertaining experience than Maelstrom for the vast vast majority of people.

Not for me or mine. Frozen Ever After would be welcome in a Fantasyland setting. But Maelstrom - maybe not flawless, but World Showcase's most fun D attraction - was customized for its location (Norway) and had a cultural enrichment factor (how many countless kids learned trolls and oil were associated with Norway from that ride) - in the EPCOT Center sort of way. It "clicked" with what World Showcase of EPCOT Center was about. The park had a coherency and made sense. Riding through the songs and settings of Frozen in Norway erases the enrichment factor for a mouthful of sugary Disney icing. People now expect an Aladdin ride in Morocco and a Lady & the Tramp ride in Italy, diluting the park's theme and purpose, and sort of insulting to the thinking guest.

 

[mightynine]

Except that makes little to no sense from a publicly traded business perspective. You want them to spend a billion dollars building a land where nobody knows anything about the story behind it in the hopes that it will catch on?

You mean what they did as storytellers and theme park pioneers to give Disney parks the reputation they have today, because they knew how to tell a great story with a great experience? What they do on a smaller scale every time Disney creates, well, anything?

 

[eliza61nyc]

Yeah, I guess so. LOL... Now get off my lawn!

lol this is off topic ,
But last week when I was on Christmas break, I decided to tackle my over run basement. Decided to donate records (which my son's still laugh at) to a local DJ. anyhoo found a Lp of the ballad of Davy Crockett and 20,000 leagues under the sea!! needless to say the minions where hysterical with laughter watching a youtube of the thing

Davy, davy crockett king of the wild frontier........
patch'd up a crack in the liberty bell

 

[danlb_2000]

Actually billions have seen it at this point and yes, hundreds of millions love it. Your just not one of them and that's OK.

I highly doubt billions of people have seen the movie. Also, what makes you think I didn't like the movie?

 

[FigmentJedi]

Actually billions have seen it at this point and yes, hundreds of millions love it. Your just not one of them and that's OK.

I didn't know movie tickets still cost one dollar

 

[danlb_2000]

None of that maters. Team JR created a masterpiece in Pandora at AK and it’s paying off. Animal Kingdom is now the 2nd most visited theme park in Orlando. That is since the opening of Pandora. It is a hit.

Actually it does matter, because the discussion we are having is whether IP's are important or not. Is Pandora popular because of it's IP, or simply because it a well themed land with a great E-ticket attraction.

 

[the_rich]

Actually it does matter, because the discussion we are having is whether IP's are important or not. Is Pandora popular because of it's IP, or simply because it a well themed land with a great E-ticket attraction.

I think it's a combination. The land as constructed is directly due to the world James Cameron created. The movie itself was terrible but it did create a world that was ripe for an immersive and unique land.

 

[WDWTank]

lol this is off topic ,
But last week when I was on Christmas break, I decided to tackle my over run basement. Decided to donate records (which my son's still laugh at) to a local DJ. anyhoo found a Lp of the ballad of Davy Crockett and 20,000 leagues under the sea!! needless to say the minions where hysterical with laughter watching a youtube of the thing

Davy, davy crockett king of the wild frontier........
patch'd up a crack in the liberty bell

I love Davy Crockett!

 

[WDWTank]

I don’t think Bob Iger knows what a theme park means period.

 

[TwilightZone]

Where do you find your facts? Avatar not popular? It was the NUMBER ONE MOVIE OF ALL TIME according to box office figures. Google search it.

Cabelleros and Rat have strong followings but regardless, add a fan base to each ride and introduce familiar Disney characters. Same idea with Snow White back in 1955.

You could be number one in the box office and still be a bad or mediocre movie.
Case in point: The new aquaman film. Most I've talked to hate it. That didn't stop it from becoming number one.
EDIT: Another case in point, the twilight and 50 shades of grey films. Not many like or love them, but they still got number one.

 

[capsshield]

When a movie studio makes a movie they begin a marketing process that informs the public about a movie they will love and want to see. Sometimes they spend more or just as much on marketing as they do making the actual movie. There are many movies that fail to earn a profit because such a large investment is needed to succeed. Many companies latch onto these promotional programs to get a quick boost for their products at a lower cost than a real advertising program would provide. Especially if the movie is a sequel to a movie that has proved itself a success already.
I think you have to keep this in perspective when you look at the parks and the new attractions that they build or add.
Lets say Disney has a choice to build a ride based on the Amazon. They set up a budget of 400 million and build a unique river ride without using any IP at all. The ride is a success. Attendance rises, and the park is a fuller richer experience for all. However Disney spends 50 million in advertising to make the project stand out in the publics eye. It's 50 million the park will never get as an investment in future growth.
Now, let's imagine that the Disney co.chooses to build a jungle ride based on The Jungle Book and its timed for opening during an anniversary rerelease of the movie. The budget is the same 400 million. The ride is also a smashing success, however when guests get off the ride they are singing the Bare Necessities and standing in line for photo ops with Baloo, and company. Not only is the ride a success but guest spending goes up in several areas. Then there's the 50 million in promotion costs for the ride. Parks spends 10 million and piggy backs off of the movie rerelease promotion. They pocket the 40 million for other things like profit, repairs and Imagineering development.
And the team that chooses the second route is rewarded handsomely because they moved the company forward in several directions.
Lower costs, more guest satisfaction, higher guest spending, and other things all come together to provide a better profit and image for the company, plus it add life to a fifty year old IP.
Now the guys that created the new IP have created a funnel that is sucking up promotional funds because it needs a continuous flow of promotion until it is self sustainable. At some point down the road it will also become an IP that the company can draw upon, but there's no guarantee as to how much revenue it will generate or how long that will take.
I think it's important to remember why Bob Igor was hired. He was hired to grow the company and protect its assets. He also answers to a board of directors that guard their wealth like most mothers guard their children. And they have been very happy with the job he has done otherwise he wouldn't be there today.

 

[Stripes]

We have a response.

 

[Inspired Figment]

 

[lazyboy97o]

Because that's what today's younger audience relates to, they react favorably to IP. It's not 1970 or 80. Now would they also have the same feeling about totally original pieces? Don't know but Disney is going with what works. Frozen works, Star wars works. Harry Potter at Universal? Ungodly successful. IP sells period.

You’re contradicting yourself. If young audiences only react to properties they know, then why did they go see the new movie themed to a fjord?

 

[Indy_UK]

Bobs not usually one to bite is he?

 

[Disney Analyst]

I am in complete and utter shocked that he responded! This is a first.

I also tweeted my shock and asked him to fix the yeti. My work is done.

 

[RSoxNo1]

Exactly!!! But it's the IP that justified the investment that gave JR the resources to create a masterpiece.... Basing it on the highest grossing film of all time meant that there would be an embedded fan base from all around the world clamoring to see it....

Joe Rohde and the other Imagineer's execution of Pandora was excellent. They did what I hope Disney does with all IP's in themed areas and parks where theming is of higher importance (i.e. non-Studios parks): If the movie didn't exist, would the land still work. Pandora fits that description. Frozen doesn't, Nemo doesn't, Coco would, Ratatouille kind of does...