Pirates is an enormous IP, and while internationally they lately have been doing better, that's because domestically people prefer better films than simply the action that foreign markets demand. That's why the first and second were so successful. Disney should actually leverage it. The additions have only hurt the original and totally separate Pirates ride, and have done zero to leverage the IP. In a 'dumb' guest mind they go on the Pirates ride and think it's the same thing, but when you begin to separate them, and treat them as separate entities and are mind blown after you get off of Shanghai's Pirates (which could reside in HWS), people will make a point to come back. The cost isn't even that bad considering how large the capacity is and how ridiculously good it is. It's a better investment than wasting money on cutting projects that people won't return for.
I mean the last Pirates made ~$800M with a 29% on Rotten Tomatoes, and it was in fact pretty bad. Sure, most of that's overseas, but that doesn't mean people don't like the franchise anymore, it's just why would consumers waste their money on a bad product? They need to bank on their writing and not on Jack Sparrow for their reboot, and clone Shanghai's Pirates, raking in the dough with perfect timing, them both opening mere months apart to build hype for one another.
Shanghai Pirates man oh man; doesn't Disney get that people will tell other people how amazing it is?
Anyway, no reason why Jack Sparrow can't be played by different people ala James Bond or other franchises, or even if they don't use him there's a lot in the universe to explore. The main problem is just poor writing except for the epic first and some decent things in the second and third.
If Disney is so for synergy it's time they start making big scale rides for B&TB, Pirates, Jungle Book, Lion King, Alice in Wonderland, Peter Pan, Inside Out, Coco, Finding Nemo, The Incredibles... why haven't these rides been built? From a business standpoint, it's inexcusable, and there are opportunities for most of these to be properly placed in the current parks in Orlando, and many could fit in the Disneyland Resort.
Especially B&TB, Lion King, and Pirates need stateside rides ASAP. There's literally no reason those rides aren't being cloned (B&TB & Pirates) or built. Disney is losing potential revenue. I mean how long has it taken for them to leverage Marvel? Just a random IP like Avatar blew up AK; people can tell themselves whatever but it's successful because it was billed as a new land. TRON Lightcycke Powerrun will do the same for the MK, and while they might have cult followings, the general public is what makes something very successful. Potter is what you get when you combine an enormous IP with a spectacular product. We could easily see huge increases in these parks if they add these.
I don't see how a decade long plan like this wouldn't be their priority #1.
Animal Kingdom
Original ride for Dinoland to replace Dinorama (Dinosaurs are an IP in themselves)/Lion King Land/Jungle Book Ride (not perfect placement but those are harder to place).
Hollywood Studios
Pirates (high capacity, water ride, all ages, extravagant)/Indiana Jones/Wakanda Land (I don't know if Black Panther is included in the Avengers property)/Incredibles/The Muppets C-ticket (a lesser IP so a really good fit for this level at this park)... they have options
Magic Kingdom
B&TB
EPCOT Center
Inside Out/Coco/Figment (basically an IP)/Get more pavilion sponsors throughout the park
They are underusing their super popular old IPs too like Ariel, new IPs like Frozen, and are late to the game with so many more. People go to Tokyo specifically for the Pooh ride, they don't at Disney World because it's mediocre (compare to really good C-tickets like Alice over in Disneyland), and because it's not an E. Pooh is an enormous franchise in different ways than box office (like Poppins), and by making them great they WILL have draw. Obviously, you have to space them out, but I don't see how saving money now is a good idea since you're losing money every second you're not in your peak. They have it figured out for their current business strategy, but like Disney+ securing their future, the parks can make them even more money if they play it right.
And what Disney also fails to realize that the old synergy was that the parks were 'the IP'. Space Mountain, Haunted Mansion, heck even Splash Mountain (in the public's eye it's original). There is tremendous value in creating original rides too. There are just some obvious choices that should make their way into the parks promptly and in a way that actually brings people in.
The Fox deal was mainly used to get rid of competition, not for IPs and synergy like most claim; it will help on Hulu and will be useful and most certainly a part of it, but not for theme parks and other areas. Alien could make for a killer ride but they won't do it, and they have so many to choose from why do it. Their animation studio will never make its way into the parks. Disney has more brands than anywhere else by a longshot and they can't even come close to maximizing them. They would have been better off buying more selective assets from Fox and investing more in the parks to maximize all opportunities.
Back to the original Pirates ride itself, it always seemed like an odd form of synergy. I really don't believe it brings people into the park and is a total waste of money and lost earnings personally. They can still put Pirate movie stuff in the gift shop. Now if it was its own ride from Shanghai, it's so good I'm certain word of mouth alone would make it go so viral (just like Star Wars Land will) and people would tell everyone they have to see it. While the original is good, it's not in the same league and very different (especially MK's). As good as the original is, it's not mindblowing which is okay, but it's needed to bring the most people into the gates. They don't have attendance issues, but right now they could easily have higher prices, and properly built up parks and even more people would flock to the parks at a level of increased profitability. Something to think about.
Not my best-written post but I'm tired haha. Just trying to give a general idea.
