Rumors of OZ at DL... any rumors for WDW

Rob562

Rob562

Well-Known Member
You can put me in the category of having "Return to Oz" scare the bejeebers out of me as a kid. Gave me nightmares for weeks.

And to this day I still get a shudder every time I think of the headless Mombi lunging after Dorothy and trying to get to her original head... [shudder]

-Rob
 
Captain Neo

Captain Neo

Well-Known Member
MerlinTheGoat said:
I'm really not sure how others feel about Return to Oz, but am i the only one who actually enjoyed the movie? I loved it as a kid and i still find it good to this day. Of course, i really don't try to compare it to the 1939 classic and take it on its own merits.
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Loved return to oz
 
plaz10

plaz10

Well-Known Member
Rob562 said:
You can put me in the category of having "Return to Oz" scare the bejeebers out of me as a kid. Gave me nightmares for weeks.

And to this day I still get a shudder every time I think of the headless Mombi lunging after Dorothy and trying to get to her original head... [shudder]

-Rob
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HAHAHA. I can hear her saying "DOOOOROTHY GAAAAALE" while her headless body is looking for her. Love it.
 
AEfx

AEfx

Well-Known Member
lwalker8 said:
hahaha... wow!

They will never build an Oz. That would draw such low attendance when held against a franchise like Harry Potter.
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I'd absolutely disagree.

It's funny, because MGM has such a checkered past, with little to distinguish it to "Joe Six-pack" - scary enough, RnR is easy to confuse with Space Mountain - both roller coasters in the dark, or yes, even Tower of Terror and Haunted Mansion blend for some. A lot of people experience Disney, especially for a first, or only, trip, in somewhat of a blur.

But the finale to GMR *always* gets them. That's how the "average" folk reference the park. "That one with the ride you go to Oz and see the Witch..." or "the park where you go to Oz/Munchkinland" always triggers it when trying to decipher a non-fans park referencing (usually telling you about one ride they really liked, but can't pinpoint what park it was so you can figure out what the heck they are talking about).

Oz is timeless, and will pretty much forever be the most seen film of all time. It has such a head-start, Avatar can't hold a candle to it. Not money, but eyes that have viewed the film.

It's also still very popular with kids. I got a deal on some Oz Blu-rays a couple Black Friday's ago - and gave them out to everyone I knew with kids. Most of them now have kids who sign the songs in the car with the soundtracks they downloaded from iTunes. They "get" it just like all previous generations did.

You may be correct in terms of merchandise sales (though Oz stuff is absolutely no slouch when you take into account the film is nearing 75 years old), or current "buzz", but I can tell you Disney building an impressive "Oz" land would be major, major news. You'd have people saying, "Avatar, who?" (Well, even more than they already do, LOL, until you say "that big loud movie with the blue people - no, not the Smurfs, the one with Ripley" and they remember what you are talking about.

lwalker8 said:
What I cannot figure out is why they can't do more with Lucas and Star Wars in the Parks. That is the one property they have that they really could use to go head-to-head with Harry Potter. Are they restricted in some way by their agreement with Lucas? Both Indiana Jones and Star Wars remain extremely marketable and span multiple generations, both parents and children.
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Now that is a good question. I'd love for some real, kick-butt Star Wars rides.

But it makes sense why they don't. WDW is already the Star Wars capital of the world. People come there from all around the world for Star Wars Weekends every year. They have special tent-buildings set up just for merchandise, which people gladly wait in line hours for the privilege of spending insane prices for marginal merchandise (and yes, I have been one - though sometimes, like the $50 pen this year, I'm like - I don't think so, LOL). Disney rakes in so much money over Star Wars it's insane.

Basically, the threshold is already about as high as it's going to get for Star Wars merchandise. They couldn't sell any more if they tried. If they did add a new land, it undoubtedly would bring more people - more casual fans, families, etc., and would also help with the "boy" interest problem...but, if they spend a billion bucks building it, their Star Wars revenue - because it's already so obscenely large - wouldn't increase enough to support it. (Keep in mind, that's what I think THEIR thinking is, not necessarily what I agree with or think.)

So let's say Disney makes 100M a year from Star Wars merch already. I'd bet their analysts say they would probably make, say, 120M a year if they did that. Because they are already making money hand over fist, it's probably not deemed fiscally sound to add a whole new land at 500M-1B when it would take a long time for the merch to make up for it as it's already such a saturated market.

(Of course, I pulled those numbers from the big blue sky, just using them to illustrate the point.)

All that said - I'd do anything for a Star Wars land. I highly doubt Avatarland will ever happen. First we'll hear that Cameron is so busy on the sequels he doesn't feel he can do it justice till he's done, and by then it will be 10 years from now and it will just quietly go the way of David Copperfield's restaurant.
 
David Roberts

David Roberts

Member
AEfx said:
I'd absolutely disagree.

It's funny, because MGM has such a checkered past, with little to distinguish it to "Joe Six-pack" - scary enough, RnR is easy to confuse with Space Mountain - both roller coasters in the dark, or yes, even Tower of Terror and Haunted Mansion blend for some. A lot of people experience Disney, especially for a first, or only, trip, in somewhat of a blur.

But the finale to GMR *always* gets them. That's how the "average" folk reference the park. "That one with the ride you go to Oz and see the Witch..." or "the park where you go to Oz/Munchkinland" always triggers it when trying to decipher a non-fans park referencing (usually telling you about one ride they really liked, but can't pinpoint what park it was so you can figure out what the heck they are talking about).

Oz is timeless, and will pretty much forever be the most seen film of all time. It has such a head-start, Avatar can't hold a candle to it. Not money, but eyes that have viewed the film.

It's also still very popular with kids. I got a deal on some Oz Blu-rays a couple Black Friday's ago - and gave them out to everyone I knew with kids. Most of them now have kids who sign the songs in the car with the soundtracks they downloaded from iTunes. They "get" it just like all previous generations did.

You may be correct in terms of merchandise sales (though Oz stuff is absolutely no slouch when you take into account the film is nearing 75 years old), or current "buzz", but I can tell you Disney building an impressive "Oz" land would be major, major news. You'd have people saying, "Avatar, who?" (Well, even more than they already do, LOL, until you say "that big loud movie with the blue people - no, not the Smurfs, the one with Ripley" and they remember what you are talking about.



Now that is a good question. I'd love for some real, kick-butt Star Wars rides.

But it makes sense why they don't. WDW is already the Star Wars capital of the world. People come there from all around the world for Star Wars Weekends every year. They have special tent-buildings set up just for merchandise, which people gladly wait in line hours for the privilege of spending insane prices for marginal merchandise (and yes, I have been one - though sometimes, like the $50 pen this year, I'm like - I don't think so, LOL). Disney rakes in so much money over Star Wars it's insane.

Basically, the threshold is already about as high as it's going to get for Star Wars merchandise. They couldn't sell any more if they tried. If they did add a new land, it undoubtedly would bring more people - more casual fans, families, etc., and would also help with the "boy" interest problem...but, if they spend a billion bucks building it, their Star Wars revenue - because it's already so obscenely large - wouldn't increase enough to support it. (Keep in mind, that's what I think THEIR thinking is, not necessarily what I agree with or think.)

So let's say Disney makes 100M a year from Star Wars merch already. I'd bet their analysts say they would probably make, say, 120M a year if they did that. Because they are already making money hand over fist, it's probably not deemed fiscally sound to add a whole new land at 500M-1B when it would take a long time for the merch to make up for it as it's already such a saturated market.

(Of course, I pulled those numbers from the big blue sky, just using them to illustrate the point.)

All that said - I'd do anything for a Star Wars land. I highly doubt Avatarland will ever happen. First we'll hear that Cameron is so busy on the sequels he doesn't feel he can do it justice till he's done, and by then it will be 10 years from now and it will just quietly go the way of David Copperfield's restaurant.
Click to expand...

I agree with all of this and I hope that your right about Avatarland. Seems like they are just trying to respond quickly to Harry Potter with a movie franchise that's not going to stand the test of time like Star Wars or the Wizard of Oz has.
 
mouseology

mouseology

New Member
Man, this is news I could get excited about!

Oz-land seems like a better fit for me than Avatar ever did. Granted, I'm not extremely opposed to Avatarland like others, but I'm really unsure of how it would fit. Avatar is a current, big-big budget sci-fi movie that was successful for its cinematic precedents. That seems more like a property that would fit better in Universal. They seem more to rely on cult movies for thrills. Disney is more story-oriented, IMO. It gets it's magic from providing fantastic stories through good ol' imagineering and detail. I think Oz would do better story-wise than Avatar would. Plus it has an amazing environment that I could definitely see fit in a theme park setting.
 
MansionGoer13z

MansionGoer13z

Active Member
Like the idea of there being an Oz land in Disney in the future. The idea of Avatarland makes me think ?! While on the other hand OZ Land brings a smile to my face.
 

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