'Season of the Force' seasonal event to debut at Disney's Hollywood Studios in early 2016

[GiveMeTheMusic]

Except it's only been relatively recent since Disney Animation has been consistently churning out big hits like they were in "the good ol' days". In the 2000s, the films were either at best modest successes or outright disappointments (Home on the Range, looking at you).

Doesn't matter. Tangled was three years prior, and the lesson should have been learned. Why anyone in any division of Disney thought that a movie starring a princess with super powers wouldn't be a hit is beyond me, but that's not important. Some properties scream out for theme park tie-ins in advance, and Frozen was one of them. Home on the Range had zero park tie-in appeal - even in the Eisner glory years, that movie wouldn't have gotten something like a parade or a show.

It's their own fault they weren't prepared for it - and that extends to other divisions like DCP, who created nowhere near enough merchandise to satisfy demand. The company has become overly risk-averse, and that bit them on the butt with Frozen. It then happened again to DCP on a smaller scale with Guardians. Zero Groot merchandise. Awesome work, team!

Park management live in fear of losing their bonuses, and that's why no one is willing to take any risks. It took a Staggs directive to get Frozen Fun in the first place. Wrong, wrong, wrong.

Do it right, and do it right the first time. It's not rocket science, but it does seem to elude Disney on several levels.

 

[rct247]

My speculation is that Season of the Force will be an expanded Star Wars Weekends that take place more than just on the weekends. I also think it will be the next "Frozen Summer Fun" event. With everything closing and the park in a shell of itself, DHS needs all the extra stuff possible for Guests to see and experience. An entire season full of Star Wars entertainment and such will help with that, capitalize on the release of the new film, and spread out the crowds from Star Wars Weekends.

 

[Matt_Black]

Doesn't matter. Tangled was three years prior, and the lesson should have been learned.

Which is why I used the word consistently. Lilo & Stitch was a pretty big hit for the 2000s, and that was followed by Treasure Planet (did well critically, huge box office disappointment), Brother Bear (people seem to really not like that movie), Home on the Range (KILL IT WITH FIRE!), and Chicken Little, which prompted Disney to go, "You know, let's just buy Pixar already."

 

[GiveMeTheMusic]

Which is why I used the word consistently. Lilo & Stitch was a pretty big hit for the 2000s, and that was followed by Treasure Planet (did well critically, huge box office disappointment), Brother Bear (people seem to really not like that movie), Home on the Range (KILL IT WITH FIRE!), and Chicken Little, which prompted Disney to go, "You know, let's just buy Pixar already."

True, but none of that excuses them from not being prepared three years after the hit streak began. Even if we let it slide that nothing was ready when the movie came out, the fact that Frozen Fun had to be sloshed together in a couple weeks several months after the movie became a ginormous hit is inexcusable. They were just gonna do...nothing? Unreal.

 

[Mike K]

I'm very excited to see more Star Wars related experiences added to the parks ahead of their respective lands. I hope that Hyperspace Mountain finds its way to WDW since after visiting this year, it'll probably be a few years before my wife and I return to Disneyland.

 

[Disneysea05]

They probably should have announced what DHS was offering for Season of the Force before Disneyland.

In person, it was obvious It went from a huge applause for Hyperspace Mountain to a kind of "oh that's cool, I guess." response to the DHS fireworks.

Can't wait to go on Hyperspace Mountain. That sounds like something I would want to make a special trip for.

 

[asianway]

Has the merchandise line started yet?

 

[bethymouse]

Yeah, Frozen Summer Fun is pretty much a joke but really, what else would you want from it? We knock them for taking too long but then when they capitalize on a popular property we knock it for being rushed ... where's the middle ground? It's clearly not my thing but still ...

The only thing I like about "Frozen Summer Fun" is the fireworks! Keep the fireworks please.

 

[bethymouse]

My speculation is that Season of the Force will be an expanded Star Wars Weekends that take place more than just on the weekends. I also think it will be the next "Frozen Summer Fun" event. With everything closing and the park in a shell of itself, DHS needs all the extra stuff possible for Guests to see and experience. An entire season full of Star Wars entertainment and such will help with that, capitalize on the release of the new film, and spread out the crowds from Star Wars Weekends.

Extra "stuff" indeed!

 

[mm52200]

Extra "stuff" indeed!

I can see this event still existing separately from or in addition to Star Wars Weekends. Star Wars Weekends can still be exclusive and appealing because of the celebrities and all of the special shows they do and the cavalcade featuring the 501 and celebrities. Seasons of the Force I can see as being something that focuses more on the characters, less on the celebrities and the behind the scenes if that makes sense.

 

[Flyersgirl17]

so i saw something that it's looks like it's beginning the 2nd week of janurary??? any other confirmation???

 

[Maerj]

Whatever they decide to do, I want a BB-8 meet and greet with the BB-8 that they had on the stage for the SW Celebration.

 

[EUmickey]

Is this gonna be a separate ticketed event like Mickeys Halloween / Christmas?

 

[Matt_Black]

True, but none of that excuses them from not being prepared three years after the hit streak began.

Hit streak? There were two films between Tangled and Frozen, and one of them, Winnie the Pooh, didn't exactly set the box office on fire. People didn't know whether or not Frozen was going to be a success. Remember, after the first few ads, people were comparing it unfavorably to Frozen.

 

[Jon81uk]

Is this gonna be a separate ticketed event like Mickeys Halloween / Christmas?

Almost certainly not. It will just be additional Fireworks etc like Frozen Summer Fun & Star Wars Weekends.

 

[erasure fan1]

Doesn't matter. Tangled was three years prior, and the lesson should have been learned. Why anyone in any division of Disney thought that a movie starring a princess with super powers wouldn't be a hit is beyond me, but that's not important. Some properties scream out for theme park tie-ins in advance, and Frozen was one of them.

I agree. Disney really has no excuse to put out a half baked movie tie-in attraction/show/whatever in the parks. In our world of "synergy", wouldn't you have ideas and plans ready to go for ANY movie release? That doesn't mean you have to go through with said plans if the movie is a dud but at least you then are prepared if its a hit. It would seem that this is a Disney trying to be cheap problem, because it would cost money to have plans ready to go when odds are only a few of the movies might warrant a park presence.

 

[prberk]

Yeah, Frozen Summer Fun is pretty much a joke but really, what else would you want from it? We knock them for taking too long but then when they capitalize on a popular property we knock it for being rushed ... where's the middle ground? It's clearly not my thing but still ...

I think you forget the time for movie development, at which time marketing folks generally have the time that they need to design, produce, market, and ship toys and other marketing to go along with a movie release. Disney is unusually positioned (by common ownership of the studio, the production company in most cases, AND the theme parks) to develop something for the theme parks for most any of their major releases, especially tentpole animated features.

Once they know it is coming they can put things (such as special daytime parades or fireworks tags or highlights in Fantasmic or food items) into motion to have them ready by the time the movie debuts. If they want to. That is the key: If they want to.

They have had small parades over time that celebrated current releases like Toy Story, Mulan, and The Lion King.
In the past these things were part of the marketing of the movie, but also helped the parks and parades to seem fresh. I was surprised in August to see NOTHING in Tomorrowland, including the Tomorrowland pin, to cross-promote the movie. I expected at least some things, especially the pin, to be available. They told me that there had been a very few of them made and for sale around the premiere but that was all. Seems like the parks and resorts are being more reactionary these days than forward-thinking. They used to work with the studio a lot more I think on a forward-thinking approach.

 

[ford91exploder]

True, but none of that excuses them from not being prepared three years after the hit streak began. Even if we let it slide that nothing was ready when the movie came out, the fact that Frozen Fun had to be sloshed together in a couple weeks several months after the movie became a ginormous hit is inexcusable. They were just gonna do...nothing? Unreal.

Remember this is the same park which where the store at the GF routinely runs out of snacks because the manager is AFRAID to buy 'too much' its FAR better for guests to go without snacks than to see a single bag of chips returned for being out of date.

WDW rewards risk aversion it should be equally bad for a managers bonus to underbuy as to grossly overbuy. This is why we get crap like 'Frozen Fun' and 'Coolest Summer Ever' shows which Six Flags would be embarassed to produce.

 

[righttrack]

You didn't hear about JarJar's Jammin' Jukebox: Live on Stage?

That's for the next D23 alongside the Jar Jar Binks land announcement

Seeing Jar-Jar in Star Tours last vacation was easily the most horrific thing I've ever seen.

 

[danlb_2000]

I agree. Disney really has no excuse to put out a half baked movie tie-in attraction/show/whatever in the parks. In our world of "synergy", wouldn't you have ideas and plans ready to go for ANY movie release? That doesn't mean you have to go through with said plans if the movie is a dud but at least you then are prepared if its a hit. It would seem that this is a Disney trying to be cheap problem, because it would cost money to have plans ready to go when odds are only a few of the movies might warrant a park presence.

There is a difference between being cheap, and just wasting money. To have fully developed and buildable plans for a ride takes a lot of time and money, so it's a lot to ask to develop these plans for every movie considering most will never be built. Having some blue sky concepts would be feasible, but not fully developed plans. Even if they did have complete plans, it would take a couple years to build the attraction (even if you fast tracked it, it would still be at least a year), and by that point you would have lost a lot of the synergy. Personally I am ok with things like a M&G, and the Frozen Sing Along that give you a quick tie in to the movie, then letting the major attractions come later.

With that said, Star Wars is a different story since it's an established franchise with a proven track record.