The Harry Potter Cauldron Perks Again!

[Empress Room]

Wow. Another Jim Hill bombshell. Today's column claims that Disney is "very close" to securing the rights to all characters and books in the Harry Potter series and that certain "event based" theme park attractions featuring Harry Potter are on the horizon.

 

[Sherm00]

I know I am not in the majority, but a would love to see a harry potter attraction even if it's not 100% disney.

 

[MKCP 1985]

We'll see. When was the last time Jim Hill broke a big story that actually turned out to be true? (Other than reporting himself getting thrown out of Disneyland? :lol:

 

[Lee]

I know I am not in the majority, but a would love to see a harry potter attraction even if it's not 100% disney.

Yep. Me too.

 

[Kwit35]

Curious, very curious?!?

 

[Empress Room]

Curious, very curious?!?

Let's face it, it makes sense. No matter what one's personal opinion of the Harry Potter series is, one has to admit that the Harry Potter franchise 1) is extremely popular; 2) has long-range and all encompassing marketing possibilities; 3) has events, stories and characters that would be perfect for many theme park attractions, experiences, rides (and even lands).

If Disney has not or does not pursue the HP franchise, its competitors assuredly will.

 

[xtimMOOthyx]

I just don't understand why. Why does Disney want Harry Potter? They have enough franchises to create theme park attractions for the next 1000 years. Where does Harry potter fit in with anything Disney? I say give him to Universal.

 

[srkingdom2]

And even the level of theming that can be achieved by creating a distinct Harry Potter ride is enourmous can you imagine if they did something on the scale of a castle thrill ride?!?! Any other things that you can think of?

 

[joel_maxwell]

We'll see. When was the last time Jim Hill broke a big story that actually turned out to be true? (Other than reporting himself getting thrown out of Disneyland? :lol:

my favorite was the Pirates water park. that was a good one.

 

[HauntedPirate]

Let's face it, it makes sense. No matter what one's personal opinion of the Harry Potter series is, one has to admit that the Harry Potter franchise 1) is extremely popular; 2) has long-range and all encompassing marketing possibilities; 3) has events, stories and characters that would be perfect for many theme park attractions, experiences, rides (and even lands).

If Disney has not or does not pursue the HP franchise, its competitors assuredly will.

True, Disney could be playing keep-away from Universal and the others, knowing it would have a valuable property. Lord knows their marketing department could crank out enough crap merchandise alone to make it worthwhile. (Sorry, but their merchandise quality has dropped over the past several years in my view).

However.... IT'S JIM HILL. He keeps throwing $h!t against the wall and something is bound to stick. He covers his @$$ by throwing out there, "if this doesn't go thru, there's always Pixar". Nice job there, Jim. He also has quite the "I'm smart and my readers aren't" attitude in his latest, and I use this term loosely, column.

 

[tracyandalex]

i'm not sure how well it would fit in, but i would love to see something done with harry potter at disney. one question though, wouldn't disney have to or want to wait for the last book to come out before finalizing anything?


tracy

 

[stitch001]

As much as I like like the Harry Potter books... and most of the movies. I think that wizard should wait out for his own park somewhere instead of just selling out to a company for one ride. but thats just me

 

[lunalovegoddess]

I don't want to get my hopes up about this rumor. Seems like the article insinuates more than is actually happening. "A friend of a friend" told me this...

"You didn't hear it from me. But there may be a certain wizard visiting the mouse kingdom in the future."

As happy as I would be to experience the magic of the wizarding world, I don't believe that we'll be seeing this happen any time soon.

 

[Empress Room]

i'm not sure how well it would fit in, but i would love to see something done with harry potter at disney. one question though, wouldn't disney have to or want to wait for the last book to come out before finalizing anything?


tracy

Assuming (and that's a big assumption) that JH's rumor has any validity, Disney certainly wouldn't "have to" wait for the last book to be written before purchasing the rights to it and the others. Would Disney "want to" wait? Hmm. He who hesitates is lost. Although there is an argument that waiting to see how the series ends may affect a decision to buy the franchise, there's no reason to think that how the last book is written or the characters finally resolved would have an appreciable effect on the series' wild popularity.

 

[Timmay]

I don't know enough about it, but what are the chances Disney would purchase the rights just to prevent soemone else from doing so...maybe having no intention of doing anything major, just keeping the "other guy" from making a ton of money from it.

 

[Empress Room]

I just don't understand why. Why does Disney want Harry Potter? They have enough franchises to create theme park attractions for the next 1000 years. Where does Harry potter fit in with anything Disney? I say give him to Universal.

Why does Disney want Harry Potter? Isn't a theme park company only as good as its next creation? A very solid argument can be made that the more current the franchise, the more popular it will be with guests.

Does Disney have enough franchises for the next 1000 years? Not really. Disney's early creations were "borrowed" from hundred year-old fairy tales retooled and reworked. Today's child probably has an easier time relating to current characters and movies like HP rather than those same fairy tales.

Why/how does HP fit in with Disney? Pretty simple one, there. The HP franchise is full of lovable characters, its story is the classic good versus evil, characters are transported to far-away fantasy lands and places, interacting with mystical and mythical creatures and beasts. You have to admit, that's a fairly standard theme for all of Disney's attractions, movies and themes.

 

[manutdfan1]

wouldnt warner-brothers already have the rights to it since they made the movie???



manutdfan1

 

[joel_maxwell]

I don't want to get my hopes up about this rumor..

that is the best thing to do....... i just wish someone would do something with it so the "rumor" mill can stop. i mean we have made glue of a horse already

 

[Number_6]

wouldnt warner-brothers already have the rights to it since they made the movie???



manutdfan1

Not necessarily. The rights for all different things based off of properties are available to be licensed out to the highest bidder. Warner Brothers has the rights to the movies and all merchandising relating to the movies(toys, games, candy in packaging that appears in the film, etc), but if Disney acquires the rights to any and all things Theme Park related, as long as the images used throughout do not have anything to do with Daniel Radcliffe and the other actors and actresses in the Warner Bros features, then everything would be fine. That being said, the reason Disney would be interested in acquiring the rights to a franchise like Harry Potter is because, like Narnia, it's a hugely popular, highly successful franchise that they know their Imagineers could do alot with in the Parks(and that other Disney departments could possibly do things with if J.K.R. gives her permission). As far as why Disney would get the nod before Universal, J.K.R. is very protective of Harry & Co, and it is likely that she has looked at what Disney does with properties it owns or licesnes(Tower of Terror being a great example of what they did with a licensed property) and then looks at something like "The Hulk" over at Universal or "Superman: Ride of Steel" at Six Flags and might be concerned that if she were to give the property to one of those parks that it would end up being a double coaster(one side Red & Gold, the other Silver & Green) and just be called "Harry Potter: Cauldron Coaters," or some similar ridiculous notion. I'm not saying that is what she is thinking, or even that something like this would cross her mind, but if I were in her position it would certainly be how I would view it.

 

[FourFourSeven]

Is Harry the right thing for Disney? I'm not going to enter that argument.

But I will say I agree that Disney is the right place for Harry. I have a feeling that Disney would spare no expense and create something unlike which we have seen in a while. Think Haunted Mansion on steroids. It would be absolutely fantastic, and I'd love to see what the Imagineers could pull off... Frankly, it could be its own mini-land...

Hmm - possible fourth gate? (kidding!)