WDWFREAK53
Well-Known Member
I'm sure they do, but Disney refusing to pony up while Marvel is still at the peak of its popularity has to play a major role in their decision-making, as the rest of my post explained. Would Universal rather sell the park rights for a truly astronomical fee to a willing Disney, or still have possession of the rights when everything has petered out back to its pre-MCU levels of interest, with an area of the park that's still stuck in time? I'm betting the former. The fact that Disney owns the property and has to do all the legwork in keeping it popular introduces a unique wrinkle to the arrangement, but they're not going to keep it this popular forever, no matter what they do. Many would argue it's already on the downslide. Universal obviously has the advantage either way, since the status quo requires relatively little investment on their end, but their position isn't bullet-proof. They have to do what's good for business and make the most of it. Same goes for Disney, who aren't buying because they arguably don't need to. At least not at the gargantuan price Universal would ask. After all, they're still free to build crappy Marvel attractions using the A-list characters elsewhere, and they seem surprisingly content with doing just that.
To use a sports analogy, trade the player before his stock plummets.