The Sad, Sad Tale of Marvel Super Hero Island

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.
 

danlb_2000

Premium Member
Which of their IPs would be as well-known as Marvel? It would have to be a franchise that can sustain a whole land of its own and four attractions.

Spider-Man was redone within the past decade and the Hulk coaster was completely rebuilt within the past five years. Super Hero Island is definitely important to Universal.

Universal often licenses outside IPs for the parks. At this point they would probably end up having to pay a much hirer price for something that isn't as popular as Marvel. Someone once made the analogy that Universal owns a rent controlled apartment in the hottest part of the city.
 

J4546

Well-Known Member
its crazy that WDW doesnt have a proper Marvel based land in DHS because marvel is a pillar of Disney. But then again, WDW doesnt even have a ToonTown in any of its parks so it is what it is
 

Hawkeye_2018

Well-Known Member
its crazy that WDW doesnt have a proper Marvel based land in DHS because marvel is a pillar of Disney. But then again, WDW doesnt even have a ToonTown in any of its parks so it is what it is
I think Disney is OK with having Avengers campus exclusive to the West Coast (and overseas).
 

SaltyChief

New Member
I love the 90's superhero's vibe personally, especially the X-Men, and the classic Spiderman ride. Irrespective of your tastes, Disney could never afford to buy out Universal. Disney made a bunch of absolute dumb decisions, in particular 70+ billion for Fox. They can't even afford to complete the attractions they announced years ago at this point.
 

Hawkeye_2018

Well-Known Member
I'm curious though if this is something Universal wants to continue to dump money into. The land is going to need to be refreshed and updated at some point in the future.
 

BlakeW39

Well-Known Member
I love the 90's superhero's vibe personally, especially the X-Men, and the classic Spiderman ride. Irrespective of your tastes, Disney could never afford to buy out Universal. Disney made a bunch of absolute dumb decisions, in particular 70+ billion for Fox. They can't even afford to complete the attractions they announced years ago at this point.

Agreed. I deeply hope it never becomes MCU land. Not that it ever would of course.
 

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