Tiana's Bayou Adventure: Disneyland Watch & Discussion

[mickEblu]

Of course, we also don't want Disney messing with Tomorrowland right now- yes the land needs work, but today's WDI likely can't top what's there now.

That’s true. Scary to think of them touching it.

 

[mickEblu]

I really think this is just fan optimism. The cat is out of the bag and Splash’s days are numbered, even if the conversion itself is delayed.

Sure to an extent. But we re two years from the original announcement. At some point it’s just going to become the TL redo that never comes

 

[Ghost93]

I still think many on this thread are still stuck in the "denial" stage of grief. I can see the retheme being delayed a few years, but I am 99% certain that both U.S. versions of Splash Mountain in their current forms will no longer exist by 2030.

Though I'm pretty sure the Splash Mountain closures will happen sometime in 2023.

 

[Dear Prudence]

I am still stuck on Disney, who has more money than God, turning around and telling someone else they're going to pay for it. Does no one else think that's hilarious?

 

[Dear Prudence]

Latest scoop, WDI is too busy removing Pocahontas from Florida's Fantasmic to worry about redoing the Splash Mountains! You heard it here first!

But popping her on every new float and piece of merch and releasing books about the "before" of her childhood, even though she was legit a child when she was stolen *screams*

 

[Dear Prudence]

Of course they can. Disney still exerts control over the IP that OLC is licensing, and Disney could push the issue if they wanted to. There just isn't that much in it for them.

SOTS is public domain in Japan. There is little they could actually do. International copyright law doesn't exist!

 

[CaptinEO]

My guess is it got put off for money reasons. Doubt the overlay is "cancelled forever", as that's not how things work.

I think Disney didn't expect California to be closed for over a year when they made their announcement and now the current economic slump effecting not only them, but every company.

Add in recession fears (which are all but a reality), and I'd argue the entire tourism industry will be the first thing to take a nosedive.

Disney would be wise to stop all investments in themeparks beyond maintenance at this point.

 

[el_super]

SOTS is public domain in Japan. There is little they could actually do. International copyright law doesn't exist!

Yeah but OLC still needs Disney and Disney still has a lot of control over the parks in Japan.

 

[Dear Prudence]

For anyone who is actually interested in how this works: Under Japanese law, the film and its contents are public domain. OLC may still need and pay Disney, but there is nothing they can do about the copyright expiration. Even with the recent Pacific negotiations and the EU-Japan trade negotiations, the extension, etc., anything that entered public domain prior to that, regardless of the new laws, cannot be retroactively revoked. Such materials are considered "copyright-free" in Japan (this applies to not only SOTS but anything made prior to 1953). There is no control they can exert here.

 

[el_super]

There is no control they can exert here.

Of course there is. Their contract with OLC gives them a lot of control over what goes into the parks, maintaining standards and Disney is still heavily involved in the design and development of the Tokyo Parks. If Disney wanted to push the issue, Tokyo Disneyland would be obliged to follow the request, or essentially lose most of the Disney IP in the park and lose access to any future Disney development.

Maybe from a legal standpoint, they could keep Splash Mountain as long as they wish, but from a practical standpoint, they couldn't exist without Disney.

 

[Dear Prudence]

Of course there is. Their contract with OLC gives them a lot of control over what goes into the parks, maintaining standards and Disney is still heavily involved in the design and development of the Tokyo Parks. If Disney wanted to push the issue, Tokyo Disneyland would be obliged to follow the request, or essentially lose most of the Disney IP in the park and lose access to any future Disney development.

Maybe from a legal standpoint, they could keep Splash Mountain as long as they wish, but from a practical standpoint, they couldn't exist without Disney.

"maintaining standards"--do you mean the company that keeps the lights of off whole attractions dictating the standards to the most pristine Disney parks in the world?

 

[Midwest Elitist]

This is the denial phase in the other direction. Disney can't make OLC do squat.

 

[BuzzedPotatoHead89]

Of course there is. Their contract with OLC gives them a lot of control over what goes into the parks, maintaining standards and Disney is still heavily involved in the design and development of the Tokyo Parks. If Disney wanted to push the issue, Tokyo Disneyland would be obliged to follow the request, or essentially lose most of the Disney IP in the park and lose access to any future Disney development.

Maybe from a legal standpoint, they could keep Splash Mountain as long as they wish, but from a practical standpoint, they couldn't exist without Disney.

Given the disagreements the company has had with their operators and respective governments in both U.S. parks (in CA with Anaheim Newsom and now FL/DeSantis) and China (with zero COVID) over the last year(s), I would hope they would be wise enough not to start a rift with OLC over this right now.

They have enough fires burning right now.

 

[celluloid]

Of course there is. Their contract with OLC gives them a lot of control over what goes into the parks, maintaining standards and Disney is still heavily involved in the design and development of the Tokyo Parks. If Disney wanted to push the issue, Tokyo Disneyland would be obliged to follow the request, or essentially lose most of the Disney IP in the park and lose access to any future Disney development.

This is like that crappy Marvel argument against Universal's use people tried once Disney owned Marvel. Things have to be in good faith efforts.
That would be seen as bad faith effort in the courts in the US and or Japan.

It would hurt Disney far more than it would benefit.

 

[Dear Prudence]

Given the disagreements the company has had with their operators and respective governments in both U.S. parks (in CA with Anaheim Newsom and now FL/DeSantis) and China (with zero COVID) over the last year(s), I would hope they would be wise enough not to start a rift with OLC over this right now.

They have enough fires burning right now.

It would be absolutely foolish to ruin one of the last things it has going for it.

 

[el_super]

"maintaining standards"--do you mean the company that keeps the lights of off whole attractions dictating the standards to the most pristine Disney parks in the world?

Yes. Like it or not, that is 100% the case.

 

[el_super]

They have enough fires burning right now.

Yeah... It is not really worth it at all for Disney to push the issue, but it's definitely something Disney can work with OLC toward. People want to believe that OLC has carte blanc to do with Disney IP as they please, but they do not.

Disney in the US is still deeply involved in providing OLC with design services for not just attractions but even shows and parades and character products. OLC has to keep Disney happy to keep that work flowing.

 

[el_super]

And one last thing worth mentioning... In their last shareholder release, when they announced the new Space Mountain, they also informed shareholders that their focus will be on smaller attraction overlays and refreshes going forward, so even if replacing Splash isn't on the radar right now, it definitely fits with their business model going forward.

 

[Brer Panther]

they also informed shareholders that their focus will be on smaller attraction overlays and refreshes going forward

I really, really, really do not like the sound of that.

 

[Too Many Hats]

Smaller attraction overlays = bad. Refreshes = good.

But Splash isn't a small attraction, and the overlay will cost Disney a fortune. So I don't think it fits those investment guidelines.