Uni waiting for Marvel Buyout from Disney?

[NowInc]

These topics are always a huge deja vu read. Sometimes I have to check the dates on the post to make sure its not just an old post that got bumped

No...Disney will not buy Marvel park rights for orlando. Why would they?

No...Universal NOR Disney is getting LOTR. The Tolkein family would have to agree, and they have been very public about how much they HATE the Movies and HATE Disney just as much. (And not to spark any sort of "blue sky" rumors here, but remember P.L. Travers hated Disney as well, and she still signed off to them on Mary Poppins....but that was a far different non-movie version circumstance)

Yes...Avatarland seems odd to all of us to build, and in a sense we are all correct in thinking it was a poor choice. Will that stop any of us from going to check it out? Anyone? Cool.

I think that about covers the usual merry-go-round that these threads typically bring.

 

[englanddg]

Universal and the Universal Orlando Resort have already changed ownership since 1994 and the deal remains unaffected.

Universal City Development Partners were not known for their grand spending, but there exact opposite.

If Universal is in the position where they need to dump licenses to control costs they're going o dump the more expensive owns first, not cheap and stable Marvel.

That would be rather difficult, considering they've now licensed out nearly 1/4 of their parks to a single IP.

And, I'm sure Rowling is getting quite a nice cut, and renegotiated before they started Phase II for a larger one.

 

[slappy magoo]

All of those other deals had different terms. Universal is getting Marvel for a steal. No other property is going to be as popular and as cheap as Marvel.

Sure, Uni got Marvel for a steal, but there may come a point where Uni might start to believe "refurb-ing this area with a non-Marvel theme would cost a lot of money but it would pay greater dividends, so it's worth doing." Especially If Disney opts to offer them a deal (that may include a franchise they've acquired) that Uni finds attractive. Keep/re-furb and re-theme the existing good rides, tear down the meh rides and replace them with better attractions. Trumpet this new and exciting land while not mentioning that Marvel is gone so low-info customers go "Oooh, they got this new stuff, and the Harry Potter stuff AND that Hulk coaster and Spiderman ride I like let's go!" If it's an attractive franchise and the repack is done well it may attract people who've been holding off on going until the Harry Potter fever dies down a skosch because now there's a perception of more new stuff to do, it'll draw people out of the DIsney cocoon for a day or two. I believe at one point it'll happen. But hey I've been wrong before, I was the guy that thought the movie Independence Day was a hunk of jingoistic cinemacrap and Mars Attacks would be the big hit of that year.

 

[lazyboy97o]

Sure, Uni got Marvel for a steal, but there may come a point where Uni might start to believe "refurb-ing this area with a non-Marvel theme would cost a lot of money but it would pay greater dividends, so it's worth doing." Especially If Disney opts to offer them a deal (that may include a franchise they've acquired) that Uni finds attractive. Keep/re-furb and re-theme the existing good rides, tear down the meh rides and replace them with better attractions. Trumpet this new and exciting land while not mentioning that Marvel is gone so low-info customers go "Oooh, they got this new stuff, and the Harry Potter stuff AND that Hulk coaster and Spiderman ride I like let's go!" If it's an attractive franchise and the repack is done well it may attract people who've been holding off on going until the Harry Potter fever dies down a skosch because now there's a perception of more new stuff to do, it'll draw people out of the DIsney cocoon for a day or two. I believe at one point it'll happen. But hey I've been wrong before, I was the guy that thought the movie Independence Day was a hunk of jingoistic cinemacrap and Mars Attacks would be the big hit of that year.

Any property that Disney would acquire and want to trade would just logically have to be less popular than Marvel. Just a cash deal is going to cost Disney at least $1 billion dollar before anything opens, and we are nowhere near the climate where investors will like that sort of spending with absolutely no return.

 

[slappy magoo]

Your other thread rolled over and died so why not drag it over here?

Because people clearly dont understand contract law.

And because other people were asking for a link to the contract, and PhotoDave219 was being accommodating?

 

[englanddg]

Any property that Disney would acquire and want to trade would just logically have to be less popular than Marvel. Just a cash deal is going to cost Disney at least $1 billion dollar before anything opens, and we are nowhere near the climate where investors will like that sort of spending with absolutely no return.

Wow! Maybe then Universal could get an iPhone app and some plastic RFID bands!

Dangerous move for Disney to give them the seed money for that!

 

[PhotoDave219]

And because other people were asking for a link to the contract, and PhotoDave219 was being accommodating?

The link was back on page one and I said thanks to those that posted it.

Martin seems to be referring to something else and an argument from a different thread regarding Paragraph I, the project description and how it relates to a third gate.

 

[GLaDOS]

Spider-Man is one of, if not the, greatest attractions ever built. Why are so many Disney fans so desperate to make Universal get rid of it?

The fact is, Disney has owned Marvel for 5 years. So far, all they've done are meet and greets and are building an old-style flight simulator for Iron Man in Hong Kong.

You really want to trade possibly the best ride ever for that?

Okay....

 

[Tonka's Skipper]

Universal and the Universal Orlando Resort have already changed ownership since 1994 and the deal remains unaffected.

Universal City Development Partners were not known for their grand spending, but there exact opposite.

If Universal is in the position where they need to dump licenses to control costs they're going to dump the more expensive owns first, not cheap and stable Marvel.

Good point, I would think a bit decision on the choice of what to sell off would be how much Disney would be willing to pay.

AKK

 

[englanddg]

Spider-Man is one of, if not the, greatest attractions ever built. Why are so many Disney fans so desperate to make Universal get rid of it?

The fact is, Disney has owned Marvel for 5 years. So far, all they've done are meet and greets and are building an old-style flight simulator for Iron Man in Hong Kong.

You really want to trade possibly the best ride ever for that?

Okay....

I don't know if Id call it "the best ride ever", but you make a fair point about what Uni did with the franchise vs what Disney has been doing so far.

But, there is a difference. At the time, Uni NEEDED something to bolster up IOA. Disney...does not.

 

[flynnibus]

I was the guy that thought the movie Independence Day was a hunk of jingoistic cinemacrap and Mars Attacks would be the big hit of that year.

If it makes you feel any better... the pinball machine based on ID4 sucks... but the pinball machine themed to be losely based on Mars Attacks is one of the best ever made

 

[slappy magoo]

Any property that Disney would acquire and want to trade would just logically have to be less popular than Marvel. Just a cash deal is going to cost Disney at least $1 billion dollar before anything opens, and we are nowhere near the climate where investors will like that sort of spending with absolutely no return.

After the drubbing of the prequels there was no guarantee that Star Wars would continue to have the sort of profitability it had in the past. Sure there will always be a revenue stream from merch and repackaging the old films but making new movies and tv shows and expanding the cinema universe with spinoff movies...there's no guarantee ROI on any of that either.

What did they spend on that deal, 4 billion dollars? Before actually creating a frame of new content?

Disney could very well see value in spending a billion on re-acquiring the rights to Marvel at WDW if they could in turn, for example, expand DHS to have a Marvel section where new attractions with not only Marvel characters but the stars of the movies seemed to interact with the audience as part of the attraction's show. Imagine a 3D/4D ride not unlike Spiderman at IoA, but with all of the Avengers, Gregg as Coulson telling a group of tourists in what's supposed to be a conference room about some recently declassified S.H.I.E.L.D. data when the building wall opens up and the room is pulled from the building from some Big Bad and all of the Avengers eventually show up to save the room, and it's footage of the actual cast working alongside CGI versions of themselves to tell this story...followed up with the obligatory exit through a gift shop with Marvel crap not available anywhere else. They'd probably make half that billion back in the first year through merch sales alone, to say nothing of increased attendance (and of course the also-obligatory ticket price increase).

 

[slappy magoo]

I don't know if Id call it "the best ride ever", but you make a fair point about what Uni did with the franchise vs what Disney has been doing so far.

But, there is a difference. At the time, Uni NEEDED something to bolster up IOA. Disney...does not.

You're right, Disney doesn't need to do anything to bolster up IoA

The Disney Hollywood Studios, on the other hand...

 

[englanddg]

If it makes you feel any better... the pinball machine based on ID4 sucks... but the pinball machine themed to be losely based on Mars Attacks is one of the best ever made

I had the pleasure of running a few stores that had the mArs Attacks pinball, and I completely agree. One of the best cabinet games ever designed!

 

[englanddg]

You're right, Disney doesn't need to do anything to bolster up IoA

The Disney Hollywood Studios, on the other hand...

Touché.

 

[lazyboy97o]

After the drubbing of the prequels there was no guarantee that Star Wars would continue to have the sort of profitability it had in the past. Sure there will always be a revenue stream from merch and repackaging the old films but making new movies and tv shows and expanding the cinema universe with spinoff movies...there's no guarantee ROI on any of that either.

What did they spend on that deal, 4 billion dollars? Before actually creating a frame of new content?

Disney could very well see value in spending a billion on re-acquiring the rights to Marvel at WDW if they could in turn, for example, expand DHS to have a Marvel section where new attractions with not only Marvel characters but the stars of the movies seemed to interact with the audience as part of the attraction's show. Imagine a 3D/4D ride not unlike Spiderman at IoA, but with all of the Avengers, Gregg as Coulson telling a group of tourists in what's supposed to be a conference room about some recently declassified S.H.I.E.L.D. data when the building wall opens up and the room is pulled from the building from some Big Bad and all of the Avengers eventually show up to save the room, and it's footage of the actual cast working alongside CGI versions of themselves to tell this story...followed up with the obligatory exit through a gift shop with Marvel crap not available anywhere else. They'd probably make half that billion back in the first year through merch sales alone, to say nothing of increased attendance (and of course the also-obligatory ticket price increase).

The difference is that Disney and its investors know films and understand how they make money. Disney's global strategy for the past twenty years remains to avoid building rides.

 

[GLaDOS]

I don't know if Id call it "the best ride ever", but you make a fair point about what Uni did with the franchise vs what Disney has been doing so far.

Obviously "best ever" is all up to interpritation, but it's easily in the discussion.

But, there is a difference. At the time, Uni NEEDED something to bolster up IOA. Disney...does not.

Not really sure what you're implying here. It opened with IoA, so it's not like it was a last ditch desperation effort to save the park.

And yes Disney "doesn't" need to try (although they totally do), which is why the last thing I want is for them to nab back the franchise only to do nothing with it.

Luckily the discussion is moot. It's not going to happen any time soon, if ever.

 

[tissandtully]

Threads like these make this board look like amateur hour, there's plenty of other places I can go to see unfounded rumors like this, can we close this thread?

 

[englanddg]

Obviously "best ever" is all up to interpritation, but it's easily in the discussion.



Not really sure what you're implying here. It opened with IoA, so it's not like it was a last ditch desperation effort to save the park.

And yes Disney "doesn't" need to try (although they totally do), which is why the last thing I want is for them to nab back the franchise only to do nothing with it.

Luckily the discussion is moot. It's not going to happen any time soon, if ever.

What I meant was, Universal needed the content (originally it was supposed to be DC...way back in the early planning stages), and needed it to round out IOA, so hey did stuff with it. Quickly. For their strategy with IOA to work.

Disney, does not.

 

[PrincessNelly_NJ]

Spider-Man is one of, if not the, greatest attractions ever built. Why are so many Disney fans so desperate to make Universal get rid of it?

The fact is, Disney has owned Marvel for 5 years. So far, all they've done are meet and greets and are building an old-style flight simulator for Iron Man in Hong Kong.

You really want to trade possibly the best ride ever for that?

Okay....

Spiderman is good... greatest attraction ever? ehh... I think now that Uni also has Transformers, that parting with Spiderman wouldn't be so bad.
Then again, if there was any truth to this (you know, Uni trying to obtain DC rights) then I'm sure they could just give Spiderman a quick refurb under another superhero name.