danlb_2000
Premium Member
Not really surprising since the contract was made long before those movies were even being considered. The contract was written a couple years before even the first Spiderman movie.
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Universal Orlando Getting Bigger, Better, Wetter, Wilder
- Thread starter AndyMagic
- Start date
Not really surprising since the contract was made long before those movies were even being considered. The contract was written a couple years before even the first Spiderman movie.
H2O_Mouse-Ears
Active Member
Yeah this makes sense. Looks like this will be a neverending thorn in Disney's side ha
danlb_2000
Premium Member
Depends how you look at it, Disney gets a yearly licensing fee and a cut of all merch sales without having to put out any money to do it. It's not like they are going gangbusters with the Marvel IP in any of the parks where they can use it.
ToInfinityAndBeyond
Well-Known Member
It's almost like they're getting someone else to do all of the work for them. Just another reason to add to the list of reasons why Universal doing well is good for Disney and WDW fans.
H2O_Mouse-Ears
Active Member
So from what I have followed up, it seems the contract states that only Universal has the rights to use Marvel IP in any "theme parks" within the United States east of the Mississippi. I feel that Disney would rather build their own "Marvel Land" in WDW rather than be content with licensing fees/merchandise sales. But I am no financial expert so just my own thoughts.
BrerJon
Well-Known Member
Disney would rather not build anything if they had the choice. The whole MyMagic project was an exercise in increasing revenue without having to move a shovel of dirt. From Disney's point of view, Universal paying them a big chunk of cash while doing all the work on Marvel is a win-win.
ToInfinityAndBeyond
Well-Known Member
The best investment is one that works for you.
H2O_Mouse-Ears
Active Member
I understand the win-win but do you think they would not still love to find some cheap way to bank on the success of its Marvel movies? Something along the lines of the Iron Man Experience they are using in Hong Kong:
http://news-en.hongkongdisneyland.c...?AssetId=44680168-5bba-4a5c-aa35-cdc80fb57085
Even if it is not necessarily the above, seems like there would be countless ways (without investing too heavily) to bring in some major revenue/attendance if given the opportunity. I feel like it could be a huge draw in places like Future World, Tomorrowland, Innoventions, etc. Please do not take this to mean that I support the "Marvelification" of WDW. Just pointing out that there would have been great potential/opportunities there.
danlb_2000
Premium Member
They have owned Marvel for over five years now, if they were so interested in having a Marvel Land they could have had one open in DL by now, but at this point all we have is rumors. The can build Star Wars at WDW but seem to be dragging their feet on that one also.
GhostHost1000
Premium Member
Maybe it's just me but that sounds like a huge waste of money for no return. It's not like the ride is really all that themed as it is now - it's a great coaster though so why even change the paint color? Just my opinion.
H2O_Mouse-Ears
Active Member
I just assumed there is no more room for expansion at DL but point taken as I do not see such plans for Shanghai Disneyland. Guess we will have to see but I can see it happening for better or for worse. But then again, I guess it would only work in specific areas.
doctornick
Well-Known Member
Agreed. And it's not like the Hulk has no cultural significance -- he's still pretty well known and popular even if Iron Man has surpassed him.
I do think that the Hulk coaster would benefit from some enhancement of the queue to better engage the audience in the storyline of the ride, but I don't see much point is retheming the entire ride to Iron Man.
BrerJon
Well-Known Member
Disney has had free-reign to build Marvel attractions everywhere except WDW, there's a whole section of California Adventure that could easily be developed into a Marvel land, but all they've done, globally, is the Iron Man Experience in Hong Kong, which is a Star Tours clone, so I don't think they have much interest in building more than a couple of attractions linked to the properties.
doctornick
Well-Known Member
A year or two ago, the scuttlebutt was that Disney was holding off to use Marvel as a big part of a third gate in Anaheim and that was why they weren't putting it in the parks there. The new rumor is that the Hollywoodland area of DCA (where Monsters Inc is) is going to re-themed to Marvel instead of a previous plan to make that into Monstropolis.
H2O_Mouse-Ears
Active Member
It would also have made sense for Disney to be patient and wait until the their Marvel Cinematic Universe is firmly established (as it is starting to be now) before doing anything on a grand scale (if this indeed is the plan) rather than pulling the trigger too early before everything is set in place.
Disneyhead'71
Well-Known Member
I wouldn't be surprised if all traces of X Men is erased from MSHI and you actually see Agents of Shield (which is an ABC property) logos and such in IOA.
ThemeParkTraveller
Well-Known Member
Apparently, Disney cannot build any Marvel attractions in Japan either. Not for a long time anyways.
had a interesting conversation with a friend..she came to me about a Disney trip she wants to take with her family and we get to talking and I mention "hey you should take your family to Universal in the next couple of years" and it was like she had never heard of it.... at first she thought I was talking about DHS....
that is the advantage Disney has over universal...the brand is a right of passage to americans....
that is the advantage Disney has over universal...the brand is a right of passage to americans....
doctornick
Well-Known Member
X-men is still a significant property (esp Wolverine, who is used as a M&G). Even if those movies aren't as prominent as the MCU, I'd be shocked to see Uni remove all presence of the mutants.
As for SHIELD, I'm not sure that Uni would be able to use them. IIRC, Nick Fury is not present at the park at all (is he?) and no other SHIELD agents are either. It would be hard to argue that SHIELD is part of the "family" of anyone in use at the park and (again IIRC) the contract only allows Uni to use established characters for the parks or their "families". So, Iron Man (or the Avengers in general) would be able to be used since Hulk and Captain America are already used.
I guess the argument would be what medium determines what is in a character's family? If it is the comics, I don't think you could make an argument for SHIELD. If it's any medium, including the movies, you could make a case for Captain American being a part of SHIELD and them being fair game.
Someone feel free to correct me if the details of the contract are different from what I have suggested.