On this week's episode of the Magical Definition Podcast, Jim Hill gave out several pieces of useful information about the Marvel characters.
First and foremost, he explained that every Marvel entity used at Islands of Adventure has a separate contract. This means that The Hulk has a separate contract for use of the name for the ride, images in the queue, as well as the walk around character.
This is important in the event that something falls into disrepair, they can terminate a contract but not all of them. Apparently, Disney was considering hiring someone whose job it would be to go over to Islands of Adventure every day, and keep track of how the characters are being used - whether all the effects were working on the attractions, how the merchandise is positioned in the shops, etc. Apparently they have backed off of this, but will still probably send over someone on a monthly basis (if not more often).
He continued with something that many on here were already aware of - the use of Marvel in Shanghai. Because they want to have new attractions in Shanghai Disneyland from the start, Imagineers have been designing attractions for a Marvel land for Shanghai Disneyland instead of Tomorrowland. Jim Hill admitted that he didn't know what the contracts for the Osaka, Japan Universal Studios usage of the Marvel Characters meant from an exclusivity stand point, but it would be assumed that if they were developing a whole Marvel land that they would have the rights to the major characters.
Having said that, he also admitted that it is entirely possible that this land could exist without the likes of Spiderman, The Hulk, Storm, etc. Evidently, Disney has latched onto Ant Man - who according to a classic SNL superheros sketch has the awesome power of, "Strength of an Ant".
Finally, he explained that Disney's reaction to The Wizarding World of Harry Potter wasn't going to be just Fantasyland Forest, but rather a Marvel attraction that would use the characters they still had the rights to use in Central Florida. He also mentioned that this is one of the E-Tickets being considered for Disneyland. He had no real details on the nature of this attraction, or even what park would house it. I'll consider this blue sky at this point, and based on logic would assume Hollywood Studios as the likeliest destination.
