Vivendi Universal

[HeritageBoy]

Just to echo what others have said, though it would probably be in Disney's best interest for competition in Orlando to buy out Universal, its not going to happen, and honestly, it shouldn't happen.
Disney: 1) Does not have the resources available to make this kind of a deal right now while keeping the company stock afloat ( from ABC onm all these purchases made since have had Disney take on the debt of the new component, Disney has enough debt on its own, no need to completely kill their credit rating, and therefore, their stock).
2) Disney would make a terrible PR move by buying their competition. Even the mention of the name in possible Coney Island renovations have sent a backlash- just think if they bought out their only major competition in Orlando? Disney would be grilled by the news media and all those who have any ax to grind with them.
3) Disney does not fit into Universal's angle on theme parks, nor does Universal fit into theirs. Universal's presentation, themes, rides, and overall appeal isn't what Disney is about. Its not identifyable with Disney, and it overall doesn't make sense with the company's past and current image. Also, to simply bring it up to par would take even more money than just the simple purchase of the parks itself.
4) Disney cannot (as mentioned before, thanks Josh) incorporate Universal with WDW. Its a 20 minute drive from Downtown Disney to Universal's Main Gate, and when dealing with I-4 traffic, even more. So that in of itself is not an option. Moreover though, is the fact that Disney world is A WORLD ONTO ITSELF. Its made to keep guests ON PROPERTY, fulfilling every need. Putting part of the world outside the WDW borders is something we cast members called a "reality intrusion"; the "real" world shouldn't exist when you enter Disney's gates, and even transporting guests outside the park to Universal's site would destroy all that.
And with all respect to Dennis Miller, "Thats just my opinion, I could be wrong..."

 

[kevinwyld]

The latest from Wednesday's Orlando Sentinel is that John Malone, who controls Liberty Media (Starz, Discovery Network), is interested in Universal Studios. Meanwhile, Dreamworks has denied interest.
Vivendi's board doesn't meet until September 25, so watch and wait!

 

[MKingdom25]

Even in the rare chance that Disney bought Universal, what do you think they would do to the parks? It seems like they wouldn't just leave it as is. I think Disney would put all the signage, etc. up. This would take a while and would take a while to know how Universal does things.
And even then, as mentioned earlier, it doesn't make sense to have an another entire park 20-30 minutes away.

 

[garyhoov]

Originally posted by MKingdom25
Even in the rare chance that Disney bought Universal, what do you think they would do to the parks? It seems like they wouldn't just leave it as is. I think Disney would put all the signage, etc. up. This would take a while and would take a while to know how Universal does things.
And even then, as mentioned earlier, it doesn't make sense to have an another entire park 20-30 minutes away.

I can't predict what Disney would do, but I know what I would do. I would keep it completely seperate. I wouldn't have any "ears" or other Disney merchandise on site. I would set up a completely seperate management team that would still "compete" with Disney world. I would take advantage of shared resources in the areas of food and material procurement and I would probably have transportation between the parks, but other than that, the parks would be seperate, autonomous entities.

Disney has not historically operated this way, so it's unlikely they would do that if they did buy.

On a somewhat related topic, I vaguely remember that Disney optained some land to the north of Magic Kingdom. I think the rumors were that it might be used for Disney's own airport. Does anyone remember anything more about this (I might be completely off). If there is anything to it, does anyone know how close that land might come to Universal's borders?

 

[wdwmaniac]

I think Mr. E would go for a Universal buy out his stocks would go up and they wouldn't remove him form office they don't want a Unversal offical head of Disney or lossign ther CEO in a HUGE take over.

 

[Terp02]

I completely agree with Heritageboy on the backlash factor (and thanks for thanking me). Do you know how many people hate Disney just because they're a huge conglomorate? I have a feeling if Disney bought Universal, the theme parks would have a significant dropoff all around just because Disney owns it; the news media would also add fuel to the fire mocking and about Disney. Also remember that not only would Disney corner the market in Fla, they would do it in California, getting a double dose of backlash.