Voyage of the Little Mermaid is done, won't reopen with the parks.

[MichWolv]

Anyone holding their breath for a permanent Encanto ride/show any time soon isn’t paying a lot of attention to how any of this works. If a new IP isn’t Frozen level big, we’re talking a decade to get something in, and Encanto isn’t in the stratosphere of Frozen in terms of cultural penetration and impact.

Nothing permanent so soon, for sure. But the Frozen singalong started as part of a summer of temporary hastily thrown together things after Frozen was such a huge phenomenon. They could do something similar for Encanto. Im not predicting it, but I wouldn’t be surprised if they tried to capitalize. A Family Madrigal version of Move It Shake It at MK (or DHS); a Dos Orugitas themed butterfly house at EPCOT, along with Columbian food and flower gardens that have the species that Isabella sings about; a singalong at DHS in the VotLM theater; a scavenger hunt looking for Bruno Around World Showcase.

I just hope, if they do decide to throw something together, that they don’t commit the sin of putting Encanto stuff in Mexico at EPCOT.

 

[mikejs78]

I just hope, if they do decide to throw something together, that they don’t commit the sin of putting Encanto stuff in Mexico at EPCOT.

Or maybe we will get Columbia as a new country...

Spoiler

 

[CastAStone]

Maybe not, but "We Don't Talk About Bruno" becoming the first Disney song to hit # 1 on the Billboard Top 100 since "A Whole New World" isn't something to sneeze at in terms of cultural impact/penetration. There is interest.

I’m not saying people don’t like it, obviously many people very much do, but Frozen was inescapable for any breathing American in 2013 and every little girl alive couldn’t hope to ever own enough merch.

Encanto is cool with the teens on the TickyTok and also theres a portion of small children who really like it quite a bit.

When it comes to the fire they will light under Disney to act, the two are incomparable. I assume Encanto will get more random pop up things and maybe a meet and greet until people forget about it, and if in 5 years they haven’t, then at that distant point Disney maybe starts planning something more permanent.

 

[Casper Gutman]

I’m not saying people don’t like it, obviously many people very much do, but Frozen was inescapable for any breathing American in 2013 and every little girl alive couldn’t hope to ever own enough merch.

Encanto is cool with the teens on the TickyTok and also theres a portion of small children who really like it quite a bit.

When it comes to the fire they will light under Disney to act, the two are incomparable. I assume Encanto will get more random pop up things and maybe a meet and greet until people forget about it, and if in 5 years they haven’t, then at that distant point Disney maybe starts planning something more permanent.

I just don't know that I buy this. Bruno hitting 1, which Let it Go never came close to doing, is not insignificant. We'll have to see how it holds up culturally in the next months - will it get a big performance at the Oscars, despite not being nominated?

It doesn't matter much to its cultural penetration, of course, but it should also be noted that Encanto is a much better film with significantly more complex themes.

 

[LSLS]

I'm going to sound biased because I'll admit I didnt think the soundtrack was that good (and I'll admit I'm mostly alone on that), but I do think you are putting a bit too much stock in the song. Yes, it is somewhat a big deal it reached let it go status. I do think comparing streaming from 10 years ago to today is a tough thing to do (as is billboard position without factoring in other songs out there along with how songs and albums were/are purchased). But more importantly is how big the movie is (not just a song). It was like a billion under frozen at the box office. Does that mean it's not huge? No, not necessarily. We've seen other movies do meh at the box office only to develop into a huge thing later.

The question I don't have an answer for is merch sales. I remember disney being totally unprepared for frozen, and once they got toys in, there were entire rows of frozen things at the toy sections. Right now in our area, I dont even see a full shelf of encanto toys (in fact ill have to check next time i grt out, but uts possible they have a larger selection of frozen toys). Now, there could be a lot of reasons for that (including they were unprepared again), but I'd hesitate to say this is a huge movie with enough staying power to build anything for yet.

 

[TikibirdLand]

DHS has several facilities that were intended to have rotating productions.

Theater of the Stars was not meant to run the same Beauty and the Beast show until the end of time.

The idea that they need yet another venue because they won't invest in replacements is a problem in and of itself. The only one they truly lost was the backlot theater so they could put Star Wars there.

Disney-MGM Studios used to be the best WDW park for entertainment but now it's not really any better thanks to cuts and staleness.

Well, it IS a tale as old as time. Shouldn't it be shown until the end of time?
We love the show. But, I agree; there should be opportunities for other musicals to be shown. Mary Poppins, anyone?

 

[pdude81]

I'm going to sound biased because I'll admit I didnt think the soundtrack was that good (and I'll admit I'm mostly alone on that), but I do think you are putting a bit too much stock in the song. Yes, it is somewhat a big deal it reached let it go status. I do think comparing streaming from 10 years ago to today is a tough thing to do (as is billboard position without factoring in other songs out there along with how songs and albums were/are purchased). But more importantly is how big the movie is (not just a song). It was like a billion under frozen at the box office. Does that mean it's not huge? No, not necessarily. We've seen other movies do meh at the box office only to develop into a huge thing later.

The question I don't have an answer for is merch sales. I remember disney being totally unprepared for frozen, and once they got toys in, there were entire rows of frozen things at the toy sections. Right now in our area, I dont even see a full shelf of encanto toys (in fact ill have to check next time i grt out, but uts possible they have a larger selection of frozen toys). Now, there could be a lot of reasons for that (including they were unprepared again), but I'd hesitate to say this is a huge movie with enough staying power to build anything for yet.

Encanto went to Disney Plus after a month and still made over $200 million though. The toys you can't get because they didn't produce many. There was only one or two little figure sets and a couple lego toys, besides the usual Funko releases. I don't know if supply chain issues factored in there or if they just played the wait and see game on merchandise. There seemed to be a lot more Raya stuff when that movie came out, but it all stayed available.

Time will tell as to it's historical significance, but this is surely a big hit at the moment. It would be nice if they at least dropped in a character meet and a short or two at DHS. They could drop that in where they show the Vacation Fun short on a temporary basis.

 

[Animaniac93-98]

But, I agree; there should be opportunities for other musicals to be shown. Mary Poppins, anyone?

At this point I'd take almost anything that isn't BatB. Even a return of the Dick Tracy show that played in the OG Theater of the Stars.

 

[CastAStone]

I just don't know that I buy this. Bruno hitting 1, which Let it Go never came close to doing, is not insignificant. We'll have to see how it holds up culturally in the next months - will it get a big performance at the Oscars, despite not being nominated?

It doesn't matter much to its cultural penetration, of course, but it should also be noted that Encanto is a much better film with significantly more complex themes.

Skipping the comment about the film, which I don’t agree with, you’re talking about 1 small aspect of a movies impact with a song. Frozen made 6X the box office of Encanto.

Encanto made less than Sing 2 despite the later being released into the worst of the Omicron wave. You can buy whatever you’d like. I’m stating what Disney will process Encanto as, which is “a movie property they have”.

 

[CastAStone]

I'm going to sound biased because I'll admit I didnt think the soundtrack was that good (and I'll admit I'm mostly alone on that),

It was Lin Manuel Miranda’s second best Latin inspired animated feature soundtrack of 2021, and I don’t think it’s particularly close. Vivo was a better soundtrack too to bottom.

 

[CJR]

Skipping the comment about the film, which I don’t agree with, you’re talking about 1 small aspect of a movies impact with a song. Frozen made 6X the box office of Encanto.

Encanto made less than Sing 2 despite the later being released into the worst of the Omicron wave. You can buy whatever you’d like. I’m stating what Disney will process Encanto as, which is “a movie property they have”.

I think part of it was that Disney released Encanto on Disney Plus just 30 days after it came out, and it was well marketed that way. Sing 2, to my knowledge, is still exclusive to theaters and VOD. Disney had to know that the Disney Plus promotion would curb theatrical sales.

I speak on this for myself. We have A-List and didn't see Encanto in theaters, mostly due to busy schedules during the holidays, although we did make room for Spider-man. We watched it on day one though, when it was on Disney Plus. It's just easier to see a movie at home, plus, there's next to no risks (and A-List isn't available for kids).

The success of the music though, I think, speaks volumes. If it's driving Disney Plus right now, I think that's what they care about the most.

 

[mikejs78]

Skipping the comment about the film, which I don’t agree with, you’re talking about 1 small aspect of a movies impact with a song. Frozen made 6X the box office of Encanto.

Encanto made less than Sing 2 despite the later being released into the worst of the Omicron wave. You can buy whatever you’d like. I’m stating what Disney will process Encanto as, which is “a movie property they have”.

I really think you're downplaying the cultural buzz of Encanto. Yes, it didn't do well at the box office but no family films are right now. But engagement for Encanto is still very huge - it's currently the #2 streaming movie, anywhere, a full six weeks after it's streaming debut.

It's not just the song. I guarantee you that if Encanto drove D+ subs, Disney execs are paying attention.

 

[ToTBellHop]

At this point I'd take almost anything that isn't BatB. Even a return of the Dick Tracy show that played in the OG Theater of the Stars.

I’m still waiting on David Copperfield magically appearing.

 

[HauntedPirate]

"Encanto - It's the new Zootopia! Everyone loves it! Cultural phenomenon!"

 

[CastAStone]

I really think you're downplaying the cultural buzz of Encanto. Yes, it didn't do well at the box office but no family films are right now. But engagement for Encanto is still very huge - it's currently the #2 streaming movie, anywhere, a full six weeks after it's streaming debut.

It's not just the song. I guarantee you that if Encanto drove D+ subs, Disney execs are paying attention.

I think you all are forgetting the cultural impact of Frozen. It’s the only animated movie with an impact like that since 1991.

My point isn’t that nobody likes Encanto, my point is that Disney is not going to trip over themselves to retheme an existing ride to get something permanent in the parks in nine months like they did with Frozen. They’re going to take their time to see what happens next.

 

[celluloid]

Where did you hear this? It only requires 1 equity Performer and 9 character performers. It's significantly cheaper to run per show than B&B and is more valuable to operations because it can run continuously. The ONLY reason it is still in limbo is because it is impossible to do a distanced version of the show - just ask Ursula about that one. They can't decide the future of the stage until it is possible to bring it back.

The cast is not the only thing that is a cost.

Maintenance and a small theater vs Beauty and The Beast a more costly show, does not have as much tech upkeep and is a huge outdoor (covered but outdoor) amphitheater.

Mermaid had a rough future pre covid.
The distancing factor was not a primary reason

 

[celluloid]

"Encanto - It's the new Zootopia! Everyone loves it! Cultural phenomenon!"

For sure. They try and push.
Even with the holidays it could not outperform Sing 2.

 

[PiratesMansion]

I think you all are forgetting the cultural impact of Frozen. It’s the only animated movie with an impact like that since 1991.

Aladdin?
Lion King?
The various Toy Story films?
Finding Nemo?

 

[castlecake2.0]

With everyone having a steaming service, I think the days of classifying how well a film did based purely on box office sales are over. As such, no one at work or on my social media has said anything about Sing 2, and I can’t go a day without hearing/seeing multiple things about Encanto. I’m not sure they’ll ever release such info, but would be curious to see how many “views” the film has got, and there is no denying it is the better of the two films by far.

 

[UNCgolf]

I think you all are forgetting the cultural impact of Frozen. It’s the only animated movie with an impact like that since 1991.

Do you mean 1994? That's when Lion King was released, which I think may be the highest grossing animated film of all time when factoring in inflation. It brought in over $850 million during it's original theatrical release window, which is insane for 1994. It was the highest grossing movie of the year.