News Wakanda joins Coco, Zootopia, and Encanto on Disney Parks' future blue sky expansion list, reveals Josh D'Amaro

lazyboy97o

lazyboy97o

Well-Known Member
SpectreJordan said:
Is there evidence of this or are you just being hyperbolic as people on here tend to be?

Obviously, Iger is a major part of the IP push but I imagine he stole the idea from Universal's success with Potter.
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Focusing on franchises was Iger’s big idea for the future of Disney. He bought Pixar and Marvel. It’s why he shuttered Hollywood Pictures. It’s why Touchstone was largely wound down to be little more than a distribution label for DreamWorks releases.

Notably in theme parks, Cars Land and the rest of the “more ‘Disney’” redevelopment of Disney’s California Adventure were announced in 2007 only a few months after the Wizarding World of Harry Potter was announced that same year. The first art though for Radiator Springs Racers, then as part of Carland, was published in the 2006 Annual Report. What non-franchise attractions opened after 2005?
 
SpectreJordan

SpectreJordan

Well-Known Member
lazyboy97o said:
Focusing on franchises was Iger’s big idea for the future of Disney. He bought Pixar and Marvel. It’s why he shuttered Hollywood Pictures. It’s why Touchstone was largely wound down to be little more than a distribution label for DreamWorks releases.

Notably in theme parks, Cars Land and the rest of the “more ‘Disney’” redevelopment of Disney’s California Adventure were announced in 2007 only a few months after the Wizarding World of Harry Potter was announced that same year. The first art though for Radiator Springs Racers, then as part of Carland, was published in the 2006 Annual Report. What non-franchise attractions opened after 2005?
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Yeah, those all seem like they're a reaction to Potter. It's known that Disney lost out on getting Potter. I can see them fast tracking Cars as an angry response to Potter.

But yes, there hasn't been any original attractions since then which sucks. But there's also no proof it was some day one mandate like you're spouting. All of this lines up with how Potter changed the game.
 
HauntedPirate

HauntedPirate

Park nostalgist
Premium Member
SpectreJordan said:
Yeah, those all seem like they're a reaction to Potter. It's known that Disney lost out on getting Potter. I can see them fast tracking Cars as an angry response to Potter.

But yes, there hasn't been any original attractions since then which sucks. But there's also no proof it was some day one mandate like you're spouting. All of this lines up with how Potter changed the game.
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Avatar was the reaction to losing out on Harry Potter.
 
lazyboy97o

lazyboy97o

Well-Known Member
SpectreJordan said:
Yeah, those all seem like they're a reaction to Potter. It's known that Disney lost out on getting Potter. I can see them fast tracking Cars as an angry response to Potter.

But yes, there hasn't been any original attractions since then which sucks. But there's also no proof it was some day one mandate like you're spouting. All of this lines up with how Potter changed the game.
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You’re moving the goalposts. You were saying it was a response to the land’s success, now you’re claiming it was a response to a liscensing agreement which was in line with agreements already in place for Islands of Adventure.
 
SpectreJordan

SpectreJordan

Well-Known Member
HauntedPirate said:
Avatar was the reaction to losing out on Harry Potter.
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They both seem like reactions to me. Disney wasn't doing IP based lands until then. I don't see them coming up with that on their own.

Iger & his people have proven to be solely reactionary when it comes to the parks. They don't have their own ideas, they just follow what Universal does. If Universal decided to open up an original land & it was a huge hit, I'm sure Disney would start spouting some BS about how "We've always loved telling original stories in the parks!"
 
lazyboy97o

lazyboy97o

Well-Known Member
SpectreJordan said:
They both seem like reactions to me. Disney wasn't doing IP based lands until then. I don't see them coming up with that on their own.

Iger & his people have proven to be solely reactionary when it comes to the parks. They don't have their own ideas, they just follow what Universal does. If Universal decided to open up an original land & it was a huge hit, I'm sure Disney would start spouting some BS about how "We've always loved telling original stories in the parks!"
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Carland was already on its way to becoming Cars Lands in 2006. An entire Pirates of the Caribbean land was also being developed for Hong Kong Disneyland at the time.

Hogsmead also wasn’t the first land dedicated to a single property. Islands of Adventure already had three lands dedicated to a single property. Disneyland and Tokyo Disneyland had Mickey’s ToonTown. Tokyo DisneySEA had Mermaid Lagoon and depending on how you define things Mysterious Island and Lost River Delta as well. Disney’s California Adventure had A Bug’s Land. All of those lands opened well before Warner Bros. was looking to make a theme park deal.
 
Door Coaster

Door Coaster

Well-Known Member
M

Marionnette

Well-Known Member
Fido Chuckwagon said:
Wait, they were seriously talking about putting a fictional country in the World Showcase? Jesus.
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I don't think Disney has said anything about where Wakanda might go. D'Amaro only threw it out there as a possibility and people have run with it.

“Imagine bringing Wakanda to life. In terms of bringing the latest Disney-Marvel-Pixar intellectual property to the parks, we haven’t come close to scratching the surface. And we have learned that incorporating Disney I.P. increases the return on investment significantly.” - Josh D'Amaro
 
TheMaxRebo

TheMaxRebo

Well-Known Member
Marionnette said:
I don't think Disney has said anything about where Wakanda might go. D'Amaro only threw it out there as a possibility and people have run with it.

“Imagine bringing Wakanda to life. In terms of bringing the latest Disney-Marvel-Pixar intellectual property to the parks, we haven’t come close to scratching the surface. And we have learned that incorporating Disney I.P. increases the return on investment significantly.” - Josh D'Amaro
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It was in the concept art for Disneyland Forever, so could just be that (if anything gets done)
 
MisterPenguin

MisterPenguin

President of Animal Kingdom
Premium Member
TheMaxRebo said:
It was in the concept art for Disneyland Forever, so could just be that (if anything gets done)
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According to our reliable insider, it was briefly considered for World Showcase, but now rejected.

The current homage to Africa there is embarrassing. Wakanda would be a step up.
 
999th Happy Haunt

999th Happy Haunt

Well-Known Member
SpectreJordan said:
I do think a Star Wars land would've done better if it was based on a planet we've seen. But I feel Batuu is pretty similar to Tatooine; it's just a Tatooine that makes sense for it to rain & be cold in.

The market area is pretty similar to the markets seen in Phantom Menace, while the area the Falcon is docked in is similar to the hangar bay in A New Hope & obviously Battuu's Cantina is based on ANH's Cantina. As a huge Star Wars nerd, I was so happy walking through these places because of how they reminded me of the movies.

I do feel this is another case of Imagineering & Lucasfilm probably hating theirselves for not waiting until The Mandalorian came out to create this land though. Navarro would've been a great planet to base a land off of. It has some Tattooine vibes, but it'd make sense for different weather. It's also from a far more popular part of Star Wars than the sequels. & you could get Luke, Leia, Han & Lando in the land this way too.
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Weather be damned, I think they still should have just done Tatooine. Nobody complains it’s too hot in Florida for Hogsmede to be there with snow on the roofs. It’s all part of the whimsy and suspension of disbelief that theme parks are supposed to inspire.

There’s committing to immersion, and then there’s shooting yourself in the foot.
 
osian

osian

Well-Known Member
Ayla said:
I hope Disney never stoops so low as to put a fake, made up country in WS.
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Well, as I mused in the Wish/Asha meet'n greet at EPCOT thread, we already have a fictional country as a major attraction in a pavilion at World Showcase, as well as fictional residents of real countries, and we already have an entire real-world World Discovery pavilion that has been converted to a fictional world. Everyone is OK with this, as in making excuses for how they "fit" into EPCOT, so the precedent has already been set.

"She cares about the people of Rosas and is proud to live in the Kingdom of Wishes"

I thought that this blurb for the EPCOT meet-n greet sounded ominous and foreshadowing. Rosas is apparently off the Iberian peninsula and we currently have a World Showcase pavilion that has effectively been gutted and lying empty, ready for a refit. Rosas "fits".

I wasn't being entirely serious with this, but yes, they would stoop so low and this isn't beyond the realms of possiblity, especially if they had already been considering a fictional country. Wakanda has been ruled out, that doesn't mean they have ruled out any other fictional country. Wakanda is probably too similar to Animal Kingdom. But the subject has cropped up. I wouldn't be completely overcome with surprise if there has been talk about bringing Rosas to EPCOT, depending on the success of the film and the meet-n greet character.

With Journey of Water and Luminous being IP but IP-lite though, I wonder if the direction of travel is now a bit less in-your-face.
 
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