Reading through this thread:
forums.wdwmagic.com
I saw a lot of posts from some - I believe - known insiders saying Universal was working on expansion, new rides, etc for Marvel Super Hero Island at IOA that were supposed to come out "soon". I am not going to quote them, but to put it mildly these posters were VERY confident in their leaks to the point of patronizing everyone else....and yet we have heard absolutely nothing since then. They were talking about a large Avengers presence, new rides, E ticket attractions, redoing Doom's crappy COTS ride, thematic upgrades to the land, Potter-like Marvel land and so on .
It's been 6 years since that thread and the MCU has only gotten significantly bigger. Since then Disney has opened Mission Breakout in California and announced Worldwide plans for their Avenger Campus (outside of Orlando, of course). Universal has announced and started construction on a brand new park in Orlando, released images and started construction on Super Nintendo World in 3 places, officially announced and opened Volcano Bay, started construction in Beijing, Velocicoaster at IoA, etc....and yet absolutely nothing on Marvel Super Hero Island besides a Hulk refurbishment and reskin that same year (I believe that's all they are really allowed to do without risking being sued). No ride replacements, no new rides, no Avengers, no E ticket attractions, still the same ol' Doom ride. We got nothing, not even an announcement or credible leak.
The contract is iron clad but ambiguous. Marvel has requested a Demand for Arbitration at least three times against Universal in 2002/2003 for breach of contract and the 1 ruling that I could find resulted in Universal having to pay Marvel $600,000 even though Universal claimed the ruling was favorable to them.
Given the ambiguity and open nature of the contract I highly doubt Universal would want to chance anything just to be sued by Disney, who has more expensive lawyers than Marvel in 2003. They would not want to risk losing out on a valuable IP license that they got for dirt cheap (and pay dirt cheap yearly).
Which brings me to my final point. I wonder how long Storm Force Acceleration can stay closed. The contract allows Universal to close attractions for refurbishment/maintenance (as long as it's being pursued) and force majeure events (which is what this would fall under). Given that capacity seems to be increasing and most of the attractions are open at both WDW and Universal/IOA I wouldn't be surprised if a letter has been/will be sent telling them to open the attraction or risk a breach of contract.
Disney and Universal working on Marvel deal for Florida?
Definitely a rumor...But there are some rumblings... From another popular Disney Site, who I cannot seem to link here. If I shouldn't be posting this, sorry...feel free to delete. RUMOR: Is Disney Nearing a Deal with Universal for MARVEL Theme Park Rights? When Disney purchased MARVEL in...
I saw a lot of posts from some - I believe - known insiders saying Universal was working on expansion, new rides, etc for Marvel Super Hero Island at IOA that were supposed to come out "soon". I am not going to quote them, but to put it mildly these posters were VERY confident in their leaks to the point of patronizing everyone else....and yet we have heard absolutely nothing since then. They were talking about a large Avengers presence, new rides, E ticket attractions, redoing Doom's crappy COTS ride, thematic upgrades to the land, Potter-like Marvel land and so on .
It's been 6 years since that thread and the MCU has only gotten significantly bigger. Since then Disney has opened Mission Breakout in California and announced Worldwide plans for their Avenger Campus (outside of Orlando, of course). Universal has announced and started construction on a brand new park in Orlando, released images and started construction on Super Nintendo World in 3 places, officially announced and opened Volcano Bay, started construction in Beijing, Velocicoaster at IoA, etc....and yet absolutely nothing on Marvel Super Hero Island besides a Hulk refurbishment and reskin that same year (I believe that's all they are really allowed to do without risking being sued). No ride replacements, no new rides, no Avengers, no E ticket attractions, still the same ol' Doom ride. We got nothing, not even an announcement or credible leak.
The contract is iron clad but ambiguous. Marvel has requested a Demand for Arbitration at least three times against Universal in 2002/2003 for breach of contract and the 1 ruling that I could find resulted in Universal having to pay Marvel $600,000 even though Universal claimed the ruling was favorable to them.
Given the ambiguity and open nature of the contract I highly doubt Universal would want to chance anything just to be sued by Disney, who has more expensive lawyers than Marvel in 2003. They would not want to risk losing out on a valuable IP license that they got for dirt cheap (and pay dirt cheap yearly).
Which brings me to my final point. I wonder how long Storm Force Acceleration can stay closed. The contract allows Universal to close attractions for refurbishment/maintenance (as long as it's being pursued) and force majeure events (which is what this would fall under). Given that capacity seems to be increasing and most of the attractions are open at both WDW and Universal/IOA I wouldn't be surprised if a letter has been/will be sent telling them to open the attraction or risk a breach of contract.
