Theme Parked...

Spider-Mouse, Spider-Mouse, does whatever it can to get out of agreements...








Something interesting happened in the world of theme parks this week...

Something that is not about Disney, but all about it. At least when it comes to inserting the Marvel characters into the many parks that the Mouse owns or co-owns.

Universal Studios owns Universal Hollywood outright, but the other Universal Studios theme parks that it owns are co-ventures; even Universal Studios Orlando. That theme park is co-owned by the Blackstone Group. They own a fifty percent equity in the two theme park resort and are now looking to sell their share. With the success of "The Wizarding World of Harry Potter," the group looks to capitalize on its investment and get a premium for the shares that it has.

One of the interesting things about the agreement between Uni and Warner Bros. is that a change in ownership will trigger a clause in the rights to that franchise, which could mean they could lose it or have to renegotiate the original agreement for a much higher fee. Now, realistically, Universal is coming off their best year ever with attendance and spending, so there is no way the Uni Suits are going to plan on giving away what has helped turn their parks into destinations that is usually only reserved for Walt Disney World. They will do what they need to do to keep them inside the park, which means a renegotiation if necessary.

That said, it makes one wonder what the agreement that Universal Orlando has with Marvel is like. Is it similar? Because if it is, this could be the out that Disney would look for to wrestle control back of properties that it would love to exploit at its own parks; particularly those just a little ways down the road from IOA. You can bet that the Mouse's lawyers will be looking at every line of the agreement for wiggle room, and unlike TWWOHP, there would be no reason to settle. Any renegotiation by Disney would be set at a level meant to make such a renegotiation prohibitively expensive. That way, the Walt Disney Company could walk away with the rights to the properties it bought in 2009 and be able to start planning attractions or even parks without fear of some form of litigation nightmare.

Universal would have to come up with a way to retheme the attractions to other characters that it owns or someone else would be willing to license to them. If I was Warner Bros., I'd consider this a great opportunity to offer the DC Comics properties instead. It'd be a major upgrade from Six Flags and branded characters that would fit into the theme parks need for highly visible franchises. Couldn't you see that Spider-Man attraction being retooled for Batman or Superman? Maybe retheme that Hulk coaster to the Green Lantern?

So, depending on how good Marvel's lawyers were, we may be seeing men wearing their underwear on the outside of their clothes sooner than we thought.

Developing...

Once Upon An Unintended Consequence...

The Mouse is an open book...

It's almost the anniversary of Michael Eisner's retraction from creativity...

That's right, DCA turns ten next week and I think it's time for a little perspective.  It's important to take a look at what has been built since that fateful error, um, I mean era.  And important to look at what the Walt Disney Company has done in response to the reaction to those projects.  Nothing is perfect, nor will it ever be.  Even in the Disney world.  But we as fans and guests always expect Disney, particularly the creative side (mainly WDAS and WDI), to strive towards it.  I don't expect everything to be exactly what I want, but I do expect high standards when I look at something the Mouse creates.

So let's examine the past while focusing on the present and future.  When Eisner and his Burbank cohorts started coming up with ideas for turning the Disney park into the Disneyland Resort, the sky was the limit.  And the result of that wide eyed search for profits meant that Imagineers could dream to their hearts desire.  Word has it when the Imagineers asked Michael what he was looking for, he responded with: "Amaze Me."  And amaze they did.  The results of this was the wonderful (but cloned) WestCOT park and the off shoot of capitalistic competition known as Port Disney.  We all know that park featured the seed known as DisneySea that became the flower that is Tokyo DisneySEA.  These were massive projects with levels of detail unseen in even Disney's park history, with the exception of EPCOT.  And even that project only took into account the park and not building an entire resort around it.  It was to be an unprecedented move of artistic creation and an example of what could be accomplished as a merging of entertainment and business.

And then Euro Disneyland opened...

And all that came after would be lacking, to put it mildly.  Gone was the first version of WestCOT, with a smaller less expensive WestCOT 2.0 that lost a bit of the charm and grandiose of the original.  Then Port Disney was canceled, after which we got an even more scaled back West COT 3.0 which shortly got the axe itself.  Then it was back to the drawing board which led to that dreaded Aspen retreat that led to He Who Should Not Be Named coming up with a park in California about California.  This was misguided and with a room filled with Yes Men and soulless bean counter, there was no countering voice to say: "No.  This is wrong.  Stop.  Rethink.  Redo."  It just didn't happen.  To make matters worse, even after the bad reception and confused response of the public to this announcement, the powers-that-be felt they had such a sure fire hit that they didn't believe they would have to ensure that it was very themed.  It could be as average as any other park, but the Disney name would make them come in droves.  So they cut the budget for it.  By a third.

And now we have to live with the results.  And now we make lemonade from lemons.

For the longest time the Suits and soulless bean counters tried to explain the reaction to the opening away with every excuse possible.  It was rainy.  Summer will be better.  911 kept it from succeeding, ect. and on and on.  The truth which they knew, they didn't dare say.  They screwed up.  The problem was that by this time, there were already two parks in construction under this model.  Walt Disney Studios in Paris and Disney's Animal Kingdom in Walt Disney World.  The park in Paris was being built simply to secure the land, which would be lost if a park wasn't created by a certain date.  The park in Florida was simply an addition to expand the opportunities in that golden island of Disney just below Orlando.  The flaw in that park, wasn't its design, it was in its implementation and by that I mean, what it left out: Beastley Kingdomme.  While Paris is a park that still needs drastic work, Animal Kingdom is a park that is like a great stool, but missing one of its powerful legs.

By the time the mistake was realized a third park was planned under this model, Hong Kong Disneyland.  To be fair, this park, like DAK, was designed quite well, but also like DAK, was underbuilt.  Eisner had got out of the problem of theming, but had refused to address the problem of scale.  He gave both park's guest a great meal, but didn't give them a proper portion to eat.

Much has happened since then.  First, many of the Suits that were in power then are no longer there; either having quit or fired over the past decade (Michael Eisner and Paul Pressler aren't the only ones with blood on their hands).  Second, the current members of Disney's Board as well as many, but not all, of the executives are of the opinion that the project was a failure and the park was a disappointment.  This is something that you couldn't get anyone in the Team Disney Building to mention the first couple of years after California Adventure opened up.  Thirdly, the rise of the Internet has changed how we deal with the parks and how information is given/gotten.  We see this with all the information about Tokyo DisneySEA that wasn't available in such great quantity while that gate was being built.  Access to information is a powerful thing.  Lastly, the competition has gotten better.  Part of this is the fact that many of the companies that do contract work now are headed by former Imagineers and thus the quality of their projects are greatly higher quality than in the late 80's/early 90's.  The chief among these is the new Harry Potter attractions in IOA that have Disney Suits looking over their shoulders.  That, as I've always said, is a good thing.  Competition is great.  It brings out better work and the consumer/guest will be the one to benefit.

So as we look forward to Shanghai and the next Magic Kingdom styled park, or a second or third or fifth gate at some other resort, we know that Disney will not be able to get away with the creation of another DCA.  Will the next park be perfect?  Doubtful, but it won't/shouldn't have the faults that DCA or WDS has.  The heads of the Walt Disney Company aren't perfect and sometimes make decisions that fans might hate, but they know that the parks created after the last decade can't rely on coasting by with the Disney name on them.  They have to actually have the Disney quality that we've come to expect; that those former Disney Suits had somehow forgotten, or never really knew.  The next collection of parks shouldn't be hampered by the restrictions placed on Barry Braverman when he was put in charge of Disneyland's Second Gate.  Instead they'll be burdened by the knowledge that fans know what they're capable of with DisneySEA.  It's amazing that during this period the parks produced both the worst and best examples of what a park bearing the Disney name could be.  The current crop in Burbank know that there is no fooling us with a simple moniker above the title.

And that is a positive, unintended consequence to a dark decade of the Mouse forgetting where it came from, but more importantly where it's going...

Forbidden Competition...

Difficult times lie ahead, Bob...



You just have to face a choice between what it right, and what is easy...
It's good to be back in sunny, Southern California...

Remember when I said I was "Gone Phishing" last week? Well, I kinda was. I was in Florida and I've been very busy. I was spent some time at Walt Disney World with friends, spending a day at each park (and still enjoying Disney's Animal Kingdom most of all). But the main thing we all wanted to do was go to the competition. We enjoyed a nice day at Universal Studios, but then the next day we went to our actual destination and reason for going in the first place: Islands of Adventure. You know where this is going?

The Wizarding World of Harry.

To be specific, we wanted to see "Harry Potter and the Forbidden Journey." And that we did. First off I want to say that IOA is probably my favorite non-Disney theme park. It's probably the closest thing to a Disney Park in terms of details and theming, but it still falls short. But with the addition of "Forbidden Journey," they've made a huge leap toward parity. All of the park is very well laid out with nice touches and good details, but were the rest of the park to have to quality of the Harry Potter section then this would truly be a rival to the Mouse. It is a very detailed area, rivaling Animal Kingdom in the layering on of things that you have to pay attention to to notice. And the E-Ticket, if you could call it that, the main attraction, Forbidden Journey, is of a quality not seen lately by WDI in the states. It rivals Tokyo DisneySEA in terms of craftsmanship and standards, it's that good.

I want to thank Universal Creative (Universal Studios version Walt Disney Imagineering) for achieving this, it's truly a step up from anything that they've done before and if the future of their rides/attractions is like this then Disney is going to have to step up their game. The heat is on. And that's a really good thing. We should all thank these people and this attraction because without them and this marvelous ride, there wouldn't be all the construction going on in the back of Fantasyland. That 300 million dollar expansion of WDW was started specifically because the Suits were uneasy with the new opening at Universal. Competition is good. We all benefit from it. And if more people go see this and reward Universal, Disney starts to get even more worried and we might even see more TLC for Disney World. Again, a very good thing. The better these parks get, the more the Mouse will have to respond with the incredible details that enhance a guest's experience there.

Now, as to what they'll do? We'll have to wait and see how the response to this new experience unfolds. Don't expect anything relating to that four billion dollar purchase last year, though. Nothing is/will be planned in Florida for most likely the coming decade because of Universal's preexisting conditions with Disney's new adopted child. But there are plenty of things in the files of WDI over in Glendale that the Imagineers can pull out to use. If only they have the will to do so. A decade ago I wouldn't have any faith in the management at the time to have that vision or willingness to spend the bucks. At least now I know there is a chance and that we might see something like this come about. All you have to do is dream and have the desire to see those dreams through.

And we may have a teenage wizard to thank for it...

Brand Confusion/Collusion...

When Bob Iger decided to buy Marvel, he did so with a long view of the company's characters, but that doesn't mean the Mouse isn't going to have opportunities to hurry up the process...

There are a lot of agreements that Marvel has made over the last decade that Disney is going to have to deal with. Some of those decisions were good and others were made during a period of bankruptcy when the company needed cash; resulting in agreements that Mighty Marvel would later regret.

The Spider-Man agreement is one of those that I'm sure Marvel, and now Disney would rather have not been made. There was even a legal dispute a while back with Marvel suing Sony for the compensation that it felt it was owed from the huge blockbuster the first movie became. Sony Pictures and Sam Raimi deserve a great deal of respect for what they did in the first and second film... but the Suits got greedy with part 3. I'm sure Spidey is the Holy Grail of this acquisition and Iger and his lawyers are going to watching Sony very closely. And Sony knows this, so I think they're going to be very cautious dealing with this property. With the recent announcements of a planning for a "Spider-Man 5" and "Spider-Man 6," it's going to be a while before the Spider goes to his new home in Burbank. If each movie takes about 3 to four years to make, expect the first chance at the character to be a decade away.

The same could be said for "X-Men" and "Fantastic Four" and "Daredevil" could be as well, but I can tell you there are going to be lawyers upon lawyers looking over this for the next decade. And I will bet you there will be a lawsuit over at least one of these properties withing the next four or five years. Disney will be looking for any wiggle room inside those contracts. Before this deal was signed, I'm sure Disney had knowledge that some of these contracts wouldn't last till the expiration date.

But this is dealing with the film rights to these characters. The television rights to those characters aren't included. So you think the company won't be planning on television series based on Peter Parker, Matt Murdock, Reed Richards and Wolvie? I bet ABC has some form of a show on within two years. Maybe it'll be something to dampen Fox's "X-Men: First Class." Perhaps a "New Mutants" television show following a new class of Professor Xavier's students. Maybe a show following Daredevil? That right there might dilute the competitions desire for a sequel if characters they're planning on investing millions of dollars in are seen weekly on television. Who knows? I'm sure over the next year or so, the Suits at Disney and Marvel will go over all these characters to determine what will be the first property to get a television show or movie.

The deal that Marvel has with Paramount will end around 2012/2013 as that will be when the fifth and final film is to be delivered. I'm sure Paramount would love for it to continue afterwards, but to think that Disney would extend this agreement is highly unlikely. Why not have the next films have your logo on the front of them? Disney will want to create a brand awareness that Marvel is now Disney and it won't help keeping the Paramount logo in front of it. As of right now, the agreement for distribution includes the films: "Iron Man 2," "Thor," "Captain America," "The Avengers," and one last film, possibly "Iron Man 3." But after that, any sequel to Captain America or Thor will have Cinderella's castle in front of it... got to start getting those young males caught up in the Disney mindshare. Cause this is what that 4 billion is after... the young boy audience. Disney practically owns the girls, they've just never been able to pull in most of the opposite side of adolescence. This is the attempt to get those boys buying Disney products, seeing Disney films and visiting Disney theme parks.

Theme parks? Yes, eventually. Again, it's complicated, but there is opportunity here. Now, I know some Disney fans are groaning at the thought of Snow White posing for pictures with the Incredible Hulk. I too would find that situation unpalatable. I don't see Marvel characters in Disneyland because Fantasyland is the closest thing to being able to display them, and men in tights don't really work there. But they would work great at "Disney's Hollywood Studios," "Walt Disney Studios" or even "Disney's California Adventure." I mean, there are like at least two stages are dormant over in the Hollywood Back Lot area. When it becomes Hollywoodland in a couple year, who knows? Maybe the Muppets building that was to house a Narnia attraction will instead be filled with an Iron Man attraction? Or maybe Disney will hold off on that here in California and wait for those contracts to expire, because by then the Second Gate will be fixed (hopefully). A Third Gate could be in the planning. I know I've always thought a Disney Villain theme park (Dark Kingdom/Shadowlands) would be best, and my choice, but all these Marvel characters could be put into their own park over in the former strawberry field.

But this doesn't include the agreement Marvel has with Disney's only true theme park rival, Universal Studios. There are agreements with Universal Studios Florida and Universal Studios Japan that have to be addressed with this merger. Universal Studios Hollywood ended there relationship with Marvel a while ago, so there's no problem there. As for any other place overseas, Universal has no other agreements for Marvel characters. One interesting thing is Marvel was planning a theme park in Dubai that was to be part of Dubailand. Will the Mouse try and get out of this agreement or will they use this as Disney's first beachhead in the Middle East? Much to be sorted out over the next few years. But as for Universal's deal, the Spider-Man Ride will stay for a while, but Disney will stay on them to the letter and make it very difficult for USF to do anything beyond what they've already done. A decade from now, the wear and tear of all those guest and the advancement in technology may make the attraction appear as dated as Star Tours. That would buy Disney an out. Another option is a straight buy out. Perhaps Uni would be willing for the Mouse to pay for the cost of the ride? That might give them the incentive to take the technology already there and retheme it, simply taking away the Spider-Man theming and using Disney's buy out money to change the ride. I can tell you the first thing to go will be the walk-around characters. Maybe not this year, but slowly they'll be fazed out. The eateries and such in the Florida theme park will probably go next. Eventually, all that could be left five or six years from now would be Spidey ride and the Hulk attraction. And that one could easily be rethemed in a small amount of time. My guess would be a decade from now as the Web-Slinger ride slowly fades from the park, Disney will be announcing a fabulous new addition to Walt Disney World's DHS. But that's speculation for now. We've got a long time to speculate over this.

But no matter what, a decade from now the Super-Hero/Theme Park/Disney Pictures typography will have changed greatly, just not completely. The idea of buying a Jack Sparrow figure or a Spider-Man action figure will bring to mind an image of Mickey Mouse to kids being born today. You and I will remember a time when that didn't exist. Those kids will live in a time when all of that is not only possible, but actual. Now, if we can just get the Mouse to work on a strategy for owning all those Darth Vader and Indiana Jones action figures. Oh wait, most kids at the parks already view them as a part of Disney.

Now, if only Iger would complete the circle on that one and finish the job with one more merger...