Universal Set to Acquire Another Successful Franchise?

[Roger's #1 Fan]

Thinking about LOTR and other rumors of new attractions, could they even be thinking about scrapping Superhero Island? Knowing they have lost Marvel, does it make sense to plan forward on retheming this area, or do they go after the easier target IMHO and rework Jurassic?

Jurassic seems the best move, but would Potter and Bilbo be too close together? (read: major conjestion)

[DizneyFreak2002]

Thinking about LOTR and other rumors of new attractions, could they even be thinking about scrapping Superhero Island? Knowing they have lost Marvel, does it make sense to plan forward on retheming this area, or do they go after the easier target IMHO and rework Jurassic?

Jurassic seems the best move, but would Potter and Bilbo be too close together? (read: major conjestion)

Universal hasn't lost Marvel... They own Marvel's theme park rights east of the Mississippi for as long as they desire... Nothing in the agreement has changed... They still pay Marvel just like always... Just, Disney owns Marvel... Universal still holds all the cards in the deal.. Disney has no leverage at all...

As for LOTR, it may be the one IP that gets Comcast on board for a 3rd gate (no, not a LOTR themed third gate but a third gate that includes the LOTR franchise)...

But this is such a long way away from happening...

[Roger's #1 Fan]

They own Marvel's theme park rights east of the Mississippi for as long as they desire... Nothing in the agreement has changed... They still pay Marvel just like always... Just, Disney owns Marvel...

Don't you think it annoys them, just a little, having to pay royalties to Disney as well as helping them to market their brand (merchandising)?

Maybe Comcast/Universal will go after DC next.... Justice League anyone?

[DizneyFreak2002]

Don't you think it annoys them, just a little, having to pay royalties to Disney as well as helping them to market their brand (merchandising)?

Maybe Comcast/Universal will go after DC next.... Justice League anyone?

Annoy Universal having to pay minimal royalties and minimal license fees to Disney while Universal soaks up all the rewards? Nope... Think about it... Marvel is at the height of its popularity... If people want to see Marvel, where do they have to go? Universal... Now, if you asked if it annoys Disney, I'd say yes cause they cannot even use their own property in WDW...

With that said, both companies are extremely happy with the current set up... Universal gets guests in the gates, buying merchandise (Marvel as well as Potter and other merchandise), buying food, and raking in the mega millions while Disney collects some royalties and fees without having to spend any money on any kind of Marvel attractions in WDW... The agreement benefits both... I see no reason why universal would be or should be annoyed... They own the two hottest properties at the moment: Potter and Marvel... And the IOA attendance numbers and guest spending numbers show it...

[NJGIRL]

not stupid ET..i love the movie..ride isnt bad.
Universal seems to have stepped it up a lot.
Spiderman is great.Harry Potter village is pretty nice.
competition is good here
i did go to Universal Hollywood in Feb. the tram ride was interesting. and i liked that it was a working studio
now if WDW and Universal Florida could have working studios more...

They both did start out as working studios in Orlando. It really didn't make the parks any more enjoyable in my opinion. DHS had shows being taped there and Universal had shows taped there too. IMO that just took up space that could be used for attractions.

[DizneyFreak2002]

Universal still does have shows taped there very often... They are used a lot in commercial back drops, music videos, and even some movies still... TNA Impact Wrestling uses a studio there for the live wrestling TV show... So, Universal still uses their parks as a studio...

The whole craze to make DHS the Hollywood of the east coast just didn't catch on like Disney had hoped...

[NJGIRL]

Thinking about LOTR and other rumors of new attractions, could they even be thinking about scrapping Superhero Island? Knowing they have lost Marvel, does it make sense to plan forward on retheming this area, or do they go after the easier target IMHO and rework Jurassic

This has been rehashed so many times here and not to sound like a broken record, but Disney no way no how can touch any of the characters that Universal is using now. As long as Universal wants to use those characters they can.....this means forever. Universal is not paying a dime more to Disney than they were paying to the original Marvel owners. Universal is making money hand over fist in their theme park stores (just as Disney does with their characters) selling Marvel character merchandise. Now if Disneyland wants to put Spiderman in their California parks they may, but IMO that would be foolish because that would be promoting Universal in Florida.

The misinformation that is still floating around about this buy out three years later is surprising. When the news first came out people continued to proclaim that Disney and their lawyers would "get" all the the rights to the Marvel characters that Universal is using, even though the wording in the buy out was crystal clear. People forget Universal has lawyers that are just as qualified and weren't going to let what is rightfully theirs to use be strong armed from them. At this point if Disney could steal the characters away from Universal they would have.

Spiderman just want through a long renovation and is after all these years still a favorite in the Orlando area....the attraction is not going anywhere any time soon.

[NJGIRL]

Universal still does have shows taped there very often... They are used a lot in commercial back drops, music videos, and even some movies still... TNA Impact Wrestling uses a studio there for the live wrestling TV show... So, Universal still uses their parks as a studio...

The whole craze to make DHS the Hollywood of the east coast just didn't catch on like Disney had hoped...

Yes, I forgot about the wrestling, waste of space IMO.The whole Disney attempt was a bore. You walked through a building and watched someone drawing cartoons, then walked a little more and saw people rehearsing a show. I do not remember but I don't think that you could even hear whatey were saying. We did see a few celebrities, I think Dolly Parton was the most famous.

[DizneyFreak2002]

Yes, I forgot about the wrestling, waste of space IMO.The whole Disney attempt was a bore. You walked through a building and watched someone drawing cartoons, then walked a little more and saw people rehearsing a show. I do not remember but I don't think that you could even hear whatey were saying. We did see a few celebrities, I think Dolly Parton was the most famous.

I never got to take a tour through the studio was DHS was a working studio.. I only took the tour through the animation building... I do remember a series was being filmed in MGM (at the time), I forget what it was called.. I think Tom Hanks may have been involved.. I want to say From the Earth to the Moon was filled there, but I may be mistaken...

WDW had its fair share of backdrops... Remember Hulk Hogan's short lived TV series Thunder in Paradise? Some scenes filmed in Epcot...

[NJGIRL]

Thunder in Paradise??? No, sorry. lol

[DizneyFreak2002]

Thunder in Paradise??? No, sorry. lol

You didn't miss anything..

Anyway, regarding LOTR, rumor has it the Tolkiens have told Universal they may be on board IF Universal can find a way to get Potter and Middle Earth into London together...

[NJGIRL]

Anyway, regarding LOTR, rumor has it the Tolkiens have told Universal they may be on board IF Universal can find a way to get Potter and Middle Earth into London together...

I don't understand what that means. I was a big HP fan (accidently) for years and knew what I had to look forward when Universal teamed up with JK. LOTR.....never had any interest in it. Haven't read the books or seen the movies so I have no idea what's in store for Universal if they come to an agreement. But that being said, I know the story is fantasy so I am excited to be "put in the middle" of another loved movie/book series.

[DizneyFreak2002]

I don't understand what that means. I was a big HP fan (accidently) for years and knew what I had to look forward when Universal teamed up with JK. LOTR.....never had any interest in it. Haven't read the books or seen the movies so I have no idea what's in store for Universal if they come to an agreement. But that being said, I know the story is fantasy so I am excited to be "put in the middle" of another loved movie/book series.

The actual city of London, England, not the new section of Universal Orlando... The Tolkiens are huge supporters of British Lit.. I take it to mean they would love to see a theme park in England celebrating British Lit, which would include Potter and LoTR...

They are also negotiating over merchandising... The Tolkiens, once again, are looking for huge sums of money from merchandise..

[Crow]

They both did start out as working studios in Orlando. It really didn't make the parks any more enjoyable in my opinion. DHS had shows being taped there and Universal had shows taped there too. IMO that just took up space that could be used for attractions.

but DHS hasnt had any attractions..key word is STUDIOS. i sorta wish i had seen the studio working. for those that cant get to Hollywood it would mean something. well we get meet and greets instead.just think if they could now tie in to making of something Star Wars at DHS now that they own SW.
and i miss the animators working at the desks, although some artists are now working at desks.
actually i wouldnt mind seeing TNA at Universal.
i would gladly give up meet and greet, shops or restaurants for a studio

[NJGIRL]

but DHS hasnt had any attractions..key word is STUDIOS. i sorta wish i had seen the studio working. for those that cant get to Hollywood it would mean something. well we get meet and greets instead.just think if they could now tie in to making of something Star Wars at DHS now that they own SW.
and i miss the animators working at the desks, although some artists are now working at desks.
actually i wouldnt mind seeing TNA at Universal.
i would gladly give up meet and greet, shops or restaurants for a studio

Sorry, I do not understand what you are saying. DHS was used as a real studio at one point and it did have an attraction in the real studio. It wasn't really that interesting for me and I guess others as well because they got rid of it. I don't really know much about movie/ tv show production but I think it is extremely hard to have anything "real" being produced and being an attraction at the same time. To have people watch you while doing your lines could be distracting to the actors and the multiple takes could be boring to the park visitors. I am just fine with DHS being a pretend studio.

[Lindsey310]

I do love ET....when compared to Peter Pan (which I think is fair) I feel ET is better. I do not feel it is better than the Haunted Mansion or Pirates, but those two attractions, IMO anyway, are not similar to ET.

Agreed. We never ride Peter Pan (maybe its the consistent 60+ wait times) but I do love ET! A great ride that never gets "old" to me. Some rides I get sick of in disney: Ellen's energy adventure, some of the stage shows, backlot express tour, most of Dino land to name a few.

I like universal and will continue to go back, especially if new additions are added but disney remains my #1!

[Crow]

Sorry, I do not understand what you are saying. DHS was used as a real studio at one point and it did have an attraction in the real studio. It wasn't really that interesting for me and I guess others as well because they got rid of it. I don't really know much about movie/ tv show production but I think it is extremely hard to have anything "real" being produced and being an attraction at the same time. To have people watch you while doing your lines could be distracting to the actors and the multiple takes could be boring to the park visitors. I am just fine with DHS being a pretend studio.

but they have live tv shows at places in Hollywood etc..many shows used to b live.
they could have a soundproof w glass looking thru.
and they should still use the Animation studio to make things..

[DizneyFreak2002]

Sorry, I do not understand what you are saying. DHS was used as a real studio at one point and it did have an attraction in the real studio. It wasn't really that interesting for me and I guess others as well because they got rid of it. I don't really know much about movie/ tv show production but I think it is extremely hard to have anything "real" being produced and being an attraction at the same time. To have people watch you while doing your lines could be distracting to the actors and the multiple takes could be boring to the park visitors. I am just fine with DHS being a pretend studio.

I am not sure it really is that much of a distraction... other real Hollywood studio lots have tours going through them on a daily basis, all while filming TV shows and movies... Every talk show is filmed in front of a live audience... The Big bang Theory is taped in front of a live studio audience... Not sure what other shows are...

MGM/DHS failed as a working studio because Disney tried to make it the Hollywood of the east coast and it never caught on... So, they gave up... Yet, Universal still continues to use their Orlando park as a working studio, just not on the level as once hoped for... Disney threw in the towel... Now DHS has an identity crisis on its hands..

I agree with Crow... There is no reason Disney cannot use DHS for at least their animation studios...

[Roger's #1 Fan]

There is no reason Disney cannot use DHS for at least their animation studios...

I agree, but back when it was a working animation studio was during the whole Pixar sequel and direct to DVD debacle when they were churning out projects just to generate $$ rather than tell a good story.

The Pixar contingent is still out in their own Emeryville location correct? And the rest of feature animation is in Burbank? Can't see any incentive to revive animation in DHS unless some other $$ savings can be realized.

BTW - the HBO drama/documentary "From the Earth to the Moon" was filmed at DHS. The studio tour took you along catwalks through the sets that were there. (where TSM now sits)

[NJGIRL]

they could have a soundproof w glass looking thru.

They did this. It was so boring. They took away the attraction because they realized it was terrible. Myself, when I go to a theme park I want to go on rides and see shows. I really am not interested in seeing tv shows being produced or artists drawing.