The State of Epcot

[chewbacca1995]

Baymax could at least lead to some edutainment about health/wellness, so a BH6 E-ticket would fit better in Epcot than GotG IMO.

However, I'd rather see BH6 take over the WoL pavilion and UoE receive a drastic update than UoE get replaced by a coaster and WoL remaining empty sans festival events.

 

[rioriz]

correct i trust @Marni1971 a lot and the other 3 stating Execs are exploring GotG coming to UoE or Tower, what i trust even more than the contract is logic...beyond what we may think of Disney's decisions lately, it makes no sense for a company so founded on the bottom dollar to waste money on even thinking about creating a ride they could never build...much less fly height balloons for the hell of it...to me is like them deciding to come up with Jurassic Park rides just for the hell of it....

Even more than Marni and Spirit, Disney and Universal clearly know more than we do so the wait till next year's D23 will be an agonizing one for sure!

 

[Ryan]

But remember this: if Disney and Universal settle on an agreement, we would be privy to that information. So we would have to wait for that first.

And both companies have a history of creating attraction concepts without the rights. There are multiple articles featuring artwork for a DC-themed land in IOA before they didn't secure the rights, and Disney did create concepts for Potter during the bidding process for that.

 

[Ryan]

Baymax could at least lead to some edutainment about health/wellness, so a BH6 E-ticket would fit better in Epcot than GotG IMO.

However, I'd rather see BH6 take over the WoL pavilion and UoE receive a drastic update than UoE get replaced by a coaster and WoL remaining empty sans festival events.

I think WoL needs to be demolished first. There's rumors that both show buildings are under disrepair and any photos of the Cranium Command theater that surface show heavy scaffolding supporting that theory.

But I agree that there's a lot of educational possibilities for BH6 that can be mined. I mean, that entire first college scene is pretty close to that Epcot idea.

 

[Nick]

But remember this: if Disney and Universal settle on an agreement, we would be privy to that information. So we would have to wait for that first.

And both companies have a history of creating attraction concepts without the rights. There are multiple articles featuring artwork for a DC-themed land in IOA before they didn't secure the rights, and Disney did create concepts for Potter during the bidding process for that.

I want to envision some smart imagineer pitched this idea knowing it would be a hit AND knowing that GotG can't be used, so they would have to drop the GotG theming if they wanted to build his kewl new idea.

I think WoL needs to be demolished first. There's rumors that both show buildings are under disrepair and any photos of the Cranium Command theater that surface show heavy scaffolding supporting that theory.

But I agree that there's a lot of educational possibilities for BH6 that can be mined. I mean, that entire first college scene is pretty close to that Epcot idea.

It also looks like an '80s mall food court, which i've never been fond of.

 

[brianlo]

It originated as a Marvel property, that's all that matters, because Universal owns the rights to those within those families. Once GotG joins The Avengers, that suddenly becomes a Marvel property that is part of that "family", as the legal language designates. The MCU is totally fair game and able to be used by Universal, and thus that counts.

I don't see how this is so hard? Why do people really want a Guardians ride at Epcot this much to search for any loopholes?

What you are describing is a cross over. When Wolverine joins Avengers he does not become part of the family, he is still considered an X-men.

Universal owns the rights to the 'Marvel' name and a selection of family members as depicted in the MCA (not MCU).

I too don't want a ride 'so bad'. I trust what multiple people have to say, so yes I'm sticking up for them a bit when widespread generalizations are made. Chapek is the one who wants it very badly, I'm just explaining how he is trying to make it happen.

 

[Brian G.]

What you are describing is a cross over. When Wolverine joins Avengers he does not become part of the family, he is still considered an X-men.

Universal owns the rights to the 'Marvel' name and a selection of family members as depicted in the MCA (not MCU).

I too don't want a ride 'so bad'. I trust what multiple people have to say, so yes I'm sticking up for them a bit when widespread generalizations are made. Chapek is the one who wants it very badly, I'm just explaining how he is trying to make it happen.

Not saying this as a Gurdians coming or not thing, but the contract does specify they can use the catalog of characters... so if Universal wanted to have updated the Hulk to MCU, they could have.

 

[Nick]

Not saying this as a Gurdians coming or not thing, but the contract does specify they can use the catalog of characters... so if Universal wanted to have updated the Hulk to MCU, they could have.

But can they? Because you'd think it would be a no-brainer to update it to the MCU version, but beyond that, they didn't even include the comic book version of pretty much any characters. Something just doesn't shake out there.

 

[Brian G.]

But can they? Because you'd think it would be a no-brainer to update it to the MCU version, but beyond that, they didn't even include the comic book version of pretty much any characters. Something just doesn't shake out there.

They could have. They chose not to. Wish I had more than that to tell you. Cost may have been huge deterrent.

Contract doesn't say exclusive rights to solely comic books. Says comic books and other products. Movies fall into "other products".

One thing I want to remind everyone from our podcast with Niles is that he made an effort to say that their business relationship is copacetic; so they both don't want to step on each others toes too much and fracture something that can become a potential problem for either resort.

 

[jtsalien]

They could have. They chose not to. Wish I had more than that to tell you. Cost may have been huge deterrent.

Contract doesn't say exclusive rights to solely comic books. Says comic books and other products. Movies fall into "other products".

One thing I want to remind everyone from our podcast with Niles is that he made an effort to say that their business relationship is copacetic; so they both don't want to step on each others toes too much and fracture something that can become a potential problem for either resort.

And as much as everyone likes Ruffalo, he's still Hulk #3 already. And from what I remember, there's no stand alone Ruffalo picture in the works. So who knows what the longevity of current Hulk is? It's not like Iron Man, where RDJ put an indelible mark on the character.

Speaking on maintaining the relationship, are any of the proposed ideas we've heard worth it? Epcot doesn't need the draw of Marvel, and ToT is one of the most beloved attractions on property. So I'd say no.

 

[Ryan]

Right? It seems extremely unnecessary for a park that already does incredibly well. Especially factoring everything that would have to be done to make it happen.

 

[Galaxy Defender]

I think a lot of the current rumors of big changes at EPCOT stems from what happened this summer. Frozen was supposed to bring in big crowds. Soarin added the third screen to handle these crowds that never materialized. It looks like they now know it is going to take more than one low capacity refurbished ride to increase attendance.

It looked like WDW was content to work on EPCOT after finishing the big projects in DHS and AK. Sounds like they have decided not to wait after all. Hopefully at least some of this happens.

 

[UNIrd]

There's so many outlandish rumors regarding the WDW parks right now. I'm just going to stick to the official blog to see what's actually coming. And according to them... let' see... mm hm.. it's Elena of Avalor.

 

[s8film40]

There's so many outlandish rumors regarding the WDW parks right now. I'm just going to stick to the official blog to see what's actually coming. And according to them... let' see... mm hm.. it's Elena of Avalor.

I don't think you can even trust the official blog.

 

[SeventyOne]

There's so many outlandish rumors regarding the WDW parks right now. I'm just going to stick to the official blog to see what's actually coming. And according to them... let' see... mm hm.. it's Elena of Avalor.

Well, we're also getting an update on Rivers of Light in mid-May 2016 ...

 

[Mad Dog]

Well, we're also getting an update on Rivers of Light in mid-May 2016 ...

Nice sarcasm. And a good memory.

 

[Mr. EPCOT]

I have no idea if this person has any legitimacy at all, don't know anything about them, but this got retweeted into my feed

 

[Parkscope Joe]

I have no idea if this person has any legitimacy at all, don't know anything about them, but this got retweeted into my feed

I've heard something new too: Universal is going to wait for Disney to build the ride to litigate as a physical attraction is the ultimate breach of contract. There is no "negotiations".

 

[AlexanderMBush]

I have no idea if this person has any legitimacy at all, don't know anything about them, but this got retweeted into my feed

I was going to bring that up on the Marvel GOTG WDW thread actually..but yeah.

I've heard something new too: Universal is going to wait for Disney to build the ride to litigate as a physical attraction is the ultimate breach of contract. There is no "negotiations".

Taking aside, you may not be kidding..




(Your probably just reaffirming that any rumors of Marvel coming to WDW ain't happening, but I'm just thinking..)

 

[jtsalien]

I've heard something new too: Universal is going to wait for Disney to build the ride to litigate as a physical attraction is the ultimate breach of contract. There is no "negotiations".

Sounds like we'll finally be getting a sequel the novel Disney War with Marvel War. In a sick way, I really want to see this kind of situation play out opcorn: