Thursday, October 22, 2009

Will Shanghaî Disneyland be the first Disney theme park to have WDI Marvel super-heroes attractions ?



According to the always good Screamscape web site their sources told them that "Disney has asked the Imagineers to start studying up the huge collection of Marvel Comics characters and stories" and "that the first Disney park that could get new Marvel based attractions will likely be the new Shanghai park."

Although it's still a rumor, it's an interesting news and here is why it could eventually really happen at Shanghaî Disneyland before any other Disney theme park.

I'm not aware of the contracts signed between Marvel and Universal before the Disney deal with Marvel, but i won't be surprised that an "exclusivity clause" was asked by Universal to Marvel. At least for each country where the attractions are already built, i.e America and Japan where Universal Studios have theme parks, and the Spiderman ride in two of them.

Now, although Universal do have a theme park project near Beijing - which awaits China officials approval just like Disney for Shanghaî Disneyland - they still don't have a park in China. And, bad news for Universal, Disney now owns the Marvel rights, which basically means that Disney is doing what he wants as long as they're not stuck with previous contract clauses signed before they own the rights.

So which Disney theme park could be better than Shanghaî Disneyland to introduce the first WDI Marvel super-heroes attractions? But there may be also another reason: from what i've been told Imagineers intend to pay tribute to Chinese mythologies in Shanghaî Disneyland. Which is a pretty good idea as chinese are generally not aware of European mythologies - that's one of the reason you don't find any Snow White, Pinnochio or even Peter Pan dark rides at Hong Kong Disneyland. Chinese know more Pixar characters as these are coming from recent animated films but for the old Disney classics it's another problem...



On this angle, Marvel super-heroes mythologies thanks to recent movies - and one dollar pirate Dvds that anyone can find in most Chinese cities! - are probably well known by young chinese generations - and we can count on Disney to have check this with a marketing research!

So, for all these reasons, and although the Screamscape news must still be consider as a rumor, i would bet on it - not only for the fun but also because, as i often say, there is always a logic behind corporate decisions and in this case we can catch a glimpse of the logic who could decide WDI Imagineers to create Marvel super-heroes attractions for the awaited Shanghaî Disneyland.


Thanks to leave a comment or discuss this article on D&M english forum on Mice Chat

Pictures: copyright Marvel

11 comments:

  1. Oh no, leave those bloody Marvel characters out of any Disney park, for god sake! This is maybe bad news for Paris. If they won't built in America and Japan, because of the presence of Universal parks with Marvel theme rides, the only place left will be Paris (from the excisting parks; Hong Kong get's several new lands, another expansion is unlikely). Please Disney, built your Marvel rides in a different park in a different resort. Leave Disney is it is. Don't spoil the magic by adding those Marvel characters!

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  2. J'ai du mal a imaginer les personnages de marvel dans le magic kingdom... Les studios peut être bien ou alors un nouveau parc sur le thème.

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  3. There should be no place for these insipid Marvel creatures in *any* Disney park. Maybe the Chinese can adopt to them better, because Disney does not have a long history in China. The suits at Disney must be out of theit minds to even consider adding Marvel attractions to the parks.

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  4. now i like marvel and i like disney. the probably do belong apart more than together. but...

    why so much hate towards them? i can understand hesitation (as i share it) but all this is rather disturbing to see.

    it does promote the idea that disney fans can only take disney product

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  5. I think its a great idea, so long as its done well integrating new characters into Disney parks will give lots of oportunites for imagaineers to create new things. Think of all the things which have been integrated into Disney Parks over teh years which were unthought of back in 1955 (think Star Tours, Indiana Jones or any post ’55 Disney films). That’s the beauty of Disneyland and the other parks. Sure I don’t think having Spiderman in Main St or Wonder Woman in Frontierland would be a good fit but if the storey and characters are integrated why not? Shanghai sounds like a good place to start as the blank canvus gives good scope to add some sort of superheroland to the mix but if it fits right I have no problem with them going anywhere

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  6. Yeah, I don't mind them in China, but integrating them into the other parks would really seem to dilute their own (original Disney) brand.

    I love Disney's ability to create incredible environments & ride experiences, but still, sometimes when I walk around that corner in WDS (FLA), it still feels strange to see a Star Wars themed ride (or the Muppets, etc.). Again, love those attractions, but it just doesn't gel like their cohesive characters/brands in the other parks.

    So... maybe that's the answer - let the Studios be the "mish-mash", Universal-esque park, and don't incorporate them anywhere else. I could live with that.

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  7. "it does promote the idea that disney fans can only take disney product" - well, I read Playboy Magazine from time to time - but that doesn´t mean i´d be in favor of a "Playboy Mansion" (haunted or not) in Disneyland... :-)

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  8. Not to be picky, but the guy in the top left of the picture looks an awful lot like Hawkman, who is a DC character, not Marvel.

    Great. I just went über-fanboy, didn't I? Carry on, sorry about that...

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  9. Marvel is the incorporation in comics, of the ONLY American fetish that NEVER has been criticised from US public opinion: unlimited exposure of violence.
    The US film industry can make profit on senseless continuous killings and destructions, even in kids programs. A "heroe" according to primitive US models, is the fellow who kills more then the others.
    It is a reflexion on REALITY, where, in the past 9 decades, the US armies killed and destructued more of the whole world, than any other nation in the whole history of manhood.
    In contrast: film & TV spreads a ridiculous sick attitude of self-censorship when it comes to 4 letterwords or a sexual explicit hint, for "general public movies" (European films, documentaries and even books and theater plays are ALLWAYS censored when entering the US !!!) , but when it comes to VIOLENCE, there is NO LIMIT, NEVER, AND TOWARDS ANY PUBLIC.

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  10. Disney sold Disney-Paris to an Arabian Prince, due to bad ticket sales. As far as I know, the Prince still owns it.

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  11. << ... Disney sold Disney-Paris to an Arabian Prince, due to bad ticket sales. As far as I know, the Prince still owns it. ... >> Check and double check. The Arabian investor bought shares. (Registered Euronext Paris) He still has those, shure. Perhaps, first check the difference between being a shareholder and a sole owner ... lol

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