Universal Set to Acquire Another Successful Franchise?

[Crow]

it all started w the drawing of a mouse..

[DizneyFreak2002]

it all started w the drawing of a mouse..

Rabbit... Oswald says hi LOL...

[NJGIRL]

it all started w the drawing of a mouse..

See that's were I differ from alot/most of the members on INTERCOT. I am not a Disney fan, I am a Disney Theme Park fan. I don't like all things Disney. I don't watch/know their movies or TV shows. We don't decorate our house in Disney or know the Disney songs (unless they are attached to a ride). We have never really cared much about the characters or the parades. I don't want to watch people drawing cartoons. We are there for the rides. Don't get me wrong, we do enjoy the whole park and the atmosphere they create but without the rides we wouldn't be interested.

[DizneyFreak2002]

I just watched a wrestling video on Netflix.. I was just reminded... Universal was not the first theme park in Orlando to host wrestling... Disney/MGM Studios was... They held a WCW event there I think... And one time, WWE/WWF was discussing bringing an attractions based on the Undertaker to MGM or to Universal... And now, rumor has it the WWE is thinking of bringing their Hall of Fame to Universal or CityWalk... Doubt it will happen though... Don't think there is too much interest from the theme park visitor to step foot inside a wrestling hall of fame LOL...

[Crow]

so any amusement park would b ok then w generic rides
i would go to a WWE hall of fame..

[Altair]

Doubt it will happen though... Don't think there is too much interest from the theme park visitor to step foot inside a wrestling hall of fame LOL...

Why not, they're both make-believe.

[NJGIRL]

so any amusement park would b ok then w generic rides.

Being from South Jersey we have soooo many amusement parks within a short distance and we have enjoyed them all. From Hershey Park, Great Adventure, Dorney Park, Kings Dominion, Busch Gardens, Wildwood & Ocean City, we have done them all and have enjoyed each park. Myself, I enjoy themed/dark rides the most, so that is what attracts me to Disney and Universal more so than the others. Even Busch Gardens really doesn't have many dark rides. What I am saying is that the "Disney brand" does not attract me to the Disney theme parks, it is the type of rides they have in their theme parks. If the characters and parades disappeared from their theme parks tomarrow I wouldn't care. It would not stop me from enjoying the parks.
It really doesn't matter to me how the park started, I'm just glad it did.

This, IMO, is why my family can bounce back and forth between Disney and Universal and have fun at both, without being so protective of Disney and overly critical of Universal, it is because we are not attached to the brand.

It is the same reason I can be excited about Universal doing a LOTR land without being interested or even knowing anything about the book/movie. I know that the attractions they will build around the theme will be great. Just as Disney has always done. I couldn't care less about the Spiderman brand, but I love the ride.

Here is an example....We buy Disney pins when we are vacationing, but we have never bought a plain character pin, we have no interest in any particular characters. Any pins we own are of attracttions with whatever character happens to be on them.

[DizneyFreak2002]

Update: Doesn't look like the Tolkiens are ready to sell the theme park rights to Universal, just yet if ever... We all know they are extremely protective of the IP... Too bad, would have been a great theme park addition...

oh well... Maybe they will change their mind...

[Roger's #1 Fan]

Unless.... they heard that George is taking over at WDW and want to work with him instead....LOL

[DizneyFreak2002]

It has been reported elsewhere that top brass at NBC/Universal hosted top executives of Warner Bros and Comcast last week and toured every area of Toon Lagoon...Toon Lagoon is the rumored area where Middle Earth would have gone...

In related news, Saul Zaentz Company which owns the Lord of the Rings movie and merchandise rights have just filed for a Middle Earth theme park trademark...

Doesn't really prove anything, but it is very interesting... Guess we shall wait and see...

[NJGIRL]

It has been reported elsewhere that top brass at NBC/Universal hosted top executives of Warner Bros and Comcast last week and toured every area of Toon Lagoon...Toon Lagoon is the rumored area where Middle Earth would have gone...

In related news, Saul Zaentz Company which owns the Lord of the Rings movie and merchandise rights have just filed for a Middle Earth theme park trademark...

Doesn't really prove anything, but it is very interesting... Guess we shall wait and see...

This sounds promising to me.

[Roger's #1 Fan]

Thinking about it, they could do something similar to the dissection of the Lost Continent and lose Toon Lagoon just past Dudley Do Right and Popeye. They could then take the entire area from the eateries to the unused theatre and retheme all the way up to Superhero Island.

[DryCreek]

Isn't WB tied in with Six Flags? Lord, if anybody needs some help, it's Six Flags. Their theme parks are really in need of a massive injection of imaginative talent, fresh theming, and paint. Lots and lots of paint.

Actually, I struggle to call any of their properties a "theme park" any more. They still qualify as an amusement park though.

In fact, their shows border on incredibly mediocre, and we use them to set the lower bar for our other trips. Sadly, only one other trip has matched their low score, and that was the onboard shows during a cruise with Carnival (Ecstasy, 2010).

If 6F could get the funding, a franchise such as LOTR at many (some?) of their parks would give them the boost they really need right now.

[Mrs Bus Driver]

Please not at 6Fs (if I were grading them 6 fs is what they would get ). I really don't think they could handle a project like this. Universal seems to be on a roll these days, would really like to see what they would do with it.

[Tearin_it_up]

I just noticed this for the Great Movie Ride, is this new?

ONE SET OF THEME PARK RIGHTS TO RULE THEM ALL
For the past few years, both Disney and Universal have been wooing Lord of the Rings director Peter Jackson in hopes of getting the theme park rights to his high-grossing trilogy of films. WDI wants to use the cinematic versions of J. R. R. Tolkien's characters to update a scene in The Great Movie Ride, whereas Universal is looking to use the films as a springboard for a brand-new "land" at Islands of Adventure, done in the highly detailed style of the Wizarding World of Harry Potter. Jackson, to his credit, has reportedly postponed making any decisions on this issue until he finishes production of his two-part Hobbit movie.

[DizneyFreak2002]

I just noticed this for the Great Movie Ride, is this new?

ONE SET OF THEME PARK RIGHTS TO RULE THEM ALL
For the past few years, both Disney and Universal have been wooing Lord of the Rings director Peter Jackson in hopes of getting the theme park rights to his high-grossing trilogy of films. WDI wants to use the cinematic versions of J. R. R. Tolkien's characters to update a scene in The Great Movie Ride, whereas Universal is looking to use the films as a springboard for a brand-new "land" at Islands of Adventure, done in the highly detailed style of the Wizarding World of Harry Potter. Jackson, to his credit, has reportedly postponed making any decisions on this issue until he finishes production of his two-part Hobbit movie.

Actually, the Tolkien estate has been the ones who have stopped any possibility of Lord of the Rings from having a theme park presence...