Crazy Theory based on recent rumors...

[DisneyPhilliesFan]

Bear with me here for a second, I know this sounds crazy at first... Screamscape is reporting that there are more rumors of expansions coming to Epcot at D23 (specifically in the Future World area) . They posted this the same day that they are talking about Zootopia breaking ground at Shanghai. There has been talk that Disney wants to put more Disney IP into Epcot....what if this means they plan to build Zootopia next to Nemo and Friends? I know this sounds nuts at first...but maybe not THAT nuts. I live in CA and have only been to WDW once. On the Map it appears there is enough room next to Nemo and friends, but the park maps can be deceiving.

why would they waste any themed attraction on Zootopia, a fly by night, soon to be forgotten franchise. Then again, they wasted millions of dollars on an Avatarland

 

[John_73]

very interesting

 

[SoarinSC]

Disney's mindset now seems to be all about brand synergy...so I'm not shocked by any change at this point.

 

[George4]

How about replacing Mission Space with a reimagined Horizons? I haven’t enjoyed either version of the ride and doesn’t seem to be very popular attraction overall.

Is it that it isn't popular, or that there aren't many people interested in that type of ride? Most of the people that I interact with that go to EPCOT with any regularity (friends, neighbors, etc.), are either just hopping thrill rides throughout the park, or are there to enjoy the slow climate. The thrill version (Orange I think) of Mission: SPACE makes most of them sick, and the green version isn't a thrill ride to them. It falls into this weird in between for this large group of consumers. I'm not sure that there are many people like our family, that has a large age cross-section (4-50), so when we go to EPCOT, we are visiting every ride and many of the films to satisfy all of the age ranges. We also typically go to Disney for 12-21 days, so we don't have to choose to leave things out either. We have time to do everything. That is definitely not the typical American family vacation. Mission: SPACE may actually be one of the few victims of there is actually too much to do at WDW, so families are picking what is most important. I'm not a huge fan of Disney only building D- and E-ticket rides, but there is a huge part of their visitors that is interested in these rides and just isn't being served yet (see the ridilculous wait times on these rides almost every day). I would point out, that they have the same problem with their very young guests as well with those rides ridiculous wait times (60+ for Peter Pan almost year-round).

 

[NotUrsula]

[snip]
On another point.
I don't see Disney investing into IP-based attractions of old movies (Bolt, Meet the Robinsons, Treasure Planet) that a lot of people (even "Disney" fans) don't even know are Disney movies .. those were during another dark time in Disney Animation history. You aren't going to draw or sell merchandise with a Bolt or Meet the Robinson's ride(even though the concepts sound cool).

I agree when we are speaking of the type of ride now standard, with lots of "built" theming in the ride queues, vehicles, etc. However, the vault of lesser-known Disney films could be a treasure trove of thematic material for "virtual" type rides, where all of the action takes place via projections. For example: In theory, the Soarin' infrastructure could be used for pretty much any kind of flight-themed ride, and it would be possible to change the subject matter simply by changing the film. If Disney chose to do projection-type rides on a smaller scale for younger visitors, they could theoretically recycle every movie in the vault every 10 years or so, creating short-term merchandising opportunities each cycle.

 

[Kaleidodad]

why would they waste any themed attraction on Zootopia, a fly by night, soon to be forgotten franchise. Then again, they wasted millions of dollars on an Avatarland

Zootopia is Disney Animation's 2nd biggest hit behind only Frozen, pulling in over $1B worldwide, including nearly a quarter of total revenues from China - and there's a very good chance we'll see a sequel or two.

 

[hcortesis]

Zootopia is Disney Animation's 2nd biggest hit behind only Frozen, pulling in over $1B worldwide, including nearly a quarter of total revenues from China - and there's a very good chance we'll see a sequel or two.

Domestically, it was their 17th largest grossing movie. Behind other animated movies such as Inside Out, Frozen, Toy Story 3 and Finding Dory,

 

[lisa cameron]

 

[Kaleidodad]

Domestically, it was their 17th largest grossing movie. Behind other animated movies such as Inside Out, Frozen, Toy Story 3 and Finding Dory,

All of those except Frozen are Pixar, not Walt Disney Animation Studios. Zootopia was bigger domestically and worldwide than other WDAS movies like Moana, Big Hero 6 and the Ralphs, and its $1B take is good for top-10 among all animated films ever.

 

[KMWoolley]

I think DHS would be better than DAK for Zootopia.

No way, you could gut the entire Dinosaurland 'mistake' and put a big Zootopia area, add rides people care about, play area for the kids, redo the good Dinosaur ride as a criminal chase, proper meet and greets that make sense for the area instead of Ducktales. Imagine the giant pink popsicles they would sell?