Monday, July 2, 2018

Christ, it's been a while.

I need to write here more. It'd be easier if I lived in Orlando, or Southern California, but I live in Chicago. Only parks here are Six Flags Great America and Santa's Village. Slim pickings.

Anyways, let's talk about some big news: Disney is finally gonna be buying most of the assets of 20th Century Fox, mainly their movies and TV shows. This means they now own the X-Men films, The Simpsons, etc. As the only blogger on the internet, it's my job to discuss the effect this could have on the theme parks. You're welcome, all of those who read my blog (All six of you)!

The Universe Expands
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Yes, he probably won't get a ride. A man can dream, dammit.

Thanks to the purchase of the X-Men Cinematic Universe, Disney can finally have all of Marvel in their MCU. And that means more theme park material. Easy ride idea would be based around the X-Mansion, it's some kind of visitor's day, but then it's attacked by Magneto, or Doctor Doom, or Toad, or The Blob, and adventure ensues. I could name a lot of rides, where something goes horribly wrong, but you guys probably wouldn't be too interested in that. Just- just know that if the ride has any kind of plot, and it isn't just retelling a preexisting story, then odds are, something will go horribly wrong. That needs its own post.

I can't think of a clever title. Animation!
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If the end goal isn't this in real life, then what was the point of this purchase?

Disney now owns all of Fox's non-news shows, including The Simpsons, Family Guy, and Bob's Burgers. I think that, out of all the tie-in possibilities, the best would be building an actual Bob's Burgers. I know, it's a bit of a stretch, but it would kick ass, that's for sure. If only because I can't figure out how a King of the Hill ride would work, as awesome as that would be. I feel the BB tie-in would easy, cheap, and could make some good returns. We gotta think about this from a financial standpoint. And honestly, this is probably the most well-liked cartoon currently airing on FOX. It's got a lot of potential to work.

The Movie-Making Elephant in the Room
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The Marvel characters and their trademark three-wheelers!

Now for the problem with all of this: Universal's contracts. It's already well-known that Disney can't include non-Guardians Marvel attractions east of the Mississippi River, so owning Fox's Marvel film rights could cause a change. Especially considering that Disney also now owns The Simpsons, meaning that Universal Orlando resort now has two of its lands in jeopardy.

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Yeah, this is awkward now.

I have no idea what the contract is with Fox properties, but in any case, it's understandable as to why Comcast tried to make a last-second bid. Unfortunately for them, Disney wanted it more. This, combined with the negative reception of some of Universal's newest attraction, means that they're likely facing some hurdles right now.

But what do you think?  Let me know by commenting me, or asking me on Twitter at @Colonel_Colin. Thank you for reading, and hopefully, it won't take me another six months to update this thing!