Hey Thrill Seekers,
Yesterday’s Universal update has got people talking and its got me thinking… Are we watching an IP battle?
Whilst Orlando is still dominated by Disney (Magic Kingdom had 20 million visitors in 2015) Universal has made massive strides in decreasing the gap. The introduction of the Wizarding World of Harry Potter at both Islands of Adventure and Universal Studios plus their continued investment in new hotels (Cabana Bay and Sapphire Falls) has transformed Universal from an afterthought to a full on resort and Florida is better for it.
Bill Gates famously said “Content is King” and when it comes to theme parks he couldn’t be more right. Potter, Star Wars, Marvel and now Nintendo are just 4 of the massive IP’s that are helping Disney and Universal open up a massive gap in the Florida market.
You cannot underestimate the power of a good IP. Before the introduction of Mr Potter, Universals Islands of Adventure had an annual visitation of 4.63 Million, after Mr Potter Islands has risen to 8.7 million visitors per year and Universal Studios has jumped to almost 10 million.
At present Disney have some very impressive IP which they have either purchased or built in house, buying Marvel Comics and LucasFilms for Billions raised some eyebrows at the time… now they look like absolute bargains.
So what’s next?
For Disney its Avatar, based on the James Cameron movie, Pandora will be opening at Disney’s Animal Kingdom in 2017 and although the film might be considered a distant memory episode 2 is set for release in 2018 and then 3 further movies set for release in 2020, 2022 & 2023. So Disney are definitely playing the long game with this IP and taking a bit of a risk.
On safer ground they also have Star Wars theming heading to Hollywood Studios and a Toy Story Land both extremely strong IP’s with perhaps Star Wars being the most recognisable franchises in the World.
For Universal, they’ve just opened Skull Island based around the iconic figure of King Kong and announced that they will be building a Nintendo World in the future.
What could they do?
Disney have the Marvel problem, they own the company but Universal own the rights to use the character in Florida. I’d imagine Disney have a whole huddle of lawyers checking through the contracting seeing if there’s a way to add Marvel to their parks similar to the makeover happening to Tower of Terror at Disneyland.
Universal is definitely the go to place for the Wizarding World and we believe that they have the rights to JK Rowling’s latest movie success Fantastic Beasts and Where To Find Them… we wouldn’t be surprised if we see some movement around this. The follow up movie is set for release in 2018 so Universal should probably get a move on!
Other IP’s?
With the battle for Orlando dominance firmly based around popular IP’s with great stories we’ve been thinking about which IP’s might be an option.
- Charlie and the Chocolate Factory
- DC Comics
- James Bond
- Dr Who
- Minecraft
- War Craft
- Alice in Wonderland
- Sherlock Holmes
- South Park/Family Guy
- Ghostbusters
One things for sure, the IP battle can only be a good thing for visitors.
Smiles included…
Jamie
