bkroz Posted October 17, 2012 Share Posted October 17, 2012 Thought this was interesting. According to love-him-or-hate-him Disney watchdog Al Lutz (who admittedly tends to be more right than wrong, historically), the final plans (scroll to the bottom of the report) are underway for a new attraction based on Marvel's Iron Man film franchise to make its way into Disneyland Park's Tomorrowland. A Brief History For those who don't know, Disneyland Park's Tomorrowland has undergone radical shifts in theme. It held a very "sci-fi" vision of the future up through the 1990's. By the end of the decade (during which the powers that ran the company shifted money away from the parks division, and particularly mismanaged the West Coast resort, see Disney's California Adventure 2001), most of Tomorrowland was neglected to the point of disrepair. A misaligned 1998 renovation cast the entire land (including the iconic Space Mountain) in deep golds, bronzes, and greens that were meant to shift the land into the "fantasy" future instead of the "sci-fi" future, borrowing the aesthetics of Disneyland Paris' distinctly-European version of the land, but keeping the mis-matched American inhabitants of Star Tours, Honey I Shrunk the Audience, Space Mountain, a lite version of Epcot's Innoventions, and a closed submarine ride. One of the few locatable photos of Space Mountain when it was briefly and infamously painted in rusted shades of copper and gold to match the rest of Tomorrowland's 1998 redo. Ever since, the park has slowly tried to undo the much disliked renovation, returning to silver and blue color schemes and trying to re-invigorate the land one feature at a time. A rumored full-scale refurbishment to unite the land with the Magic Kingdom's chrome-and-white intergalactic space-port (including The ExtraTERRORestrial Alien Encounter's return and the re-opening of the very much missed PeopleMover) never came to pass, so Tomorrowland remains a strange hybrid of colors, rides, stories, and time periods (now including Buzz Lightyear across from Star Tours, and Finding Nemo's submarine ride next to the gas-guzzling Autopia, all across from the aging Innoventions and the double-aging Captain EO starring Michael Jackson). The gleaming white "space age" future (above, 1996) was replaced with the dark, organic fantasy future (middle, 1998). In the third photo, you can see the "happy medium" being struck, with the return of silver and chrome instead of such heavily dark, gold tones on the Astro Orbitor and the buildings beyond. Now it just feels mis-matched though. It's widely, widely speculated that another floor-to-ceiling renovation of the entire land is in the works, and Lutz's report alleges that an Iron Man ride is all but greenlit, set to be the centerpiece of "New Tomorrowland." Already, Disney fan sites are abuzz. Some very vocal people (as usual) insist that they'll never step foot in Disneyland again if this comes to pass. They say that Disneyland is NOT a place to "ride the movies," but a place to experience cherished stories and meet friendly characters. "Leave the something-goes-horribly-wrong thrill ride formula to Universal," in short. The massive Carousel Theatre originally built for the Carousel of Progress stands at the center of Tomorrowland. It currently houses the West Coast version of Epcot's Innoventions, but may soon become the Stark Expo from Marvel's Iron Man. I don't know if anyone has any thoughts about this, but I thought I'd keep everyone in the Disneyland loop. EDITED to add photographs. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Voicetek Posted October 23, 2012 Share Posted October 23, 2012 I'm not sure how I feel about Iron Man coming to Disneyland. It kind of feels the same way as Avatar coming to Animal Kingdom. I feel like anything at any of the Walt Disney theme parks should be things that are specifically branded as Disney. I understand that Disney owns Marvel now, but they don't release any of the Marvel films under the Disney name. You don't see the Disney Castle intro before films like Iron Man or The Avengers, so you really don't associate any of those movies with Disney. So I think they might feel a little out of place at the Disney parks. Although I love Iron Man and other Marvel movies, having an Iron Man attraction at Disneyland would make it feel more like Universal. I would much rather see Disney stick to creating rides and attractions based on movies that strictly carry the Disney (or Pixar) brand name. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheCrypt Posted October 23, 2012 Share Posted October 23, 2012 I could point out Rock 'n Roller Coaster featuring Aerosmith, the Twilight Zone Tower of Terror (CBS/UPN in their respective reign), and Test Track by General Motors. But I won't. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Voicetek Posted October 23, 2012 Share Posted October 23, 2012 And I would point out that Tower of Terror and Rock 'n Roller Coaster are at the Disney Hollywood Studios, a theme park that is meant to showcase rides and attractions based on movies so those actually kind of fit. And Test Track isn't based on a movie, so I'm not sure that counts. I'm saying I don't really want to go to the Magic Kingdom and start seeing things like Iron Man and other films that aren't necessarily associated with the Disney brand. When I go to the Magic Kingdom I want to see things like Mickey, Goofy, Chip and Dale, Disney Princesses, Pooh Bear, Dumbo, Buzz Lightyear and Woody, etc. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheCrypt Posted October 23, 2012 Share Posted October 23, 2012 Regardless of where the attractions are placed, you are still at a Disney park where non-Disney themes have been introduced. I think if Iron Man is to be integrated with Disneyland, it won't feel rushed or tacked on. Who knows, it could be a completely seperate area like Cars Land, which last I checker (oops I mean checked, didn't intrude upon the atmosphere of the rest of the park. In short, it is too early to determine whether we hate it with a burning passion or love it to death. It's still a rumor! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shark6495 Posted October 23, 2012 Share Posted October 23, 2012 And I would point out that Tower of Terror and Rock 'n Roller Coaster are at the Disney Hollywood Studios, a theme park that is meant to showcase rides and attractions based on movies so those actually kind of fit. And Test Track isn't based on a movie, so I'm not sure that counts. I'm saying I don't really want to go to the Magic Kingdom and start seeing things like Iron Man and other films that aren't necessarily associated with the Disney brand. When I go to the Magic Kingdom I want to see things like Mickey, Goofy, Chip and Dale, Disney Princesses, Pooh Bear, Dumbo, Buzz Lightyear and Woody, etc. Part of the reason Disney aquired Marvel was to give them access to things boys would like. If you have been to Universal when the Super Heroes go on parade, every young boy (and young girl and mom and dad) get excited to see them come driving by. Now at a Disney park, you are telling me both a boy can hang out with Iron Man and the young girl hangs out with Cinderella? And if Disney owns Marvel, its a Disney property. Its not like they are putting Deadpool in the park.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kblanken Posted May 9, 2013 Share Posted May 9, 2013 Something interesting in the latest Six Flags survey they sent me, it seems SIX is trying to find out how interested people are in an Iron Man themed ride. I guess they could be allowed to use them, because Iron Man is a comic book character first? Even if Disney uses them too? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thekidd33 Posted May 9, 2013 Share Posted May 9, 2013 Six Flags licensing agreement is for DC Comics characters (Batman, Superman, The Flash, Green Lantern, etc.). Iron Man is a Marvel property, one I can't imagine Disney letting them use. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SonofBaconator Posted May 9, 2013 Share Posted May 9, 2013 I would freak out if I saw Iron Man standing next to Goofy. Well, I'd freak out if I saw Iron Man in general... 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CedarPointer Posted May 9, 2013 Share Posted May 9, 2013 I kind of liked cat poop brown Space Mountain... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kblanken Posted May 9, 2013 Share Posted May 9, 2013 Six Flags licensing agreement is for DC Comics characters (Batman, Superman, The Flash, Green Lantern, etc.). Iron Man is a Marvel property, one I can't imagine Disney letting them use. Thanks... that makes it quite strange that Six Flags are asking about adding an Iron Man attraction. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jzarley Posted May 9, 2013 Share Posted May 9, 2013 Six Flags licensing agreement is for DC Comics characters (Batman, Superman, The Flash, Green Lantern, etc.). Iron Man is a Marvel property, one I can't imagine Disney letting them use. Thanks... that makes it quite strange that Six Flags are asking about adding an Iron Man attraction. It could very well just be for the purpose of attempting to value their current licensed IP (DC Comics) vs. a competitors (Marvel). A lot of seemingly strange things can be asked in the pursuit of data.I recently completed a survey for Universal Orlando which asked "were you aware that the Universal Orlando theme parks were not part of Walt Disney World?" and "were you aware that tickets purchased for Walt Disney World would not permit admission to Universal Orlando?" Which I thought was pretty strange...but, obviously that misconception must exist in the minds of some people (and, they're attempting to measure the extent to which that is the case...) 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CedarPointer Posted May 9, 2013 Share Posted May 9, 2013 You'd be surprised how often people try to use the wrong park's tickets. CedarPointer, who once had someone attempt to gain admission to KI with a Six Flags season pass... 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Interpreter Posted May 9, 2013 Share Posted May 9, 2013 You'd be surprised how often people try to use the wrong park's tickets. CedarPointer, who once had someone attempt to gain admission to KI with a Six Flags season pass... Probably out of frustration after their Cedar Fair Platinum Pass didn't work. I can relate. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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