Will we see The Avengers in the Parks? Not Likely.

With the huge early returns of the first Disney-Marvel creation The Avengers blowing up theaters and breaking records, ($200.3 Million opening weekend) the conceivable thought is that we are close to seeing Marvel character roaming Disney’s Hollywood Studios and possibly an Avengers attraction making its way to the theme parks. Sadly, we are mistaken. These things will not be happening anytime soon; it at all.

When Disney bought Marvel Entertainment in 2009 it was thought that there would be Marvel character roaming parks and attractions galore within all of Disney theme parks. This has not been the case, and though we may want to blame Disney for not capitalizing on the brand, it is much more complicated than that. When we look down the block to Universal Studios, there is an area of Islands of Adventure called Marvel Superhero Island. This area, which predates the acquisition of Marvel by Disney, has written within its contract that the agreement cannot be ended with a change in ownership. It almost seemed as though Universal knew that one day Marvel would be sold (and they did not have the funds to buy the company themselves) and they wanted to keep themselves covered. This deal, which Disney CEO Bob Iger has since honored, does not allow Disney to use any Marvel character that has a place in Islands of Adventure in any capacity east of the Mississippi River. The positive ramification is that it excludes Disneyland from this binding contract, leaving the West Coast free to create whatever it pleases.

This brings up the Universal angle though: what would possess a company to continue to market its opposition’s franchise? Think about this: You enter Universal, and you are greeted by Captain America, Spider-Man, Wolverine, and the Hulk. That is good. The bad: you are seeing characters and attractions themed to a Disney owned property. Disney has free marketing at Universal Studios. Though it would be costly, wouldn’t the logical thing be to re-theme Superhero Island to maybe DC (though it would have to finagle a deal away from Six Flags) or a complete re-imagining of the land? It seems like a poor decision to promote Disney owned characters, especially to a population dominated by tourists, who may not know this deal exists and thus not know the difference.

The only answer we have is this: No. You will not see an Avengers attraction in Hollywood Studios (Hulk is in Universal.) The wonder I have is the logistics of maybe an Iron Man attraction. That might be feasible, though I am unsure of the semantics of the contract. One day Universal will re-theme the Island as they will have had enough giving Disney free market space. Then and only then will Marvel fans see the franchise in the resort it belongs. Till then we can only speculate.

Disney That Never Was: Beastly Kingdom

Of all of the lands of Animal Kingdom that were operational on opening day on April 22, 1998, the land that had everyone wondering and hoping for the immediate expansion that was planned. Sadly that expansion never came, and might now aspects of it may become a part of the Avatar themed expansion.

Beastly Kingdom was immediately a rock-solid plan in the minds of Disney executives. Animal Kingdom was supposed to feature animals of all types; those in real-life, those who walked the planet but have become extinct, and finally animals of the mystical realm. These plans would have placed Beastly Kingdom squarely in the area now inhabited by Camp Minnie-Mickey. What people do not know, is that Camp Minnie-Mickey has a remnant of the un-built Beastly Kingdom: A dragon shaped fountain within its boundaries. The plan of Beastly Kingdom was to create an area for all mythical and fantastical animals including Unicorns, Dragons, and sea monsters among others.

The land would have been broken up into two distinct areas: A good side and an evil side. Each side of Beastly Kingdom would have a “weenie” or landmark distinguishing itself from the other. The good side would feature an attraction called Quest of the Unicorn, as well as a Fantasia styled boat ride. The evil side of Beastly Kingdom would have featured Dragon Tower, an old castle in ruins inhabited by a fire breathing Dragon. As such the land would have been one of the focal points of the park, and likely would have kept Animal Kingdom from its initial failures. 

The area never came to be, and much to do with budgeting and finances. Rumor has it that Michael Eisner had to choose between the Beastly Kingdom area and the Dinoland area, as costs soared on construction. Seeing as Disney was real easing Dinosaur, the believed that would be the better land to create and promote (How did that film do?) As such Camp Minnie- Mickey was put in as a band aid replacement. Many of the Imagineers involved with the project eventually left the company in some sort of disgust at the failure of the construction amid the planning and man hours used in creation. Many of these Imagineers found their way to Universal, and were involved and used elements from Beastly Kingdom in the creation of The Lost Continent. Proof of this was found in Dueling Dragons (Now known as Dragon Challenge) as the concept of two dueling dragons within a ruined castle (sound familiar?)

Some elements of Beastly Kingdom are still evident in Animal Kingdom even today:

·       The Marquee of the park logo still includes a silhouette dragon among the animals walking behind the Animal Kingdom name.

·       One of the parking lots of the park was and still is titled Unicorn.

·       There is a statue of a Dragonhead above the ticket booths, though no Dragon exists in the park.

·       Fire blasts would fly from a cave within Camp Minnie-Mickey. There also included a suit of armor and an announcement on the now defunct Discovery River Boats that the cave housed a fire breathing dragon.

Beastly Kingdom was an enormous undertaking that the Disney Company decided was not cost-effective or feasible with the opening of the park. Though there were and still are elements  of the Beastly Kingdom concept included in the park (proving the seriousness of the creation of the land) it appears as though this has and will be permanently shelved with the announcement of the Avatar themed land within the park.

History of WDW: Mickey's Toontown Fair

I would suspect that a year or so is long enough to discuss the recently closed and demolished land of Mickey's Toontown. Though I first remember it as Mickey's Starland, it was originally opened as Mickey's Birthday land in 1988 by then Disney CEO Michael Eisner. It was Eisner's idea to put Mickey in a permanent spot, though the land was never meant to be a permanent place. Mickey's Birthdayland was converted to Mickey's Starland in 1990, and eventually to Toontown Fair in 1996.

The idea of Toontown Fair was a place for Mickey, Donald, and their friends to have a "vacation spot" in Florida as it would make little sense to children that Mickey could live in both California and Florida (As Toontown exists in Disneyland Park) This idea to keep the canon going was created to explain the land to guests. Toontown Fair included Mickey's Country House, Minnie's House as well as Donald's Boat and The Barnstormer at Wise Acre Farm. These attractions made Toontown Fair an attractive place for children and parents alike.

Mickey's house concluded with a trip to the Judge's Tent, as part of the story includes that Mickey has come to Toontown Fair to judge the farm contest. Here was the permanent spot to meet Mickey until the areas closing and the opening of Town Square Theater. This area included mostly walk-throughs with the exception of The Barnstormer. Goofy's Barnstormer was and is a children's style roller coaster, based on Goofy and his plane. This attraction closed with the rest of Toontown Fair in February 2011, but will re-open in the coming weeks with the new Storybook Circus set to open next month officially. There will be a few changes, though they will only revolve around the story and theming.

The area included Donald's Boat, a children's play area that included Donald's sailor suit. There was also Pete's Garage, that housed the restrooms, but we always looked out for the key to Pete's bathroom in the gas pump, but don't worry, the bathrooms were always unlocked.

Mickey's Toontown Fair closed in February 2011in preparation for the opening of New Fantasyland. Some of the structures, like the tents and such have remained as part of the Storybook Circus area, and as stated even the Barnstormer has survived. What was once supposed to only be a temporary area is now gone for good, but its footprint remains. For an area that was not supposed to last, 23 years sure was a long time, and they even built a train station for it. Toontown Fair/Starland/Birthdayland will always hold a special place for many Disney World fans. We said we wouldn't be caught dead in there, but we were always found within the confines of the Fair at some time in every trip.

Agent P's World Showcase Adventure

Once again I love it when a rumor becomes fact. Disney Parks Blog is reporting that this summer the Kim Possible adventure in World Showcase will be changed to Agent P's World Showcase Adventure. Their will be possibly a new device, though nothing really has been said past a "high-tech secret agent device" so there is speculation that something new is coming into the experience. This change will be happening during this summer, though it will probably be a quick turnover as it will just be signs and such around World Showcase and an updated home base. Lets see how this change goes. We know it will have a positive feedback from fans and children alike.

Bye-Bye Habit Heores

So this opening did not even make to a blog post of mine, but apparently the new attraction in Innoventions East in EPCOT Habit Heroes has already bitten the dust. The attraction, focusing on eating healthy has been slammed recently by people complaining that Disney is discriminating against obese people. It has been such a backlash that even places like the Binge Eating Disorder Association among others have petitioned Disney to close the attraction up. Well, apparently Disney has listened. It seems that the attraction has ceased operation, and all signs point that this will either be a permanent closure or a massive rethinking of the concept. Now we are all wishing for Waste Management's "Don't Waste It" to come back. Stay tuned for the updates on this situation.