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2. Pixar/Marvel/Star Wars = more of the same

There is, so far, a reinforcing effect that Marvel has had on Disney’s recent theming status quo.

The only roll-out of Marvel's thousands of characters has been confined to movie tie-in appearances, and these have been, by and large, temporary meet-‘n-greets: Disneyland in Anaheim has had its Innoventions building be given a new overlay for each recent Marvel Cinematic Universe release (Iron Man 3, Thor: The Dark World, and Captain America: The Winter Soldier); Spider-Man has more recently made his presence felt at Walt Disney Studios in Paris; and Captain America has been touring with the Magic since last fall.

(All of which is not to mention Lucasfilm’s historical role at the Disney parks, which has primarily been fodder for such annual events as Star Wars Weekends and meet-‘n-greets as Jedi Training Academy. Only occasionally has it been trotted out for actual attractions, such as Star Tours or Indiana Jones and the Temple of Peril).

There is some light at the end of the tunnel, however. Through these recent corporate conquests, a more expansive future for themed entertainment has become possible, as fresh blood has been pumped into the bureaucracy, bringing with it new perspectives and fresh insights to old problems.

John Lasseter

Image © Disney

John Lasseter, the former head of Pixar, is now the creative adviser for Imagineering, a role which has allowed him to famously take the Board of Directors to the parks for the first time in years and help green-light the recent $1 billion redesign of Anaheim’s California Adventure. And Hong Kong Disneyland – just to bring everything full circle – is still in the middle of its own massive expansion, using the roster of Pixar and Marvel properties to propel the new construction and to attract what Disney hopes will be millions of additional visitors.

But the singular success of Hong Kong’s makeover has, thus far, been Mystic Manor – an inventive take on a Disney staple. As such, only if the potential of Pixar, Marvel, and Lucasfilm can be coupled with a reignited spark of exploration and creativity – and, let’s face it, of the five business units, the theme park sphere is the best hope for this – can Disney once again be the provider of exclusive, original, and magical experiences.

3. Disney’s too damned slow

There are, of course, certain roadblocks to fully utilizing the company’s new subsidiaries, with the most infamous case being Marvel’s pre-existing contract with Universal that essentially prevents any permanent themed attraction east of the Mississippi River.

Marvel Super Hero Island

Image © Universal Orlando Resort

But there are also a slew of other, invalid reasons – ranging from penny-pinching to a bureaucratic creation process – that have slowed the pace of Imagineering’s output to a near stand-still, resulting in a few spurts of new developments hither and thither and sparsely anything else in between. This is one of the biggest problems Disney currently faces, particularly when compared with rival Universal’s recent announcement that it’s going to open at least one new attraction every single year for the next several years.

And Parks and Resorts’s turgid pace of progress is even shamed by the other corporate divisions’ response times; both Walt Disney Studios and Media Networks have already put several Star Wars films and television series in production, even though such endeavors "required" the termination of other projects already in the pipeline (and will undoubtedly suffer creatively from the rush).

Star Wars Episode VII

Image © Disney / Lucasfilm

Should Disney wish to see a similar impact to what it's in the process of achieving with Hong Kong Disneyland or what's it's already pulled off with California Adventure, it'll need to move with a similar sense of urgency.

Otherwise, by the time the company is ready to move on their trio of acquisitions, it’ll once again be time for a new round of corporate takeovers.

What do you think?

Is Disney doing enough to install creative new attractions at its theme parks, and can the acquisitions of Marvel, Pixar and Lucasfilm give its resorts a big boost? Let us know in the comments section below!

 
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