I already know that approaching this subject might make some folks a little testy, but every time I turn around, I see Disney fans complaining online about too much intellectual property (IP) coming into the Disney theme parks. Wednesday, Bob Iger, Chief Executive Officer of The Walt Disney Company, participated in a question-and-answer session at the MoffettNathanson Media and Communications Summit where he stated that “almost all” future Disney Parks attractions and lands will be IP-based.
I remember way back in September 2014 when Tom Staggs, then the company’s Chairman at the time, announced that the Maelstrom attraction in EPCOT’s Norway pavilion would be completely re-themed into Frozen Ever After. People all over the world collectively lost their minds at the mere thought that such a realistic attraction could be re-themed after an animated Disney film. I get it. I understand how an attraction that depicted how life might be in the actual country of Norway was like the essence of the World Showcase. But, all things Frozen were incredibly popular, and, like it or not, it made sense to Imagineering, so it became so. Other IP additions to the US Disney theme parks have occurred over the years; I won’t list them all here, but we’ve definitely seen our fair share.
The other topic I’m seeing discussed a lot is how amazing people think the theme parks, attractions, and merchandise are at the international Disney theme parks. When I say “people,” I include myself as I’m over here swooning over most things coming from those parks – enter Fantasy Springs in Tokyo DisneySea, set to open June 6, 2024.
If you’ve read any of the hype about this new area at Tokyo Disney Resort, you already know that it includes Tangled, Peter Pan, and Frozen areas with attractions, restaurants, and shops, and they look nothing short of incredible. A media event was held there last week, and I couldn’t seem to tear myself away from the coverage. It blows my mind that the attractions (and seemingly everything) have so much more detail than what we see here – i.e. comparing the audio-animatronics in Frozen Ever After at EPCOT to the ones in Anna and Elsa’s Frozen Journey in Tokyo.
Thursday morning, I woke up to excited posts on social media saying that Fantasy Springs soft-opened prior to its expected June 6th grand opening. Of course, a soft opening on one day doesn’t mean that it will have a soft opening every day until the grand opening, but it’s been a fun morning of seeing what the general public shares from the land.
It seems to me that Disney fans are pretty excited to see what’s going on over in Tokyo, especially when so many of the comments on our coverage of Fantasy Springs on our Facebook page had many people wondering why we don’t get “cool things like that in the US parks.” While we’ve got some pretty cool things here that the international parks don’t have, like Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge, Guardians of the Galaxy – Cosmic Rewind, and Pandora – The World of Avatar, personally, I’m far more into the IP that comes from Pixar and Walt Disney Animation Studios than I am Star Wars, Marvel, or Avatar.
While I think the unique experiences offered here in the US Disney theme parks are really cool, I’d be lying to you if I didn’t admit that the ones in the international parks, especially Tokyo DisneySea, are forcing me to check prices on flights to Tokyo incessantly.
All of the things we love about Fantasy Springs and what’s in it has everything to do with IP – so, why does everyone hate on it so much?
Senior Editor for the DIS and DCL Fan | Disney Vacation Club Member | Thrilled to have been a '13/'14 Disney Parks Moms Panelist (now planDisney) | Lover of all things Disney; the Magic of Disneyland, Walt Disney World, and Disney Cruise Line | ºoº
