Hogwarts express to stop at Epcot!

[goofyandmore]

I don't know if you have heard, but Disney has announced that they will be building a Harry Potter attraction at Epcot in 2006.

 

[scanne]

OMG! Is this true?!? If it is, that would be awesome! I love HP and WDW! Cool!!!

 

[PRINCESS VIJA]

Wow! I had heard a rumor, this is the greatest news. Hmmm, I will have to start saving money to go back again after they open it!

 

[ptrbryant]

That would seem a bit strange...I mean, the whole Harry Potter film business is through Warner Bros. and has nothing to do with Disney. I wonder why they would do it?
Karla B.

 

[nataliesdaddy]

yeah I was going to say - did Disney buy the potter franchise? Because unless Disney ponied up some serious dough to AOLtimewarner or whoever owns the rights....it won't happen...does warner have their own theme park?

 

[GAIL HAYDEN]

Originally posted by ptrbryant
That would seem a bit strange...I mean, the whole Harry Potter film business is through Warner Bros. and has nothing to do with Disney. I wonder why they would do it?
Karla B.

A bit strange? Indeed. I doubt this is any more than a rumor and until I see something in print from Disney, I will say I highly doubt it.

 

[Disneymoon04]

I don't think they've announced anything yet, but there are rumors on other boards of something coming 2005/2006.

And yes nataliesdaddy, WB is associated with the six flags parks.

 

[zulaya]

I seriously doubt this is Harry Potter, though that would be cool. Everyone else is right about someone else owning the rights.

There are rumors of a new attraction/ride going up in Future World in 2005/2006. Last rumor I read was that it was to be loosely based on something at California Adventure.

Check the rumors board here on the DIS as that's where I read that thread. And there was no mention of any Harry Potter tie-in.

 

[stacy6552]

While it does seem odd at first, WDW does feature Star Wars, which is 20th century fox.

 

[Cindy B]

I would see this as rumor as well.

 

[tltjet]

The only thing that comes to mind is that Disney did buy the rights to broadcast the movies on ABC and ABC Family. I don't think I read anything about them also gaining rights to use it in an attraction.

 

[LemonFruitChew13]

i heared the same thing and i think its awesome that there doing that...do you know where iin Epcot they are building....i was thinking maybe in the World Showcase somewhere

 

[wdwguide]

As for Star Wars and Indiana Jones, Disney got the theme park rights to those from George Lucas for a mere $1 million a year nack in the 1980s.

But as for Harry Potter... that rumor originates from DisneyCorner.com, which tends to collect any and all rumors that somebody comes up with, including the "The busdriver told me..." type. At this point, the addition of anything Harry Potter-related to Epcot of all places is wishful thinking at best.

The only announced future attractions at this point are Mickey's PhilharMagic, the car stunt show at the Disney-MGM Studios and Expedition: Everest. On the rumor side, the strongest ones right now are the addition of Soarin' over California to Future World and a new fireworks show at the Magic Kingdom this fall.

 

[PrincessAurora]

I work for AOL/Time Warner and I have heard nothing. I believe this to be without foundation. Harry Potter is a cash cow for our company. WHY would we give it up to a competitor to make billions off of. There are also merchandising rights as well. Unless pigs fly, I wouldn't believe it.

 

[GAIL HAYDEN]

Originally posted by PrincessAurora
I work for AOL/Time Warner and I have heard nothing. I believe this to be without foundation. Harry Potter is a cash cow for our company. WHY would we give it up to a competitor to make billions off of. There are also merchandising rights as well. Unless pigs fly, I wouldn't believe it.

ITA and who knows just how popular good ole Harry P will be in two or three years?

 

[DelitefulDory]

Maybe it won't happen, but they do play the HP theme in MGM, and abc is the newtwork that aired the first movie on tv....

 

[CaptainJackSparrow]

You've got to be kdding me. What a rumor! There are so many reasons as to why this wouldn't be ture. As the AOLTimeWarner employee said, why would his company give up one of its main moneymakers, if not the top one, to its arch-nemesis Disney. If they did that, they might as well hand Disney a check for a billion dollars. This is ridiculous. Where do people come up with these things?

-Captain Jack

 

[CarolA]

I have heard a rumor that WB only has a movie contract for books 1-3? Wonder if that is true and what will happen then if so?

 

[erikthewise]

While I believe this rumor is just wishful thinking, I'm not at all impressed by the "why should AOL/TW give this away to Disney to make millions from" argument.

The situation would be highly analogous to the Star Tours attraction. Star Wars made roughly as much money from movies and merchandising as Harry Potter is likely to (adjusted for inflation).

Does AOL/TW own theme parks? Not that I'm aware of. What would be wrong with making additional money from a theme park tie-in? It would be perfectly natural, but you'd have to deal with someone who runs theme parks, e.g. Disney. Nobody would even suggest that the rights be "given away". Disney would need to pay a substantial licensing fee.

And Disney would *not* stand to make vast sums from the arrangement. Like all other attractions, it would be included in park admission. No one would ever know for sure how much contribution the attraction made to park attendance.

A better question is "Why would Disney consider paying what AOL/TW would likely charge?"

I'm waiting for WDW to build a "Middle Earth" theme park based on Lord of the Rings!

 

[Miscrapper]

As the mother of 2 HP fans I can see a Hogwarts Express fitting into the UK in World Showcase! Also anytime kids are reexposed to a favorite or see something new to do with it, their interest is rekindled. My girls love HP but do have other interests as well. But when the new movie comes out or the new book, then they get HP fever again - and we're more likely to spend money on something to do with it!