News Round Up

[Figmentforever24]

Disney had no faith in the movie. Notice they never OVER advertised anything about it. They showed a teaser and then like two different commercials. They never hyped it up, because honestly they didn't think it would hold. This is a company that just came out of one of the worse dry spells as far as animation goes in their history. So when they realized it was such a hit they just rushed to put stuff in the parks. But lets be honest....Lion King was MUCH worse and Elsa isn't the only character being placed in a ride shortly after the movie ....cough...stitch....cough.

 

[Airship Ariadne]

Disney had no faith in the movie. Notice they never OVER advertised anything about it. They showed a teaser and then like two different commercials. They never hyped it up, because honestly they didn't think it would hold. This is a company that just came out of one of the worse dry spells as far as animation goes in their history. So when they realized it was such a hit they just rushed to put stuff in the parks. But lets be honest....Lion King was MUCH worse and Elsa isn't the only character being placed in a ride shortly after the movie ....cough...stitch....cough.

Yep, even weeks before it's release many people that follow movie buzz were saying it was in trouble...their were all sorts of stories about problems in crafting the story, changes made mid-way through making it, etc...many people were thinking they were dumping the movie and cutting losses, still smarting after the drubbing of The Lone Ranger and John Carter.

So the popularity of this caught them off guard...and anyone who acts surprised that Malstrom closed wasn't paying attention...we saw the movie a couple weeks after release, so already knew it was a huge hit...and I left the theater thinking "wow, The Norway Pavilion is in for an overhaul." Funny how Ariel being the centerpiece of Akershus for years didn't raise a stink, but the moment Anna and Elsa started meeting girls there (and had huge lines) people started complaining about it.

It is a success that they didn't see coming, and unlike Little Mermaid, where it took a long time for a ride to come along, it is nice to see they are making hte most of it...most these things will disappear, we will have A&E meet and greet and the new ride, but that will probably be all after 2016 or 2017.

My MAJOR issue with the article is that he uses the term Golden Age of Disney Animation for the 90's...SECOND Golden Age, sure...but let's not forget the earlier one that brought us Snow White, Bambi, Cinderella and Sleeping Beauty.

 

[rteetz]

To me, the problem is that they were initially too slow to add experiences in the parks and keep up with the merchandise demand. So I think part of the reason they are going overboard now is because their response was so poor at the beginning. Classic case of over-compensation.

Oh I agree they started late and therefore missing the large part of the "craze".

 

[rteetz]

Disney had no faith in the movie. Notice they never OVER advertised anything about it. They showed a teaser and then like two different commercials. They never hyped it up, because honestly they didn't think it would hold. This is a company that just came out of one of the worse dry spells as far as animation goes in their history. So when they realized it was such a hit they just rushed to put stuff in the parks. But lets be honest....Lion King was MUCH worse and Elsa isn't the only character being placed in a ride shortly after the movie ....cough...stitch....cough.

They had no faith because many movies before it hadn't done what happened in Disney's renaissance in the 90s. Frozen is now a top 5 all time movie. Lion king was the same way never expected it to be the top animated movie of all time but that's what it became. I don't necessarily think lion king was worse they didn't get a ride like frozen is getting.

 

[rteetz]

Yep, even weeks before it's release many people that follow movie buzz were saying it was in trouble...their were all sorts of stories about problems in crafting the story, changes made mid-way through making it, etc...many people were thinking they were dumping the movie and cutting losses, still smarting after the drubbing of The Lone Ranger and John Carter. So the popularity of this caught them off guard...and anyone who acts surprised that Malstrom closed wasn't paying attention...we saw the movie a couple weeks after release, so already knew it was a huge hit...and I left the theater thinking "wow, The Norway Pavilion is in for an overhaul." Funny how Ariel being the centerpiece of Akershus for years didn't raise a stink, but the moment Anna and Elsa started meeting girls there (and had huge lines) people started complaining about it. It is a success that they didn't see coming, and unlike Little Mermaid, where it took a long time for a ride to come along, it is nice to see they are making hte most of it...most these things will disappear, we will have A&E meet and greet and the new ride, but that will probably be all after 2016 or 2017. My MAJOR issue with the article is that he uses the term Golden Age of Disney Animation for the 90's...SECOND Golden Age, sure...but let's not forget the earlier one that brought us Snow White, Bambi, Cinderella and Sleeping Beauty.

That first golden age was the golden age of animation altogether. Walt went out and did what many thought was crazy a full length feature animated film that ended up being a great hit at the time. Disney has always been the top animation company and most likely always will be. I don't think that first golden age gets much credit because it basically started the whole animation category altogether. When in the 90s disney just had hit after hit sealing it off with the Lion King which because the highest grossing animated film of all time until now frozen.

 

[circus4u]

They had no faith because many movies before it hadn't done what happened in Disney's renaissance in the 90s. Frozen is now a top 5 all time movie. Lion king was the same way never expected it to be the top animated movie of all time but that's what it became. I don't necessarily think lion king was worse they didn't get a ride like frozen is getting.

Lion King may not have gotten a ride, but they got a show in the theater that is now Philharmagic.

 

[luisov]

Well, if people demand it, then they'll get it. I remember many people complaining about the lack of Frozen related merchandise and experiences when it was first released, so Disney is simply responding to a demand they weren't prepared for. I think that from now on Frozen will have a heavy presence in the parks during the winter season and then it'll go down for the rest of the year. Other big movies will come.

It's pretty evident that Disney wasn't expecting Frozen to be that popular. As pp said, DAS was having big problems with the plot just months before its release, and Disney was probably looking forward to move on to the next project and get over The Snow Queen, which had been around the studio since Walt's days.

The animation studio is in a great position right now, catching up with Pixar and Dreamworks after a decade of poor commercial and critical performance. Every film they've released since Tangled (and arguably Princess and the Frog or even Bolt) has been well received both critically and commercially. It could be argued that before Frozen, Disney was just having a stroke of luck. After Frozen (and given Big Hero 6's promising performance), I think that their luck became what many are considering Disney's Renaissance 2.0

In regards of the DAS terminology, if I recall, Walt's era is normally called the Golden age, whereas the 90's era is called by many the Disney renaissance.

 

[Yellowstonetim]

The idea that Disney had no faith in the movie, didn't market it, and were late to the game are total and absolute bunk and ridiculous.

I was following Frozen well before it came out. Reading all the articles and paying attention to predictions. Disney knew it was going to do very well. Most other sources knew it was going to do well. They marketed it well with the usual trailers, spots, and tie-ins. There was a great deal of discussion on their use of Olaf front and center and the name Frozen. But it was out there as much as any other Disney movie with a healthy marketing budget. And it was placed at the right date to do well.

Reviews, early and regular, were decent and some great. Anyone who follows such movies closely knew it was going to do well. The word was out before it hit theaters. Pre-release screening had been phenomenal.

The only thing Disney and most everyone else did not predict was just how HUGE the movie was going to be and just how huge the affect it had on girls. They did not have enough product for demand, but that was only because demand was so beyond normal! I know, I bought product well before the movie came out. What was available was normal. But demand after the movie came out was not anywhere near normal or expected. Just like how the movie started well but just kept running and running and running. Demand is still beyond normal for a year old movie.

 

[rteetz]

For those of you who are sports fans like myself ESPN wide world of sports is holding a college basketball tournament next weekend

http://disneyparks.disney.go.com/bl...ge-basketball-feast-for-thanksgiving-weekend/

 

[rteetz]

The idea that Disney had no faith in the movie, didn't market it, and were late to the game are total and absolute bunk and ridiculous. I was following Frozen well before it came out. Reading all the articles and paying attention to predictions. Disney knew it was going to do very well. Most other sources knew it was going to do well. They marketed it well with the usual trailers, spots, and tie-ins. There was a great deal of discussion on their use of Olaf front and center and the name Frozen. But it was out there as much as any other Disney movie with a healthy marketing budget. And it was placed at the right date to do well. Reviews, early and regular, were decent and some great. Anyone who follows such movies closely knew it was going to do well. The word was out before it hit theaters. Pre-release screening had been phenomenal. The only thing Disney and most everyone else did not predict was just how HUGE the movie was going to be and just how huge the affect it had on girls. They did not have enough product for demand, but that was only because demand was so beyond normal! I know, I bought product well before the movie came out. What was available was normal. But demand after the movie came out was not anywhere near normal or expected. Just like how the movie started well but just kept running and running and running. Demand is still beyond normal for a year old movie.

I don't think any company can prepare for the success frozen had. Five hour meet and greet lines, practically every other girl at Halloween dressed as Anna and Elsa, merchandise hard to find. While I think Disney did do the typically hype prior to the movie they were late to the party after the movie.

 

[rteetz]

Interesting observation tonight. I was at my local Walmart and went back to the electronics department and low and behold a large frozen display. Cardboard cutouts of the characters and a large table with the frozen singalong playing and coloring pages. Also they have two large trays of frozen cupcakes for free as well. This was all promoting the recent release of the frozen singalong DVD and Blu-Ray

 

[Yellowstonetim]

I don't think any company can prepare for the success frozen had. Five hour meet and greet lines, practically every other girl at Halloween dressed as Anna and Elsa, merchandise hard to find. While I think Disney did do the typically hype prior to the movie they were late to the party after the movie.

Oh absolutely, they were not prepared for the total and rabid response of young girls and fans. They didn't have enough toys, especially Elsa stuff, by far, but that was only because of the unique cultural phenomenon that was the response to Frozen. This response to a movie is totally unique to Frozen and different than even the best of the renaissance movies.

The implication above was that they didn't have faith, downplayed, didn't market, and a number of people said it was in trouble and the movie wasn't going to work. This is absolute nonsense and is opposite of the facts. The movie had a wonderful 89% on Rotten Tomatoes. Everybody but a few odd reviewers knew it was going to be successful. Disney gave it full marketing and followed the normal protocol for what was expected to be a successful animation release, including producing the normal amount of toys and products. Response was not normal.

 

[Teamubr]

Disney gave it full marketing and followed the normal protocol for what was expected to be a successful animation release, including producing the normal amount of toys and products. Response was not normal.

The lead time for a mass reorder would be 2-3 months for an already developed product.(not a new design). With the huge initial response quickly depleting the available product and a 2-3 month delay in restocking, Disney was way behind before they had a chance to catch up. I suspect they may have underestimated the draw on the second round and this caused an apparent shortage to last longer than it could have. Maybe not. It's possible that the initial shortage caused demand to rise even higher. This is a tough spot. I'm not sure even the best crystal ball could have met demand in the first 6 months.

j

 

[luisov]

Well, no, of course Disney wouldn't go that far in the production process of a difficult film if they didn't think the market for that movie was promising, nor would they allow a feature film to be released without the proper marketing campaign. However, I do think the movie had less hype/advertisement than say Tangled or Wreck-it-Ralph from Disney's hand. At the end of the day, it could be argued that it was its viral nature what made the movie such a hit.

I agree that it's not necessarily true that Disney didn't have faith in Frozen. Of course they did, otherwise they wouldn't have produced it. Though it could be said that it was a risky project for Disney since the production stage of the film was very difficult, which in most of the cases leads to the project being canceled. They weren't overconfident, but they were rather cautious, probably expecting a decent hit given the success of their previous efforts to revive the studio.

 

[rteetz]

Screamscape is reporting that avatar construction has started to go vertical no photos of it tho.

 

[rteetz]

Some info on Shanghai Disney and how expectations shouldn't be too high.

http://disneyandmore.blogspot.com/2014/11/why-you-shouldnt-get-too-much-excited.html

 

[rteetz]

The first Cinderella trailer is now out. The live action version of the Disney Classic is set to debut in March.

http://www.**************.net/video...ella-trailer-debuts-from-walt-disney-studios/

 

[rteetz]

Disney has officially filed a permit to take down the hat!

http://www.wdwmagic.com/attractions...r-mickey-hat-icon-demolition-permit-filed.htm

 

[rteetz]

Siestas Cantina at Disney's Coronado Springs is now offering breakfast.

http://www.wdwmagic.com/dining/sies...ado-springs-resort-now-offering-breakfast.htm

 

[rteetz]

Blizzard beach will remain closed for a third straight day due to cold weather

http://www.wdwmagic.com/attractions...d-for-a-third-straight-day-due-to-weather.htm