Norway not happy with Disney wanting to replace Maelstrom with Frozen ride

[TDC Nala]

I haven't any idea who had to sign off on that one. Pretty sure Mexico doesn't sponsor the pavilion, and I don't think they cared about the change because they weren't removing the character of Mexico from the pavilion. The rumors are that Norway will be out and completely replaced with Arendelle (a fictional location.)

 

[Mad Hattered]

I haven't any idea who had to sign off on that one. Pretty sure Mexico doesn't sponsor the pavilion, and I don't think they cared about the change because they weren't removing the character of Mexico from the pavilion. The rumors are that Norway will be out and completely replaced with Arendelle (a fictional location.)

Ugh. I hadn't heard that one. That would not fit in at all with the rest of WS.

 

[PSUGuy]

This is the second insult to Norway in particular and WS in general. We used to eat at Akershus every visit, where outside of Oslo can one sample Norwegian fare? So now it's a princess swamp with little remaining of the old menu.

Come to think of it, the Cartooning of Mexico's boat ride qualifies as a third step in the wrong direction in WS.

Bill From PA

 

[jco_direwolf]

since Norway hasn't paid a penny to support the pavilion in years, it may be acceptable for Disney to tell Norway to suck it up and they will do with it what gets Disney the best possible return on Disney's pavilion. Although I'm sure that they have people looking into what if anything it will cost them to tick off Norway. I don't like seeing the World Showcase kiddiefied, but it's coming. At least Duffy isn't everywhere anymore.

Initially the only country that came to the table with money was Morocco. I don't think anyone has ever published the contract terms, but rumor is that yes there was an ongoing maintain for the spaces. Including a 5-10 year refresh.

The rest of the countries (and FW) where done by companies that where associated with the industry or country.

 

[Disneylover99]

It may mean they will no longer be hiring Norwegian youths and providing visas for them to work in the pavilion, which appears to be what is upsetting the employees there.

That would be a real shame. A big part of the charm of every WS country are the people who work there.

 

[jco_direwolf]

Did they ask Mexico for money when they converted the boat ride or added La Cava? Did they ask Italy for money when they refurbished Tutto Italia and added Tutto Gusto? Did they ask Japan for money when they converted Katsura Grill? Maybe they did and I am unaware.

All but the boat ride are companies that added to the space, just like a mall adding a new store. And the space upgrade/refurb was paid for by the company. Norway and Morocco are unique as they are/where supported by the governments. And yes M did apparently come up with cash to refurb the pavilion

 

[surferdave]

The original Norwegian article isn't blaming Disney for anything, it is expressing the need for someone in Norway (most likely a new commercial partner) to step in and pay to update the film and the rest of the Norwegian theme before it does completely become a Frost exhibit.

http://www.tv2.no/a/5782040

That's apparently the name of the movie there.

 

[L&Lfan]

This is the second insult to Norway in particular and WS in general. We used to eat at Akershus every visit, where outside of Oslo can one sample Norwegian fare? So now it's a princess swamp with little remaining of the old menu.

Come to think of it, the Cartooning of Mexico's boat ride qualifies as a third step in the wrong direction in WS.

Bill From PA

We used to love Akershus and the wonderful Norwegian menu. We stopped going when the Princesses took over and the menu was dumbed down/Americanized. We haven't been there in years.

 

[bwang123]

Someone wrote a letter to the Norwegian Embassy about a Frozen makeover and they wrote back:

http://epcotprime.com/2014/07/21/correspondence-regarding-the-norway-pavilion/

 

[sonofanarchy]

So you would be complaining if new line(?) said to WA we want more breaks/incentives if we don't get them we are moving production of our next film across the boarder to CA?

But why it's not the same thing is that Norway had been supporting the pavilion they decided it wasn't in their national interests so they stopped funding it. Disney said fine we'll retheme it. Norway said NO. Disney said your choice fund it or we have a chance to remonetization it.

I'm not complaining either way. I'm just using an analogy.

 

[Reddog1134]

Is anybody surprised they haven't added other countries? Maybe it's not for lack of asking. Maybe they asked Peru and they replied "so we pay for an exhibit of our country in your park, and if we stop paying the 'protection fee' you turn it into The Emperor's New Groove ride? Uh, yeah......maybe you should talk to Australia, they might like to fund The Rescuers Down Under pavilion instead."

Funding the pavilion isn't a one-time payment though. Sponsors are expected to pay for as long the the contract requires. If they don't renew the contract, that's on the sponsor, not Disney.

It would be like if you leased a car and got mad at the car company because they took it back when the lease ended.

 

[surferdave]

Funding the pavilion isn't a one-time payment though. Sponsors are expected to pay for as long the the contract requires. If they don't renew the contract, that's on the sponsor, not Disney.

It would be like if you leased a car and got mad at the car company because they took it back when the lease ended.

I don't like this model from either side for theme park construction and maintenance. With this perspective, it's no surprise Epcot is in disrepair with empty locations like a strip mall built in the 80's.

 

[bwang123]

That's like saying Forks, WA (real town from the Twilight films) saw an increase in tourism after the Twilight movies came out, so New Line Cinema has a right to ask the town to contribute to the next movie.

Yes, but did Norfolks tourism board put Twilight banners on their website?
"VisitNorway.com added a Frozen banner to its homepage. The promotion has paid off, with traffic to VisitNorway tripling since the film's release"

Disney has a right to ask for the money and Norway has a right to say no. It's a good promotional tool and I am positive Norway has a budget for these types of items. They just have to figure out if its worth it to them.

 

[aacvacation]

Someone wrote a letter to the Norwegian Embassy about a Frozen makeover and they wrote back:

http://epcotprime.com/2014/07/21/correspondence-regarding-the-norway-pavilion/

But has he gotten a response from Huston?

 

[jco_direwolf]

What people seem to be missing is Walt Disney Company is a MEDIA company that uses their Parks to promote their media business. They are not a charitably NGO.

Last year (2013) Disney showed Revenues as follows-

Media $20.3B
Parks $14.0B
Studios $5.9B
Products $3.5B
Interactive $1B

Since they aren't an NGO tasked with promoting Norway or tourism or anything else, I see no problem with them saying, bail out your pavilion or else we can stick something into it that will make us more money.

EPCOT Center long ago lost the character battle. When EC opened, characters (except for the ones made just for the park, like Figment) were banned from the park. That ship sailed long ago the process has been slow but slowly EC has turned into just another theme park, with thrill rides and character meet and greets.

I do love EC. I would love to see the FW pavilions taken over by tech companies in each sector and really done up to showcase what they do. I would love to see more local culture in each of the WS pavilions. But that model hasn't shown to be sustainable.

I didn't see this much outrage when Kim Posible was added to WS, no outrage when Kim was converted to P&F. I've heard people complement what adding the princesses to Norway did for the pavilion.

And as a few others have said $9m isn't much it would barely show in the annual report (Parks in Millions is 14,087 I rounded up earlier)

 

[JoshuaShaw]

Thanks for reminding me of Tom Cruise's finest hour (by a wide margin).

UM...

YOU'RE GONNA' HAVE TO FACE IT YOU'RE ADDICTED TO LOVE.

 

[surferdave]

I would love to see the FW pavilions taken over by tech companies in each sector and really done up to showcase what they do.

I think you would just have to periodically expect them to change sponsors and attractions, and expect the park to seriously wain during tough economic times. Imagine FW swelling to the size of AK with awesome exhibits during the tech bubble of the nineties and becoming a vast wasteland after it popped.

I would love to see more local culture in each of the WS pavilions. But that model hasn't shown to be sustainable.

That sums up the subject of this thread in a nutshell.

 

[jco_direwolf]

I think you would just have to periodically expect them to change sponsors and attractions, and expect the park to seriously wain during tough economic times. Imagine FW swelling to the size of AK with awesome exhibits during the tech bubble of the nineties and becoming a vast wasteland after it popped..

You mean like the Keystone of FW, Spaceship Earth that had the wand up for 10 years, because no one would pay to have it removed, at least Disney saw fit to take down the 2000. But the wand stayed up till Siemens showed up.

 

[flicx]

What people seem to be missing is Walt Disney Company is a MEDIA company that uses their Parks to promote their media business. They are not a charitably NGO.

Last year (2013) Disney showed Revenues as follows-

Media $20.3B
Parks $14.0B
Studios $5.9B
Products $3.5B
Interactive $1B

Since they aren't an NGO tasked with promoting Norway or tourism or anything else, I see no problem with them saying, bail out your pavilion or else we can stick something into it that will make us more money.

EPCOT Center long ago lost the character battle. When EC opened, characters (except for the ones made just for the park, like Figment) were banned from the park. That ship sailed long ago the process has been slow but slowly EC has turned into just another theme park, with thrill rides and character meet and greets.

I do love EC. I would love to see the FW pavilions taken over by tech companies in each sector and really done up to showcase what they do. I would love to see more local culture in each of the WS pavilions. But that model hasn't shown to be sustainable.

I didn't see this much outrage when Kim Posible was added to WS, no outrage when Kim was converted to P&F. I've heard people complement what adding the princesses to Norway did for the pavilion.

And as a few others have said $9m isn't much it would barely show in the annual report (Parks in Millions is 14,087 I rounded up earlier)

Quite frankly I think the countries were stupid if they paid a red cent to begin with. Disney isn't giving these countries any money that they make at the gate. No way would I invest 9 million if I were Norway. Especially given the sad state that epcot has fallen into in the past decade. I'm quite sure many other countries will follow suit if they haven't already. Disney needs to belly up to the bar on this one. All you hear about is record attendance and profits galore, but when it comes to fixing things up this is what happens. Oh how I miss Disneyworld of the 90's!!!!

 

[surferdave]

UM...

YOU'RE GONNA' HAVE TO FACE IT YOU'RE ADDICTED TO LOVE.

I certainly didn't expect that to be presented as a challenger.

I'm sticking with Les Grossman. His dance was the most awesome of Cruise's career as well, to heck with Risky Business.