Hey, Micechat-eers! I’ve got a hot rumor from the other guys in Orlando, a quick look at what’s coming up in Disney+ and suggested reasons why your favorite won’t be available on Day One.
Something “Epic” is Coming from Universal on August 1!
Will Universal be announcing a new Orlando theme park this week? The Magic 8-Ball points to YES. The timing would be spot-on with the hype for Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge at Disney running rampant. Universal won’t have the park done for a few years, but these are the rumors we’ve heard:
It’s going to be a hub-and-spoke design, with room left over for ENTIRE LANDS based on IPs that pop up throughout the next couple of decades. This way, the park can remain fresh, expand without losing attractions, and have pretty much zero downtime of the working park during expansion construction.
The “Main Street” of the park, from what I’ve heard, will be like CityWalk – free to enter. It’s only when you approach the (concealed?) entrances to the “worlds” will you need to present a ticket or biometric scanner for admission. Given the difficulty some people have finding Diagon Alley from the outside, this may not be a good plan, crowd-wise. But the novelty behind it is really intriguing.
The park will belly-up to Universal Drive, and is rumored to have, when it opens, a Nintendo World similar to the one being built at Universal Osaka right now, A DreamWorks land, a Fantastic Beasts land – which, given the sluggishness of the franchise right now, is a hard “maybe” – the Ministry of Magic expansion planned after Diagon Alley’s success is dead on arrival right now. Jurassic World has been tossed around, but there’s an entire island over in their other park, so I think that’s not going to happen. If you want to get some ideas about what else they could have, look to Japan. Their Minions area is successful, and a Super Happy Fun World like at Universal Hollywood could be a huge hit, depending upon how timeless the Minions franchise turns out. But I’m placing my bets on the Classic Universal Monsters and a How to Train Your Dragon land. Castles and Viking fortresses. Epic indeed!
And what does our magic 8 ball say the name of the park will be . . . Universal’s Epic Universe. We’ll have to wait until August 1st to know for sure.
UPDATED:
Universal has confirmed our rumors. Park details and concept art at the link:
But Disney isn’t one to stand by and let others take a slice of their business . . . how do you think Disney will counterpunch? 5th park? Star Wars expansion? Make it harder for guests to leave the resort property? Let me know what you’d like to see and what you think will happen.
What to Expect on Disney+
Marvel Studios Films
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- Captain Marvel
- Iron Man
- Iron Man 3
- Thor: The Dark World
Pixar Films
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- Toy Story
- Toy Story 2
- Toy Story 3
Star Wars
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- Star Wars: The Phantom Menace
- Star Wars: Attack of the Clones
- Star Wars: Revenge of the Sith
- Star Wars: A New Hope
- Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back
- Star Wars: Return of the Jedi
- Star Wars: The Force Awakens
- Rogue One: A Star Wars Story
Disney Films
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- 101 Dalmatians
- A Goofy Movie
- An Extremely Goofy Movie
- Bambi
- Born in China
- Fantasia
- Free Solo
- Frozen
- Fun and Fancy Free
- Hercules
- High School Musical
- Honey I Shrunk the Kids
- Lilo & Stitch
- Lady and The Tramp (Reboot)
- Mary Poppins
- Mickey, Donald, Goofy: The Three Musketeers
- Mickey’s Once Upon a Christmas
- Moana
- Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl
- Remember the Titans
- Sleeping Beauty
- Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs
- Steamboat Willie
- The Good Dinosaur
- The Little Mermaid
- The Parent Trap (1961)
- The Prince & The Pauper (1990)
- The Princess Diaries
- The Rocketeer
- The Sorcerer’s Apprentice
- The Sword in the Stone
- The Three Caballeros
- Thor: The Dark World
- Tron (1982)
Television Shows
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- Amazing Planet
- Andi Mack
- Boy Meets World
- Brain Games
- Dog Whisperer with Cesar Millan
- Dr. K’s Exotic Animals
- Dr. Oakley Yukon Vet
- Drain the Ocean
- DuckTales
- Earth Live
- Encore!
- Forky Asks a Question
- Goof Troop
- Great Migrations
- High School Musical: The Musical: The Series
- Howie Mandel’s Animals Doing Things
- Kim Possible
- Malcolm in the Middle
- Marvel’s Guardians of the Galaxy
- Marvel’s Hero Project
- Marvel’s Ultimate Spider-Man
- Mickey and the Roadster Racers
- Mickey Mouse Clubhouse
- Mickey Mouse Shorts
- One Strange Rock
- Raven’s Home
- Rocky Mountain Animal Rescue
- SparkShorts
- Star Wars Rebels
- Star Wars: The Clone Wars
- That’s So Raven
- The Incredible Dr. Pol
- The Mandalorian
- The Simpsons
- The World According to Jeff Goldblum
- Unlikely Animal Friends
- Untitled Walt Disney Imagineering Documentary Series
- Wicked Tuna
The very, very next-to-the-last-one, which I have bolded and italicized, is the one I’m most anxious to see.
You see, kids, when I was in my late teens and dinosaurs still roamed the earth, The Disney Channel was a premium (paid) service. No commercials except for Disney films and vacations, no tween takeover. It was 110% Disney fan service, from Mousercise to Eric Bordman’s looks inside Imagineering. It was like having the in-room TV at Disney resorts on mega steroids, and it was glorious.
I’m really hoping that we’ll be able to once again get a look into the magic factory that is Walt Disney Imagineering. If you keep up with their Disney Research YouTube Channel, you know that they’re continuing to push the envelope with animatronic animation, and it’s so encouraging to see.
There’s a lot missing from Disney+ too, especially in terms of things like Pixar Films – well, some they’re holding for later release, like Timmy Failure, but most are tied up with other networks and services past the November 12, 2019 start date for the streaming service.
Will you be signing up for Disney+?
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