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A lot of folks have been wondering about the lack of special merchandise in Carsland and BVS. No Oswald the Lucky Rabbit ears and an initially restricted supply of the tire hats.
The rumor is that the suits are really surprised by how big of a hit Carsland and BVS turned out to be, and weren't prepared for the fan reaction.
This is easy to understand as Carsland was John Lasseter's baby. During the development of Carsland, Lasseter really butted heads with executives in Burbank, and with Iger, who wanted to scale down Carsland's budget. Lasseter had to cash in a lot of favors, and then some, to get Carsland built how he wanted. During an opening ceremony, Lasseter profusely thanked Iger, who finally relented to Lasseter's request for building the detailed version of Carsland. The rivalry between Lasseter and company, and old hand Disney executives still exists, and because they didn't understand why Carsland would do blockbuster business, they didn't really start thinking about this area of DCA being as popular as Disneyland.
Given that Lasseter's project proved to be much more successful than projected, Burbank is still digesting this success and pondering the direction of other expansion projects given that it is more than apparent that a Pixar film can be turned into a successful land, and that Lasseter apparently knows how to get it right.
(You'd think that Avatarland is on track, but its sort of stalled in development hell. Given Pixar's track record, and the dinosaur film they are working on, it might just get eyed as a way to expand AK with a couple of new dinosaur related rides, without having to rely on James Cameron's Avatar, the second film which has also been delayed).
One thing is certain, Lasseter's star is shining brighter than ever, and expect him to have more say in the parks in the coming years.
The rumor is that the suits are really surprised by how big of a hit Carsland and BVS turned out to be, and weren't prepared for the fan reaction.
This is easy to understand as Carsland was John Lasseter's baby. During the development of Carsland, Lasseter really butted heads with executives in Burbank, and with Iger, who wanted to scale down Carsland's budget. Lasseter had to cash in a lot of favors, and then some, to get Carsland built how he wanted. During an opening ceremony, Lasseter profusely thanked Iger, who finally relented to Lasseter's request for building the detailed version of Carsland. The rivalry between Lasseter and company, and old hand Disney executives still exists, and because they didn't understand why Carsland would do blockbuster business, they didn't really start thinking about this area of DCA being as popular as Disneyland.
Given that Lasseter's project proved to be much more successful than projected, Burbank is still digesting this success and pondering the direction of other expansion projects given that it is more than apparent that a Pixar film can be turned into a successful land, and that Lasseter apparently knows how to get it right.
(You'd think that Avatarland is on track, but its sort of stalled in development hell. Given Pixar's track record, and the dinosaur film they are working on, it might just get eyed as a way to expand AK with a couple of new dinosaur related rides, without having to rely on James Cameron's Avatar, the second film which has also been delayed).
One thing is certain, Lasseter's star is shining brighter than ever, and expect him to have more say in the parks in the coming years.
. I don't care for HP but if it means I get a new Tomorrowland than I'm more than pleased!
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