I am so sick of IP

Also: Before someone says something, Universal is 100% just as bad with this, if not moreso.

"build big ugly boxes with rides inside that push our movies."

Based on their financials, it's probably the reverse. The movies push their parks.

The_man: "Also: Before someone says something, Universal is 100% just as bad with this, if not moreso (sic)."

Me: 270 words specifically ripping Disney on the use of IP, and only 17 words (after I divide "moreso" into two words) related to Universal. Nice save.

The_man: "Lets say you go on a week-long vacation to WDW they are making it so literally EVERYTHING you do is Disney IP. Does anyone really want that?"

Me: Well based on the TEA/AECOM theme park index there were close to 51 million admissions to the WDW parks (theme and water) that seemed to "want that" in 2024. So it looks like the answer is, "yes, somebody wants that".

Just sayin'.

Literally our entire existence is themed. We listen to the music that make us feel in the mood. We cook and season our food with a theme. (Think about combining tacos with broccoli. Ugh!) We decorate our house with a theme. We drive a certain color and style of car because it is part of our identity. Theming is just part of the human experience.

Our favorite TV shows open with a theme song and sometimes a closing theme. Hotel chains use color themes to identify themselves. What airline do you think of when you hear Orinoco Flow? It's all theming and it's designed to give us a feeling of comfort and rightness when we are making a choice.

So when it comes to IP, it's just an extension of theming. The successful companies like Disney and Universal just do it really well.

What if a park makes a ride so impressive that is becomes a movie franchise?

Like say POTC....

Do they Now have to take that ride down since it is Now a huge IP for them?

To please the masses of One....

Honestly, I don't understand the hate for IP. Why spend so much time creating a world that might be mediocre, when there are already so many fantastically built worlds and stories perfect for theme parks. As an added bonus, the people coming to your park already have a deep connection to these IP, and it promotes your own company.

Not to say non-IP lands and rides are less good. Heck, half of the rides at Disneyland were non-IP, and they ended up being some of the most iconic rides of all time! I just think there is something magical about watching a movie or reading a book and actually being able to visit the world you grew up with and loved.

(As a side note, I have tried Broccoli tacos... there not bad)

I'm not "sick of IP", but what I do find frustrating is an overreliance on IP as a crutch or way for designers to make mediocre ideas more appealing. There is great power in IP, and when a movie, TV show, or book is combined with the right attraction, it can create something that is greater than the sum of its parts (like ToT). However, I feel that far too often, IP is tacked onto an attraction merely with the hope that the reach and appeal of the IP will make a ride/attraction more popular. What's worse is when designers feel the need to plaster IP onto everything regardless of how much sense that combination makes.

I think IP is necessary to ensure theme parks have wide appeal, and I disagree that adding IP to so many attractions decreases the popularity or bring forth any sort of "fatigue". Theme park guests are looking to escape to other worlds, but they also want to go places that are still familiar, so utilizing IP is a way for designers to create expectations and allow guests to feel comfortable in these foreign environments. Nonetheless, I do think theme park designers could do more to leverage the power and awareness of IP to introduce guests to non-IP based attractions and experiences, and that is where parks are really falling short right now. Universal created a massive mythology (literally) and story around Celestial Park at Epic Universe and even developed characters and stories for the land, but have more or less given up. Driving attention and awareness for non-IP work is hard and requires a lot of dedication and resources that is more involved than simply putting up props and other visual hints to well-known IPs. Slapping IP on stuff is easy (and sometimes cheap depending on the cost of the license), but getting guests to get attached to and feel immersed within a non-IP attraction/land can be a lot harder, which is why so many theme parks fall on generally accepted tropes like Old West, realistic foreign locales/cultures, and generic fantasy (fairies, trolls, and the like).

Ultimately, the best theme parks tend to blend IP and non-IP elements, but I do think that in today's world of shrinking attention spans and businesses that need to demonstrate immediate financial results, IP-based attractions are going to become far more prevalent, and all we can do is hope that designers are occasionally given the latitude and resources to develop original ideas or provide unique/original spins on known IP - though if you look at Galaxy's Edge, you see an original take on one of the most well known IPs in the universe, and it has been constantly criticized for Disney not doing a more literal take on the land. It's almost a Catch-22 sometimes, and we need to understand that you can't have it both ways.

I think there are still some really incredible implementations of IP. Dark Universe takes some of the most recognizable characters and puts them in a world of new environments and stories. Pandora takes a beautiful setting and adds new characters and backstory to keep things fresh.

As said already by others, the problem is when too much is reused from the IP. Toy Story land uses the same characters, setting, and barely does anything in the way of story (even the name is doing the bare minimum). Harry Potter is definitely overused by now, but at least the stories are different. Hell, even isle of Berk, which is a really good land, doesn't do anything significant or interesting with the IP.

The worst offender of this, in my opinion, are the "book report rides". Thankfully something that Universal barely does, and Disney rarely does anymore, but any ride that just goes over the story of a movie is doing less than the bare minimum.

So in my opinion, a ride or land can borrow characters or a setting from an IP (I don't prefer when they do both), but making up a new story is the bare minimum requirement for any theme park attraction.

Some of the biggest disappointments at HHN are the hyped IP houses and the biggest surprises and, at times, best houses are Universal's own creations. There's a place for both but IPs sells tickets as they represent the customer magnet.

Let's face it, the thrill of The Seas with Nemo and Friends is far more exhilarating and educational than the Living Seas incorporating Sea Base Alpha. At least now I can talk turtle.

I know I've said this before, but while I don't mind IPs and understand why parks rely on them now (it's all about that merchandising moolah), it is disappointing to know that classics like Pirates of the Caribbean, Haunted Mansion, and "it's a small world" would not be greenlit today.