The reality is they won’t get rid of it, because if they do, I believe they loose the rights and it paves the way for Disney to do more Marvel at Disney World, which if done right could kill the crowds at Universal.
Good point. I don’t know if Disney would be able to make a “Marvel Land” if Universal got rid of there’s with the east of Mississippi contract, so that would be interesting.
To be frank until the contract runs out, I wouldn’t get rid of Marvel island if I was them. They should definitely do a facelift of sorts though because its outdated. As long as Disney is doing a good job with MCU movies and Universal can afford the royalty based contract, families will keep coming. Although the MCU and comics are separate entities, parents want their kids to see the characters. It also prevents Disneyworld from getting any inch better. I will say, Islands is my favorite theme park in Orlando but there’s definitely other places in worth remodeling there.
One company promoting a rival company’s property and paying royalties to do it? That’s very bad business, if Universal was smart they would offer to sell those rights in exchange for enough money to buy DC rights and retheme the land to DC. Universal pays royalties to Disney for the Marvel land? Insanity. I would not be surprised if this is already in the works for them to drop Marvel, have they been building any new Marvel rides lately at their other international parks?
No, Disney doesn’t have the theme park rights to Marvel East of the Mississippi. Disney can’t raise these fees for many years to come. So, Universal gets to keep Marvel characters on the east coast for the foreseeable future.
That is incorrect. Disney and Marvel Comics still own the rights to Spider-Man characters from the comics. Sony only has the rights to the theatrical versions of those characters.
They should just flip to a movie experience, be in the movie, work with Disney, Sony, and Universal to do this like how about a bumper go cart track that goes through a mini city as a F&F, Deadshot laser tag game, Agent 57 hitman noir VR, Red Room and Danger room training VR experience, and Give Dragon Ball Island and world of Dragon Ball z a park home
There’s no way that Disney is going to work with their major competition, Universal to make them more competitive and take potential visitors away from Disney World to go to Islands of Adventure.
No I didn’t want Universal to get rid of Marvel Island, It’s one of the best islands that Universal has, If they get rid of the island I also think that they’ll be less people coming to Universal, it would be a huge mistake on Universal’s part.
Really? There is never much of a wait at any of the Marvel rides anymore, save for Hulk. I think most people coming for specific attractions are coming for Harry Potter or Jurassic at this point.
I say just give it to Disney. Disney has the rights to Marvel. I don’t think it would hurt Universal cause they Have Harry Potter. Universal could always add the Flintstones ,Donkey Kong. Bring back Nickelodeon.
Give it to Disney?? That’s complete nonsense! They already had Nickelodeon and it didn’t last. The Flintstones?? What year is it? 1970? Most young people don’t even know who the Flintstones are!
I don’t see anyone who thinks Universal should get rid of Marvel Superhero Island.
You also failed to mention a few things:-
The Hulk Coaster coaster was completely torn down and rebuilt.
Its quite likely that Universal can’t just decide to change things in that area of the Park, they would probably still need Disney to approve in some capacity.
Disney nor marvel own the right to Spiderman or its collective universe. Sony still owns the rights to Spider-Man. But all the other marvel hero’s yes, Disney owns the rights. So universal studios Orlando can keep the Spiderman ride.
Wrong. Sony only owns the “cinematic movie rights” of Spider-Man characters. Marvel Comics, which is owned by Disney has all the non-cinematic rights to these characters.
Sue, you are wrong. Sony owns the MOVIE rights to Spider-Man but the actual character is owned by Marvel Comics which is owned by Disney. Also the Fantastic Four movie rights were owned by Twentieth Century Fox which is now also owned by Disney. The actual FF characters are owned by Marvel Comics.
Marvel Island is fantastic for all ages. Toddlers live hulk, capt america, and spiderman. Lord of the rings is a complicated story for young teenagers and younger. Universal can add fun Marvel toddler rides.
Toddler rides? The next big market are adults without kids. Big pockets with nothing but fun to spend their money on. With the rise in childfree adults rising amongst millenials and Gen-Z, I don’t think parks need to be catering towards toddlers. Do whatever it takes to get the pockets with money in the door.
Extremely negative energy throughout‼️ This article blatantly ignores the fact that Universal owns the Theme Park rights to most Marvel Characters on the east coast. WDW can only make attractions based on Iron Man, Guardians of the Galaxy & Dr Strange from what I’ve heard over the years. The wording in the article is also very shady “WHEN will they REPLACE…” excuse you, why aren’t you instead asking “If” or “Are they going to” ??? and like most people say, the truth is that Universal won’t be getting rid of that entire land and all its rides. What kind of nonsensical thinking… And the fact that you keep saying “there’s no story” WHO CARES! Most Disney areas don’t have a glorified story. Literally, people just want rides. Step off with your low vibrational energy ???
No bad energy here, my friend. Just kicking around an idea. I don’t support Universal getting rid of the land, just putting an idea out there. It’s nice seeing how many people are passionate about it.
Actually, WDW can make attractions based on any Marvel Studios character that is only based on their cinematic representation, not their comic book or animated versions. That means that technically, Universal can have attractions featuring Iron Man, Doctor Strange and GOTG characters in their comic book form if they choose.
I do. So do millions of other LOTR fans. So, you’re wrong there. Plus, Amazon Prime has a new LOTR series in development that’s set to debut later this year, which will bring new fans interested in the franchise.
I’d personally love to see Transformers Metrobase take Marvel Super Hero Island’s place one day! I mean, Universal Beijing is going to have one based on Michael Bay’s film series, but my vision of IoA’s own Metrobase will be inspired by multiple Transformers iterations! You know, Generation 1, Beast Wars, Unicron Trilogy, Animated, etc.
The Trypticoaster, a roller coaster based on Trypticon could replace The Incredible Hulk while Doctor Doom’s Fear Fall can be demolished in favor of a new and original Transformers ride!
I think paying royalties for them is good, but use it to build movie immersive experience for ages 6 and up…let people use vr to be a character, and use it to make Universal movie experiences, work with Disney to say hey let’s just work together on a Marvel Island, and innovate a Dragon ball and Attack on Titan portion for Anime kids like mine. Make Siri’s lab where kids play but learn STEM, Theme parks should start building hubs with 200 at time, separate VR experiences or team like Army does in VR training simulators…Best part you could use solar, and water reservoirs in park lagoons to aid in cooling along with AC systems to save money and be green.
Work from within, attack competition from within, go full Sun Tzu.
Seeing how universal did a better marvel theme park 20 years ago than what Disney is doing now in California. I say they should just update it. Stick with the comic book versions and build out new rides based on that.
Universal has the rights in Florida as long as they want them. If they were to give them up it would be because Disney would fund the replacement. Very expensive and Disney does not wish to get in the middle of that. Anyway Disney gets free pub from a very popular area in IOA.
I can’t understand why Universal keeps Marvel at Island of Adventure. They are NOT sticking it Disney. Disney is sticking it to Universal. All that real estate is being devoted to a Disney IP. The same is true with the Simpsons. So much of the Universal parks are devoted to Disney characters. Who has the last laugh?
That’s a really good point with The Simpsons, I never realized that, but since Disney purchased 20th Century Fox, Universal is paying them a hefty amount.
It’s time to give it up. Even friends of mine that have gone call it a joke. Disney makes money off it while laughing. Turn it into LOTR or a new Mario Land with Rollercoaster and a lot of VR experience. They could even make a Walking Dead Rollercoaster and mazes with more zombies. Even zombie style restaurants
I sent ideas to them already about it
I, too, found the tone of the article very negative. Islands of Adventure is the most fun individual park, and Marvel among the best rides. Universal was there first by 15 years. So why should THEY give up their rights? Nonsense. It doesn’t matter who’s at the other end of the royalty checks. Leave the rides alone, and add to them and the surrounding concessions.
This article is filled with bs lies and outright bias towards Disney.
To begin with why are we asking when Universal will get rid of Marvel? As if they should feel obligated to do so. The deal between Marvel and Universal was made long before Disney was ever considering buying Marvel, and it was the deal of lifetime (literally?) Marvel is basically free money for Universal at this point. The royalties Uni pays to Marvel/Disney is shockingly low, and Universal can have Marvel for as long as they want, so long as the land is properly maintained and royalties are paid because the deal was made in perpetuity. Disney would have to pay them truckloads of money or trade them a franchise with equal or greater value than Marvel, which we all know is very unlikely to happen in this lifetime.
Saying that the Spider-Man ride at Disneyland is more technologically advanced than the Universal’s Spider-Man ride is outright bs aswell. Most reviews have called the Disney ride disappointing and mediocre at best, while the Universal ride is still met with high praise 22yrs later. Disney’s Spider-Man ride is nothing more than Toy Story Mania and Lego Ninjago reskin. Get out of here with that that nonsense.
The article says that the Marvel merchandise sold at Universal can also be found at retail stores outside the park, which is again a blatant lie. Most of the Marvel merchandise that is sold at the parks is Universal exclusive merch. What are you talking about?
And finally, MSHI does indeed have a story. When the park first opened in 1999, Universal and Marvel were giving away a free comic book that had the story of Marvel Super Hero Island. This comic was only available for a few years, but you can still find copies of it on eBay.
All very good points! I didn’t mean to sounds negative, as I was voicing a lot of the opinions that I found online. I kind of echoed what I was reading without necessarily trying to infuse my own opinion. I really like your points!
That Spiderman ride at Universal is corny and dated as hell. Universal is promoting Disney owned property, thats horrible business sense. Universal should be dangling the rights for Disney buy back for a kings ransom so they could go buy out DC and retheme.
Of course! You would think that Uni is deeply embarrassed to be promoting an IP owned by its biggest theme park competitor. (One issue that is never explained is WHO TAKES THE PROFITS FROM MSHI MERCH?? Does Uni split it with Diz?). Uni would be foolish not to replace MSHI with Tolkien!
LOTR land would be a massive failure, there isnt enough content or interest in it.
The talk about Disney v Universal as out and out competition is also somewhat untrue. Both benefit massively from each other and have made Orlando the number 1 attraction destination in the world. Working together would be a huge benefit to both….because believe it or not you are allowed to like and visit both.
Here is what i think would make the most sense but is highly unlikely….
Sell the rights back to disney, use the money to offer a similar deal with DC (given 6 flags already have a deal but no themepark in florida it could work).
Island of adventure becomes Gotham, completely devoted to batman (like originally planned).
The hulk becomes the bat plane launching out of the bat cave through Gotham,
Spiderman becomes a batman dark ride…there isnt a better superhero character for a dark ride!
Dr doom – 2 face falls
Storm force – Mr freeze cups
Universal can then turn other lands at at IOA or epic universal into other DC franchises….imagine being the first park to have a 100% dedicated land to women (who deserve it) with wonderwomen as the anchor.
Disney then go off and make there own marvel land and believe it or not both universal, disney and Orlando all benefit.
Comments for When Will Universal Orlando Replace Marvel Super Hero Island?
Chris
The reality is they won’t get rid of it, because if they do, I believe they loose the rights and it paves the way for Disney to do more Marvel at Disney World, which if done right could kill the crowds at Universal.
Alex Lue
Good point. I don’t know if Disney would be able to make a “Marvel Land” if Universal got rid of there’s with the east of Mississippi contract, so that would be interesting.
Bird
To be frank until the contract runs out, I wouldn’t get rid of Marvel island if I was them. They should definitely do a facelift of sorts though because its outdated. As long as Disney is doing a good job with MCU movies and Universal can afford the royalty based contract, families will keep coming. Although the MCU and comics are separate entities, parents want their kids to see the characters. It also prevents Disneyworld from getting any inch better. I will say, Islands is my favorite theme park in Orlando but there’s definitely other places in worth remodeling there.
Snake
One company promoting a rival company’s property and paying royalties to do it? That’s very bad business, if Universal was smart they would offer to sell those rights in exchange for enough money to buy DC rights and retheme the land to DC. Universal pays royalties to Disney for the Marvel land? Insanity. I would not be surprised if this is already in the works for them to drop Marvel, have they been building any new Marvel rides lately at their other international parks?
Jason
Disney has all the rights to Marvel, they have been increasing the royalties that Universal pays so that it will soon not be financially feasible.
Chris
No, Disney doesn’t have the theme park rights to Marvel East of the Mississippi. Disney can’t raise these fees for many years to come. So, Universal gets to keep Marvel characters on the east coast for the foreseeable future.
Alex Lue
Great point!
Chris Wood
Disney doesn’t have the rights to Spider-Man. Sony still owns those rights
Diezel
That is incorrect. Disney and Marvel Comics still own the rights to Spider-Man characters from the comics. Sony only has the rights to the theatrical versions of those characters.
Brady Anderson
Wanting Fox to have Marvel better than Disney. Heck, Fox can’t be Disney’s even.
Alex Lue
Yes, good point. My apologies for leaving that out.
Jack the rabbit
I thought I read they were work with nintendo to change the theme to something like pokemon. Since they are build super Marie world
Douglas Van Vactor
They should invest into anime titles
Alex Lue
That would be interesting!
Jon
They should turn Marvel into Mario. Hulk becomes Yoshi. Dr. Doom becomes Donkey Kong.
stephanie garcia
I don’t think it should be replaced by anything else! I think they just need to update it.
Doug Js
It’s not going anywhere
Dexx
They should just flip to a movie experience, be in the movie, work with Disney, Sony, and Universal to do this like how about a bumper go cart track that goes through a mini city as a F&F, Deadshot laser tag game, Agent 57 hitman noir VR, Red Room and Danger room training VR experience, and Give Dragon Ball Island and world of Dragon Ball z a park home
Diezel
There’s no way that Disney is going to work with their major competition, Universal to make them more competitive and take potential visitors away from Disney World to go to Islands of Adventure.
Alex Lue
I would love that!
Blair
No I didn’t want Universal to get rid of Marvel Island, It’s one of the best islands that Universal has, If they get rid of the island I also think that they’ll be less people coming to Universal, it would be a huge mistake on Universal’s part.
Miles
Agreed
Kelly
Really? There is never much of a wait at any of the Marvel rides anymore, save for Hulk. I think most people coming for specific attractions are coming for Harry Potter or Jurassic at this point.
Alex Lue
That’s true, Spidey is usually 10-15 minutes (my favorite of the land!)
Jon
I say just give it to Disney. Disney has the rights to Marvel. I don’t think it would hurt Universal cause they Have Harry Potter. Universal could always add the Flintstones ,Donkey Kong. Bring back Nickelodeon.
Diezel
Give it to Disney?? That’s complete nonsense! They already had Nickelodeon and it didn’t last. The Flintstones?? What year is it? 1970? Most young people don’t even know who the Flintstones are!
Alex Lue
I’d love something Donkey Kong!
Jim
I don’t see anyone who thinks Universal should get rid of Marvel Superhero Island.
You also failed to mention a few things:-
The Hulk Coaster coaster was completely torn down and rebuilt.
Its quite likely that Universal can’t just decide to change things in that area of the Park, they would probably still need Disney to approve in some capacity.
Alex Lue
I didn’t know it was rebuilt, that’s amazing!
Chris Wood
Disney nor marvel own the right to Spiderman or its collective universe. Sony still owns the rights to Spider-Man. But all the other marvel hero’s yes, Disney owns the rights. So universal studios Orlando can keep the Spiderman ride.
Diezel
Wrong. Sony only owns the “cinematic movie rights” of Spider-Man characters. Marvel Comics, which is owned by Disney has all the non-cinematic rights to these characters.
Sue
Wrong. Sony owns Spider-Man and the Fantastic 4. Disney and Universal have to pay Sony to use Spider-Man in anything.
Tom B
Sue, you are wrong. Sony owns the MOVIE rights to Spider-Man but the actual character is owned by Marvel Comics which is owned by Disney. Also the Fantastic Four movie rights were owned by Twentieth Century Fox which is now also owned by Disney. The actual FF characters are owned by Marvel Comics.
Alex Lue
This is correct! Legalese is so confusing! Sony owns the film rights to Spidey, while Disney owns the merchandising rights to Spider-Man.
EJ
Marvel Island is fantastic for all ages. Toddlers live hulk, capt america, and spiderman. Lord of the rings is a complicated story for young teenagers and younger. Universal can add fun Marvel toddler rides.
Kelly
Toddler rides? The next big market are adults without kids. Big pockets with nothing but fun to spend their money on. With the rise in childfree adults rising amongst millenials and Gen-Z, I don’t think parks need to be catering towards toddlers. Do whatever it takes to get the pockets with money in the door.
Christopher A Todesco
If any island could use an update with the LOTR treatment, it’s The Lost Continent area outside of Hogwarts.
Diezel
Agreed.
Alex Lue
I agree! I just put it in there for fun, but Lost Continent would be the best area for LOTR!
Jason
Extremely negative energy throughout‼️ This article blatantly ignores the fact that Universal owns the Theme Park rights to most Marvel Characters on the east coast. WDW can only make attractions based on Iron Man, Guardians of the Galaxy & Dr Strange from what I’ve heard over the years. The wording in the article is also very shady “WHEN will they REPLACE…” excuse you, why aren’t you instead asking “If” or “Are they going to” ??? and like most people say, the truth is that Universal won’t be getting rid of that entire land and all its rides. What kind of nonsensical thinking… And the fact that you keep saying “there’s no story” WHO CARES! Most Disney areas don’t have a glorified story. Literally, people just want rides. Step off with your low vibrational energy ???
Alex Lue
No bad energy here, my friend. Just kicking around an idea. I don’t support Universal getting rid of the land, just putting an idea out there. It’s nice seeing how many people are passionate about it.
Diezel
Actually, WDW can make attractions based on any Marvel Studios character that is only based on their cinematic representation, not their comic book or animated versions. That means that technically, Universal can have attractions featuring Iron Man, Doctor Strange and GOTG characters in their comic book form if they choose.
Alex Lue
Oh weird, did not know that. Good info, I appreciate this!
Jason
Nobody wants Lord of the Rings, are you serious?
Diezel
I do. So do millions of other LOTR fans. So, you’re wrong there. Plus, Amazon Prime has a new LOTR series in development that’s set to debut later this year, which will bring new fans interested in the franchise.
Alex Lue
I want it, lol.
Kelly
I think it would “hurt” Universal in that it would HELP Disney.
Victoria Hernandez
Most people agreed that the Disney themed marvel rides weren’t as good,it would be stupid to remove the universal rides
Matthew Coleman
I don’t mean to sound controversial but…
I’d personally love to see Transformers Metrobase take Marvel Super Hero Island’s place one day! I mean, Universal Beijing is going to have one based on Michael Bay’s film series, but my vision of IoA’s own Metrobase will be inspired by multiple Transformers iterations! You know, Generation 1, Beast Wars, Unicron Trilogy, Animated, etc.
The Trypticoaster, a roller coaster based on Trypticon could replace The Incredible Hulk while Doctor Doom’s Fear Fall can be demolished in favor of a new and original Transformers ride!
What are y’all’s thoughts?
Dexx
I think paying royalties for them is good, but use it to build movie immersive experience for ages 6 and up…let people use vr to be a character, and use it to make Universal movie experiences, work with Disney to say hey let’s just work together on a Marvel Island, and innovate a Dragon ball and Attack on Titan portion for Anime kids like mine. Make Siri’s lab where kids play but learn STEM, Theme parks should start building hubs with 200 at time, separate VR experiences or team like Army does in VR training simulators…Best part you could use solar, and water reservoirs in park lagoons to aid in cooling along with AC systems to save money and be green.
Work from within, attack competition from within, go full Sun Tzu.
Watkins
Seeing how universal did a better marvel theme park 20 years ago than what Disney is doing now in California. I say they should just update it. Stick with the comic book versions and build out new rides based on that.
Sue
Agreed
Alex Lue
That would be cool!
Doug J
Universal has the rights in Florida as long as they want them. If they were to give them up it would be because Disney would fund the replacement. Very expensive and Disney does not wish to get in the middle of that. Anyway Disney gets free pub from a very popular area in IOA.
Steve
I can’t understand why Universal keeps Marvel at Island of Adventure. They are NOT sticking it Disney. Disney is sticking it to Universal. All that real estate is being devoted to a Disney IP. The same is true with the Simpsons. So much of the Universal parks are devoted to Disney characters. Who has the last laugh?
Alex Lue
That’s a really good point with The Simpsons, I never realized that, but since Disney purchased 20th Century Fox, Universal is paying them a hefty amount.
Dave
It’s time to give it up. Even friends of mine that have gone call it a joke. Disney makes money off it while laughing. Turn it into LOTR or a new Mario Land with Rollercoaster and a lot of VR experience. They could even make a Walking Dead Rollercoaster and mazes with more zombies. Even zombie style restaurants
I sent ideas to them already about it
Alex Lue
I’d love a Smaug rollercoaster or something of that nature!
Sue
Marvel should get out from under Disney and Universal. Produce their own films and create their own theme park.
Someone has to bring Disney down.
Babs
I, too, found the tone of the article very negative. Islands of Adventure is the most fun individual park, and Marvel among the best rides. Universal was there first by 15 years. So why should THEY give up their rights? Nonsense. It doesn’t matter who’s at the other end of the royalty checks. Leave the rides alone, and add to them and the surrounding concessions.
Alex Lue
This was just a speculation article, so I doubt Disney and Universal are even talking about this. Did not mean to come off negative
Domon
This article is filled with bs lies and outright bias towards Disney.
To begin with why are we asking when Universal will get rid of Marvel? As if they should feel obligated to do so. The deal between Marvel and Universal was made long before Disney was ever considering buying Marvel, and it was the deal of lifetime (literally?) Marvel is basically free money for Universal at this point. The royalties Uni pays to Marvel/Disney is shockingly low, and Universal can have Marvel for as long as they want, so long as the land is properly maintained and royalties are paid because the deal was made in perpetuity. Disney would have to pay them truckloads of money or trade them a franchise with equal or greater value than Marvel, which we all know is very unlikely to happen in this lifetime.
Saying that the Spider-Man ride at Disneyland is more technologically advanced than the Universal’s Spider-Man ride is outright bs aswell. Most reviews have called the Disney ride disappointing and mediocre at best, while the Universal ride is still met with high praise 22yrs later. Disney’s Spider-Man ride is nothing more than Toy Story Mania and Lego Ninjago reskin. Get out of here with that that nonsense.
The article says that the Marvel merchandise sold at Universal can also be found at retail stores outside the park, which is again a blatant lie. Most of the Marvel merchandise that is sold at the parks is Universal exclusive merch. What are you talking about?
And finally, MSHI does indeed have a story. When the park first opened in 1999, Universal and Marvel were giving away a free comic book that had the story of Marvel Super Hero Island. This comic was only available for a few years, but you can still find copies of it on eBay.
Alex Lue
All very good points! I didn’t mean to sounds negative, as I was voicing a lot of the opinions that I found online. I kind of echoed what I was reading without necessarily trying to infuse my own opinion. I really like your points!
Snake
That Spiderman ride at Universal is corny and dated as hell. Universal is promoting Disney owned property, thats horrible business sense. Universal should be dangling the rights for Disney buy back for a kings ransom so they could go buy out DC and retheme.
Snake
That’s like Pepsi promoting Coke products, insanity.
Matthew Brewster
Of course! You would think that Uni is deeply embarrassed to be promoting an IP owned by its biggest theme park competitor. (One issue that is never explained is WHO TAKES THE PROFITS FROM MSHI MERCH?? Does Uni split it with Diz?). Uni would be foolish not to replace MSHI with Tolkien!
Alex Lue
Good point, I think that Disney would technically be earning the profits for Marvel merchandise. Very interesting!
Christian Morgan
Super Mario can take marvel island place
I Love Universal
LOTR land would be a massive failure, there isnt enough content or interest in it.
The talk about Disney v Universal as out and out competition is also somewhat untrue. Both benefit massively from each other and have made Orlando the number 1 attraction destination in the world. Working together would be a huge benefit to both….because believe it or not you are allowed to like and visit both.
Here is what i think would make the most sense but is highly unlikely….
Sell the rights back to disney, use the money to offer a similar deal with DC (given 6 flags already have a deal but no themepark in florida it could work).
Island of adventure becomes Gotham, completely devoted to batman (like originally planned).
The hulk becomes the bat plane launching out of the bat cave through Gotham,
Spiderman becomes a batman dark ride…there isnt a better superhero character for a dark ride!
Dr doom – 2 face falls
Storm force – Mr freeze cups
Universal can then turn other lands at at IOA or epic universal into other DC franchises….imagine being the first park to have a 100% dedicated land to women (who deserve it) with wonderwomen as the anchor.
Disney then go off and make there own marvel land and believe it or not both universal, disney and Orlando all benefit.
Comments are closed.