maverik85
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Jul 27, 2016
From what I've heard, it was J.K. Rowling that turned down Disney versus the other way around. Disney refused to give her creative control so she went down the street where Universal was more than happy to do it. I can only imagine that Disney couldn't imagine the eventual gold mine the Wizarding World would be.
That's why I think it's kind of a mix. Disney didn't directly pass on HP, Rowling turned them down. But it was Disney's unwillingness to work with her or relinquish any control, as well as severely underutilizing the property to its fullest with just a very small land with a ride and QS eatery, that made her pass on them and go to Universal.
Overall I am happy about that though. Disney has plenty of their own IPs and original concepts to build whatever they want. Plus HP gave Universal the big push for them to truly become the competitor in the market that they are now. On top of that the immersion and detail that went into the HP plans has set a new standard for parks to try to attain.
This competition has only benefitted us park goers as it has pushed Disney to really grow. Their parks have always been great but have overall sat unchanged for awhile. Once HP hit they started to develop more and the more universal does the more Disney has pushed forward with new rides and concepts. Plus I'm sure the immersive lands they are building with more detail like GE and Pandora are directly related to response the HP lands received from guest for their immersion.
So overall I don't think Disney is too concerned about struggling as they will always be popular and one of the premier destinations, but Universal has pushed them to do more to try to keep guests on property longer and coming back more often. Universal might not be completely stealing their guests but they are stealing some of the time that they would be staying on and spending money at Disney's property.