There was deinintely a thrill in the crowd when the Iron Man 3 wrapped monorail coasted into view at the Magic Kingdom yesterday. I was able to get a couple of shots from Train Station platform.
This is the third monorail to be wrapped by Disney as a promotional vehicle for an upcoming movie. First there was the Tronorail which ran mostly on the EPCOT line, then came the Avengerail, which ran exclusively on the Express or Resort line, now we have the Ironrail, which so far has been running on the Express or Resort lines only. But could it run on the EPCOT line?
Well, depending on who you ask, Universal Studios Orlando either has the rights to all Marvel characters east of the Mississippi (or is it 250 miles from Orlando?) or just the ones currently in use in Islands of Adventure. If it’s the latter, Iron Man is not one of those characters and, therefore, the Ironrail could appear on the EPCOT line without fear of lawsuit from Universal.
At this point it’s up to Disney’s lawyers to say yes or no. But I’d like to see them try. There could be some advantage to test Universal and see if they’re going to push for no Marvel characters at all, or if they’ll let characters beyond the ones currently in use at IOA be used.
I’d like to see Disney buy the rights back from Universal, if for nothing else, to put an end to the confusion. There would be other benefits too (like giving a purpose to the back-lot of Disney’s Hollywood Studios (it would be so easy to overlay a super hero theme to that areas attractions)).
What do you think of the new wrap for Iron Man 3? Are you looking forward to the movie? Should Disney buy the themepark rights to the Marvel Characters from Universal?
I’d like to see Disney invest in improvements to Monorail reliability. And restore the schedule to what it once was, especially late at night. Otherwise, why spend big bucks for the flagship hotels on the line?
(Remember times when lucky kids might get to ride up front…what a treat that was!)
Talk about brand inconsistency! Disney should absolutely buy the theme park rights back from Universal Studios. If for no other reason, buying the rights would create character consistency for Marvel fans. By keeping the brand divided, the future character development created by Disney will not be accurately represented in IOA. Therefore, Marvel fans—particularly younger fans—will no longer have a park to visit where the characters are represented as they are currently portrayed in the media. Also, I completely agree that it would be a GREAT use of the back lot of Disney’s Hollywood Studios. The space has been wasted for so long, and a Marvel land would drive an immense amount of traffic to the park.
I have been waiting for the Iron Man 3 movie ever since I watched Iron Man 2 in theaters! Props for changing the blog banner to the Iron Man monorail, it warmed my heart. Disney should absolutely buy the rights to the Marvel characters, that way Disney can be one step closer to a Marvel Land.
It should be called the Iron Manorail.
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