By: Thomas Horvath

It is common knowledge to many Americans that Disney has the rights to Marvel and its characters in movies (except Spider-Man and The Hulk) and merchandise. You will see Marvel in or at most if not all of Disney’s stores, movies, services, and, if you live in California, attractions at Disneyland. But if you go to Disney World, you’ll notice that the Marvel IP is severely lacking in the parks. That’s because Marvel and its attractions are all at Universal Studios Orlando. But why does Universal have all of the Marvel attractions, and when will they give the rights over to Disney?

In 1994, Comcast, the parent company of Universal Studios, bought the rights to Marvel’s characters and decided to use them in their Orlando theme park. The Marvel attractions can all be found at the Islands of Adventure on Superhero Island. Superhero Island is one of the most beloved parts of the theme park, with The Amazing Adventures of Spider-Man being a pioneer for 3D rides and the Incredible Hulk being a fan favorite amongst the general public. Disney seeing the success in the park made a deal with Universal where they get the rights in California to use Marvel and its characters, while Universal gets the rights to keep the theme park in Florida. Disney has not been as lucky as Universal, with their Marvel areas being heavily scrutinized and relatively disliked compared to the Orlando counterpart. 

The question is, when will Universal lose the rights to Marvel at their parks? Despite the reputation of the mouse, the contract allows Universal to use the characters and keep the park indefinitely, which is bad for Disney, but great for Marvel fans and theme park fans who want a cool experience involving their favorite characters.