The Disney Parks Get It Completely Right. Mostly.

Amusement parks offer plenty of licensing lessons.

The best in our industry encourage this: in any license for any category - tap into the most iconic sensory cues from the core brand, while leveraging all possible creativity in the new medium. If it’s me-too, or nothing special – and you can replace the chosen property with any other, or no property at all - then the model becomes unglued.

The lesson in #disneyworld is conditional. They own so many properties from which their own new experiences are created. But you can see how the rule is or isn't applied at the Florida theme parks.?

Never Never Land In A Galaxy Far, Far Away

Peter Pan's Flight, and Star Wars: Rise of the Resistance are attractions built 50 years apart.?Both have two hour lines. And both hearken the original, core experience to life in a new context -?in the level of detail so accurate and gripping.?They stayed with me for days.

The reminiscence of each film became more fond for me, because of those rides. Peter Pan is not Disney’s greatest animation, Star Wars Episode 7 is silly at its best moment. But. Flying over London in pajamas or traveling at light speed to escape the stormtroopers is a thrill, in every sense, for any age, fan or not.

Sing For The Laughter, Sing For The Tears

I expected the same from the Aerosmith Rock & Roller Coaster. Another two hour line.?It has to be less expensive to get more creative, when you’re developing a property like Aerosmith, versus The Force Awakens.

And, it was fun.?Went up and down really fast. But I expect so much more from Steven Tyler than Kylo Ren.?No Janie’s Got A Gun. Didn’t hear Dream On. Absent of posters featuring their Fillmore concerts from the 70s. I waited to tumble downwards watching Ben and Liv embrace in Armageddon (a Disney movie) while hearing Don’t Want To Miss A Thing. Concert footage stretching back 50 years. Fuggedaboutit.?

Sell Me A Vintage Tee, Please

As the young at heart know - following every major Disneyworld attraction is a merchandise pop-up, begging any cynic to reach for their wallet. At the end of Rock and Rollercoaster? Nothing. Seriously. No concert jerseys. No Sweet Emotion fragrance or cologne. Sony could do a retro Walkman and mix tape and make a mint. Monetizing Aerosmith’s wardrobe could subsidize the cost to run the damn ride. How could they get Peter Pan so right in 1971, and decades later, get Aerosmith, well, so wrong?

No harm done. Just a light-hearted, New Year's topic. Not for nothing - Disneyworld is a feat of ingenuity and sophisticated operations, and a wondrous family vacation, that has made my jaw drop for years.

I am a Gen X parent on a trip where I'm not the target. But, I did ask my tweens if the ride would be any different, if Aerosmith was just replaced with another act. Because that is a brand extension sin.?

My kids couldn’t answer.?A small child nearby wondered aloud why there isn't a Meatloaf VR Motorcycle ride. Wanna draw a wider middle aged crowd??Name the attraction Paradise By The Dashboard Light.

The kid's onto something.?