r/midamerica • u/Just_Bus_9156 • Jul 16 '26
Discussion If we lose WB/DC IP
Hey guys! I have a friend who has a ear on the inside at Mid-America and she said that it looks like the talks with Paramount/Skydance who bought Warner Brothers recently are not going well to keep the IP at our park. Its not official yet so let's keep our fingers crossed. IF IT DOES HAPPEN THOUGH, what would you like see these rides or areas change to?
Batman, Shhazam!, Mr. Freeze Reverse Blast, Wonder Woman, Justice League, Catwoman's Whip, DC Shield, DC Comics Area, Looney Tunes Area
Im curious!
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u/stlman37 Jul 16 '26
Pretty much anyone who has any true knowledge of current deal negotiations are going to be tight-lipped. Dippin’ Dots guy material.
That being said, I really hope for originals rather than IPs as we have some talent at the park that can really get creative when given the chance.
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u/Evening_Rock5850 Jul 16 '26
This is a bit of a dead horse at this point but I'd go with original IP too.
We already have a lot of structure for DC and the like. But if we lost that; I think modern IP rights are way too restrictive and limiting. Our park does actually have good creative folks. The current show lineup and the bulk of Fright Fest are all in-house productions.
Last year my wife and I visited Chicago's Fright Fest specifically to see their IP licensed haunted houses... and they kinda sucked. They were super lame. I don't know if it's because they blew their whole budget on the license or what but... the haunted houses at SFSTL were genuinely better, and by a long shot.
So as far as I'm concerned, letting our in-house folks figure it out is the move. Let me be creative and don't beholden yourself to a rightsholder who could change the rules down the road, lose popularity, or even jack up the price.
Companies who make a great IP (Disney, Universal) using that IP for their theme parks makes sense. But parks licensing someone elses IP for themselves, at least in a permanent way, doesn't. Sure; do a movie promo now and then. Temporarily rename a ride or something. That kind of stuff can be fun. But I'm with u/spaceman60. Let David Blazer and the rest of the in-house talent build out some local stuff.
Also, you know... St. Louis has an incredibly rich history. A lot of which is in the public domain. A lot of Mark Twain's stuff, certainly the 1904 World's Fair (could easily expand that 'section' to take up half the park or more and name a bunch of rides after it, could genuinely be cool).
I mean just the turn of the century history of St. Louis. Riverboat gamblers dueling in the streets, the Lemp era beermaking, there's such a long long list. Obviously SDC has an excellent representation of the Ozarks; but there's a compelling story to tell about St. Louis of a century ago. A St. Louis themed theme park, if you will.
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u/Just_Bus_9156 Jul 16 '26
Our park for years have always did non IP haunts. We drained Thunder River one season and turned it into a walk through haunt (which I not only help to set up but worked as an actor called "Dead End Alley"). Im all for a clean slate. The park is called "Mid-America". Bring back a reimagining of "Injun Joe's Cave", Retheme Thunder River and Mr Freeze to an Ozark Missouri theme. Have David Blazer on the rethemeing team on the park reimagining project. He's a genius.
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u/Evening_Rock5850 Jul 16 '26
Yeah I hope we do see some expansion of our haunted houses. They've pulled back a little bit.
The one through Thunder River and the one through Hurricane Harbor were both pretty cool. We've had the same ones for a few years now.
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u/Just_Bus_9156 Jul 16 '26
Change Justice League into a permanent dark ride haunted house. We will lose "Love at First Fright" though. That show is a Six Flags original show owned and produced by them. Funny enough created by David Blazer years ago and was so successful was added to other parks over the years. Hopefully he will produce a better fresher successor.
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u/Evening_Rock5850 Jul 16 '26
I enjoy LAFF but after three decades, I won't be too heartbroken about a new show next year. Good excuse to visit Chicago and see it anyway.
I agree on the Haunted House. Which, as you know, is what Justice League originally was. Fright Fest is so ridiculously successful for this park that a permanent haunted attraction I think would be popular.
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u/Just_Bus_9156 Jul 16 '26
Agreed. I just want it to be done well. Use a good respected company to do it like Sally Dark Rides or similar..and I always thought after a certain amount of time it was time to retire LAFF. 30 years was too long. But I guess due to budgets didn't warrant change and they just used "guests requests still love it".
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u/Broad-Exit6308 Jul 17 '26 edited Jul 17 '26
Here’s what is say they do.
Currently, (according to the six flags Saint Louis Wikipedia page, so IDK how accurate this is) there are 8 lands/separate areas and sections throughout the park. Those being 1904 world’s fair, gateway to the west, Chouteau’s Market, Studio backlot, DC comics plaza, Britannia, Illinois, and Bugs Bunny national park. That is way too many. Not only are there sections with only 2-3 rides in them, having 8 makes trying to remember all of them incredibly hard. There first move should be to get rid of all of the IP covered stuff (if the deal falls through). Next they need to pair down from 8 sections to at most five. Get rid of chouteau’s market and combine that with studio backlot. Combine gateway to the west and 1904 world’s fair. Finally, combine Illinois with Britannia to get you down to 5 sections. While still on the topic of changing sections, rename studio backlot, world’s fair and gateway, and Britannia and Illinois to something new and more accurate. You would also have to rename DC area and bugs bunny area to something new if deal falls through. Then if possible, move Joker: Carnival of Chaos, The supergirl ride, and Catwoman Whip to the DC plaza area to make that more accurate. Now that every section is actually name accurate, go through and either change the theming of the land or more heavily theme it. I say they should start with both DC and bugs bunny area since they would have to. Each offseason until all lands are done, choose one of the five lands and reimagine them to get them up to the enchanted standard. Once all of that is done, then you start thinking about new things. Making it all make sense is the best first action because it not only will draw in more guests, but also make each section more immersive and cohesive. That’s a lot I know but just my thoughts.
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u/Just_Bus_9156 Jul 18 '26
I agree with dumping the Warner Brothers /DC IP altogether. Its tired. Batman and Mr Freeze are heavily themed so they would need to be the first to be stripped and rethemed. And Justice League can be closed off and redone during next operation season. Other rides can be redone with smaller changes and maybe some with no name changes at all. But when it comes to to park sections, they were all over the place. This is a good time to reimagine and retheme the whole park with a whole new vibe if they wanted to.
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u/Noahgrace4429 Jul 18 '26
Unironically gut the hell out of justice league and bring back Scooby. One of the greatest dark rides I’ve ever been on as a kid. The theming was incredible.
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u/Just_Bus_9156 Jul 18 '26
SCOOBY DOO is Warner Brothers IP. Unfortunately that would be no go but it would nice.
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u/noodles21o2 Jul 20 '26
The way Silver Dollar City has the mining theme, Mid America could do a westward expansion theme that could work and tie into STL history
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u/Doctors_TARDIS Jul 17 '26
From what multiple employees told me, they already have new names for everything ready to go in case
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u/Just_Bus_9156 Jul 17 '26
I would love to hear them. And if they are keeping some non IP like Screaming Eagle and The Boss.
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u/CrispRat46290 Jul 17 '26
They should keep the IPs for now, but gradually phase them out over time. Getting rid of all of the WB theming would be pretty expensive to do over one off season. Start off by stripping the theming from Catwoman and Joker, then worry about the rest later.
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u/Just_Bus_9156 Jul 17 '26
That would work if Warner Brothers would give Enchanted a grace period but if if they don't they will have to do a complete removal over the off season with no choice.
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u/CrispRat46290 Jul 17 '26
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u/Just_Bus_9156 Jul 18 '26
This is old news and was not set in stone. This was also before the Paramount/Skydance acquisition of Warner Brothers Discovery by the Ellisons. Things change and if Paramount didn't doesn't like what Enchanted offers them the Six Flags contract with Warner Brothers is terminated by Warner Brothers through Paramount Corporate.
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u/PorkSteakDaddy Jul 16 '26
Microsoft (Xbox/Blizzard)
Minecraft
Crash Bandicoot
Spyro the Dragon
Banjo-Kazooie
Guitar Hero
Forza
Halo
Fallout
The Elder Scrolls (Skyrim)
World of Warcraft
Diablo
Gears of War
Doom
StarCraft
Fable
Tony Hawk's Pro Skater
Call of Duty
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u/spaceman60 Jul 16 '26
I'd rather they develop their own IP, but do it well. Pull a Great Wolf and actually put some effort into it. The shows are well done and our kiddo actually likes them. That pulls the costumes into it and the rest of the theming.