A Little A&A

            I am a pass-holder to all of the theme parks in the Orlando area, except for LegoLand. Nothing personal, I just have not had the opportunity to make it out there to get the new lego experience. And as a student, I have always kept an eye on when is the best times to buy passes. What annual pass is the most reasonable to get to what park? Which park offers more special events like the Summer Concert Series or Shamu Rocks? Blackout dates, separate priced events, Florida resident discounts, etc.

            I have held the highest priced annual pass, Premier Pass, at Universal Studios Orlando until now. When I went to renew my annual pass this year to attend the Mardi Gras celebration at Universal Studios, I was shocked to find out it was $308 to renew my pass. To buy a Premier Pass without being an existing annual pass-holder is $349.99. Does that seem right? I thought there was a mistake on the renewal website so I called to find out. No mistake AND the discounted price of $308 included the “Florida resident discount.”

             I continued to research my options and discovered it was actually cheaper to buy the Preferred Pass as a new pass-holder than it was for me to renew my old pass that I have had for over 4 years. A Preferred Pass for annual pass-holders is $224.99. This annual pass includes no blackout dates, free parking, and discounts on merchandise and food. So I decided to downgrade to the Preferred Pass and give up “red carpet” premier benefits.

            When I downgraded I found out, that as a previous annual pass-holder, I could downgrade from a Premier to a Preferred for $170. SO here’s the math, it would cost me $138 dollars more to keep my benefits. Wouldn’t you downgrade?

            From a marketing standpoint, I think it is absurd for your “premier” annual pass-holders to have to renew for a price that is more expensive than the price of the lower preferred pass, which any person can buy without a previous relationship with Universal Studios Orlando.  Why would a premier annual pass-holder keep this pass? Is Universal trying to get rid of this premier pass? Or are they trying to make it so exclusive that no one wants to buy it? I would like to know.

What is coming to Orlando this spring?

January and February are usually slow months for the Orlando theme parks. According to Steve Kirn, even though many consumers splurged this past Holiday Season many are going to watch what they spend for the next couple of months. I assume many consumers have some catching up to do on their expenses.

Because of this, many theme parks start their Florida Resident passes right after their Holiday season in hopes of getting locals to visit the parks. These passes include Walt Disney World’s 3-day Wild Pass, Sea-world Orlando’s Fun Card, or Busch Gardens Tampa Bay’s Fun Card. Disney has given Florida Residents an option this season with their 4 month pass: Residents can pay $99 for 3-days or pay $125 for 4-days into any Walt Disney World’s theme parks.

Many parks will not see an increase in attendance until the Spring Break season. Since our summer weather starts around this time, our spring break season starts in March and can go until Easter sometimes even until Memorial Day weekend. So for Florida Residents, now is a good time to go. However, many may want to wait to see the new attractions coming to the parks this spring.

Since tourism in the Central Florida area has become such a large part of our economy, many theme parks are upgrading or replacing rides and attractions in hopes of bring more people into their park this spring/summer season. These expansions include:

Universal Studies recently closed their Jaws attraction over the Holiday Season. A Universal employee told me that the ride would be replaced with a King-Kong themed water attraction. I find this puzzling because the King-Kong ride was replaced by the Mummy roller coaster over 5 years ago. Why would they bring it back?

Other updates include an all-new 3D attraction based on the Universal Studios film Despicable Me. You can find Minions running around Universal’s Main Street trying to start mayhem. Also, Island of Adventure’s The Amazing Adventure’s of Spiderman 3D is being updated for a new high-definition experience.

The 20^th Anniversary of Universal Studios Orlando Mardi Gras parade and concert series commenced with the B-52’s starting off the celebration. Other performers include: Kelly Clarkson, B.o.B., and KC & the Sunshine Band. The celebration continues through April. 

Walt Disney World is ready to release Phase 1 of their newly expanded Fantasyland section of Magic Kingdom in May of 2012. This will include new attractions like Storybook Circus, Goofini Coaster, and dueling-Dumbo attractions. Phase 2 will be released later in 2012 and will include an Under the Sea attraction with Ariel and friends and the Be Our Guest Restaurant.

Sea-world Orlando will be releasing their state-of –the-art 3D/360 dome theater showcasing Turtle Trek. Discovery Cove will also open a new interactive Freshwater Oasis where you can come face-to-face with otters.

Links:

http://www.orlandosentinel.com/business/blog/tourism-central/os-orlando2012-developments-heres-whats-coming-in-2012-for-orlando-20120201,0,5276814.story

http://articles.orlandosentinel.com/2012-01-08/business/os-cfb-retail-0109-20120108_1_retail-vacancies-david-f-miller-center-dollar-stores

What's Trending? Analysis of three podcasts about current legal issues

            What’s Trending in 2012? According to Lawyer-to-Lawyer podcast, what we can see in 2012 is a social media trend usage increase like “posting on the wall” or messaging. These things are becoming evidence that can be used in court. According to this podcast, the more we use social media websites like Facebook or LinkedIn, the more evidence we are putting out on the web. Regardless if it is private, it is not privileged. A divorce attorney or an insurance lawyer can check your Facebook to track what you have been doing, discussing, etc. It is just like your child saying, “Mom, I was at Bobbie’s house last night studying calculus” and you going on his Facebook to discover he was at Cindy’s house party. Lawyers can do the same. It has been said over and over again, you have to be careful what you put on the Internet.

           Legal Blogging, Ethics, and First Amendment Rights. Lawyers also need to pay close attention to what they blog about: “Should Lawyers blog about their cases?” Even with client’s consent? Absolutely not. What would be the purpose sharing this information? Some lawyers are posting circumstances that relate to cases they are working on by using surnames and changing some of the details of the case. Even after listening to this podcast, I still do not see the need to post information about cases on the Internet. I understand that lawyers may discuss cases over dinner or at a bar like businessman discuss business deals; however, posting this type of information on the Internet in unethical.

            What you put on the Internet can include ideas or concepts that can be considered intellectual property. If you post an idea on Facebook and then someone else takes that idea and creates a popular U-Tube video or short film based on that idea, are you protected by IP laws? According to Gene Quinn, “there is no effective way to protect an idea.” Inside the American Invent Act, Peter Lando discusses with Mike Crosby the patent process and the changes that have been recently made to the process. The “post-grant review is a step in the right direction…hopeful it will be a low cost to review patents… and could be a success” Crosby stated.  This is one of the best ways to protect your idea, concept, invention, etc. but one needs to keep close attention to the changes that are currently happening.

            How does this relate to my business plan? I, along with others who are looking to start a new business, need to be aware of the legalities of blogging or posting our ideas on the Internet. Though blogging allows us to share ideas or concept like a think-tank, it also allows others (that you may or may not know) to gain access to an idea that may become profitable to you or your business. In a world where your business needs to have a strong Internet presence, your ideas do not need to be so exposed that another brand can make money off your unique idea or concept.

            Referring back to Facebook posting, your online presence or brand goes beyond the workplace now. Just like how lawyers can use what you post on your Facebook wall as evidence, businesses can use the same information as a reason for not partnering or hiring your company or you. Your brand continues into your personal life more so than it has done in the past. It is important to keep it professional both on and off line.

Copyright infringement is a commonly used legal term in the entertainment industry. "Only the original, creative expressions of these ideas can be copyrighted" according to Baker v. Seldan, 101 U.S. 99, 25 L.Ed. 841 (1879) (Mickey Mouse -- A Truly Public Character, 1999). Only the expression of an idea is protected by copyright, not the idea itself. Many have done multiple films based on pirates; however, there is only one Jack Sparrow. Disney holds the rights to the expression of the Jack Sparrow character. This means that the idea behind the work or character is not protected, but how the idea is expressed is protected. Someone cannot use the Jack Sparrow character to sell rum unless specified by Disney.  Another instance where this occurs is when an image is significantly similar to another image or a melody is similar to another. This commonly occurs more often in the music and art industry.

            An owner of a copyright owns a “bundle” of rights that can be sold or distributed differently.  The rights include: the right to reproduce the work, deviation of the work, distribution of the work, public display rights, and public performance rights (Click & Copyright, 2011). There are some exceptions like public domain to an idea. For example, the story of sleeping beauty or beauty and the beast is public domain.

            There has been an ongoing legal battle between Walt Disney Co. and Stephen Slesinger, Inc. on the copyright rights to Winnie the Pooh. "Slesinger, a New York television and film producer, obtained the exclusive merchandising and other rights to the Pooh works from author A.A. Milne in 1930 and transferred them to Disney in 1961 in exchange for a regular royalty" (Thomason Reuters, 2009). Stephen Slesinger heirs claim royalty fees from Disney still thus beginning a lawsuit in 1991. A U.S. judge in Los Angeles dismissed remaining claims in 2009. This type of controversy occurs often especially with the copyright to characters like Winnie the Pooh. In this particular case, Disney stated that SSI did not verify the particular rights they owned when they transferred the rights to Walt Disney Co.

            Disney is a very large franchise that deals with copyright infringement quite often. Other companies have to be careful not to come near what they own or to express an image or idea in an inappropriate way. For example, I wanted to use for my business plan “we scare to show we care” but it was too similar to the Monsters Inc. slogan “we scare because we care.” Though the phrase is different, it still has the same play on words and meaning. For those who do not know, my business plan focuses on the Halloween holiday. We specialize in haunted houses and spooky costume design. 

            Another case that has been in the news recently is the new idea for a themed park in China based on the game World of Witchcraft (WoW). However, the argument is that the similarities between the game and the theme park are not close enough to claim a lawsuit. Elliot Papageorgiou claims it as an inventive way to supply the demand of a park such as this one (The Finical Times Limited, 2012). The same issue occurred in China this past September with a theme park based on the mobile game Angry Birds. I think there is a fine line as to what is too closely related and what is not; however, it appears China has had reoccurring issues with copyright laws. “Western critics complain that the country makes, at best, a half-hearted effort because it conflicts with China's development strategy” (CBSNEWS, 2011). I agree. Chinese companies can not be excluded from copyright laws and have the ability to take western ideas and express them any way they see fit. It encourages other companies to outsource to China to make a profit and avoid western copyright laws. If I can not make a haunted house based on Tim Burton’s a Nightmare Before Christmas neither can some company in China.

http://mobile.reuters.com/article/idUSTRE58S08G20090929?irpc=932

http://www.public.asu.edu/~dkarjala/publicdomain/Vanpelt-s99.html

http://www.ft.com/intl/cms/s/0/5b162972-b9f2-11e0-8171-00144feabdc0.html#axzz1iujfOyfQ

http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2011/09/16/scitech/main20107294.shtml

http://www.clickandcopyright.com/copyright-now.aspx