• ℹ️ Heads up...

    This is a popular topic that is fast moving Guest - before posting, please ensure that you check out the first post in the topic for a quick reminder of guidelines, and importantly a summary of the known facts and information so far. Thanks.

The World of David Walliams: General Discussion

As @Poisson said, Harry Potter is so successful that I’d argue it’s almost grown larger than JK Rowling herself.

As @GooseOnTheLoose and @Skyscraper said, Walliams also differs because the land actually bears his name. Harry Potter doesn’t actually bear JK Rowling’s name other than as the author, so you can divorce the art from the artist to some extent.

It’s worth noting that JK Rowling has also not actually done anything illegal or had any accusations of unethical behaviour against her; all she has done is express controversial views which, while disagreed with by some, are perfectly legal to express and agreed with by others. I’ve long felt that the people who are enraged enough by JK Rowling’s views to boycott Harry Potter are more of a particularly vocal internet minority than a representation of the broader populace at large.
 
Hid said:
We talk about David Walliam having controversy and the area being removed.

Must be remembered Harry Potter creator JK Rowling has her own controversy and yet Universal haven't removed Harry Potter have they.

As well as other people and companies.with IPs attached yet have remained

My main point is how is David Walliams any different to other controversial from other IP creators
Click to expand...
Yup I don't think that's a fair comparison. Not only because of the popularity but also that her controversial views became a thing long after the films and even the first Universal lands opened. It's a far, far bigger franchise with a far greater audience than Walliams' books.

Harry Potter has a fandom and established attractions that have transcended Rowling's original books. Of course there's a moral argument for the support of Harry Potter for those against her controversial views (that's for other topics to discuss!). But for many who have quite literally grown up around it, they're happy to remain a fan of the stories, characters and people surrounding the franchise but simply choose to ignore her as the author.

As I said though, there's plenty of other reasons for the thing to be ditched too. The controversy surrounding him as a person is just another additional reason to add to that.
 
Just another reminder to keep discussion about the attraction/area itself. It's fine to refer to the reaction to other incidents involving authors of IPs such as JK Rowling, the impact they had to Harry Potter attractions and subsequent comparisons to Walliams.

However, this isn't the place for specific discussion about her views - that's for the off topic forums. Thanks.
 
It's also worth remembering that the creator of Minecraft (Notch) has been embroiled in various controversies, but this hasn't stopped Chessington from using the IP (probably because he was subsequently fired by Microsoft).

What tends to happen with larger IPs is that they often end up outgrowing and/or outlasting the author themselves (e.g. Ian Fleming / James Bond, George Lucas / Star Wars, Vince McMahon / WWE, and even IBM / Desktop PCs), and can sometimes survive without them (for instance: my guess is that the publisher may still produce Harry Potter books even after JK Rowling passes away, and - as with Star Wars Episode 7 and new James Bond films - they will still sell well in spite of not being 'real' books that were written by the original author).

I think Universal owned the rights to the Crash Bandicoot character rather than the creators themselves (Andy Gavin and Jason Rubin), and it may also have been the case that DC Comics owned Superman rather than the original creator (I'm not sure).

The question is whether there is any specific IP or character within Walliams Land that would be worth keeping in its own right (with or without him being affiliated with it), and I'm not sure whether there is - for the simple reason that most of Walliams' books tend to be standalone stories rather than ongoing sagas with the same characters each time? (except for Raj)

My guess is that the writing may have been on the wall for Walliams Land anyway (regardless of any allegations against the author), as I don't think there have been any new Walliams stories on the BBC at Christmas for a good few years now?
 
Last edited:
Secret Weapon said:
My guess is that the writing may have been on the wall for Walliams Land anyway (regardless of any allegations against the author), as I don't think there have been any new Walliams stories on the BBC at Christmas for a good few years now?
Click to expand...
Sky have an adaptation of "Fing!" airing on Sky Cinema and NOW in 2026.

Watch Fing! on Sky Cinema | Sky.com

Prepare for a wild family adventure beyond the biggest of imaginations. Coming soon to Sky Cinema and NOW.
www.sky.com www.sky.com
Secret Weapon said:
I think Universal owned the rights to the Crash Bandicoot character, and not the creators themselves (Andy Gavin and Jason Rubin).
Click to expand...
Microsoft currently owns the rights to Crash Bandicoot, having acquired Activision Blizzard, who acquired the rights after merging with Vivendi in 2007, who acquired the rights after purchasing Universal in 2000.
 
Last edited:
Secret Weapon said:
It's also worth remembering that the creator of Minecraft (Notch) has been embroiled in various controversies, but this hasn't stopped Chessington from using the IP (probably because he was subsequently fired by Microsoft).
Click to expand...
Microsoft/Mojang have actively scrubbed all of their connections/references to Notch within Minecraft. He sold the IP back in 2014 and has no involvement with the IP, nor does he profit from anything Minecraft-related. The game is deliberately distanced from the creator.

David Walliams will still likely receive royalties from any use of his book sales, regardless of having his name attached. Towers/Merlin will be primarily viewing this issue from a PR perspective, and will likely distance themselves from him publicly. Then quietly scrap and retheme the area when Project Horizon comes along. No way will they want “The World of David Walliams” next to the Ride Entrance on opening day…
 
Bert2theSpark said:
Microsoft/Mojang have actively scrubbed all of their connections/references to Notch within Minecraft. He sold the IP back in 2014 and has no involvement with the IP, nor does he profit from anything Minecraft-related. The game is deliberately distanced from the creator.
Click to expand...
Effectively so, as well, I’d say. My son plays a lot of Minecraft, loves the merch and talks about Ender Dragons at length. But, this is the first time I’ve heard of Notch.
 
Shame that Wallace & Gromit can't be used for the area. I'd definitely love for Aardman to be involved somehow. Even if they could work with the creative team at Merlin on a totally new story/characters for them to use and establish. I'd love for them to go down this route as it's a lot more unique and doesn't stale as easily as you get with some IPs.

As some have suggested above. The whole area just needs to be bulldozed and built from scratch. Even if it's a totally enclosed space like what i suggested, It's a great way to have some smaller rides enclosed as well as a show and also a dark ride. you get to control the environment. So it's totally protected from the elements and can be open all year round.

The area has huge potential. It's a massive space that just isn't being utilised very well right now.
 
I'm surprised that Alton Towers haven't considered creating an indoor Doctor Who / TARDIS type ride of some description (especially as they already have a working relationship with the BBC in CBeebies Land), as it is one of the few sci-fi IPs that is quintessentially British, and it also seems to remain quite popular over time ?
 
Secret Weapon said:
I'm surprised that Alton Towers haven't considered creating an indoor Doctor Who / TARDIS type ride of some description, as it is one of the few sci-fi IPs that is quintessentially British, and it also seems to remain quite popular over time ?
Click to expand...
Soon they might technically be able to make a Doctor Who attraction but it would have to be in the confines of CBeebies Land. :(
image0.jpg
 
Secret Weapon said:
I'm surprised that Alton Towers haven't considered creating an indoor Doctor Who / TARDIS type ride of some description (especially as they already have a working relationship with the BBC in CBeebies Land), as it is one of the few sci-fi IPs that is quintessentially British, and it also seems to remain quite popular over time ?
Click to expand...
It has been considered, when the modern series was in its late-00s peak. ISTR leaked surveys around the time of Th13teen's investment. Also had a robot-arm concept which was clearly being considered for the Black Hole tent.

The franchise is at a rather low-ebb at the moment, so it'd be peculiar timing in some respects if it were to resurface. But then it is somewhat evergreen, regardless of how well the programme is rating there is always a good deal of interest.

I would far prefer Alton Towers to invest the money that would go on an IP license fee on development of a proprietary theme though - preferably one which veers away from spooky and/or dystopian!
 
They bring in customers, but modern IPs seem to come and go very quickly these days. One moment they're all the rage, the next nobody cares. Long term construction based on one is very risky.

If they still want to go the IP route it would be best to go with something long established and has maintained some amount of modest popularity. Even better if it's for all ages or has an amount of nostalgia for older generations.
But then those sorts of IPs are probably more expensive.
 
Secret Weapon said:
I'm surprised that Alton Towers haven't considered creating an indoor Doctor Who / TARDIS type ride of some description (especially as they already have a working relationship with the BBC in CBeebies Land), as it is one of the few sci-fi IPs that is quintessentially British, and it also seems to remain quite popular over time ?
Click to expand...
The features which make Doctor Who the longest running sci-fi programme are also, unfortunately, the features which make it very difficult and potentially costly to bring to a theme park.

The Doctor has no fixed or definitive appearance, due to regeneration. This means that if you pick a singular Doctor for your theme, it can become very dated.

If you were to go with whomever is playing the Doctor, there's an expectation that you would need to refresh it every five or so years when there's a new lead actor. Giving attractions a new overlay each time. This is expensive.

If you were to pick a legacy Doctor, you risk alienating newer and younger fans who don't have an affinity with your choice, in addition to the potential to look as though the attraction is dated from the off.

The Doctor is a Time Lord who can travel anywhere in space and time. Where and when do you set the area? There is no definitive or classic set for you to build around. There's no base.

The only constants within the series are the recurring monsters, as even the interior of the TARDIS changed frequently. Aside from your Daleks and Cybermen, which other creatures could you use? The Weeping Angels are probably the only other recognisable and long lasting foe from New Who, which admittedly are easy enough to do, but are arguably similar to other themes within the park already.

Then there is the small matter of the rights themselves. Whilst the BBC owns the show, the rights to the Daleks are actually owned by the estate of Terry Nation, who are notoriously fierce negotiators. You then have the added complication of the current series being produced by Bad Wolf, and internationally distributed by Disney, which adds more negotiating partners for a series which wasn't well received.

Finally, the BBC has tried this before. The Doctor Who Experience in Cardiff required constant investment to keep up with the current Doctor and eventually closed because the numbers didn't stack up. Time Fracture in London was also a commercial failure.

Merlin like safe bets. A high concept sci-fi area that requires a retheme every four / five years and involves negotiating with the BBC, Bad Wolf, Disney (for the last two seasons), and the Terry Nation estate is the opposite of a safe bet. It is a wibbly wobbly, time wimey headache.
 
GooseOnTheLoose said:
Then there is the small matter of the rights themselves. Whilst the BBC owns the show, the rights to the Daleks are actually owned by the estate of Terry Nation, who are notoriously fierce negotiators. You then have the added complication of the current series being produced by Bad Wolf, and internationally distributed by Disney, which adds more negotiating partners for a series which wasn't well received.
Click to expand...

Disney recently pulled out, it’s likely it’s only affected the 2023/2024 series as they’re the only ones they helped produce.

But yes, Dr who has a lot of differing rights spanning its 65 years on screen which I imagine is a nightmare and why we haven’t seen it been done thus far.
 
AltonLover123 said:
Disney recently pulled out, it’s likely it’s only affected the 2023/2024 series as they’re the only ones they helped produce.

But yes, Dr who has a lot of differing rights spanning its 65 years on screen which I imagine is a nightmare and why we haven’t seen it been done thus far.
Click to expand...
It doesn't, actually. It has variously been co-funded by Fox (US, 1996), CBC (Canada, 00s) and BBC America (US, 10s) as well as the two recent series Disney co-funded.

In each case, all rights completely excluded the UK + Ireland (at least), meaning the only relevant party to a UK theme park wishing to license would be BBC Studios. They might have to pay certain sums of money to certain writers/creators (and their estates) for certain monsters but that's all accountancy stuff and would add no complexity for the licensee other than perhaps limiting which monsters they could use, which you would expect from such an expansive franchise anyway.

There is precedent for such an attraction with the many exhibitions and the walk through experience which operated in Cardiff.

GooseOnTheLoose said:
The features which make Doctor Who the longest running sci-fi programme are also, unfortunately, the features which make it very difficult and potentially costly to bring to a theme park.

The Doctor has no fixed or definitive appearance, due to regeneration. This means that if you pick a singular Doctor for your theme, it can become very dated.

If you were to go with whomever is playing the Doctor, there's an expectation that you would need to refresh it every five or so years when there's a new lead actor. Giving attractions a new overlay each time. This is expensive.
Click to expand...
Cardiff's Experience handled this by using 'timeless' versions of sets and having the Doctor appear on screen. When the Doctor regenerated the new actor reshot the scenes. It wasn't always immediate either.

It isn't beyond the wit of man to strike a contract which would compel BBC Studios to provide similar updated visual assets to a licensee for the duration of a license period.

In general the Cardiff experience was probably the highest quality walkthrough visitor attraction I've done, up there with something you'd expect from Disney/Universal. Really shows what could be possible if a suitable licensee emerged. I am really not convinced Merlin is that licensee though.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top