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Kodak Ends Disney Sponsorship

marc

CF Legend
Not sure if this deserved its own topic or not but done one anyway.

So after 57 years Kodak ends its deal with Disney to try and help save them from going bankrupt.

Kodak had a big say in planning for the theme parks beleive it or not, they helped with the way people could get better pictures by saying what colour the floor should be etc.

The main ride I remember Kodak advertising in was Hunny I Shrunk the Audience, which I hated. A 15 minute video before hand done my head in lol.

It looks like Disney new it was coming to end the other year so already made plans to cover the loss of them.

http://www.wdwmagic.com/other/walt-disn ... s-year.htm
 

spicy

Giga Poster
That video before Honey I shrunk the audience was so annoying. It just went on forever.
 

nadroJ

CF Legend
Oh my GOD that video, with the kid who lost his dog and the frog in the wedding photo <//3 So LONG, and then a mediocre attraction afterwards....blergh.

I bet it'll be noticeable that the Kodak stuff is gone though, is anybody set to replace them?
 

Lofty

CF Legend
Out of curiosity, does anybody know how much sponsorship Kodak put up? in terms of capital.

The thing is, with Disney, in my opinion, there's always going to be a few investors wanting to place their money in arguably the most well known Theme Park chain in the world.
 

Mark

Strata Poster
It terms of capital no. But normally Attraction sponsorship takes a large chunk of the bill away from Disney.

There was always Kodak 'Photo Memory' points which were supposed to help visitors get the best (or most generic) pictures and things like that. I wonder whether they will change.

Also, I remember from the back stage tour, that Kodak quite often advised Disney on certain colour palettes for certain things. Ever wondered why the pavements on Main Street are that 'reddy' colour. According to our tour guide, Kodak advised the colour because it helps the colours of the main castle really pop when photographed. Interesting but useless bit of info there.

I would have thought that Disney would keep some form of phtogrpahic sponsorship though, perhaps they will know go for someone a bit more modern as such. A company that is far more specialist in Digital Photography perhaps.

Then again, Kodak may have very little to do with the parks besides sponsorship and the occasional photo point. Without knowing all the ins and outs its a bit difficult to know what it means really.

Nevertheless, thanks for posting.
 

marc

CF Legend
Kodak used to make a lot of money out this deal.

Disney only stocked Kodak films and cameras, the digital age near enough killed the deal as people stopped buying film and the disposable cameras so of course the money Kodak made was not as high.

At the moment though Disney will still use their software for the photo pass system.
 

Mark

Strata Poster
Hmmm, I am wondering whether they intend to take the photopass technology and go in house with it at some point though, especially given that Kodak are no longer sponsoring etc.
 

peep

CF Legend
^That'll be interesting but I can't see that happening (well, anytime soon anyways). I do like the Kodak photo system, it works well and you get better quality compared to picsolve (throws up in bucket).
 

Nic

Strata Poster
I can't say as this is a great surprise in terms of the way Kodak has been going lately. I heard a while ago that they were in severe financial trouble. This all came to my attention when we were questioning whether or not to get Kodaks when buying a job lot of new scanners at work, as if they go down any warranty/support would be useless. Apparently they've actually started to sell some of their patents/intellectual property etc to try and make ends meet. That stinks of desperation to me.
 

Lofty

CF Legend
Nic said:
That stinks of desperation to me.
Yeah, I can see what you mean. I guess it is a case of Jump ship. It's always made me wonder why Disney just wouldn't do it on their own...
 

marc

CF Legend
Epcot replies so heavily on money from other firms which is why it got to the state it was in.

Countries pay for their areas and every ride did have a company paying for it.

Kodak done quite a few rides but they cut back a few years ago.

There is simply no money in selling camera film now so I doubt it will be another firm like that that does take over.

I just hope firms like apple and Samsung stay away even though Steve was one of the biggest share holders.

We don't even know how much Kodak paid tbh.
 
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