It is easy to forget that The Mighty Ducks is a Disney movie. The three-part film franchise of the ’90s does not look or feel like the Pixar hits and live-action remakes the company has been best known for since the turn of the century.
However, the popularity of the film is undeniable, especially when you look at the influences it left after its release. The Mighty Ducks had a long-lasting legacy at the Disney parks that, while slowly being scaled back for more freshly popular projects, is still present.
Let’s start off with what has to be the largest footprint left by the Mighty Ducks on a Disney property. Orlando’s Walt Disney World Resort features an All-Star Movies Resort, which opened in 1999. It still features a wing built around a themed pool called the “Duck Pond,” complete with a massive Wild Wing goalie mask welcoming guests into a hockey-lover’s paradise.
This hockey theming runs deep, including Goofy wearing a full goalie suit and memorabilia of different forms in the rooms.
When the resort was built, this would have been a dream come true for any devout Mighty Ducks fan. With the typical levels of Disney detail, there is something new to see around every corner. Plus, the All-Star resorts are a “value resort,” meaning that they are more affordable options for Disney World guests.
Another important aspect of this resort is that it is meant to be a time capsule of what was popular during its construction. At the time in question, the Mighty Ducks trilogy was three years removed from its last installment. Disney’s NHL team in Anaheim was in its sixth year of existence, and would remain under the company’s control for seven more years.
But even if the popularity of the series wanes as the years go by, this theming is likely to remain untouched. This will help keep the film franchise in people’s minds for years to come, even if they forget that Disney made the movie.
With that said, the last remaining attraction of today was not always The Mighty Ducks’ only Disney World representation. When creating games its arcade-style experience called DisneyQuest in Downtown Disney (now Disney Springs), the company pulled from its backlog to include a game that it christened the Mighty Ducks Pinball Slam.
While the game had only a passing resemblance to actual pinball, it still represented a fun experience that stood in Orlando for close to two decades. It closed along with DisneyQuest as a whole this past summer, as it was showing its age.
But the theme still stood strong, being instantly recognizable as a Mighty Ducks product. Even if the game did not age particularly well, those who spent time at Disney Quest will always remember it.
The biggest impact of the Disney connection to the hockey films was, naturally, on the opposite side of the country. That was the 1993 founding of the Anaheim Mighty Ducks.
This immediate tie-in to the film franchise created a unique marketing opportunity for both Disney and the NHL. Not only did the hockey franchise have a direct connection to a successful and popular film. Marketers could also distribute merchandise for sale in their parent-owned Disneyland (located in Anaheim) and Disney Stores.
This unique sales opportunity allowed the Mighty Ducks to have the league’s best merchandise results in their first year of play. As the Los Angeles Times reported following that 1993-94 season, “At the team’s two local stores alone, the Ducks sold 12,000 jerseys at $75-$180 apiece and 50,000 $10 plastic duck calls.”
Attendance at the Pond was near-perfect as well, despite the typical expansion-team growing pains on the ice. Although, in a 26-team league, Anaheim came remarkably close to making the playoffs. One could argue that performance was a product of feeding off a fan base that had grown so quickly out of the entertainment ties.
Obviously, since the Disney Corporation no longer owns the Ducks franchise, the merchandise does not appear on Disney property anymore. But while it lasted, the connection helped a fledging Southern California hockey franchise find its niche.
This Disney connection is arguably the most important impact the film franchise had. Long after the movies are out of style, the Anaheim Ducks will continue on, as they have for the last 11 seasons under new ownership and new uniforms.
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