Disney World and The Case of the Stolen Sports Complex

[@quiksilverz2451]

The craziest part is Disney claimed the ESPN Sports Zone was taking a loss, therefore they didn't need to make a payout.

[@vitani_uk]

The lawyers won here, the lawyers always win

[@A.F.Whitepigeon]

The house always wins.

[@katherinealvarez9216]

I think Bleak House had this message too,

[@TransportationTravels]

So very true!

[@common_c3nts]

What kind of lawyer charges $1 million a year for a case?? That makes no sense. Hiring a full time lawyer for an entire year is under $100K a year for their salary.

[@austiniscoolduh]

@@common_c3nts who would charge that? A good lawyer...

[@rko12586]

This doesn’t surprise me about Disney. They are notorious for stuff like this. Partnering with the Big Red Boat to learn the workings of the cruise industry then launch their own cruise line. Partner with Netflix only to launch their own streaming service. It’s not fair but they are really good at it.

[@stevethirdcitymo6527]

Wal-Mart has a history of doing the same.

[@francesl4810]

Just discovered your channel. Offhand sent me! Love your take on Disney history! Two thumbs way up 🙂👍👍

[@PoseidonEntertainment]

An interesting level of drama around something that seems so insignificant now. WWoS seems to take such a small role on Disney World property today, and while it likely looks to be a stolen idea, it's an interesting relic from the time of Disney dipping its toes into every market that it thought it could put a Disney spin on. I miss that level of creativity. The Iger/Chapek era will be remembered for acquisitions and a lack of creative drive.

[@LCRAVIAT1ON]

Big fan!

[@nvoll84]

It was called Disney's Wide World of Sports from 1997 to 2010.

[@bobcheapek4334]

when you get a Disney+ ad before the vid starts *chef's kiss*

[@Ken_Leivonen]

Interesting, this seam very familiar to the case of Universal vs. Disney over MGM Studios and the same CEO was at Disney for both of them.

[@shawnmartin95358]

Sure SEEMS that way, he seems shady

[@328am]

Pure coincidence 😆

[@ethansloan]

It suck that when rich people/corporations actually lose in court, they can just keep appealing until they ultimately win.

[@jackprather3471]

The exact same number of fields and parking spaces seems pretty damning in and of itself. Disney has a history of protecting their turf by any means necessary.

[@ForrestClonts]

What if the real vacation kingdom is just the lawsuits we filed along the way?

[@rinkopr5561]

It’s a reason locally the term “working for the rat” references Disney

[@CinnamonGrrlErin1]

Didn't something similar happen a couple years ago with that woman who owned the van that layer showed up in Onward? I have a lot of respect for the artists, Imagineers, and cast members, but their business practices really sour me on Disney as a whole.

[@astoldby]

Never heard of that story before.

[@michaeleisner4758]

"even at the top, Disney CEO Michael Eisner" *happiness noise*

[@cNatTravels]

“Willful and malicious?” Oh, sorry - I thought you said, “Skillful and delicious.”

[@fogratindustries6901]

I would love to see some long videos of your outro in park ambience clips. That would be great to have in the background working at home.

[@antoniobranch]

"DID DISNEY THROW IN A COUPLE OF LIFE TIME PASSES AND TWO BOTTLES OF WINE WITH THAT RIPOFF.....AHHH...SETTLEMENT".

[@dindog22]

The Mouse is entirely too powerful

[@adamyoung1695]

Oh man! The Pelham Herald! I lived in Pelham when this happened. Mr Russell certainly got a decent settlement in the end

[@pw70]

Because... the community noticed he bought a mansion, a cruising yacht and new cars every two years????

[@adamyoung1695]

@@pw70 surprisingly no. He already had a fairly nice house. We noticed he bought the neighbour's house and was "rolling hard" in a bright yellow Hummer H2 (that should show the age 🤣)

[@ducknorris233]

Wilson, funny story. My dentist’s name is Spaulding.

[@fakeme3968]

I had a similar idea as all sports to build a sports complex back in late 90s to be built in the inland empire San Bernardino county California area. But I didn't know how to make it come to fruition.

[@markw5805]

To settle for less than 5% of your award is shameful. Bad negotiations.

[@AverytheCubanAmerican]

"Are you The Walt Disney Company?" "Yup" "And this is our project" "Yup" "We pitched this project to you and you loved it. And if that's the case, it's not yours" "Makes sense to me" "Then admit it" "It's our idea"

[@LoveLearnShareGrow]

"You made this? ... I made this."

[@James-sm5vg]

It was Disney’s property so I don’t see why they couldn’t do this. Sports island should have done a better job.

[@imightbebiased9311]

Disney has always been, and always will be, a bunch of greedy corporate shitheads.

[@XYZdude00]

Disney does this all the time to people who pitch ideas for shows and merchandise and such. They build it into a contract you have to sign before. Guess they thought that they could do it again

[@TracyA123]

Subscribed! Great video!

[@alecs6492]

Yes it’s hard to actually get paid. Lots of people think if you win you get your money, not always the case.

[@Tayloringmagic]

This is information that I didn’t know that I wanted to know. Thank you for that, Rob! Keep it up!

[@citruschurch]

Do you have a video or list of the Disney books in your background in this video and others?

[@joshbbglover]

I know this is a random question and probably doesn't have a chance in hell of being answered, but where did you get those shelves in the background?

[@donackerman4529]

The real question is how much is an idea like that worth. How much is the model worth?

[@shanestuddard2606]

EXCELLENT as ALWAYS!!!

[@AbrasiveCarl]

Wait did this channel get renamed or something? Wasn't this Rob Plays?

[@jsdsps01]

Yeah he changed the name

[@memethyst]

he changed it last year because he doesn't play games on this channel anymore, i remember a long time ago this channel was called "rob plays that game" and he only played the disney world minecraft server

[@AbrasiveCarl]

Thanks people :D

[@ced1106]

Gotcha. I thought "Rob Plays" meant Rob was having fun, as in "playing around". 🏰🏰🏰

[@barbarastracick2185]

Nicholas Stracick was not from Ontario. He came from Angola, N.Y. Also the final settlement was more than 3 Million dollars. The reason I know this, is because I am his daughter.

[@SaturnCanuck]

Thanks Rob. Interesting, eye opening but not surprising

[@Vasooki]

It's also the most profitable complex on their property - they hold the record for both most food and beverage sales in a single day, and most merchandise sales, or at least that's what I was told when I worked there

[@brianolson6366]

Great work, thanks

[@placeholder8392]

Sometimes being a Disney fan makes me feel guilty, like I’m supporting a company full of villains 😅

[@CinnamonGrrlErin1]

There's ways to get around it. I buy preowned dvds, and there's plenty of indie artists out there who make nice Disney themed merch.

[@connorschultz380]

This reminds me of the story of sonic riders, there was a pitch for sonic on a scate board, sega never got back got to them, sonic on a hover board a few yeard later

[@robertphillips6296]

I remember this and that the judge in the case told jurors not to consider the fact that the both Sports Complexes looked alike, because all of the sports complexes look alike. After Disney lost they issued orders to all of their employees not to take any unsolicited material from outside persons. This is not the first time something like this was to have happened. Approximately 9 months before coming out with Disney Dollars an employee in California pitched an idea for something just like that to Disney executives. He was told thank you but no thanks. He had saved all of his materials and had to sue. Several other employees had this happen to them especially if the submitted their ideas through Disney’s “I have an idea” program.

[@JB-zm1ex]

What a coincidence! I was the 4000th veiw, and the 400th like! Love the video Rob, keep it up!

[@RobertMungo]

I mean, obviously Disney was inspired by them, but at the same time a bunch of soccer fields, tennis courts and a baseball diamond sounds like the neighborhood park down the street.

[@jnsmith111]

Whoever did it must have had some really big muscles .

[@gotalive]

Another great video! Thanks!!

[@rapunzel1701]

Ayayay people, stop with the company hate. Sometimes things have to be resolved like this. Those plans were worth no where near $240m, but $10m, sure. Disney never needed the plans, they are perfectly capable of building a sports complex on their own. The problem is once they see the 'plans', they can either be extorted by the creator or just never ever build the complex. That's a lose/lose. So they go ahead and fight about the 'value' later. BTW, the parking spaces isn't some gotcha thing, probably dictated by state/municipal code.

[@verios44]

Watching many of these videos, Galaxy’s Edge, Animal Kingdom, Wide World of Sports, and many other examples. It would appear that Disney got into the practice of copying or simply taking other people’s ideas rather than being unique. Galaxy’s Edge is a reactionary move to Harry Potter land. Animal Kingdom is a reactionary move to Buchs Gardens. And the sports complex was taking somebody else’s idea. Makes you wonder.

[@5roundsrapid263]

Don’t forget their most obvious copy: Hollywood Studios!

[@Brandon-qd2lb]

Still don't understand how that complex is profitable. Maybe in the summer time but it's not busy there year round...

[@princevlad4195]

Maybe not profitable. Sometimes showing a loss on one Disney company helps out the other Disney company come tax time. But just my thoughts

[@James-sm5vg]

ESPN world wide of sports charged me 10 dollars for a hot dog. Not to mention all the other over priced stuff I bought there. I think Disney definitely won.

[@Meforutr]

Hey I think you should open a sports bar. I’ll be watching lol

[@SkipperBobs]

Its surreal to watch this as I'm working with the NBA G league at WWoS right now

[@astoldby]

Watch you back! Lol

[@seanmulligan4123]

Disney and the huge corporate world always do this. See the pitch someone did all the ground work for, pass on the deal, keep the others IP and then craft their own plan based off the others IP. In the end after the lawsuits they get off paying pennies of the real value.

[@oneguyeatingfriez4481]

Actually second but love the vids and you should get more views

[@freeflowconsciousness8243]

When threatened with a bullet or cash, most take the cash.

[@NicPrescott]

When is Disney Minecraft Coming back?!?!

[@viper2131]

LOL "belongs to the public because its old" coming from the same company that took over old tales such as snow white and others.

[@gabrielcarmine69]

Between this and radio disney it seems like the company has a habit of saying they want to work with people they just want to get close to.

[@Tigerskunk]

And don't forget the Big Red Boat cruises. That later got replaced by Disney Cruise ships.

[@astoldby]

Disney done those guys dirty! LOL

[@NumberOneChina]

If by justice you mean whoever has the deepest pockets then yes, justice is always served

[@srayj]

As much as I love Disney, it definitely seems like they did some shady things during Eisner’s time as CEO, so this isn’t that hard to believe.

[@breawycker]

You'd think that after being found guilty, Disney would be forced to shut down the copyright infringing theme park?

[@SpiritOfTheSeasons]

No. They were sued for money, not the ownership of the park

[@breawycker]

@@SpiritOfTheSeasons oh that makes sense. Thank you

[@d_dave7200]

This kind of stuff happens all. the. time. in corporate America. They're always stealing the work of small businesses and individuals. I've heard this story dozens of times. Corporations need to be held to account for this kind of stuff. I wouldn't have settled, personally. Or at least, they would have had to pay me far more on principle, even if I donated most of it.

[@Taydar]

Nobody won really but you cant claim ownership of the idea of a sports complex.

[@Djxander23]

Definitely seems like a “Facebook Story” I definitely think Disney realized they didn’t need these folks plans after seeing them and decided to go on their own.

[@mr.fahrenheit7009]

Nice

[@chrisw443]

You sued disney for theft, a bit of a stretch but legitimate and walked away after what? sitting in a courtroom here and there for a decade, and walked away with MILLIONS. Yeah, thats a win lol

[@andrewdiamond2697]

Well, I'd say that Disney won huge, and Disney is guilty as sin. I agree, based on 8 minutes and 48 seconds of video, that the jury got it right awarding $240 million to the sports island guys.

[@AveryTalksAboutStuff]

Well...it wouldn't be the first time Disney stole something *Looks from The Lion King to Kimba the Lion*

[@toocartoony]

Nah. Here's a whole video on why that isn't true at all kzbin.info/www/bejne/fWalYqB_m7aopZY

[@jamie1602]

Every time I see this vomited up half truth I die a little inside as someone who really enjoys Tezuka's work. This means you've never watched any Kimba (Leo the Lion) at all or realized that The Lion King is actually HAMLET. Congratulations, you played yourself.

[@AveryTalksAboutStuff]

@@jamie1602 no, I know The Lion King was based off of Hamlet with animators referring to it as Hamlit with animals (Bamlit) and I love the lion king. It's just that the similarities, while probably coincidental, are a bit funny. I admittedly do not know too much about kimba so I'm no expert or anything so take my silly joke as you will. No offense meant to the fandom.

[@AveryTalksAboutStuff]

@@toocartoony ah, just watched this. Thanks for the info. I had no idea how messy this topic actually is. Yikes.

[@mr.rainbowlovescoffee]

I didn't know that people had a complex for sport interesting I had a complex for some of something else but I guess everybody has a complex for something

[@foxcub2yo108]

Typical Disney. There’s a reason I won’t give them a single cent.

[@Wesrl]

Mouse always wins

[@elizabethdavis1696]

I think Disney should buy the Olympics and do the summer one in Orlando as a permant home using camping world stadium, city park stadium The amway center and their ESPN sports park as the location build an Olympic dreams resort for the athletes to stay in as the athletes village during the games

[@SeniorWhoopyIRL]

Yoooo

[@alexwalter7052]

I have a friend who was involved with the designing of Sports Island! He’s still bitter about Disney stealing the idea.

[@SRose-vp6ew]

People are going to wake up about Disney. They are too controling and have stolen from many. Not a good exsample for children. Disney parks are not even fun anymore. It's all about looking perfect but having no real heart. Dollywood in Tennessee is the new Disney. $104 for three days. & children under 9. Free to 3 and under.

[@RichManSCTV0]

God I hate disney. Always stealing and scamming

[@hellsfirefreedomtube6984]

Screw Corporate Disney

[@DTMB35]

All Disney has to do to own the entire planet is let the legal team loose

[@unemilifleur]

Disney do not want anybody else to manage their parks. They want sponsors, but the parks are always theirs.

[@BChandl13]

They very clearly stole the idea, but some soccer fields isn't a $1/4Billion idea lmao

[@kentslocum]

The more I learn about the Walt Disney Company, the less I like the Walt Disney Company. Guess it's a good thing they laid me off during the pandemic! Oh wait....

[@ericwilliams8038]

I really like your videos very much and have been a subscriber for a couple years but I have to be honest and say that, in my opinion, the addition of the stock video footage as filler detracts from the videos a bit. I know many might not agree with me or even notice but I just prefer the historical photos and video that really do pertain to your subject. Not really a huge deal but stock photos/video is just a thing with me. Again - I really like your content though.

[@tepobori]

Disney is so slimey.... jeez

[@antoniobranch]

THEY SHOULD HAVE HAD LAWYERS WITH THEM WHEN THEY DEALT WITH DISNEY.

[@mikemoore5263]

More examples of Disney being the devil!

[@coachken6130]

It's really bold of Disney to steal someone else's idea and then defend it in court. "I don't remember" is not a defense when the other side has receipts. Disney won👎🏾

[@BiosElement]

In other news, water is wet and Disney is evil as sin. It's honestly a real shame to see what Walt's vision has become.

[@mattybigcat]

The cringe lol

[@shplangerz9886]

things like this make me hate disney. universal basically stole oswald the lucky rabbit from walt. Decades later the company he founded, adopts and relishes in the same unscrupulous business practices. its honestly fucking disgusting.

[@janedoe3043]

I hate Disney.

[@tp2487]

Don't watch a Disney centred KZbin channel then

[@antoniobranch]

That's a lot of meaning in three words.

[@MattMcIrvin]

@@tp2487 If some of the videos are about terrible things Disney did, it stands to reason it'd attract attention from people who hate Disney!