Robin
01-06-2009, 11:35 PM
While I'm sure there was $$$ involved, I wonder who got who got rights to the design and if we'll see other 'M:S' show up at other parks.
Environmental Tectonics Corp. and Walt Disney World Co. said Tuesday they have reached a confidential settlement in a legal dispute over the Mission: Space ride at Epcot in Orlando, Fla.
The dispute began in late July 2003 when ETC sued the Walt Disney Co. (http://www.bizjournals.com/losangeles/gen/Walt_Disney_Co._3C4F8CC2C04848A4A9913D1DD00B6969.h tml) and three Disney subsidiaries over Mission: Space, which was scheduled to open about two weeks later.
In the suit, ETC sought:
More than $15 million in damages for Disney’s alleged failure to pay all it was owed for work on the ride;
To have Disney include it in the safety testing of the ride;
A judgment affirming its right to be the designer and builder of similar rides for Disney;
And a judgment affirming its rights to the technology that went into Mission: Space so it could build similar rides for others, provided they weren’t placed within 100 miles of a Disney theme park.
Mission: Space uses centrifuge technology developed by ETC for air-crew training systems to give riders the experience of an astronaut on a mission to Mars.
Two people have died after completing the ride — a 4-year-old boy in 2005 and a 49-year-old woman in 2006. In both cases, the deaths were attributed to pre-existing conditions.
ETC is based in Southampton, Pa. In addition to entertainment rides, it develops air-crew and disaster-management training systems, sterilizers, environmental testing products and hyperbaric chambers.
http://www.bizjournals.com/losangeles/stories/2009/01/05/daily11.html
Environmental Tectonics Corp. and Walt Disney World Co. said Tuesday they have reached a confidential settlement in a legal dispute over the Mission: Space ride at Epcot in Orlando, Fla.
The dispute began in late July 2003 when ETC sued the Walt Disney Co. (http://www.bizjournals.com/losangeles/gen/Walt_Disney_Co._3C4F8CC2C04848A4A9913D1DD00B6969.h tml) and three Disney subsidiaries over Mission: Space, which was scheduled to open about two weeks later.
In the suit, ETC sought:
More than $15 million in damages for Disney’s alleged failure to pay all it was owed for work on the ride;
To have Disney include it in the safety testing of the ride;
A judgment affirming its right to be the designer and builder of similar rides for Disney;
And a judgment affirming its rights to the technology that went into Mission: Space so it could build similar rides for others, provided they weren’t placed within 100 miles of a Disney theme park.
Mission: Space uses centrifuge technology developed by ETC for air-crew training systems to give riders the experience of an astronaut on a mission to Mars.
Two people have died after completing the ride — a 4-year-old boy in 2005 and a 49-year-old woman in 2006. In both cases, the deaths were attributed to pre-existing conditions.
ETC is based in Southampton, Pa. In addition to entertainment rides, it develops air-crew and disaster-management training systems, sterilizers, environmental testing products and hyperbaric chambers.
http://www.bizjournals.com/losangeles/stories/2009/01/05/daily11.html