Disney may fill vacant theater spot

The mouse may be making a run for 40th Street. Explaining that recent negotiations with the National Amusements movie chain had reached an apparent standstill, University officials announced Friday that they have entered talks with the Walt Disney Company. Penn is exploring the possibility of opening a high-tech entertainment center called DisneyQuest on the 40th and Walnut streets site originally intended to be a Sundance Cinemas theater complex. "We think the Disney name, in conjunction with a virtual reality and computer animation theme park, would rejuvenate the 40th Street corridor," Penn Executive Vice President and New York University President-elect John Fry said. The Sundance theater was supposed to serve as the cornerstone of Penn's revitalization plans for the western end of campus, but construction was halted in November when funding for the project fell through. This would not be the first time Disney has had its eye on Philadelphia. Back in 1998, Disney planned to open a five-story DisneyQuest entertainment zone in Center City that would have allowed visitors to play interactive fantasy-adventure games just blocks away from the Liberty Bell. Designs for the $167 million project were scrapped in April of 2000, when Philadelphia Mayor John Street said the proposed Disney development had failed to attract enough surrounding restaurants and stores to support it. If the city, the University and Disney are able to reach an agreement, the new DisneyQuest would neighbor The Freshgrocer supermarket across the street and numerous dining options on 40th Street. "The site shouts possibilities," said Art Levitt, president of Disney Regional Entertainment. "Aside from Center City, this is the best locale to launch our project." A LazerTag stadium, complete with animatronic tribute to Benjamin Franklin, would occupy half of the 50,000 square foot space, while multimedia interactive game stations would draw the Penn community, area residents and visitors to the rest of the complex. "I'll be bringing my family," Street said. "LazerTag is great exercise for adults and children." Calling the newly conceived entertainment theme park a boon for both Penn and the city, University President Judith Rodin said she would don mouse ears and a Minnie Mouse outfit to help lure Disney. However, some University professors are criticizing the new potential neighbor. Members of the Film Studies Program said they had wanted a movie theater, which would generate more academic space for the fledgling program. "This does not make the Film Studies faculty happy," said English Professor James English, who is acting director of the program. "We will stage a sit-in at that poor excuse for a construction site should Disney go forth with its little virtual playground." Prior to last week, Penn and National Amusements had been discussing plans to open another theater, where Sundance Cinemas abandoned work. General Cinemas, which was providing financial backing for the former project, filed for bankruptcy protection in October and pulled out of the deal in November. Robert Redford's Sundance Cinemas, the other partner in the joint venture, soon backed out of its agreement with the University. The construction site is now an eyesore and the whole experience has been a pretty big embarrassment for Penn. While Film Studies has its complaints, the Computer Science Department is optimistic about talks with Disney. "Our students would really benefit from Disney's whack cartoons," said Computer Science Professor Insup Lee, adding that he had considered leaving the University to join the ranks of Disney imagineers. "It's a small world after all."