AGP Debates: What is the Disney Vault?

Charles: What is the Disney Vault?

Michael: The Disney Vault is a vault created by Disney and Mickey Mouse. It is used to store films and occasionally release them on home video for a certain time.

Tina: There's more to the story than meets the eye. Whenever a Disney film was released, they would put it in theaters for months (nowadays it's for a couple of weeks), and then they would put it in the vault. If a millionaire wants to purchase one of the films for private home exhibition, they will make a compromise with Mickey Mouse, and then rent it for a month or two. The public would never get those opportunities, so they relied on Drake leakers.

Charles: I know them. Drake leakers are those who leak stuff, especially media. They get the name because nowadays they leak Drake songs.

Bridgette: Getting fed up with the leakers, in 1978, they decided to experiment on VHS. They put out a couple of their films on VHS for rent. After the big boom, they decided to let them buy it altogether.

Jennifer: The problem is that they would only sell them for a while, and then put them back in the vault. Whenever they were put back in the vault, parents and nerds would rage.

Charles: I still remember the Disney Vault Riot of 1985. In that time, pressure was so huge, the cancellation was just too much. They raided the headquarters in an attempt to break open the vault and steal them. They were unsuccessful, but it proved to Disney that limited runs never worked.

Charlie: But Mickey persevered. They continued the limited releases, and the Drake leakers went crazy. They bought the VHS tapes in bulk, record them with special equipment, and sell bootlegs to desperate parents and VHS enthusiasts.

Charles: We owe multiple Disney bootleg tapes from that era.

Michael: When DVD got big, they got rid of the vault altogether and went for a normal DVD release. Limited releases were now gone.