Star Wars Land, a big mistake for DHS???

JeffH

JeffH

Active Member
Original Poster
I was just reading an article dealing with the lack of new Disney Hotels and one conclusion was that the 4 parks were generally full now, so they don't have the park capacity to support any more hotels. Furthermore, the Star Wars property has now changed from a simple limited licensing of an old concept to Disney owning a new prospering franchise with new stories and characters. So considering the new 'size' and renewed popularity of Star Wars, isn't it too big to be pigeon-holed into Disney's Hollywood Studios? Not only that but devoting a whole section of the park to a single concept doesn't really fit the park, which is better suited presenting a variety of (different) entertainment attractions.
And with the new generation of Star Wars fans, I would NOW think that a new park featuring Star Wars attractions would be a bigger draw of new fans than Harry Potter was/is. Maybe, with the new Indiana Jones movie coming out soon, the new park could cater to that franchise as well.
It may not be too late to change since I think most of the work done for the new Star Wars land is the destruction of DHS so far, and that could be easily taken advantage of with the addition of many new DHS attractions like (in the new "Theater District" the Aladdin Stage Show, the return of the Hunchback and maybe a Disney on Ice show. Then back show.kiddie concerts (which bring in many new ticket families), and add some major Disney Channel star concerts, which could happen in the late afternoon in the Fantasmic Theater. Carsland could extend on from the new Toy Story area. Bring back the special events like Soaps featuring soap opera stars. There still would be a Star Wars and Indy connection keeping the existing attractions, but perhaps (stealing the idea from Universal's Hogwarts Train interconnection), they could add a high-speed mag-lev train between Star Tours and the new park?
Most of these concepts are all ready for construction, with the only delay being the planning and placement of the new park. So just move all the plans to the new park, and bring in some clones to DHS (no planning necessary) and turn up the steam and get it done. And plan and build that Star Wars Host Hotel.
Will Disney take the challenge?
 
M

Mickey5150

Well-Known Member
No. I don't see any reason for DHS to bring back Soap Opera Weekends since ABC has cancelled most of it's soaps since the last time the event took place. Creating a 5th park and filling DHS with a bunch of shows would just make people abandon the park. What happens when Star Wars fatigue sets in? If Disney is dead set on bringing out new Star Wars movies every year then in about 10 years people will be so tired of the franchise that they won't want to go to a park dedicated to all things Star Wars. Having a themed land in DHS allows people to go to a park and choose to see Star Wars or choose to see Toy Story. Also, a lot of people don't like Star Wars. This is all coming from a lifelong Star Wars fanatic who grew up with the original movies.
 
Weather_Lady

Weather_Lady

Well-Known Member
One could argue (although reasonable minds can differ) that Disney's investment in the already-outdated Avatar franchise, and its inclusion of a fictional Avatar-land in a park that is otherwise solidly devoted to real animals or real locations on earth, was a mistake, both thematically and in terms of guest interest.

In contrast, I don't think anyone can straight-facedly say that taking Star Wars - a franchise that is still wildly successful and which has proved a large "draw" for HS even in small doses - and putting a land based on films in a park dedicated to Hollywood, is a financial or thematic misstep. In fact, I think that people only have the patience/interest to attend a limited number of live shows in a day, and that only adding more shows instead of more "ride"-style attractions and restaurants (both of which HS tends to lack) would not be a great investment.
 
KINGLOUIS1993

KINGLOUIS1993

Well-Known Member
I think that the Star Wars Land will be a huge success, I know it isn't everyone's cup of tea but it is a huge draw. At the moment for me it is huge asset for Disney and will give them an edge the same way HP lands do at Universal, people will flock to come and see it. I don't think having a whole park dedicated to it would work though, not for value for money. Traditionally HS is my favourite park, not at the moment obviously because its half a park, half a construction yard but I am looking forward to it's future. What I like most is that I know Disney won't be half arsed about it and will put so much detail into it to make it look fantastic. The other question to your point is, does the park need any more shows? I am more of a ride man myself but do like the shows on offer at HS currently, when planning a day shows can be very time consuming.
 
Dead2009

Dead2009

Horror Movie Guru
Weather_Lady said:
One could argue (although reasonable minds can differ) that Disney's investment in the already-outdated Avatar franchise, and its inclusion of a fictional Avatar-land in a park that is otherwise solidly devoted to real animals or real locations on earth, was a mistake, both thematically and in terms of guest interest .
Click to expand...

They could say it was a mistake while not realizing that Beastly Kingdom was once a thing.
 
The Empress Lilly

The Empress Lilly

Well-Known Member
Well the one thing I agree with is that in a woefully overcrowded resort there was no need to destruct half a park for a re-expansion.

Well that, and yes, it remains to be seen if DHS' identity wasn't stronger with a front- and backlot Hollywood than with a front lot + random IP lands setup. The front half of DHS changes in character and meaning too, and this area was one of the finests Disney has ever build.
 
ford91exploder

ford91exploder

Resident Curmudgeon
Johnguelff said:
outdated until avatar 2 comes out....
Click to expand...

And FLOPS big, Avatar was a techincal masterwork which finally realized the promise of 3D Filmmaking just as 'The Jazz Singer' finally added working sound to movies. Avatar is almost unwatchable in 2D and that's why it had zero impact on popular culture.

People saw 'Avatar' because at the time it was an amazing cinematic experience not because it was a great movie, Unless Avatar 2.0 brings moviemaking to a new level of technology I expect it will flop because Cameron is a brilliant ENGINEER not a master STORYTELLER.

Titanic another one of Cameron's movies brought CGI into the era where it could substitute for real sets on the big screen but the story itself was formulaic but the movie itself was amazing from a tech perspective.
 
Weather_Lady

Weather_Lady

Well-Known Member
Dead2009 said:
They could say it was a mistake while not realizing that Beastly Kingdom was once a thing.
Click to expand...

True - but Beastly Kingdom is NOT a thing (although I'm one of those who wishes it had been). Without it, Animal Kingdom's character and focus was changed, and it's to that, present-day AK, that Avatar is being introduced. I think that bringing in Avatar -- which doesn't offer earthly animals, or an earthly location (or even fantastic beasts of historical legend and lore, as BK would have done) but instead centers around Hollywood aliens, is thematically discordant, no matter how much Disney might spin the "environmentalism" angle. It will be nice if the attractions are good, and I'm sure that lack of familiarity with the subject matter won't discourage guests from flocking to Avatarland once it opens, but I'm always going to wish that Disney could have spent the same money building good attractions that honored the theme of the park, rather than simply honoring James Cameron's giant, trembling ego.

For what it's worth, I apologize -- I didn't mean to distract from the thread by embarking on a tangent. I just felt that the main topic, inclusion of Star Wars land in HS, was an obvious contrast to AK/Avatar -- in the case of Star Wars, it is an instance in which making an entire land out of a franchise, and placing it in a particular park, did make sense. :) I'll shut up about Avatar now!
 
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ford91exploder

ford91exploder

Resident Curmudgeon
The Empress Lilly said:
Well the one thing I agree with is that in a woefully overcrowded resort there was no need to destruct half a park for a re-expansion.

Well that, and yes, it remains to be seen if DHS' identity wasn't stronger with a front- and backlot Hollywood than with a front lot + random IP lands setup. The front half of DHS changes in character and meaning too, and this area was one of the finests Disney has ever build.
Click to expand...

Yes it was - the front half of the park created the 'Hollywood which never was' especially when the stores still carried merchandise appropriate to their theme.
 

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