DHS CARS LAND

[jt04]

I trust Tikiman as a source so I give some weight to his statement that Carsland isn't coming, I am just skeptical that the reason is because of "spongey" land. Since you have said there would be no Star Wars land until after 2015, what do you think is coming to DHS based on these rumors?

I think it is clear that the soonest any new add would arrive is 2015. I think you could see a DCA type makeover over several years. Likely a mix of attractions, shops, shows, eateries. Some SW, some Pixar and some Disney Studios. I don't think they have decided specifics yet though.

 

[Tim_4]

I think it is clear that the soonest any new add would arrive is 2015. I think you could see a DCA type makeover over several years. Likely a mix of attractions, shops, shows, eateries. Some SW, some Pixar and some Disney Studios. I don't think they have decided specifics yet though.

I have serious faith for D23 this year. I expect Avatar details and at least an outline of a plan for DHS.

 

[Wikkler]

Here's some discussion fodder.
http://idealbuildout.blogspot.com/2012/01/contest-winner.html
http://idealbuildout.blogspot.com/2011/10/disneys-hollywood-studios-2025.html
http://idealbuildout.blogspot.com/2010/08/process.html
http://idealbuildout.blogspot.com/2011/06/re-inventing-walt-disney-studios-paris.html

 

[doctornick]

I have serious faith for D23 this year. I expect Avatar details and at least an outline of a plan for DHS.

I expect that as well. That said, while I understand the motivation behind making a big splashy announcement (or multiple announcements) at D23, I think that TDO is messing up by not starting some constructions now and getting a jump start on things. Honestly, there should have been some movement in DHS -- at least putting something in Soundstage 1 or the Sounds Dangerous theater, which are basically unused/underused -- last year. WDW should have something significant to be built and opened for the 2015 timeframe and I don't see it happening.

 

[Tim_4]

I expect that as well. That said, while I understand the motivation behind making a big splashy announcement (or multiple announcements) at D23, I think that TDO is messing up by not starting some constructions now and getting a jump start on things. Honestly, there should have been some movement in DHS -- at least putting something in Soundstage 1 or the Sounds Dangerous theater, which are basically unused/underused -- last year. WDW should have something significant to be built and opened for the 2015 timeframe and I don't see it happening.

You need to remember that they think New Fantasyland is a much bigger deal than you or I consider it to be. I'm not super jazzed for it either, but they don't want to "steal its thunder" with any premature announcements about "sexier" projects. Rest assured, work is being done behind the scenes for Avatar (they're significantly deep financially already), and there's plenty for DHS that can be done without making an announcement. It's not like they need to announce before starting work. The work is based on the targeted opening date, but the announcement timing is almost all marketing strategy.

 

[PeterAlt]

Yo, listen up. All this talk and second guessing is really setting everyone up for major disappointment and letdown. Let's let the Imagineers do their jobs. Hopefully, upper management will as well.

 

[RSoxNo1]

No Cars Land will be just fine with me.

But hands off of the lake! Echo Lake barely takes up any space. And it is part of the area of DHS that is just perfect as is. It is the back half of the park that needs work, not the front half.

The front half of Echo Lake is done very well and could be used as a transition into a Lucas/Star Wars themed area. The Sounds Dangerous/American Idol buildings could use some retheming... Just a thought:

 

[Tim_4]

The front half of Echo Lake is done very well and could be used as a transition into a Lucas/Star Wars themed area. The Sounds Dangerous/American Idol buildings could use some retheming... Just a thought

I feel like a full-blown Star Wars land would break the story of DHS. It's not the most cohesive theme as-is, but it kind of gets there by presenting the exterior of Star Tours as a movie set. This allows for story lines like the Hyperspace Hoopla to break continuity.

 

[The Empress Lilly]

The front half of Echo Lake is done very well and could be used as a transition into a Lucas/Star Wars themed area. The Sounds Dangerous/American Idol buildings could use some retheming... Just a thought:

So cool! That's one of the best SW Weekends' pics!

While I would applaud a Dagobah area, I will resist any tampering with the gorgeous Sounds Dangerous / American Idol building. Such fantastic streamline moderne! Perhaps the style that really ties in all of DHS together.

What I would want is for some great tv/sound/movie attractions to return inside these buildings, and keeping their exterior, which is not just extraordinarily beautiful, but also a perfect stylistic transition from the front half to the back half of DHS. From the art deco of Hollywood Boul. to the lines of the soundstages and the animation courtyard.

Ah, classic DHS, such perfection:

 

[Bryner84]

I don't understand heavily weighting the studios with any one franchise, be it Cars Land, Star Wars land, etc. The park needs a cohesive identity, not just some cool stuff to do.

Hollywood and Sunset are the only areas that currently have that sense of place, although Echo Lake holds together reasonably well. Really, HS just needs some clean up to reinforce what's there. When a "land" is merely a single ride, as a whole these lands feel like a jumble of parts that just so happen to be adjacent to each other rather than fully fleshed out lands that tell their own unique story within an overall framework. Flesh out animation...give it a technologically advanced dark ride that covers the progression of animation through time. There could be a great effect when you transition from black and white to color. Next door, if you are going to go Pixar, then by all means do it. Equally represent several Pixar properties, and unify them with the theme that Pixar Studios is where these characters live, work, and play. Echo Lake is the "Hollywood Blockbusters" area, and should be reinforced with a repurposing of the SD/AI building.

HS has the beginnings of its identity, it just hasn't been taken far enough. Just take what's there and beef up each land's surroundings so that their presence is explained and rooted rather than having individual attractions that simply abut.

 

[HMF]

The front half of Echo Lake is done very well and could be used as a transition into a Lucas/Star Wars themed area. The Sounds Dangerous/American Idol buildings could use some retheming... Just a thought:

Gertie would half to be removed for that to work.

 

[Calvin Coolidge]

Gertie would half to be removed for that to work.

No skin off my back. California Crazy architecture is kind of neat, but it feels seriously out of place to me when everything else in the "Old Hollywood" parts of the park are Golden Age. I see Gertie's, however charming, as a part of DHS's incoherence problem.

 

[articos]

I am more than happy with something different than Cars as long as the replacement rides are as quality rich or moreso than RSR. But that IS the worry here, that WDW will once again get a rather lacking expansion.

Lets wait and see what other insiders have to say as they get updated info as well. @Lee @marni1971 @articos and anyone else, do you guys have anything to say about these new rumors?

DHS's overhaul should be fairly extensive. I don't personally think the surveyor's comment would be accurate for the reasoning given. There has never been a plan to transplant Carsland lock stock and barrel - John L. likes that CL is unique to DCA. Elements of CL, yes. But that leaves other Pixar IP and other IP entirely to be developed within Studios.

Couple other comments regarding other posts: Pixar does have a theme park team within Pixar in Emeryville who are the guardians of Pixar's properties when it comes to rides or parks. They are great. TDA doesn't specifically have Pixar people within their halls, but they have some people who have worked alongside the Pixar folks and are versed in what the rules are when it comes to Pixar's worlds. That's also a product of proximity: to Pixar in Northern California, the film industry in Southern California and the fact that they have execs from Disney and Pixar and film execs in general in the park on a regular basis. In FL, that's the farthest thing from their minds. Although Kathy is likely to keep a closer eye. Similarly, over at Universal FL, some of the technical services guys are versed in various IP for each of the Islands, or like how they used to have specific techs who worked in Amity for Jaws who knew what the rules were when it came to the story.

As for why it's not being talked about now, Tim's got it: don't want to take away from the New Fantasyland marketing yet or other projects like Springs that are still freshly announced. They have a huge platform to announce things at with D23, so it makes sense to use that. As far as why there aren't bulldozers, well, the Village is behind walls, MK has walls, Epcot has walls in the middle of FW and DAK has walls. Don't want every single park with major construction happening during peak summer. There is work going on behind the scenes.

 

[the.dreamfinder]

Two questions:
1)Is a tear down of LMA still part of the plan as I know TDO sees it as a giant insurance liability and for access to the back of the park?
2)Speaking of said plot, is Nomanisan a possibility or would that too be unsuitable for the "spongy" land?

 

[marni1971]

What I don't understand is why there is something called Pixar Place with barely anything other than toy story ride. So many options here

Because it was meant to be the start of a larger area. Still waiting.

 

[TP2000]

No skin off my back. California Crazy architecture is kind of neat, but it feels seriously out of place to me when everything else in the "Old Hollywood" parts of the park are Golden Age. I see Gertie's, however charming, as a part of DHS's incoherence problem.

California Crazy plays to the Golden Age era though. California Crazy architecture was 1920's and 1930's, the Golden Age of Hollywood and the birth of the Car Culture. Gertie's is a nice nod to that era. But I agree that it kind of ends right as its getting started, and they should have explored the California Crazy culture more in DHS.

But some people, mainly those who have never lived in or visited California, get confused and think California Crazy is the same thing as Googie architecture. But the Googie era was post-war 1950's and 60's, dying out very quickly in the early 1970's. And very different from pre-war California Crazy. There is no Googie in DHS, only California Crazy.

There is still some Googie architecture on display in Anaheim though, just a short stroll from Disneyland's main entrance turnstiles.

 

[WDWDad13]

Because it was meant to be the start of a larger area. Still waiting.

As am I. lol

 

[The Empress Lilly]

California Crazy plays to the Golden Age era though. California Crazy architecture was 1920's and 1930's, the Golden Age of Hollywood and the birth of the Car Culture. Gertie's is a nice nod to that era. But I agree that it kind of ends right as its getting started, and they should have explored the California Crazy culture more in DHS.

But some people, mainly those who have never lived in or visited California, get confused and think California Crazy is the same thing as Googie architecture. But the Googie era was post-war 1950's and 60's, dying out very quickly in the early 1970's. And very different from pre-war California Crazy. There is no Googie in DHS, only California Crazy.

There is still some Googie architecture on display in Anaheim though, just a short stroll from Disneyland's main entrance turnstiles.

Spot on!

DL 1.0 too was full of googie! Also, UNI seems to love Googie. (I'm going to text that sentence to my non-Disney friends and see what they make of it!) MiB and the Cabana would qualify, I think.

Kalifornia Krazie is fun, but it shouldn't be overdone. It is all too easy to cross over into tacky roadside attraction territory. DHS does it just right with a few touches.

Gertie has another function too, besides her role in architecture and being plain fun. She's also present for her role in the development of animation. 'I only hope we don't lose sight of one thing - that it was all started by a dinosaur'.

 

[MattM]

I trust Tikiman as a source so I give some weight to his statement that Carsland isn't coming, I am just skeptical that the reason is because of "spongey" land

it is swampland.

 

[danlb_2000]

Yo, listen up. All this talk and second guessing is really setting everyone up for major disappointment and letdown. Let's let the Imagineers do their jobs. Hopefully, upper management will as well.

So you are saying we shouldn't discuss rumors about Disney parks on a Disney parks news and rumors message board? Most people on these board understand that 95% of these rumors will not come true, but it's still fun to have the discussion.