MGM-Disney studios Fixer-uppers

[Chad]

MGM studios is one of my favorite parks ever, mainly because as I walk around, I come up with so many ideas on how to make it better....So, I am going to give you a multi-phase plan that should take 6-10 years to finish. It's ALOT of stuff, but actually not all that costly, mainly moving and minimal building with a few added attractions here and there.

1st off, some of you may have noticed that there are only 5 actually sit down and move rides. ToT, TGMR, RnRC, and STours.
And that there is a MULTITUDE of shows! oy! Something like 9 sit down shows, and I thinki the balance needs to be fixed, plus, it needs some attractions for kids, and some kind of 'Land' distinction.

Phase I: Land Creation, and stabilization of an ICON. Estimated time 1yr and a half.

This phase is a major jump, but gets things rolling nicely. First, the park will be divided into lands.
First, the Hollywood boulevard and sunset boulevard with be designated as 'Hollywood'

The ARea surrounding Echo Lake will be designated: "ABC Studios"

The area around indy and Stours will be "Lucasfilm Lot"

New York will remain the same, but an extra 'miniland' will be added to it later, called the 'New York Burbs" This comes into play on another phase, Phase III.

The backlot tour, HISTK play area, and all the way down to one man's dream will become "Production Avenue"

And finally, "ANimation Courtyard" will retain it's original name.

Signs will be posted to designate each land better then the current 'Road name'.

Next step. ICON
The people of disney have given this park a new icon, that wheter or not we like it, it's gonna stay. hey did, however, not complete the job.The chinese theater makes the area look cluttered and unorganized..very bad 'Feng shui'. So, Unforteanetly, The theter is gonna have to come down. The hat will instead become a main entrance fror TGMR, and on either side of the hat, large walls will be built, coming close, but not touching the hat. ON the other end of the walls, they will connect to the ABC commisary on one side, and the current "Palm tree" wall on the the side nearest Voyage of TLM. These walls will have fountains on top, and water will run down the outside of the wall (Like the rainforest cafe at AK) Pools of water at the bottom of the walls will collect it, and more fountains will be there. Every 10 mintues or so, fountain screens will pop up from the fountains, and a show will be presented, much like Epcot, but iun this case, movie clips will be projected onto the screens, sycronized with dancing water around the screens and the hat. Right after you walk into the hat, the area that used to be between the hat and the theater will now bean actual building, housing the pumps and equipment needed for the fountains. A single que line will lead into the ride through this building, and tghe inside of TGMR will not be changed much, until the last phase.

 

[space*mt*ranger]

MORE,ME WANNA HEAR MORE:hammer:
Can you give some ideas for other parks to?id love to hear them,m gonna post mine later

 

[Chad]

Phase II Hollywood and ANimayion courtyard improvements. Estimated time: 2 yrs.

Now we get down to the real meat of the matter
Starting with ANimation courtyard, first, playhouse disneywill be moved to the old DOUG building, because it fits in with the 'Television' theme better then the animation, seeing as alot of the shows aren't true disney animation. The old building will house the legend of the lion King, which is getting thrown out of MK when Philar Magic comes along, the animation courtyard would make a great home for it, it fits in PERFECTLY
Next, the animtion tour will not be changed much, but I want them to build an interactive section at the end of the tour, similar to what they have in california...

On to Hollywood. All of these improvements actually take place on
Sunset boulevard. First, Beauty and the Beast gets moved to the tommorowland stage in MK. This stage is NEVER used, and MK could use the show. And even though the theming of tommorowland is all futuristic, it still fits in...I mean, right now we still have shakespeare performances and older plays performed, so in the future, we'll still be performing older plays..Have signs outside of the theter saying "The Tommorowland Players presents: The Classic pre-Mars colonization smash hit! Beauty and The Beast!

Anyways, the space where that theater was will go to good use. That entire open area will be transformed into Hollywood Hill. A recreation (and much smaller, only 4 stories tall) of Hollywood Hill in california will be built, and a path will be built, lined with palmtrees, leading to the inside, were you will be able to experince two attractions. 'Superstar Limo' from California and "You Ought to Be in Piuctures" An interactive attraction that consist of 15 'Studios' where you and some of your friends can go in, and using props and costumes, can recreate hollywood scenes from movies, then afterwards, you can buy the tape. Test your acting skills! A path will still be built so you can exit Fantasmic! and head straight out to the parking lot. It'll go around behind the hill.

Also, with these new attractions, sunset boulevard will be even more crowded then it already is! So, a new path will be built, going between catalina eddie's and rosy's grill (I think thats the name) and connecting with a nother new path going from the bathroom at RNRC which would let out between the animation tour and Legend of the lion king in the animation courtyard, making it more of a loop, and releving the traffic woes.

Next phase, coming soon!

 

[Chad]

Phase III

Now that sunset boulevard is all fixed up, it's time to draw some attention towards the back of the park. Too many people seem to ignore this section... This next phase is a big jump, taking probably 2 and half to 3 years to finish, it's title: New York! New York!

Now, new york is home to one attraction, and one show, so, we're gonna add a big e-ticket ride to spice it up! It's name: 007: (Still trying to think up a somewhat cheesy name..Like tommorow never dies and goldeneye...please share any thoughts you get..) It goes in were Al's toy barn is. It's a big, neat e-ticket ride, that I'm gonna expand upon later, because it's also very complicated, but I can gurantee it's success. Plus MGM makes 007, so the rights can be snatched up..provided disney and MGM stay friends..
So, with that in place, we need to move on. The end of New York Ends in washington square, where road blocks keep you from going further, those road blocks will simply be taken down, and the 'New York Suburbs' mini-subland will be made. I included a quick paint-picture to show how this layout will work, but basically, the old houses from the backlot will be moved to make a 'Neighborhood' each house will have a sign next to the mail box, explaining which show it was from, and each house will also be a 'Meet and greet' area, with charecters in the porches, or at the front doors of each house,. Now, at the tip of the loop will be a very odd looking house, that may be very familiar. The house of Dorthy from the wizard of oz. a new dark ride revolving around the classic will be built there. Consult the pictures for details on the layout. I haven't really designed the ride as of yet, but It will basically take you through the scenes of the movie....
Ok, so we've completely ruined the original Backlot tour...Now what do we do? We change it! The backlot tour will now specifically be a 'Special effects' tour. Let me give you a short walkthrough. You would first go through the current 'pearl harbor' walkthrough, and board the tram. As soon as you leave the tram station, it would go through the graveyard, and you'd see all the old cars and planes etc. The next scene would be set up with the mountanous Catasrophe Canyon as it's backdrop. It would appear as if you get to see a special taping of the new war epic: "Battle for life" (it's a made up movie, not really being made..) here, they will demonstrate how they make war effects and car explosions look real. Next would be catastrophe canyon, same as it's always been. Next, you'd enter into a big building, the "Armegeddon" (sp?) soundstage, where they would demonstrate how footage taped on a soundstage is transferred into a movie. The soundstage itself would have a scene from the meteor, with those armadillo cars being pummled by rock and such...very exciting to watch and all, then, afterwards, you would exit back at the station.

 

[Chad]

Here's a quick picture of the backlot, and some stuff I forgot to say.

The Burbs will also still be able to house the Osborne lights, one of the reason I kept the houses...And Catastrophe canyone will be reversed, you go in the way you come out currently, so everything will work together better.

 

[Chad]

The final phase of my plan of ultimate world domination!!!

Finally, the last phase to be completed. By now, MGM would be hailed as one of the most amazing theme parks in the world, but now, it's gonna get better! Phase IV is titled Ride Improvements, enchancements, and updates.

1st HISTK needs to be updated or changed..Maybe to a bug's life, or to My Wonka Candy Works play area, with a huge "Everlasting Gobstopper" factory, which is actually a huge ball pit wit slides and such.

2nd Star Tours. I would liek to see this evolve into a unique, never before seen ride. One that starts out as a motion simulator, but moves into an actual ride, turning into something like spiderman, where you have a laser blaster, and you have to help defeat the empire, and then, accidently get caught in a Pod race...Sort of a way of combining the old movies together with the new ones..

3rd TGMR This ride has been the subject of great debate. I believe this is one of the best and most well thought out rides ever made..It truly is wonderful, and actually plunges you into the movies..BUT. It needs some updates...Change the tarzan scene into a 'Titanic' scene, (love it or hate it, it is one of the best movies of all time according to the # of oscars it got..) The end with the big movie finale, put two more movie scenes in it, one from either the matrix, or crouching tiger, hidden dragon...Comple and cool AA's would be used here...And then maybe Harry Potter, or a Lord of The Rings scene..Either way, we need some new movies in there... Then, the end would actually be the begining..the room that you loaded in would be pitch black, with little blue dots glistening (Like the old JIYI room, with all those neat red lights) Up ahead would be a screen, above the passageway where your car went at the begining. A much shorter movie would be presented, and when it ends, a voice would shout,"thats a wrap!" and the house lights would return, and you'd exit...

Suddenly, MGM is fighting with Magic Kingdom over # of guests!

 

[woofboy111]

Sounds good.

 

[wdwmaniac]

Cool ideas. I like the changes.

 

[Lance]

Great Ideas!!!

I'm a huge bond fan, and I would love to see a Bond attraction, but I don't think it's possible.

You can have a Bond stunt show, no problem. A bond ride is tough, I can't think of anything you can possibly do with 007.

You can do something unimaginable like being chased in an Aston Martin and then it transforms into a Gyrocopter. So you experience the land and air. The object of the ride is to blow up Blofeld's underground lair. I don't know, I think a Bond attraction is really hard to imagine.

 

[Chad]

Oh come now, you must not know me well! I always come prepared It's that darn eagle scout thing I got, I guess.

Here's the setup: The ride uses similar technology to Test Track, the quick speed-up and slow down, and the stop and go versitility. Not only that, but it makes a great ride that the whole family can enjoy, seeing as it's not too scary, yet thrilling enough for the anxious teenager (myself included). Ok, So, in the Back of MGM studios, on a busy new york street, Stands the Liberty Taxi Co. Which blends seamlessly in with the theming! It's here, that you stumble into a plot for:

007: The open road is eternal THE RIDE! (cheesy dramatic title, enter flaming dancing girls and cool music, of course, this is not part of the ride, just the title, and the girls just seem to dance in my head...And I would love it if you could come up with a better title!!!)

The Queue:
Well, you enter the front of the taxi company, and into a garage area, with a few cars hoisted up, parts laying everywhere. I really see the set of 'Taxi' here, minus Latka of course, he scared me. and plus a bunch of rows with anxious tourists. Anyways, the que is rather simple, just weaving through a typical new york taxi garage, the only ODD thing is that all of the taxis in the garage would be convertibles, yes the liberty taxi co uses top of the line luxury taxis (Bus this is really just because a ride inside of a real car isn't much fun, you gotta have the wind in your hair!

Preshow:
Ok, so you enter into a 'parts' room, where many tool boxes and parts can be found, hangin all over the place. Anyways, a CM walks in, dressed in a mechanic jumpsuit. He pulls open a drawer on a tool box, and pops a computer screen up, he punches a few buttons, and suddenly, the doors close and lock, and the walls of the room turn, revelaing guns, surveilance systems, etc. The normal spy stuff. Anyways, he explains that "You are in a (can't remeber the organization's name that bond is in) sattelite faciliaty that is currently working on an international smuggling ring. This new york taxi company is actual a front, and the public face of the ring. The offices themselves are the main distibution system. They use the taxis to deliver the smuggled items to their agents. Currently, they are in controll of Nuclear Bomb information, and (as usual) its up to us to stop them! I will now turn it over to our top agent who is running this operationg. Agent 007!"
At this time, a screen would flash, and pierce brosnan would appear on it, a face shot of him, driving in a car of somesort
"Hello, thanks for agreeing to help us out.." he would say,
"I'm currently out tailing one of the taxis that we believe is carrying the information, however, they have become suspicous of my true identity, and I cannot get close, thats why we need you. You will pose as smuggling agents, and will ride in a car that Q will be piloting back from headquarters, your misson is to get close to them, and keep them busy so that we can get reinforcements to bring them in. I'm now going to turn you over to Q who will brief you on some pre-mission safety information. Good luck!"
The screen would flick over to Q, and he would go over the usual buckle your safety belt crap. The only turly inmportant thing he would say would be this:
"And don't worry, if things get too dangerous, we have equiped the cars with a high power laser that would blast a hole through the alps. We're sure nothing will put you in danger."
Sounds easy enough, right?

Loading area:
Well, this part is pretty simple, the cars pull up, you get in. Ta da!You would see, on the side of your car, a large, futuristic laser thing though on the drivers side

The actual ride!!
Now this part gets a little tricky, so please, try to follow me...
As you leave onto the streets of new york, you weave in and out of back alley streets, swirving around. It is VERY important that you do not see the vehicle in front of you at this point. Bond would come on the screen as you stop at a red light
"hang on, our sattelite is locking onto the Taxi's position..."
and as he says this, a car suddenly zooms across the intersection you are stopped at,"Quick, Q, track were he's headed, and find us a short cut!" you would swerve of after him....
Now this is what I was talking about. It gets tricky. The car that sped through the intersection was actually the passenger car infront of you. Yes, the vehicle that you were TOLD was the bad guys was actually filled with happy-go lucky tourists. In turn, as you speed after them, you will be the bad guys (unknowingly) for another car waited at the stop light..Who will soono be the bad guys for the car behind them..See what I mean? Basically, you are chasing the car infront of you.
Ok, back to the ride, so you speed up, and follow them, and they lead you into a warehouse, and as you drive in, suspensful music plays, and your car slows..."Guys..I believe they might have figured out what we are trying to do..." Q would say nervously, and as if we was a mind reader, gun fire fills the room, as the bad guys shower you with bullets, You would catch sight of the other taxi, and speed off after it, (the taxi is still just another ride vehicle filled with tourists) You would follow it through more quick turning city streets, dodging oncoming traffic, and shooting the laser at the taxi now and then, resulting in soem fun pyrotechniques as you miss each time, and soon, you drive up onto the interstate, now this is when you hit the fast lane, moving at a great 70 mph for quite a long distance, and hitting the exit ramp at quite the angle (Similar to test track) and then, it's time for the big finale!
This has to be the hardest part of the ride to describe...
As you exit the interstate, you begin driving towards a parking garage, with two entrances (which is very important)
Now, lets say the car infront of you was going into the RIGHT entrance, Bond would say "Quick! Nows our chance! We have a clear shot!" and the laser would fire, now remember, the car infront of you is just a normal car filled with tourist who are experiencing the same attraction you are! when the laser hits the car, a large explosion would occur, but it would consist mainly of smoke, and bright lights, flames would be delayed a bit. Right before the explosion, just seconds before the smoke goes off, the car would enter the unloading area, and doors would quickluy close behind it, blocking the car from view, and protecting it (abnd the passengers) from the explosion, and also giving the illusion that it blew up to the car behind it. Your car would then swerve int the LEFT entrance, and the cart behind you would see the same scene, they would fire a laser, smoke, lights, fire. Of course, you would be safe inside the unloading area, and wouldn't be aware of the fact that you just blew up. I hope that was clear...
You would then unload, and go to a shop.

How this would work:
I can't really type up alot of the plans,. but as you can see, timing is very important. There would be many 'Alternate paths' that would help keep up the illusion that the car infron of you is not another ride vehicle, but is actually full of 'bad guys' The cars would also be designed so the passengers could see out, but other vehicles can't see in, to keep the illusion up.

Why go through all this trouble?:
Well, I strive for realism. It would be very costly to have 'dummy' cars that would drive in front of you, and it wouldn't feel very real if you are chasing a car that you can't really see, so This plan was devised to make you feel like you really are hunting down smugglers...

Ok, my fingers hurt. What do you think?

 

[Lance]

It's a great idea!

I'd love to see it.

 

[NowInc]

LoL...and then you are handed a budget slip telling you exactly how much money it will cost...and then how much money they will actually give you to do it......and then you sttart to weep and cry cursing the suits who decide the money factor at WDI...hehe

 

[Chad]

So it would be a BIT costly, but it would probably be at around the same price as Test Track, seeing as the designing of the vehicles are already done, you just pay more for theming and special effects. The plans I've drawn up resemble Test Track in a scary way...

 

[NowInc]

Originally posted by Chad
So it would be a BIT costly, but it would probably be at around the same price as Test Track, seeing as the designing of the vehicles are already done, you just pay more for theming and special effects. The plans I've drawn up resemble Test Track in a scary way...

And how about the cost of planning? Formal planning that is....Not to mention the money lost from closing these attractions during the re-hab. I am not adding a downer to your ideas...they are all really cool...just shedding light on how difficult a process it REALLLLY is.

 

[Chad]

I know you're not putting down my rides, but I'm just arguing back. Arguing is different then fighting.

Anyway,
all of my plans call for moving things, and most can be done without shutting them down for long.

For exampe:
The ABC stage is currently closed, so the new Playhouse set could be built there while the curent show plays on.
Same With moving BatB to MK.
It would take a while to fix the Lion King Stage up, but that's closing already for PhilarMagic. Plus, MGM wouldn't have lost an attraction, because it's taking over the old plyhoue stage. James Bond would go into Al's Toy barn, and the surrounding area, which has no attractions, and a meet and greet can be planted ANYWHERE. Taking out BatB will also not reduce the amount of attractions MGM has because TLK show will have just be added, so the # of shows remains constant. See what I mean?

Only the Backlot tour and TGMR will be closed for an extended period of time..

Now, I'm not saying it's free, but.....

in terms of what MGM is getting, I think the price would be VERY appealing.

 

[NowInc]

Well I can certainly say you have really thought this thru...

However (isnt there always a however)...

although I agree that its cost wouldnt be AS high as other projects..I still stand by my statment that it is more than Disney is willing to spend. You are not talking about an addition of one attraction here..you are talking about moving things (A vERY costly process), as well as re-theming a lot of the park.

Most likley the suits at disney would take one look at this and quickly dismiss it....unfortunatly....

One thing I have learned from observing disney imaginerring all these years is thta they NEVER focus too long on ONE park...its a shame really....MGM really needs more rides...

 

[Chad]

ah yes, I agree there.

My ideas are cost-efficent for what you are getting, but the execs at disney would pass many of these details ( which are important to me) off as 'unneccesary', when they would give the park a better identitiy. Similar to proofreading and editting a letter. Oh well...

 

[NowInc]

Yeah..its a real kick in the crotch when you give a REALLY cool bunch of ideas that would really improove the quality of something, and then they reject it because they just dont see it as economically feasable at this point in time...

As you can probobly guess...that happens a lot at my job just as it does at WDI...

 

[Castle Cake Apologist]

Originally posted by Lance
Great Ideas!!!

I'm a huge bond fan, and I would love to see a Bond attraction, but I don't think it's possible.

You can have a Bond stunt show, no problem. A bond ride is tough, I can't think of anything you can possibly do with 007.

You can do something unimaginable like being chased in an Aston Martin and then it transforms into a Gyrocopter. So you experience the land and air. The object of the ride is to blow up Blofeld's underground lair. I don't know, I think a Bond attraction is really hard to imagine.

A couple years ago King's Island in Ohio had a 007 simulator ride. It's gone now, as they tore down the building to build The Son of Beast, the worlds first looping wooden coaster.

 

[Chad]

Bah, simulators make me vomit. Not because of the roughness of the ride, but because of the lack of work involved in it, and hten they call it an 'e-ticket' ride. Not right, I tell you! I was thinking on a much grander scale (if you look up a few posts, you'll see my idea) then just a movie screen and a shakey box.