Star Wars Land announced for Disney's Hollywood Studios

P_Radden

Well-Known Member
There are two attractions.

The battle attraction will have a queue and preshow(s) building to rival the main show building. And Forbidden Journey. And come to think of it The Living Seas.

Also remember this is marketing concept art. Certain things are exaggerated. And it is Disneyland. Orlando won't have some of the details in the extremities (but will have other items). Plus it'll be flipped horizontally.

Am I understanding this or do I have the attractions mixed up?
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Goofyernmost

Well-Known Member
For the general public it doesn't matter. It matters for a small minority who are either Disney fanatics and visit both domestic parks regularly or who are Star Wars fanatics and would visit both coasts to see something unique related to Star Wars. For Disney it's a no brainer. The money saved on design, testing and parts make cloning the rides too lucrative to pass up. The cost of any future upgrades to the rides can also be split between coasts.
So really it's a non-issue, issue? A made up problem by a few fans that are able to travel coast to coast on a whim? That's kinda what I thought it was. There is no logical reason for not duplicating some of the more popular attractions so that everyone can enjoy them and not just the lucky few that happen to reside in the area that it is included.
 

Goofyernmost

Well-Known Member
Harry Potter is a *huge* IP -- it has had a bigger draw to its theme parks than anything Disney has ever put out. So, HP in California should have been a huge success but it just wasn't. And, that's because people have already seen it before. Which is why I am slightly concerned. With an IP that's so rich in content and an even bigger draw than Harry Potter, why take the risk with cloning? That's all.

I'm still very excited about Star Wars land at DHS, though! Regardless, it will be a huge success for Disney.
I'm sorry, but, all of California did not travel to Orlando to see HP. If it isn't as much of a draw there it is probably a regional thing. Not everyone is totally enamored by HP. I know I wouldn't walk across the street if it were just to see it. Having it in two places just allows the real fans to experience something they like in a more affordable way. An example of that is Soarin. Do you see a third theater in California? Even though it started there, it isn't the draw that it is in Orlando. I saw Soarin the first time in 2005 in DCA. It was a walk on. The only time it was a walk in Florida was at night after the attraction has closed.
 

Disone

Well-Known Member
Interesting point about Soarin. Part of the reason why it's so much more popular, or perceived more popular at Walt Disney World, is two fold. A) Epcot has a higher annual attendance than California Adventure by significant margins. B) California Adventure has more attractions for guests to ride than Epcot. I had not realized hp west was not a success. Although saying hp east is bigger then anything disney has done seems doubtful. USF did get a huge boost in attendance but that is easy to do when you pre hp attendance was so low to begin with. It's easy to get a million extra visits when you're only hosting six or seven million annually.

An extra million visitors to Universal Studios Florida currently would represent double-digit growth. To the Magic Kingdom at Walt Disney World that extra million would represent less than 5% growth.
 
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Disone

Well-Known Member
I wanted to fact-check to see if Harry Potter truly have been bigger than anything Disney has done. Turns out Cars Land was actually bigger. Harry Potter resulted in a 30% increase at Islands of Adventure. They went from 4.6 million visitors in 2009 to 5.9 visitors in 2010. That's an increase of 1.3 million visitors. Cars Land at California Adventure was only a 22% increase. However that 22% increase was 6.3 million in 2011 to 7.7 million in 2012. That's an increase of 1.4 million visitors versus Harry Potter's 1.3 million visitors increase. In number of new tickets sold DCA's 22% increase represented a larger population the IOA's 30 percent increase.
 

ctrlaltdel

Well-Known Member
I wanted to fact-check to see if Harry Potter truly have been bigger than anything Disney has done. Turns out Cars Land was actually bigger. Harry Potter resulted in a 30% increase at Islands of Adventure. They went from 4.6 million visitors in 2009 to 5.9 visitors in 2010. That's an increase of 1.3 million visitors. Cars Land at California Adventure was only a 22% increase. However that 22% increase was 6.3 million in 2011 to 7.7 million in 2012. That's an increase of 1.4 million visitors versus Harry Potter's 1.3 million visitors increase. You can't always look at the percentages and judge how successful and attraction has been.
I think there is a problem with comparing the 2 markets, as SoCal is more dependent on locals, while FL is majority vacationers. So Cars Land can attract a bigger bump, since people can go on a whim to DCA (since they already hold APs). The affect of Potter, meanwhile, has been stretched out. Plus, one could say that Cars Land opened at a more optimal time, during the meat of the economic recovery, while HP opened right as we were exiting the downturn. Not saying you're necessarily wrong, but both IOA and DCA increased attendance by leaps and bounds since then, thanks in no small part to their new expansions. I tend to think Potter is a bigger draw than Cars (and SW is bigger than both), but to each his own. I just think there is a set of mitigating factors in the facts you presented.
 
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Ripken10

Well-Known Member
I wanted to fact-check to see if Harry Potter truly have been bigger than anything Disney has done. Turns out Cars Land was actually bigger. Harry Potter resulted in a 30% increase at Islands of Adventure. They went from 4.6 million visitors in 2009 to 5.9 visitors in 2010. That's an increase of 1.3 million visitors. Cars Land at California Adventure was only a 22% increase. However that 22% increase was 6.3 million in 2011 to 7.7 million in 2012. That's an increase of 1.4 million visitors versus Harry Potter's 1.3 million visitors increase. In number of new tickets sold DCA's 22% increase represented a larger population the IOA's 30 percent increase.
Great stats..but you would also then need to compare that to the % growth of the tourism industries for that area and overall...and even then it wouldn't be perfectly accurate. Numbers never really tell you much, cause you can make numbers say anything (although I find your numbers extremely interesting and does tell a story...but my point is that so many people will read way too much into stats that can get fired out).
 

Daveeeeed

Well-Known Member
Wouldn't be surprising. It looks like they've barely demolished anything.
I highly doubt it. Construction doesn't always seem obvious. In Anaheim they had to reroute Rivers of America, and the railroad. At HWS they had to demolish a few structures. When it is all said and done based on both of their timelines 18-24 months seems outrageous, they wouldn't announce HWS at the same time as Disneyland if they weren't opening back to back.
 

Phroobar

Well-Known Member
It will be interesting to see how the two compare. I wonder if Florida will cheap out on it or will it be high quality like Disneyland's version.
 

Daveeeeed

Well-Known Member
It will be interesting to see how the two compare. I wonder if Florida will cheap out on it or will it be high quality like Disneyland's version.
The biggest upgrade for Disneyland I would think would be the new railroad, and Rivers of America being right along the land.
 

Master Yoda

Pro Star Wars geek.
Premium Member
It will be interesting to see how the two compare. I wonder if Florida will cheap out on it or will it be high quality like Disneyland's version.
Any real examples of an instance of this happening?

I know DL tends to get new effects and plussing before WDW in part thanks to Imagineering being almost next door, but in the case of recent DL/WDW clones, DL actually seems to be getting the short end of the stick ans not WDW. (ie Mermaid.)
 

Daveeeeed

Well-Known Member
Any real examples of an instance of this happening?

I know DL tends to get new effects and plussing before WDW in part thanks to Imagineering being almost next door, but in the case of recent DL/WDW clones, DL actually seems to be getting the short end of the stick ans not WDW. (ie Mermaid.)
True, but the had to deal with an existing building, and it was more of a capacity ride than a new attraction.
 

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