Former VP Details Original Star Wars Land Plans

[yensidtlaw1969]

There is. The Animation building area has been looked at for a door coaster. Again.

It makes you wonder when they'll say "look, we're clearly on about this whole Door Coaster thing, how about we just spend the money and DO it already instead of dreaming for another decade and then building it anyway".

Or if they'll say it.

Seems like a no-brainer.

 

[MisterPenguin]

There is. The Animation building area has been looked at for a door coaster. Again.

I would have thought that Cockerell's reason for shooting it down, i.e., not suitable for younglings, which DHS still desperately needs; would be the continuing reason for not having it under the current "more family-friendly" regime.

 

[marni1971]

I would have thought that Cockerell's reason for shooting it down, i.e., not suitable for younglings, which DHS still desperately needs; would be the continuing reason for not having it under the current "more family-friendly" regime.

Whilst not for the under 3s, the door coasters I was familiar with were more BTM than RnRC.

The kids always have a new Fantasyland and a Frozenstorm ride to enjoy.

 

[rle4lunch]

Whilst not for the under 3s, the door coasters I was familiar with were more BTM than RnRC.

The kids always have a new Fantasyland and a Frozenstorm ride to enjoy.

I'm wondering what's to become of RnRc and its possible retheme now that the Aerosmith rights are coming to an end? Or is everything on 'auto-extend' until things return to normal?

 

[George]

I think had they done Tatooine they might have taken liberties to add buildings/things not in the original 1977 movie.

Correct. Just off screen was the Mos Eisley spaceport Fashion Mall and Popcorn Emporium.

 

[marni1971]

I'm wondering what's to become of RnRc and its possible retheme now that the Aerosmith rights are coming to an end? Or is everything on 'auto-extend' until things return to normal?

The rights are coming to an end?

Not to say a retheme hasn’t been thought about.

 

[rle4lunch]

The rights are coming to an end?

Not to say a retheme hasn’t been thought about.

That's what was being put out on the boards a while back, that there was a 20 year run with Aerosmith and they'd have to renew the agreement. Is that more falsehood being propagated? Big surprise..lol.

I knew there were retheming rumors, but thought that the driving force was the above mentioned situation.

 

[marni1971]

That's what was being put out on the boards a while back, that there was a 20 year run with Aerosmith and they'd have to renew the agreement. Is that more falsehood being propagated? Big surprise..lol.

I knew there were retheming rumors, but thought that the driving force was the above mentioned situation.

Someone best tell them the contract ran out last year then...

 

[Animaniac93-98]

Correct. Just off screen was the Mos Eisley spaceport Fashion Mall.

Luke loved to shop at JC Penny.

 

[George]

Luke loved to shop at JC Penny.

Uncle Owen and Luke would spend hours on a bench while Aunt Beru sipped her iced Joffreys (she equated this with beverage nirvana) and perused the Disney section of Target.

 

[George]

The rights are coming to an end?

Not to say a retheme hasn’t been thought about.

I think their cutting edge market research indicates that a Kool and the Gang reskin will bring the attraction into the 21st century and beyond.

 

[UNCgolf]

I think their cutting edge market research indicates that a Kool and the Gang reskin will bring the attraction into the 21st century and beyond.

Kool and the Gang? Get with the times.

It's going to be something modern and culturally relevant today like the Goo Goo Dolls or Blink 182.

 

[phillip9698]

The land is ok, it's the associated characters people don't care for. The story surrounding the place should have been neutral enough to support old and new characters. Nobody cares about the first order, Rey, Finn, etc... Folks want Vader, Luke, Han, Chewy, etc...

 

[MisterPenguin]

Not to say a retheme hasn’t been thought about.

So, is this a surmising or an inside info thing?

Why would a re-theme of RnRC be anywhere on the priority list right now? Plenty of people want to ride it and with SWGE, that will be the main draw for the park for years. Changing the theme of RnRC won't bring 15 extra people into the park per year since they can't theme it to avengers.

Because it could be a cheap fix as part of a wider project (much like turning around TSMM was)?

 

[doctornick]

I don’t think anyone said there was. The first proposal was dirt cheap. The second was messy.

The OP of this thread kinda did. Hence all the "curse you Kathleen Kennedy" type posts before cooler heads prevailed about what Cockrell's Tattooine would have been (i.e. a lame disappointment). To wit...

The plan that was in place just prior to KK throwing everything in the bin was to have the Tatooine version he's discussing in that area with Star Tours included, and then you would be able to ride to a new "planet" that would have seen a huge Star Wars land where the new employee parking lot is. The new "planet" area would have been connected to a hotel.

The original concept was to do something that would unify all three. There would have been a jedi temple in which you would encounter former jedi as well as see into the future. This was a means by which to adapt as stories developed over the next decade. Ideas for this were eventually folded into the lightsaber experience.

Not bad. You guys had good sources back then. Everything east of Echo Lake is spot on, and then there would have been a connection to even more (including Character Dining and Jedi Training) in the expanded area that eventually became the cast parking. The secondary exit from that area was at LAM. The layout you have is from prior to TFA, but funding was ready to increase greatly thereafter.

But literally years of work was wiped out in a single call, with months left to start completely over. Also, this is part of how Lucasfilm Story Group got the chance to suddenly decide theme park design with zero experience or expertise.

 

[TrainsOfDisney]

The OP of this thread kinda did. Hence all the "curse you Kathleen Kennedy" type posts before cooler heads prevailed about what Cockrell's Tattooine would have been (i.e. a lame disappointment). To wit...

Well @wdwmagic linked an article from 2015 that showed concept art and a possible map. The concept art looked just as impressive as Galaxies edge, but a bit more compact. The map showed a new attraction building almost the same size as Rise.

As I said, I would have put Rise where Indy is and rethemed that area but put up a facade facing echo lake with a bandshell and / or radio show. But there’s many reasons why I’m not calling the shots at Disney park design lol.

I’m guessing those plans were the in between that Martin described as “messy”

 

[doctornick]

Well @wdwmagic linked an article from 2015 that showed concept art and a possible map. The concept art looked just as impressive as Galaxies edge, but a bit more compact. The map showed a new attraction building almost the same size as Rise.

As I said, I would have put Rise where Indy is and rethemed that area but put up a facade facing echo lake with a bandshell and / or radio show. But there’s many reasons why I’m not calling the shots at Disney park design lol.

The map that @wdwmagic posted was from after the 2015 D23. That was when they had already settled on Batuu/Galaxy's Edge (it wasn't called Batuu yet, but it was already planned and announced as a new planet and not an established one like Tatooine). That map was the exact same land we ended up getting, but just in a different location.

Sometime between summer of 2015 and before when construction began, they shifted the SW:GE location at DHS to where it ended up in the back corner replacing LMA and the Backlot Tour.

The whole "changing from Tatooine to a brand new planet" decision occurred well before 2015 and that map.

 

[DarkMetroid567]

A fifth gate with lands themed to Tatooine, Endor, Coruscant, Hoth, and Dagonah would have been the “go big or go home” approach that would’ve made Universal Studios and Harry Potter all but irrelevant. They probably didn’t have space in Anaheim but could’ve done that in Orlando.

This is where that one Henry Ford quote about the faster horse is relevant. You don't base an entire theme park off a popular IP.

Star Wars is popular. Harry Potter is popular. But they're not universally popular. By creating fully fledged IP parks, you create a high demand from medium-to-hardcore fans, sure, but you also risk alienating people who "aren't big fans of Star Wars", like, well, the rest of my family. Parks like Magic Kingdom are the most popular in the world because they're approachable. Anyone from any culture can enjoy MK. But Star Wars is such a heavily American property; do you really think the many Chinese and Brazilian tourists are really falling over in excitement to visit Galaxy's Edge or a Star Wars park? No.

I love the Wizarding World lands, but I think the longevity of the lands hasn't been questioned at all by many. Harry Potter is still an incredibly popular IP, don't get me wrong, but it's for all intents and purposes over. There is no Pottermania anymore; Rowling's fans are turning against her, and series like Fantastic Beasts pale to replicate the popularity of the original series. In 15 years, parents who weren't even alive during the premiere of Deathly Hallows Part 2 will be taking their kids to Universal and WDW. I don't doubt that the lands will still be cool, but they'll be dated by 2035.

The lame idea of Tatooine would face the same problem. The original Star Wars is about 40 years old and not getting any younger. It's very likely that most kids nowadays don't care about Luke, Han, and Leia. Batuu is a good (not great) approach because it's flexible. It's involved with the sequel trilogy right now, but it'll take a small amount of effort to change that if need be.

 

[larryz]

This is where that one Henry Ford quote about the faster horse is relevant. You don't base an entire theme park off a popular IP.

Star Wars is popular. Harry Potter is popular. But they're not universally popular. By creating fully fledged IP parks, you create a high demand from medium-to-hardcore fans, sure, but you also risk alienating people who "aren't big fans of Star Wars", like, well, the rest of my family. Parks like Magic Kingdom are the most popular in the world because they're approachable. Anyone from any culture can enjoy MK. But Star Wars is such a heavily American property; do you really think the many Chinese and Brazilian tourists are really falling over in excitement to visit Galaxy's Edge or a Star Wars park? No.

I love the Wizarding World lands, but I think the longevity of the lands hasn't been questioned at all by many. Harry Potter is still an incredibly popular IP, don't get me wrong, but it's for all intents and purposes over. There is no Pottermania anymore; Rowling's fans are turning against her, and series like Fantastic Beasts pale to replicate the popularity of the original series. In 15 years, parents who weren't even alive during the premiere of Deathly Hallows Part 2 will be taking their kids to Universal and WDW. I don't doubt that the lands will still be cool, but they'll be dated by 2035.

The lame idea of Tatooine would face the same problem. The original Star Wars is about 40 years old and not getting any younger. It's very likely that most kids nowadays don't care about Luke, Han, and Leia. Batuu is a good (not great) approach because it's flexible. It's involved with the sequel trilogy right now, but it'll take a small amount of effort to change that if need be.

A good ride will have the tourists storming the gates.
As Flight of Passage and RotRoh proved, "if you build it, they will come."

 

[DarkMetroid567]

A good ride will have the tourists storming the gates.
As Flight of Passage and RotRoh proved, "if you build it, they will come."

Exacto. I still remember when people insisted that Pandora would be a massive failure.

If Universal keeps building awesome rides like Hagrid's, they might be fine. But we'll definitely see.