What should they do with Animation Courtyard?

[imagineer97]

Star Wars Launch Bay is a redundant waste of space. Voyage of the Little Mermaid is gone. The rest of the former Animation building sits vacant. This spot is ripe for redevelopment. What rumors have you heard, and what would you like to see in this area?

 

[Phicinfan]

I believe at one time prior to TSL - this area was supposed to get a Monsters Inc area with the famous door coaster. That obviously could still work. Quite frankly you could add the Encanto and Coco plans for MK here as well and fit pretty well.

Would love to see a Pixar park are with Monsters Inc and other properties getting some love

 

[imagineer97]

As you can see here, there is a lot of space:

I included One Man's Dream in this because it is in the same building as VOTLM (I'd rather keep it, but I'm not sure how far it extends into the building).


There is room for multiple attractions (it's over twice the size of RnRC's footprint). The only question is...what should go here?

 

[imagineer97]

I believe at one time prior to TSL - this area was supposed to get a Monsters Inc area with the famous door coaster. That obviously could still work. Quite frankly you could add the Encanto and Coco plans for MK here as well and fit pretty well.

Would love to see a Pixar park are with Monsters Inc and other properties getting some love

I can confirm that the Door Coaster plans did exist (haven't personally seen them, but I was told this by someone who has), and it was apparently an incredible concept. I just think that Monsters Inc may be losing its relevancy too quickly for Disney to actually build this. The Monsters at Work series didn't seem like it was very well-received, and before that, Monsters University was a bit of a bust too (though I enjoyed it).

 

[BlakeW39]

I think whatever goes in Animation Courtyard should represent a major film franchise in hollywood. Right now we've got Star Wars, the Muppets, and Toy Story. I don't think we need another Pixar land. Marvel isn't an option. Indy wouldn't go here. Avatar is at DAK. Maybe the Frozen land being built over seas? God knows we've got enough Moana in the pipeline. What major film franchises could support a land at DHS?

 

[Stupido]

I think whatever goes in Animation Courtyard should represent a major film franchise in hollywood. Right now we've got Star Wars, the Muppets, and Toy Story. I don't think we need another Pixar land. Marvel isn't an option. Indy wouldn't go here. Avatar is at DAK. Maybe the Frozen land being built over seas? God knows we've got enough Moana in the pipeline. What major film franchises could support a land at DHS?

Marvel is still an option. They can still use Dr. Strange, Eternals, or Shang Chi. The latter two might not be the best options, but I think a journey into the Multiverse with Dr. Strange could be a huge hit. They could theme the area to Kamar Taj, or to New York, with the queue entering through the Sanctum Sanctorum. I think Marvel is really the only IP that could really support a full land in Studios, with the re-theming of "entering the world of your favorite movies" that they've been building towards in the park. Honestly they should just pony up and pay the prices for the full IP.

 

[doctornick]

If/when they tear down the entire animation building, not only can they use that footprint but they can also connect the Animation Courtyard area with RNR. that would help with guest flow by providing another way in/out Sunset Blvd

Personally I’d replace Animation Courtyard and that whole area with a version of Toontown where the animated characters “work” (as oppose to “live” as in Anaheim).

 

[Disstevefan1]

Retheme the entire area to Moana

 

[BlakeW39]

Marvel is still an option. They can still use Dr. Strange, Eternals, or Shang Chi. The latter two might not be the best options, but I think a journey into the Multiverse with Dr. Strange could be a huge hit. They could theme the area to Kamar Taj, or to New York, with the queue entering through the Sanctum Sanctorum. I think Marvel is really the only IP that could really support a full land in Studios, with the re-theming of "entering the world of your favorite movies" that they've been building towards in the park. Honestly they should just pony up and pay the prices for the full IP.

Ehh.. well for one I don't think Marvel is the only IP that could support its own land at Hollywood Studios. I think there are other options as well. Like Frozen or Indiana Jones for example. On the other hand, I do think a Marvel land would flesh the park out. There are two obstacles I see to that though; for one, I don't Universal is gonna sell the right any time soon. So for the next 10 years I think a Marvel land at DHS is pretty implausible. And on the other hand, if they did do a Marvel land I'd want it to be good, which means including the Marvel characters people actually want to see. I don't just want it to be some crappy left overs at the bottom of the barrel, the characters Universal didn't bother even putting in so much as a picture. I'd rather them just wait until they have the right to use all the characters. Which will likely not be for a while.

 

[Bocabear]

I still think ToonTown makes a perfect transition into TSL, and beautifully fits the overall theme of the front of the park. The ride they built for Disneyland's Toontown is amazing and lots of fun, and there are opportunities to do more with that... The 1940s Hollywood That Never Was is still the soul of this park... I would love to see them lean into it...

 

[J4546]

shoulda built a toontown when they were developing MMRR and used that plot plus more behind it for a new massive toontown with MMRR, a couple smaller rides and maybe also rethemed RnRC with PowerLine and added it to the land as a concert venue themed ride. that way, you would still have the great movie ride which should have remained and been updated.

 

[imagineer97]

shoulda built a toontown when they were developing MMRR and used that plot plus more behind it for a new massive toontown with MMRR, a couple smaller rides and maybe also rethemed RnRC with PowerLine and added it to the land as a concert venue themed ride. that way, you would still have the great movie ride which should have remained and been updated.

I KNOW! This would have made so much sense. The replacement of GMR with MMRR has made me dislike MMRR without ever riding it.

 

[marni1971]

I believe at one time prior to TSL - this area was supposed to get a Monsters Inc area with the famous door coaster.

I can confirm that the Door Coaster plans did exist (haven't personally seen them, but I was told this by someone who has)

I saw them .

Should have gone where TSMs third track went (stage one)

 

[BlakeW39]

I KNOW! This would have made so much sense. The replacement of GMR with MMRR has made me dislike MMRR without ever riding it.

This is sort ot how I feel about a lot of EPCOT and definitely the new Tiana ride. However in my defense I think most of the EPCOT replacements were significant downgrades and I think Tiana will be a big downgrade from Splash Mountain, which was definitely one of the best attractions WDI ever created.

 

[BlakeW39]

I saw them .

Should have gone where TSMs third track went (stage one)

View attachment 714502

Monsters Inc. is actually one of my favorite Pixar films. Alongside Nemo, Wall-E, and maybe Up. I would have enjoyed a Monsters Inc. land significantly more than the dud which is TSL.

 

[SpectreJordan]

Marvel is what I want in this area. Or maybe in the parking lot over by Star Tours.

I think Disney's making a big mistake on waiting for Marvel. I imagine they're holding on to see if they can ever get the rights to the big guns back from Universal. But I think they should act sooner, rather than later. Build a cool Marvel land with the characters they can use, then have an expansion plot for a potential Avengers or Spider-Man attraction down the road (incase Universal ever gives up).

I love the Spider-Man, Hulk & even Storm rides but IOA's Marvel land is outdated. It's even outdated in that park alone with how great Potter & Jurassic Park are. Disney could easily top that & have the "true" Marvel land in Orlando, even if they can't use the Marvel name directly.

They can't use the big guns but Marvel's become big enough where a good amount of characters outside of those families are popular. Dr Strange, Shang-Chi, Ms Marvel & Moon Knight are good to go. I imagine the likes of Werewolf By Night, Blade & Ghost Rider are too.

If they're adamant about not doing Marvel before Universal gives in, then I think Zootopia, The Incredibles or Monster's Inc would all be good choices for the Courtyard space.

 

[imagineer97]

Splash Mountain, which was definitely one of the best attractions WDI ever created.

The WDW version of Splash Mountain is #2 to the WDW Tower of Terror in my opinion.

I saw them .

Should have gone where TSMs third track went (stage one)

View attachment 714502

But would it actually have been good? One of those soundstages seems too small for a roller coaster of any significance, especially one that would require extra space for hanging doors.

 

[Po'Rich]

Zootopeia?

I'll show myself out now.

 

[marni1971]

But would it actually have been good? One of those soundstages seems too small for a roller coaster of any significance, especially one that would require extra space for hanging doors.

It would. I’ve described it in another earlier thread.

The main gravity building was behind the studio building. The latter was queue /load / low speed ride /unload /shop

 

[yensidtlaw1969]

It would. I’ve described it in another earlier thread.

The main gravity building was behind the studio building. The latter was queue /load / low speed ride /unload /shop

But just think, if they'd built the gravity building there we would NEVER have gotten *checks notes* . . . the Toy Story Land Restrooms . . .