Backlot Tour Refurb in January has been Postponed!!

[rodserling27]

Not sure why anyone is acting like this is a good thing, the Backlot Tour needs a refurb BAD.

It does, but I suppose it's good for those that will be there (like me). I don't really care for it much anymore, but it's something to do. I still love Catastrophe Canyon!

For the life of me, I can't figure why they haven't replaced the Pearl Harbor scene with a mock-up of the Black Pearl or any similar ship and do a Pirate scene that would fit in to Pirates of the Carribbean.

Excellent idea!!

The back lot tour in it's hay day was truly fun and amazing. I wish they would fully refurbish the back lot tour.

Agreed. I remember getting to be on the Bumble Bee blue screen section when I was 5 or 6....must have been 1992. This ride really was a fantastic E-Ticket, but I think technology has just progressed too quickly for Disney to keep up with it in this attraction. That and, oh yeah, budget cuts, along with LMA taking over most of the area that used to be the Backlot tour. It also doesn't help that DHS hasn't been an active, working studio for TV and film for quite some time now.

 

[JWG]

Universal Orlando has figured it out and demolished any resemblence of a "backlot" tour.

DHS needs to do the same. That whole area is a waste of space (including Lights, Motors, Action). The BLT has been reduced to a space filler.

The issue at DHS is where do you start? There's so much wrong with that park:
- Art of Animation is a shell of its former self, and now mostly a meet and greet
- Sounds Dangerous is awful, 12 minutes I'd like back
- BLT has been reduced to a space filler and crowd eater
- The old Hunchback Theater is special events only
- Voyage of the Little Mermaid becomes redundant in 2012
- Indiana Jones is old and should be refresed (but least of the issues now)
- Empty soundstage next to TSMM needs an attraction. "Hot set" only works so long.

So much attention needed at this park. It really needs the California Adventure treatment.

 

[Tom]

Universal Orlando has figured it out and demolished any resemblence of a "backlot" tour.

DHS needs to do the same. That whole area is a waste of space (including Lights, Motors, Action). The BLT has been reduced to a space filler.

The issue at DHS is where do you start? There's so much wrong with that park:
- Art of Animation is a shell of its former self, and now mostly a meet and greet
- Sounds Dangerous is awful, 12 minutes I'd like back
- BLT has been reduced to a space filler and crowd eater
- The old Hunchback Theater is special events only
- Voyage of the Little Mermaid becomes redundant in 2012
- Indiana Jones is old and should be refresed (but least of the issues now)
- Empty soundstage next to TSMM needs an attraction. "Hot set" only works so long.

So much attention needed at this park. It really needs the California Adventure treatment.

That's for sure. I honestly wouldn't care at this point if they clone another Disney park, if it means DHS would be worth a day's ticket again.

 

[SeaCastle]

Universal Orlando has figured it out and demolished any resemblence of a "backlot" tour.

DHS needs to do the same. That whole area is a waste of space (including Lights, Motors, Action). The BLT has been reduced to a space filler.

The issue at DHS is where do you start? There's so much wrong with that park:
- Art of Animation is a shell of its former self, and now mostly a meet and greet
- Sounds Dangerous is awful, 12 minutes I'd like back
- BLT has been reduced to a space filler and crowd eater
- The old Hunchback Theater is special events only
- Voyage of the Little Mermaid becomes redundant in 2012
- Indiana Jones is old and should be refresed (but least of the issues now)
- Empty soundstage next to TSMM needs an attraction. "Hot set" only works so long.

So much attention needed at this park. It really needs the California Adventure treatment.

You can make lists just like this (and just as long) for both the Magic Kingdom and EPCOT. DCA essentially needed a makeover from top to bottom and required over a billion dollars worth of investment, with a good amount of that spent purely on placemaking. I'm sure you could spend half of that money fixing the things you listed above.

 

[Tom]

You can make lists just like this (and just as long) for both the Magic Kingdom and EPCOT. DCA essentially needed a makeover from top to bottom and required over a billion dollars worth of investment, with a good amount of that spent purely on placemaking. I'm sure you could spend half of that money fixing the things you listed above.

And I would love to see them try, at least. Half a billion...and let me loose!

 

[Testtrack321]

You can make lists just like this (and just as long) for both the Magic Kingdom and EPCOT. DCA essentially needed a makeover from top to bottom and required over a billion dollars worth of investment, with a good amount of that spent purely on placemaking. I'm sure you could spend half of that money fixing the things you listed above.

Thought I still do think DHS is the most flawed and problematic park at WDW. Sure, AK has fewer turnstile attractions, MK might have relaxed thematic restraints, and Epcot is suffering from character invasion, but DHS has flaws to its core now. It was designed as a half movie studio, half park. The park ended at the archway into animation courtyard. You couldn't even step foot on the backlot sets: that's what the tram was for. But year after year they kept chipping away.

Does DHS need a multi-billion dollar rehab? No, we still have several great attractions and solid thematic areas. But you have to expand this and figure out what you want to do. The back half suffers from an identity crisis, not the front. (Minus the hat.)

 

[SeaCastle]

And I would love to see them try, at least. Half a billion...and let me loose!

Amen to that!

Thought I still do think DHS is the most flawed and problematic park at WDW. Sure, AK has fewer turnstile attractions, MK might have relaxed thematic restraints, and Epcot is suffering from character invasion, but DHS has flaws to its core now. It was designed as a half movie studio, half park. The park ended at the archway into animation courtyard. You couldn't even step foot on the backlot sets: that's what the tram was for. But year after year they kept chipping away.

Does DHS need a multi-billion dollar rehab? No, we still have several great attractions and solid thematic areas. But you have to expand this and figure out what you want to do. The back half suffers from an identity crisis, not the front. (Minus the hat.)

I would argue that the Animal Kingdom is even worse of a situation than DHS is. For the record, it is generally accepted that DHS has a vice president running it that actually cares about the park. And yes, once they stopped filming there, it turned into a shadow of its former self. It has a fair amount of C, D, and E ticket attractions, live entertainment, and decent eateries. But my vacation isn't being negatively affected by the back half of MGM Studios, though I spend a fair amount of time back there. It's my favorite park at the moment. It can sure as heck use fixing, but to call it the park in the worst shape isn't totally right in all respects.

Look at the Animal Kingdom. It has a small handful of attractions, and they (supposedly) can't afford to take down their headliner to refurbish it. I hear more complaints about that park than any other, and they've really done nothing to add to the park since Everest. For all intents and purposes, it's a true "half-day" park. Or check out the Magic Kingdom, where they neglected maintenance for so long that they've had to stick tarps up around buildings for months, where they haven't built any new attraction since 1992, where their vice president slashes refurb budgets, etc.

 

[rodserling27]

Hmmm. DHS is in dire straights of some fix-ups and plussing, but I agree with SeaCastle, nothing needs it like the Animal Kingdom. I don't mean to beat a dead horse but I've never enjoyed Animal Kingdom, not once. I keep giving it second chances, but it never does it for me. I never stay past 3pm and find myself hitting up DHS again for some live shows (I find it IMPOSSIBLE to see all in one day AND hit the rides). But back to DHS.
The problem to me with DHS is that it's just not layed out well. It has minimal theming and no flow to it. This is something that will never be fixed since they would have to bulldoze it all and start from scratch to do it properly. I understand they are working with a former working studio design, and that limits them severely, I really do.

I enjoy the Backlot Tour for what it is, but when I think about it long and hard, it's probably for the best if it goes. It's out-of-date and has long lost its glamour. I also really don't care for LMA one bit. Too noisy!!

 

[MaryJaneP]

Here's hoping that the next time it goes down for refurbishment it's actually a replacement.

As for HISTK playset - I had read that this refurbishment was not going to change it over to A Bugs life which still makes very little sense to me. I really hope there is a grander scheme for that area because right now it makes very little sense.

I must be in the minority here because I like HISTK play area. It is one of the few places in HS where parents can sit down while the young kids expend some of their never-ending fidget-energy. Re-theming this to A Bugs Life, IMO, would be a waste of money. Spend it on fixing or expanding actual rides in the park. Or should this be a separate thread than the OP's Back Lot Tour?

 

[RSoxNo1]

Universal Orlando has figured it out and demolished any resemblence of a "backlot" tour.

DHS needs to do the same. That whole area is a waste of space (including Lights, Motors, Action). The BLT has been reduced to a space filler.

The issue at DHS is where do you start? There's so much wrong with that park:
- Art of Animation is a shell of its former self, and now mostly a meet and greet
- Sounds Dangerous is awful, 12 minutes I'd like back
- BLT has been reduced to a space filler and crowd eater
- The old Hunchback Theater is special events only
- Voyage of the Little Mermaid becomes redundant in 2012
- Indiana Jones is old and should be refresed (but least of the issues now)
- Empty soundstage next to TSMM needs an attraction. "Hot set" only works so long.

So much attention needed at this park. It really needs the California Adventure treatment.

The park needs to be focused, and a DCA level treatment could bring that - defining lands and thematic areas into the cohesive theme of a Hollywood that never was is much needed. Right now, that park is just a collection of attractions.

Amen to that!



I would argue that the Animal Kingdom is even worse of a situation than DHS is. For the record, it is generally accepted that DHS has a vice president running it that actually cares about the park. And yes, once they stopped filming there, it turned into a shadow of its former self. It has a fair amount of C, D, and E ticket attractions, live entertainment, and decent eateries. But my vacation isn't being negatively affected by the back half of MGM Studios, though I spend a fair amount of time back there. It's my favorite park at the moment. It can sure as heck use fixing, but to call it the park in the worst shape isn't totally right in all respects.

Look at the Animal Kingdom. It has a small handful of attractions, and they (supposedly) can't afford to take down their headliner to refurbish it. I hear more complaints about that park than any other, and they've really done nothing to add to the park since Everest. For all intents and purposes, it's a true "half-day" park. Or check out the Magic Kingdom, where they neglected maintenance for so long that they've had to stick tarps up around buildings for months, where they haven't built any new attraction since 1992, where their vice president slashes refurb budgets, etc.

At least the Animal Kingdom's lands are laid out logically. I'm not saying the park doesn't need attention, but from purely a thematic standpoint, DHS needs it more.

I must be in the minority here because I like HISTK play area. It is one of the few places in HS where parents can sit down while the young kids expend some of their never-ending fidget-energy. Re-theming this to A Bugs Life, IMO, would be a waste of money. Spend it on fixing or expanding actual rides in the park. Or should this be a separate thread than the OP's Back Lot Tour?

I'd say it would be to make it relevant again but A Bug's Life isn't really relevant either. It would make sense only if Pixar Place is expanded to include that area.

 

[bgraham34]

Since we can't fill a day at DHS, we always take the "tour" at least once, since we usually need to kill time before Fantasmic.

Last time I did a full day at the Studios was back in 99. That was when it was a cool studio.

 

[Thrill Seeker]

Amen to that!



I would argue that the Animal Kingdom is even worse of a situation than DHS is. For the record, it is generally accepted that DHS has a vice president running it that actually cares about the park. And yes, once they stopped filming there, it turned into a shadow of its former self. It has a fair amount of C, D, and E ticket attractions, live entertainment, and decent eateries. But my vacation isn't being negatively affected by the back half of MGM Studios, though I spend a fair amount of time back there. It's my favorite park at the moment. It can sure as heck use fixing, but to call it the park in the worst shape isn't totally right in all respects.

Look at the Animal Kingdom. It has a small handful of attractions, and they (supposedly) can't afford to take down their headliner to refurbish it. I hear more complaints about that park than any other, and they've really done nothing to add to the park since Everest. For all intents and purposes, it's a true "half-day" park. Or check out the Magic Kingdom, where they neglected maintenance for so long that they've had to stick tarps up around buildings for months, where they haven't built any new attraction since 1992, where their vice president slashes refurb budgets, etc.

Magic Kingdom is just old and needs some refreshing, which it is getting. That park is the least of Disney's concerns for updating right now, which it should be. Animal Kingdom needs something bad and DHS is a close second.