DHS ReDo (August 2014)

[Mike S]

Well for starters, 90% of the stuff that Jim Hill mentioned on the most recent Unofficial Guide's Disney Dish, he (or others) have mentioned previously. I track rumors on my site. This is what Jim said on the Sunday show and in paranthesis are when and where the rumor was first heard according to what I have:
Hollywood Studios

• $700 Million investment (June 4, 2013 - Mice Age said DHS changes could be $1 billion+ or a more modest #)
  
• A major overhaul to the park is expected. This will include a selection of new smaller attractions (B/C-ticket level attractions) as well as other more substantial changes and additions. This will also include the removal of any of the former movie making components/history of the park. The timeline for major construction will wait until components of the Animal Kingdom/Avatar changes are on line. (Similar concepts mentioned int he same June 4, 2013 Mice Age article)
  
• Star Wars is a major component of this, but it will take several years to do. Construction could begin on Star Wars content as soon as January. It will be the first component of the Hollywood Studios Changes brought on line.(Again, first really mentioned in June 4th, MiceAge article)
  • Echo Lake will become Tatooine (July 1, 2013 - Jim Hill on Disney Dish Podcast)
  • Jedi Training Academy is expected to move into the Sounds Dangerous theater. (Hard to tell, but July 1, 2013 Disney Dish seems accurate)
  • A direct road to Star Tours is expected to be built from Hollywood Boulevard directly to Star Tours. It will be a diagonal street from the Hollywood & Vine area to Star Tours. Side streets will come off this area. It is expected that RFID technology will be used for guests to "Use the Force" as they interact with the environment. (this particular detail is somewhat new, but interactive components were mentioned previously, I'm just not sure when).
    
  • Hollywood & Vine is expected to remain. (New)
    
  • Indiana Jones is expected to remain for the short term because it is booked for corporate events through 2018. (New)
    
  • X-Wing Spinner attraction. Vehicles can move up and down and wings can open and close. (First mentioned by Hill July 1, 2013)
  • Mos Eisley Cantina (Hard to tell what was fanboy wish/actual rumor, but June 13, 2013 by Robert Niles seems to be the first definitive source)
• The Great Movie Ride is expected to close, but it will be among the last elements that change. It is also booked through 2017 for corporate events. (New, previous rumors of refurbishments seem to be different rumors)
  
• The Christmas lights will remain, but it may be rebranded to the Great Christmas Light Fight. They may be taking the Osborne name off the show and have considered a Frozen theme. They could also be looking at other names in focus groups (first mentioned by Jim Hill Disney Dish on December 23, 2013).
  
• Ride system used in Ratatouille ride in France will find it's way to Hollywood Studios, but the theme has not been determined. (New)
  
• Beauty and the Beast may remain because a theatrical show is in the works for Broadway. However, there have been discussions about a Tangled themed show. (September 24, 2012 - @drew81 posts rumor about Tangled replacing Beauty and the Beast)
  
• Frozen Sing a Long could potentially move to The American Idol Experience theater. (This was discussed on these boards recently, this podcast seemed to be the first place to sort of go on the record)

Epcot

• As expected, Maelstrom will be closing on September 28th. This will be to change the attraction over to a Frozen themed attraction. The time frame for completion is 18 months with an expected opening date of Spring 2016. (December 23, 2013 Disney Dish Jim Hill mentions the exact possibility. One month prior @WDW1974 mentioned possible permanent Princess Meet and Greet between Mexico and Norway)
  
• Steve Davidson (designer of World of Color and Festival of Fantasy Parade) is working on an upgrade to IllumiNations. The time frame for completion of this could be as soon as 18 months. (July 25, 2013 - Orlando Parks News says possible show changes based on site ballon tests, August 4, 2013 - @wdw71fan sites $23.6 million budget to improve IllumiNations)

Animal Kingdom

• $600 Million for Pandora (December 7, 2012 - Tom Staggs said $400-500 price tag)
  
• Might open with one ride (Simulator), with the boat ride coming on line 18 months later. (June 2, 2014 - WDWThemeParks.com reported that the boat ride will open as part of a Phase 2 for Pandora)

Wilderness Lodge

• A large segment will be converted to Disney Vacation Club. (June 17, 2014 - @WDW1974 starts a thread on this)

1st bolded: If that's all Star Wars Land is I have no idea why it's not being constructed RIGHT NOW. If an E Ticket ever does come I can only guess it would use the Indy space which cant close till 2018 so that would give us a possible 2023 opening with Disney's current construction pace. By that time we could have a whole new theme park just up the road. Just mind boggling.

2nd bolded: LOL at 2016 opening Even when it's a cheap use of an existing building and ride system Disney can't do anything in an adequate time frame. This has SAD written all over it.

 

[tl77]

The problem with your plan is you knock out one of the largest bathrooms in the area. Your spinner is sitting over the shed restroom which is Highly used and would be even busier once any remodel was completed. Also what would prevent them from re-theming ABC commissary into the Cantina and use the old back lot express area for the spinner/dark ride. Third, your dark ride entry point would block back stage access for the parades and it would cut off the perimeter road which is heavily used.

It's not that I don't like your plan, I just wanted to point out some major issues.

Well first off this isn't really "my plan" this is just a collection of what seem to be the most likely Star Wars land rumors that have been circulating around for the past few years, and I'm assuming they would relocate the restrooms in between Star Tours and the theater if the theater became the new home of the Jedi Training show. Second I have heard that the Backlot Express would be getting transformed into a Star Wars Themed restaurant not the ABC Commissary, and third the backstage area in red was earmarked to be part of the Star Wars expansion initially, and since the parades in DHS are being phased out that area and the parade float building no long have any purpose. Hope that clears things up for you

 

[SirLink]

The Wizard of Oz scene which according to the source that started this thread has 150 private parties scheduled over the next 3 years? That Wizard of Oz? The non-Witch animatronics may need to be upgraded, and the sound certainly does, but the concept of the scene is absolutely fine.

So the most iconic scene for you in the Indiana Jones trilogy is him struggling to lift the Ark of the Covenant? He is 30 seconds away from a hernia issue in that scene.

You also have James Cagney in a tuxedo because his family insisted he was dignified and had to look so, it makes no sense. I believe there was also a story about having to get Gene Kelly's family members drunk to get them to approve that animatronic.

1)So ... 150 private parties ... according to the source who said they were getting ride of GMR ... now lets think logic ok ... hmmm not really making much sense i)He is lying that GMR is going dodo ii)he is lying regarding number of parties iii)a bit of both. Think of it this way you could take out SA seen and Oz and replace the whole lot with the final battle from PoTC:At Worlds End. It would be far more enjoyable.

2)Yes.

3)So? I'm not seeing problems here.

 

[Disneyhead'71]

Soooo, Iger recently announced that next year they would make an announcement that looks to be a 5 year build out that the only new attraction rumored is a spinner.






These guys are just really bad at this, aren't they?

 

[RSoxNo1]

1)So ... 150 private parties ... according to the source who said they were getting ride of GMR ... now lets think logic ok ... hmmm not really making much sense i)He is lying that GMR is going dodo ii)he is lying regarding number of parties iii)a bit of both. Think of it this way you could take out SA seen and Oz and replace the whole lot with the final battle from PoTC:At Worlds End. It would be far more enjoyable.

2)Yes.

3)So? I'm not seeing problems here.

Jim Hill said there are 150 parties already scheduled and that's why it's going to be among the last things to change. Don't post on this topic again until you listen to the episode.

 

[RSoxNo1]

1st bolded: If that's all Star Wars Land is I have no idea why it's not being constructed RIGHT NOW. If an E Ticket ever does come I can only guess it would use the Indy space which cant close till 2018 so that would give us a possible 2023 opening with Disney's current construction pace. By that time we could have a whole new theme park just up the road. Just mind boggling.

2nd bolded: LOL at 2016 opening Even when it's a cheap use of an existing building and ride system Disney can't do anything in an adequate time frame. This has SAD written all over it.

1st bolded: The discussion on Star Wars land on this podcast did not talk about any other new rides other than the X-Wing, but he has previously discussed a Star Speeder attraction that would utilize Disney's CAVE/DISH technology.

2nd bolded: 18 months is pretty long for re-skinning something in an existing building... unless of course it's a meet and greet. But Test Track was done in 8 months.

 

[FigmentJedi]

Soooo, Iger recently announced that next year they would make an announcement that looks to be a 5 year build out that the only new attraction rumored is a spinner.






These guys are just really bad at this, aren't they?

But it'll be so dense with so many things going on around the spinner. Just listen to prequel producer RIck McCallum.

 

[SirLink]

Jim Hill said there are 150 parties already scheduled and that's why it's going to be among the last things to change. Don't post on this topic again until you listen to the episode.

Stop defending the guy who has written click bait articles.

 

[tribbleorlfl]

GMR is an important ride but it needs an overhaul. The forced plot of the car jacking has run its course and the animatronics are horrible. The alien one would be the worst on disney property if not for Ellen in the Energy Adventure.

Are you referring to the two xenomorph AA's, or the Sigourney Weaver AA? The aliens look fine and still sufficiently terrifying to me 20 years later. The Weaver one, yeah, not so much. I do know that up until recently, she never licensed her likeness for Alien action figures, models and other collectibles. Wonder if that's why Ripley in GMR doesn't remotely look like Ripley from the movie (when the other AA's in the ride are pretty decent likenesses).

I think they could easily start with the scenes that either don't work correctly or are no longer relevant. For me these include:

• Alien (It could stay with an upgrade, but otherwise a new franchise could fit)

I may be biased (as Alien is my favorite movie, in part because of the GMR section), but Alien is still a relevant scifi franchise. 7 films (if you include the 2 AVP movies and Prometheus), $1.4B at the worldwide box office. New videogame coming out soon that is on the top of many people's "most anticipated" list.

Aside from Star Wars (redundant w/ the rumored expansion) and Star Trek (not going to happen if Universal gets the rights first), I can't think of another film or franchise that would better represent scifi.

 

[flyerjab]

A direct road to Star Tours is expected to be built from Hollywood Boulevard directly to Star Tours. It will be a diagonal street from the Hollywood & Vine area to Star Tours. Side streets will come off this area.

First, I want to say excellent job on listing everything and when they were first stated. I did something similar to this in this thread, but I only compared Jim's 2014 podcast to his 2013 podcast with Len when they talked about Star Wars Land. I found most things that he said in 2013 to be pretty much the same things he said about Star Wars in this recent 2014 podcast. The only exception being that he really touted the speeder bike ride as a major E-Ticket anchor ride for the new Star Wars Land. He also indicated that there would be a full, life-sized Imperial Walker to replace the one they currently have for Star Tours.

Second, regarding Star Tours, I quoted this one line from your extensive summary. This is something that fills me with some trepidation. A straight, direct avenue to Star Tours from Hollywood Boulevard makes me think that WDW is treating it as the main attraction in the Star Wars buildout of DHS. Also, it now makes me think that could be why the speeder bike coaster he raved about in 2013 wasn't even mentioned in this podcast. Maybe the big ride for Star Wars will be Star Tours.

All speculation on my part of course as none of this could end up happening.

 

[Mike S]

2nd bolded: 18 months is pretty long for re-skinning something in an existing building... unless of course it's a meet and greet. But Test Track was done in 8 months.

That just makes it all the more bizarre that it's taking that long.

 

[flyerjab]

First off, the studios is getting Star Wars and ANOTHER e-ticket in the long range plans. The ride should be obvious, but what attraction is going to have to leave in the process?

Just curious about the bolded section above as I find it slightly unclear. Do you mean that Star Wars is getting 2 E-Tickets? Or do you mean that Star Wars is coming to DHS along with another E-Ticket ride for another IP?

Some clarity is all I ask.

 

[Mike S]

First, I want to say excellent job on listing everything and when they were first stated. I did something similar to this in this thread, but I only compared Jim's 2014 podcast to his 2013 podcast with Len when they talked about Star Wars Land. I found most things that he said in 2013 to be pretty much the same things he said about Star Wars in this recent 2014 podcast. The only exception being that he really touted the speeder bike ride as a major E-Ticket anchor ride for the new Star Wars Land. He also indicated that there would be a full, life-sized Imperial Walker to replace the one they currently have for Star Tours.

Second, regarding Star Tours, I quoted this one line from your extensive summary. This is something that fills me with some trepidation. A straight, direct avenue to Star Tours from Hollywood Boulevard makes me think that WDW is treating it as the main attraction in the Star Wars buildout of DHS. Also, it now makes me think that could be why the speeder bike coaster he raved about in 2013 wasn't even mentioned in this podcast. Maybe the big ride for Star Wars will be Star Tours.

All speculation on my part of course as none of this could end up happening.

Then why even build a land in the first place (besides $)

 

[RSoxNo1]

Are you referring to the two xenomorph AA's, or the Sigourney Weaver AA? The aliens look fine and still sufficiently terrifying to me 20 years later. The Weaver one, yeah, not so much. I do know that up until recently, she never licensed her likeness for Alien action figures, models and other collectibles. Wonder if that's why Ripley in GMR doesn't remotely look like Ripley from the movie (when the other AA's in the ride are pretty decent likenesses).


I may be biased (as Alien is my favorite movie, in part because of the GMR section), but Alien is still a relevant scifi franchise. 7 films (if you include the 2 AVP movies and Prometheus), $1.4B at the worldwide box office. New videogame coming out soon that is on the top of many people's "most anticipated" list.

Aside from Star Wars (redundant w/ the rumored expansion) and Star Trek (not going to happen if Universal gets the rights first), I can't think of another film or franchise that would better represent scifi.

Guardians of the Galaxy?

Your point is well taken though, conceptually there is nothing wrong with the Alien scene, but the Sigourney Weaver animatronic needs to be better. It seems worse than many of the old World of Motion animatronics.

 

[RSoxNo1]

That just makes it all the more bizarre that it's taking that long.

I'm hoping that they actually do it right. A good attraction with a poor thematic fit is better then a bad attraction with a poor thematic fit. It's why people don't complain about Soarin' or Splash Mountain.

 

[Mike S]

I'm hoping that they actually do it right. A good attraction with a poor thematic fit is better then a bad attraction with a poor thematic fit. It's why people don't complain about Soarin' or Splash Mountain.

Good attraction or not Maelstrom is going bye bye. That is something I will NEVER forgive.

 

[RSoxNo1]

Good attraction or not Maelstrom is going bye bye. That is something I will NEVER forgive.

I hate to quote Mongello, but he's right when it comes to this, every attraction is someone's favorite. It sucks when your favorite gets replaced. What I hate is when it's replaced with something inferior.

There are many issues with the choice of Maelstrom/Norway. First and foremost, it is making a leap that sets a dangerous precedent, a fictitious land (Arendele) will be a part of a real land (Norway). I'm not going to pretend that Maelstrom was 100% serious, (remember, there are trolls in the attraction) but it was more representative of the country than the concepts behind Frozen are. It would be like putting the Mine Train or Snow White's Scary Adventures in the Germany pavilion. Yes, a case could be made that it fits but it's not that solid of an argument.

World Showcase is meant to be a romanticized version of the individual countries. The moment you deviate from that it's cheapened.

The other point that should not be ignored is the popularity of the franchise being integrated. Frozen is immensely popular, and they have hour long waits for meet and greets, merchandise, sing alongs and fireworks that showcase that popularity. Yes, it will taper off, but if Little Mermaid and Beauty and the Beast garner valuable Fantasyland real estate, so too should Frozen. Shoe horning the attraction into an existing area is a short sighted idea. The capacity of Maelstrom is also very low. Sure, it's not in the most popular land in the most popular theme park in the world, but unless something is done to address the capacity issues that ride will instantly become the longest wait in the parks. The good news is, it might allow them to get rid of the Fastpass+ tiers at Epcot when combined with a 3rd Soarin' theater.

 

[Mike S]

I hate to quote Mongello, but he's right when it comes to this, every attraction is someone's favorite. It sucks when your favorite gets replaced. What I hate is when it's replaced with something inferior.

There are many issues with the choice of Maelstrom/Norway. First and foremost, it is making a leap that sets a dangerous precedent, a fictitious land (Arendele) will be a part of a real land (Norway). I'm not going to pretend that Maelstrom was 100% serious, (remember, there are trolls in the attraction) but it was more representative of the country than the concepts behind Frozen are. It would be like putting the Mine Train or Snow White's Scary Adventures in the Germany pavilion. Yes, a case could be made that it fits but it's not that solid of an argument.

World Showcase is meant to be a romanticized version of the individual countries. The moment you deviate from that it's cheapened.

The other point that should not be ignored is the popularity of the franchise being integrated. Frozen is immensely popular, and they have hour long waits for meet and greets, merchandise, sing alongs and fireworks that showcase that popularity. Yes, it will taper off, but if Little Mermaid and Beauty and the Beast garner valuable Fantasyland real estate, so too should Frozen. Shoe horning the attraction into an existing area is a short sighted idea. The capacity of Maelstrom is also very low. Sure, it's not in the most popular land in the most popular theme park in the world, but unless something is done to address the capacity issues that ride will instantly become the longest wait in the parks. The good news is, it might allow them to get rid of the Fastpass+ tiers at Epcot when combined with a 3rd Soarin' theater.

They really should've done something better in DHS if not in Fantasyland with Frozen rather than Frozen Maelstrom. It really is a huge missed opportunity. I can't help but compare to Universal here. Look at what they've done with Harry Potter and now look at what Disney is going to do with its biggest animated hit ever. The difference is night and day.

 

[Disneyhead'71]

Are you referring to the two xenomorph AA's, or the Sigourney Weaver AA? The aliens look fine and still sufficiently terrifying to me 20 years later. The Weaver one, yeah, not so much. I do know that up until recently, she never licensed her likeness for Alien action figures, models and other collectibles. Wonder if that's why Ripley in GMR doesn't remotely look like Ripley from the movie (when the other AA's in the ride are pretty decent likenesses).


I may be biased (as Alien is my favorite movie, in part because of the GMR section), but Alien is still a relevant scifi franchise. 7 films (if you include the 2 AVP movies and Prometheus), $1.4B at the worldwide box office. New videogame coming out soon that is on the top of many people's "most anticipated" list.

Aside from Star Wars (redundant w/ the rumored expansion) and Star Trek (not going to happen if Universal gets the rights first), I can't think of another film or franchise that would better represent scifi.

Blade Runner

 

[dhall]

Actually Disney did it first with sorcerers of the magic kingdom. The wands are almost the same.

Actually, the wands are outsourced to a company that has run that style wand interaction attraction in Myrtle Beach for years -- predates SotMK by a fair bit.