DHS: Working studio fiction vs. movie-themed fun

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fosse76

Well-Known Member
Tip Top Club said:
^That's not entirely accurate, and I'm a firm believe that backlot tour should stay as long as possible, though it obviously needs to be redone at some point.

Anyway, It really does need to happen eventually, but this is something they can take their time with.

The Working studio theme works very well at the Indiana Jones Epic Stunt Spectacular, for Example, and The American Idol Experience, but the list starts to wind down after that. I haven't been on Backlot Tour, or seen Lights, Motors, Action! in ages so I can't really comment on either of those.

The working studio theme however falls apart in many places. That's not to say that it shouldn't still be themed to a working studio, but they really should make the switch to simply celebrating movies rather than pretending to make them. The thrill of things like backstage at the movies is now commonplace on DVD and blu-ray behind the scenes footage, so it simply makes sense to evolve the parks as the times evolve.
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But it's not a working studio. So they need to scarp the charade. The attractions are fine as they are, with the exception of the backlot Tour. You need to have a backlot before you give a tour of one.
 
SobchakSecurity

SobchakSecurity

Member
mharrington said:
A few months ago, there was an article on Orlando Passholder called "Disney's Backlot Blunder": http://micechat.com/forums/walt-disney-world-resort/163781-dhs-working-studio-fiction-vs-movie-themed-fun.html. Within the article, there was a message that I found:

[T]hough Universal Studios Florida was originally billed as an authentic production facility with full-sized replicas of New York streets, they have long since abandoned the conceit of selling the park as anything but movie-themed fun. It is with this adjustment of intent, for example, that the 2008 update of "Earthquake" to "Disaster!" at Universal Orlando created some cheesy good fun out of an otherwise outdated attraction. So why hasn’t Disney also dropped the "working studio" fiction from the Backlot Tour and readjusted its intent to be that of movie-themed fun?

My question based on this is this, how could Universal go from "working studio" to "movie-themed fun"? And how can that be applied to Disney's Hollywood Studios?
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Disney's real "backlot blunder" was building the park in the first place. Then they built it (more like under-built it) in a bad location, and only built it to spite Universal.

The park does, luckily, have a good foundation in Hollywood and Sunset Boulevards, as they are truly great pieces of theme park design on par with anything else Disney has built, along with what may be its best attraction since Pirates of the Caribbean. Everything else, with the exception of Pixar Place, Star Tours, and maybe the Muppets, is completely expendable.

I'm thinking the park is in a holding pattern until they can use Marvel properties in Florida theme parks, so there won't be any huge California Adventure-type renovation, and instead bits and pieces (hello George Lucas and Pixar) will be added for the next decade before the Backlot goes away quietly in a major park expansion.
 
luv

luv

Well-Known Member
The Studios is my least favorite of all 7 Orlando parks. I'm not even sure if I like it more than Gatorland.

It's so poorly laid out. We have the hat competing with the theater. Most of the attractions don't appeal to me. Fantasmic kinda sucks.

The only thing that would be a simple improvement would be to get rid of boring things and put in good ones. Maye add on a bit...I don't know. If it were up to me, I'd re-do the whole thing.

Seems to me that it's a mish-mashed, directionless park. I don't even care about the "working studios" thing.

I do love BatB and ToT.
 
ScorpionX

ScorpionX

Well-Known Member
I think the "working studio" theme and the "movie-themed fun" theme could work well together if done right. Look at what RandySavage did to the park on his blog.
 
B

Bob Saget

Well-Known Member
Choodles said:
Plow BLT and expand Pixar Studios.

1. MI Coaster
2. Move MILF to DHS
3. HISTK Playground changed to Bugs Life
4. Only part of BLT that is kept is CC it will be part of The Cars attraction.
5. LMA transformed to Incredibles Stunt Show
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1. While a MI coaster sounds good, why not something original such as a WEIA for PSE. There already is a MI DR at DCA. Why not do something that hasn't been used before?
2. MILF needs to be removed alltogether. Too much ST and not enough AA's.
3. Once again, something similar is at DCA with ABL.
4. I prefer to keep all on my BLT, minus the O's. Extra K & M.
5. I like this idea. LMA has OSIW by now.
 
smw

smw

Active Member
menamechris said:
There is another thread going on about "dumbing down Disney", and I think the current state of Hollywood Studios does just that. The working studio theme no longer works now that it is not one. So each of these shows (Indiana Jones, Lights Motor, and the Backlot Tour, etc) insults the intelligence of its audience by asking them to believe that they are actually watching something being produced and filmed.
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You're "dumbing down" the audience by assuming that *anyone* believes they're watching something "being produced and filmed." No one thinks they're on an actual movie set.
 
smw

smw

Active Member
mharrington said:
My question is, why are they comparing Big Thunder and the Studio Tour?
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It's a random example used to make a point. If someone said, "why do you care that dhs isn't a real studio or that the backlot tour isn't quite honest? Big Thunder is neither a real mountain nor a railroad. Isn't that also a lie?"

The difference is Big Thunder mountain is *obviously* not real. There's no implication that Orlando was a gold mining town, nor are there real mountains in the area, etc. The Magic Kingdom is full of fantasy and make-believe. DHS, on the other hand, opened as a working studio and the whole theme revolves around movie-making, thereby making it completely reasonable to believe the backlot tour is accurate and honest.
 
mharrington

mharrington

Well-Known Member
Original Poster
SobchakSecurity said:
The park does, luckily, have a good foundation in Hollywood and Sunset Boulevards, as they are truly great pieces of theme park design on par with anything else Disney has built, along with what may be its best attraction since Pirates of the Caribbean. Everything else, with the exception of Pixar Place, Star Tours, and maybe the Muppets, is completely expendable.
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What about the Great Movie Ride?
 
bethymouse

bethymouse

Well-Known Member
luv said:
The Studios is my least favorite of all 7 Orlando parks. I'm not even sure if I like it more than Gatorland.

It's so poorly laid out. We have the hat competing with the theater. Most of the attractions don't appeal to me. Fantasmic kinda sucks.

The only thing that would be a simple improvement would be to get rid of boring things and put in good ones. Maye add on a bit...I don't know. If it were up to me, I'd re-do the whole thing.

Seems to me that it's a mish-mashed, directionless park. I don't even care about the "working studios" thing.

I do love BatB and ToT.
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You made a great point about poorly laid out. The 1st time I visited, even trying to follow the map) I got lost.:eek:
 
bethymouse

bethymouse

Well-Known Member
Bob Saget said:
1. While a MI coaster sounds good, why not something original such as a WEIA for PSE. There already is a MI DR at DCA. Why not do something that hasn't been used before?
2. MILF needs to be removed alltogether. Too much ST and not enough AA's.
3. Once again, something similar is at DCA with ABL.
4. I prefer to keep all on my BLT, minus the O's. Extra K & M.
5. I like this idea. LMA has OSIW by now.
Click to expand...
These acronyms are giving me a headache.:confused:
 
McDubbs

McDubbs

New Member
Should be an Unemployed Movie Studio! They filmed Earnest Saves Christmas and Newsies there right before it opened... But I can't recall anything else being filmed there.
 
mharrington

mharrington

Well-Known Member
Original Poster
Bob Saget said:
DHS is no more of a working studio than the WB Movieworld/Moviepark chains are. It is simply a park themed around the movies. Disney needs to drop the "Hollywood Studios" bit (as it's becoming more of an insider's joke than anything, and quite frankly it's embarrassing considering what the park actually is).
Why not call it Disney/Pixar Movieland...or something? Just not DHS.
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Or maybe Disney Hollywood Adventure? Note the lack of a possessive apostrophe-S.

smw said:
It's a random example used to make a point. If someone said, "why do you care that dhs isn't a real studio or that the backlot tour isn't quite honest? Big Thunder is neither a real mountain nor a railroad. Isn't that also a lie?"

The difference is Big Thunder mountain is *obviously* not real. There's no implication that Orlando was a gold mining town, nor are there real mountains in the area, etc. The Magic Kingdom is full of fantasy and make-believe. DHS, on the other hand, opened as a working studio and the whole theme revolves around movie-making, thereby making it completely reasonable to believe the backlot tour is accurate and honest.
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So you're saying that the Magic Kingdom, by virtue of what it is and what it's about, can get away with (dis)honesty?
 
mharrington

mharrington

Well-Known Member
Original Poster
wm49rs said:
How is the Magic Kingdom being dishonest?
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Because they said that Big Thunder, in this case, is obviously not real, that it's in a park that is all about make-believe. Apparently, it's easy to forgive said park for any lies being told, because nothing in the park is real.
 
wm49rs

wm49rs

A naughty bit o' crumpet
Premium Member
mharrington said:
Because they said that Big Thunder, in this case, is obviously not real, that it's in a park that is all about make-believe. Apparently, it's easy to forgive said park for any lies being told, because nothing in the park is real.
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We're talking about theme parks still, right? Yes, DHS no longer makes television shows or movies, but at the end of the day it's still a theme park. And DHS does still celebrate Hollywood. So its name (and that of MK), are basically accurate enough....
 

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