News Disney Sets Sights on Possible Hollywood Land Reimagining at Disney California Adventure

Model3 McQueen

Well-Known Member
Original Poster
In the Parks
No

As we look towards the summer and the grand opening of Avengers Campus at Disney California Adventure, there will be some moving pieces elsewhere in the park thanks to the new Marvel-themed land. In a wide-sweeping interview with the OC Register, Disney California Adventure vice president Patrick Finnegan talked about the future of the park past the Avengers Campus.

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While Finnegan conceded that fans have been writing in about the retheming of Tower of Terror wondering why Disney would reimagine a classic, he said it was all part of a bigger plan and that Guardians of the Galaxy – Mission: BREAKOUT was always meant to anchor the various Marvel land concepts.

“We knew we would be doing an Avengers-themed land,” Finnegan said. “We had a few options. We hadn’t quite landed on exactly where, but we knew that it would be anchored in some way, shape or form off of this attraction.”

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While the article touches on bits and pieces of the “DCA 2.0” reimagining, it’s the next project that caught our attention.

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When the superheroes that currently meet and greet in Hollywood Land find a new home in Avengers Campus this summer, Disney is looking at the move as an opportunity to focus on that area of the park next.

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“As the Avengers are moving out, we’re certainly looking at, ‘OK, does something need to move in? Does it go back to where it was?’” Finnegan said of the Hollywood Land back lot. “It’s very much something that we’re talking about.”

Of course, what those plans might be haven’t been revealed yet by Disney. While the space taken up by the current Hollywood Land attractions, shops, and more is substantial, there really doesn’t appear to be much room for expansion that doesn’t involve a wrecking ball. Of course, Disney could always reimagine the space like they did with the Paradise Pier to Pixar Pier transformation.
 

Sharon&Susan

Well-Known Member
Give me an updated* version of The Great Movie Ride, or GTFO.
While you're at it, throw in a Sci Fi Dine-In restaurant.

Thanks!

*real sets and AA's only. No screens.
I don't think I'll ever fully be on board with an updated version of GMR. It sounds great on paper, but I'm sure the choices that Disney would make for "Great movies"would be questionable (Casablanca being replaced by HSM 2).

Everything else in your comment sounds great! I just hope they bulldoze the studio backlot and start over without Monsters Inc or Captain Marvel.
 
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Mac Tonight

Well-Known Member
I don't think I'll ever fully be on board with an updated version of GMR. It sounds great on paper, but I'm sure the choices that Disney would make for "Great movies", I'm sure would be questionable (Casablanca being replaced by HSM 2).

Everything else in your comment sounds great! I just hope they bulldoze the studio backlot and start over without Monsters Inc or Captain Marvel.
Yeah, its sadly asking a lot of current management to pull off a GMR re-do and actually make it decent and not just the current slate of Disney+.

Gotta dream though.
 

Ismael Flores

Well-Known Member
ok the last part of the original post killed it.

of course there is room and any plan needs to include a wrecking ball to the whole northern area of the land. everything there including mickey philharmagic should go. its all a waste of space and even if they do not intens of swallowing up the transportation hub any time soon the monorail should still be rerouted to clear the obstacle in that area.
The monorail curve and path take up quite a bit of valuable space for proper building expansions
 

TP2000

Well-Known Member
Nothing major is gonna happen with HPBL until they can extend the berm out into the bus depot area with a revised Eastern Gateway project. Any changes before then will be minimal.

Exactly. Either the reporter for the OC Register was too clueless to ask about that previous plan that was revealed in formal planning documents Disney submitted to the city, or they were too afraid to veer off script in the "interview".

The USCIS lease is supposed to end this year

Ooh, thanks for the reminder! You are right. I remember five years ago when we were all talking about that and how the USCIS buidling was the key link, but the year 2020 seemed so far away. Suddenly It's 2020! (With apologies to Plymouth Motor Cars)

That said, this interview with Mr. Finnegan didn't say much of anything. They've got "plans" and the plans have changed repeatedly. It's fairly obvious these plans will be in flux for some time, and we won't see anything concrete start happening until much later in the 2020's. I would think the most optimistic of plans won't be announced until D23 Expo 2023 at best, with completion in 2026 or so.

Until then, I wouldn't expect much more than new Non-Marvel plywood meet n' greet sets and lots of vinyl signage "festivals!" in the sad Hollywood Pictures Backlot area of DCA for the next few years.

Maybe a Celebration of Disney+ Streaming Stars! is coming for Summer 2021?
 
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socalifornian

Well-Known Member
Exactly. Either the reporter for the OC Register was too clueless to ask about that previous plan that was revealed in formal planning documents Disney submitted to the city, or they were too afraid to veer off script in the "interview".



Ooh, thanks for the reminder! You are right. I remember five years ago when we were all talking about that and how the USCIS buidling was the key link, but the year 2020 seemed so far away. Suddenly It's 2020!
Did it end already? I’m not seeing the pinpoint for it on Google or Apple maps. Just a blank building
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TP2000

Well-Known Member
Let's do a little refresher course on the Hollywood expansion plans Disney inadvertently revealed in their official permit filings with the City of Anaheim earlier in the 2010's, shall we? There's probably some new folks here, and even us old timers could use a refresher on this fun old topic....

In 2014-15 the Miceage website leaked news about a TDA plan to turn the big chunk of real estate they had just purchased through their longtime 3rd party real estate guy (and if you live in central OC you've seen his signs up everywhere), the land north of the existing Pumbaa parking lot. Miceage detailed plans for a massive parking structure and transportation center, linked to Disneyland via a skybridge over Harbor Blvd. Those plans sounded fanciful and wild back then.

In early 2016 TDA submitted plans privately to the City of Anaheim. Later in 2016 TDA fessed up and released the plan publicly, which Miceage said was downsized and scaled back from its original incarnation, but was still impressive in its scale and purpose.

Amazingly, that original plan is still available on the Disneyland Public Affairs website as a Neighborhood Workshop event here (catch it quick before the Public Affairs intern gets in trouble for leaving it up there and it gets removed) https://publicaffairs.disneyland.com/dlr-neighborhood-workshop/

The plans and documents submitted to the city in 2016 had just a tad too much detail included. Most famously this one...

disneyland-eastern-gateway-plans.jpg


As you can see, the skybridge led to a new walkway towards the central Esplanade. But what was also revealed was a move of the Toy Story Shuttles to a currently unused tram route parallel to Harbor, plus the complete rerouting of the Disneyland monorail to the north (the dot-dash line just north of the new walkway), which all frees up a big chunk of new acreage directly north of the current Hollywood Pictures Backlot area of DCA. The cat was out of the bag!

The USCIS building, a US Customs and Immigration office, was on the land purchased by Disney but the building had a lease thru the federal government until the far-off year of 2020. The plan was to build the Eastern Gateway around that building by 2018, and then at some future year after 2020 expand the complex to use that space.

The Eastern Gateway was famously shelved in 2017 in a huff, when the Great Disneyland & Anaheim War of 2017 played out and General Tait and Admiral Colglazier fought each other to the death. They built the Pixar Pals parking structure instead since Disney already had permit approval for that big facility grandfathered in from the 1990's.

And that leads us to today, where the land for the Eastern Gateway was leveled for use as surface parking lots for CM's. The Carousel Inn was purchased and bulldozed by Disney before the Eastern Gateway was cancelled.

And now the folks at USCIS aren't answering their phones and the land just sits there quietly under Disney's ownership.

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FoozieBear

Well-Known Member
Interesting to finally hear about this - personally I feel like whatever does replace this land - even if it is less substantial than the other additions to DCA , like Cars Land and Avengers Campus, will still be significantly better than what's there today.
 

Phroobar

Well-Known Member
Let's do a little refresher course on the Hollywood expansion plans Disney inadvertently revealed in their official permit filings with the City of Anaheim earlier in the 2010's, shall we? There's probably some new folks here, and even us old timers could use a refresher on this fun old topic....

In 2014-15 the Miceage website leaked news about a TDA plan to turn the big chunk of real estate they had just purchased through their longtime 3rd party real estate guy (and if you live in central OC you've seen his signs up everywhere), the land north of the existing Pumbaa parking lot. Miceage detailed plans for a massive parking structure and transportation center, linked to Disneyland via a skybridge over Harbor Blvd. Those plans sounded fanciful and wild back then.

In early 2016 TDA submitted plans privately to the City of Anaheim. Later in 2016 TDA fessed up and released the plan publicly, which Miceage said was downsized and scaled back from its original incarnation, but was still impressive in its scale and purpose.

Amazingly, that original plan is still available on the Disneyland Public Affairs website as a Neighborhood Workshop event here (catch it quick before the Public Affairs intern gets in trouble for leaving it up there and it gets removed) https://publicaffairs.disneyland.com/dlr-neighborhood-workshop/

The plans and documents submitted to the city in 2016 had just a tad too much detail included. Most famously this one...

disneyland-eastern-gateway-plans.jpg


As you can see, the skybridge led to a new walkway towards the central Esplanade. But what was also revealed was a move of the Toy Story Shuttles to a currently unused tram route parallel to Harbor, plus the complete rerouting of the Disneyland monorail to the north (the dot-dash line just north of the new walkway), which all frees up a big chunk of new acreage directly north of the current Hollywood Pictures Backlot area of DCA. The cat was out of the bag!

The USCIS building, a US Customs and Immigration office, was on the land purchased by Disney but the building had a lease thru the federal government until the far-off year of 2020. The plan was to build the Eastern Gateway around that building by 2018, and then at some future year after 2020 expand the complex to use that space.

The Eastern Gateway was famously shelved in 2017 in a huff, when the Great Disneyland & Anaheim War of 2017 played out and General Tait and Admiral Colglazier fought each other to the death. They built the Pixar Pals parking structure instead since Disney already had permit approval for that big facility grandfathered in from the 1990's.

And that leads us to today, where the land for the Eastern Gateway is mostly leveled and used as basic surface parking lots for Cast Members. The Carousel Inn was purchased and bulldozed by Disney years ago before the Eastern Gateway was cancelled.

And now the folks at USCIS aren't answering their phones and the land just sits there quietly under Disney's ownership.

20190122_134742-M.jpg

So did Disney demo the USCIS building or it is just empty?
 

TP2000

Well-Known Member
Interesting to finally hear about this - personally I feel like whatever does replace this land - even if it is less substantial than the other additions to DCA , like Cars Land and Avengers Campus, will still be significantly better than what's there today.

I agree with you! But let's be honest and admit it's not going to be too hard to improve on this current state...

HollywoodBacklotStage2.png
 

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