Disney wants to invest $1 billion at Disneyland

[TP2000]

Wow, this is really exciting! But, like others have noted, having Star Wars in the back behind Big Thunder and IASW does seem odd and really messes with the hub and spoke design of the park. Then again, if you look at a map of DL, Toontown and New Orleans Square kind of already messed with that design already. Excited to see big changes coming!

To be honest, the Hub & Spoke design ended quickly in 1956 when Walt had them open up walkways between the lands, instead of the four original lands being cul de sacs; originally you had to exit Adventureland, walk out to the Hub, and then walk over the bridge to get to Frontierland, etc.

That was a necessary change to help manage crowds. Walt put the last nail in the Hub & Spoke design when he opened New Orleans Square in 1966. Disney opened Magic Kingdom Park in 1971 with Frontierland directly inaccessible from the Central Plaza; you had to go through Liberty Square or Adventureland to get there.

In short, I'm fine with Star Wars Land being behind Frontierland. I think Walt would be fine with it too.

 

[croboy82]

I just noticed how huge both lands could be......very exciting. I hope it comes asap.

 

[habuma]

Big (or at least one of many) question for me is -- what happens to Star Tours? Does it get relocated or go away completely? Can't imagine they'd simply leave it there in the front of the park disjointed from the rest of it.

This is exactly what I was thinking. I can't imagine them getting rid of Star Tours, but I also can't imagine them leaving it so far separated from the new land. The only other option is to move Star Tours. No small feat, but given that the building it's in wasn't originally designed for Star Tours and it's just a bunch of motion simulators, much easier than it might be to relocate other attractions.

All that to say...I know nothing. Just weighing the available options and deciding what I think makes the most sense.

 

[Suspirian]

Based on the report, doesn't seem like it will integrate with Hollywoodland as there's more than enough land in back of Cars Land and ToT (sorry I said Paradise Pier earlier, I was wrong) to accommodate a pretty large expansion. I think this is better as ToT wouldn't really have a proper home if Hollywoodland became Marvel. The bigger question, obviously, is how does Marvel tie into a park about Hollywood as you indicated.

Not all of Hollywoodland would be Marvel just the space behind TOT would be marvel studios, but given the amount of land back there it does seem odd to consider it just a subland.

 

[dweezil78]

Not all of Hollywoodland would be Marvel just the space behind TOT would be marvel studios, but given the amount of land back there it does seem odd to consider it just a subland.

Ah... gotcha. I seriously can't imagine them doing Marvel as a subland of any kind. Trying to tie it to Hollywoodland seems way too restrictive. Whatever they end up doing will have to blow Island of Adventure's Marvel Island to smithereens and trying to fit a comic book universe within a "studio backlot" won't do them any favors. The whole California theme is pretty loosey goosey these days anywho as we saw with Cars Land which owes more to California's neighboring states than the state itself.

 

[Suspirian]

Ah... gotcha. I seriously can't imagine them doing Marvel as a subland of any kind. Trying to tie it to Hollywoodland seems way too restrictive. Whatever they end up doing will have to blow Island of Adventure's Marvel Island to smithereens and trying to fit a comic book universe within a "studio backlot" won't do them any favors. The whole California theme is pretty loosey goosey these days anywho as we saw with Cars Land which owes more to California's neighboring states than the state itself.

I agree, it's kind of sad since they put so much effort into really selling the CA theme in the DCA refurb and then rumors like this and Monsters Inc (which is thankfully dead) come out.

side note, I've always seen Cars land as the journey to CA since when you come out of it you can see a lot of the parks major icons (Grizzly Peak, ferris wheel, CCT, TOT, etc)

 

[TP2000]

I would think that once Star Wars Land opens on the northern flanks of Disneyland, Star Tours in Tomorrowland would close (if it hadn't already been closed), and could easily be remade into another simulator attraction.

Hong Kong Disneyland is opening the Iron Man Experience next year in their Tomorrowland. Iron Man Experience is a simulator attraction using the Star Tours ride system, but themed to Iron Man and Starck Industries. This would seem to be the future of the Star Tours attraction in Anaheim, in my amateur opinion.

Iron Man Experience - Opening 2016 at Hong Kong Disneyland

That would leave the DCA Marvel Land expansion behind Tower of Terror to be dedicated to another Marvel character or world. Captain America, perhaps?

 

[dweezil78]

I would think that once Star Wars Land opens on the northern flanks of Disneyland, Star Tours in Tomorrowland would close (if it hadn't already been closed), and could easily be remade into another simulator attraction

I'd really hope that after 20+ years (who knows, probably closer to 30 by the time it happens,eh?) and two successful shows, they'd scrap the old simulators and put in something totally new should they get the chance. While the 2011 upgrade was great, those are still some olllllllld simulators and are definitely showing their age.

 

[TP2000]

This info from Miceage makes me laugh and cry at the same time...

"With a new Chairman the TDA old timers sensed it was time to appeal to Bob Chapek himself why the structure and sky bridge plan had to be funded. But first Bob had to have it explained to him the hellish hassle the paying customers often go through, since like most executives his visits to Disneyland always begin by simply pulling up to the lobby at the Grand Californian Hotel and having his car valet parked for the day while he strolls into the park within minutes. But some savvy TDA folks pulled together a brutally honest conference room presentation that left Bob shocked." http://micechat.com/108619-disneyland-rumors-starwars/#disqus_thread

If they could just get the senior executives to visit the park once, just once, like all their paying customers do I imagine big changes would happen very fast. Try to park in Mickey & Friends but get forced down Disneyland Drive to the back alley behind DCA, then down Disney Way and into Pumbaa or GardenWalk to wait for a bus to take you back to the Esplanade. All for the privilege of paying $16 bucks to park.

If they got rid of the valet parking for executives, and stopped letting the executive's families skip the lines with a VIP guide, I bet the parks would operate differently and the parking structure would have been built a decade ago.

How embarrassing for Disney's senior executives that they are that far removed from the actual customer experience they offer. That's generally the sign of bad leadership, to be blunt.

 

[GiveMeTheMusic]

This info from Miceage makes me laugh and cry at the same time...

"With a new Chairman the TDA old timers sensed it was time to appeal to Bob Chapek himself why the structure and sky bridge plan had to be funded. But first Bob had to have it explained to him the hellish hassle the paying customers often go through, since like most executives his visits to Disneyland always begin by simply pulling up to the lobby at the Grand Californian Hotel and having his car valet parked for the day while he strolls into the park within minutes. But some savvy TDA folks pulled together a brutally honest conference room presentation that left Bob shocked." http://micechat.com/108619-disneyland-rumors-starwars/#disqus_thread

If they could just get the senior executives to visit the park once, just once, like all their paying customers do I imagine big changes would happen very fast. Try to park in Mickey & Friends but get forced down Disneyland Drive to the back alley behind DCA, then down Disney Way and into Pumbaa or GardenWalk to wait for a bus to take you back to the Esplanade. All for the privilege of paying $16 bucks to park.

If they got rid of the valet parking for executives, and stopped letting the executive's families skip the lines with a VIP guide, I bet the parks would operate differently and the parking structure would have been built a decade ago.

How embarrassing for Disney's senior executives that they are that far removed from the actual customer experience they offer. That's generally the sign of bad leadership, to be blunt.

It IS bad leadership. While I think perks are great, mandatory "normal" experiences should be in order for all managers and execs. This goes double for WDW. I'd love for Bob Iger and Tom Staggs to spend a week at Pop Century with their families and book their dining reservations and Fastpasses like everyone else. They could film it for a hilarious new reality show.

 

[BrianLo]

I wasn't sure where to repost this, but I think digging up this thread is the most logical.

@WDW1974 suggested topside that SWE and ToT do not count towards the deal. Meaning the 1.5billion Disney is contractually obligated to spend on Disneyland/DCA is above and beyond Star Wars.

Now one part of me thought perhaps that makes sense as why would the city of Anaheim approve the break for something Disney was just going to do anyways (the parking garage perhaps being an exception). But reading the original news article and some year+ old comments from @GiveMeTheMusic, it seems like it was blantantly used to do just that - fund projects Dis was already going to do.

Now granted, Spirit also suggested the Captain America hybrid coaster is potentially on the lavishly expensive side of RSR and Frozen certainly won't be cheap. The parking garage might actually push those two things well over a billion.

I'm just wondering if there is something even above all that. They have until 2024 though so they certainly don't need to have 100% decided. The Mickey project sounds dead unfortunately.

 

[GiveMeTheMusic]

I wasn't sure where to repost this, but I think digging up this thread is the most logical.

@WDW1974 suggested topside that SWE and ToT do not count towards the deal. Meaning the 1.5billion Disney is contractually obligated to spend on Disneyland/DCA is above and beyond Star Wars.

Now one part of me thought perhaps that makes sense as why would the city of Anaheim approve the break for something Disney was just going to do anyways (the parking garage perhaps being an exception). But reading the original news article and some year+ old comments from @GiveMeTheMusic, it seems like it was blantantly used to do just that - fund projects Dis was already going to do.

Now granted, Spirit also suggested the Captain America hybrid coaster is potentially on the lavishly expensive side of RSR and Frozen certainly won't be cheap. The parking garage might actually push those two things well over a billion.

I'm just wondering if there is something even above all that. They have until 2024 though so they certainly don't need to have 100% decided. The Mickey project sounds dead unfortunately.

Mickey isn't dead. If it is, it will come as a great surprise to some of the people I know who are working on it.

 

[mickEblu]

Mickey isn't dead. If it is, it will come as a great surprise to some of the people I know who are working on it.

Good to hear. Would this go in one of the existing buildings in the Hollywood backlot? Or a brand new building in the expansion pad?

 

[mickEblu]

I wasn't sure where to repost this, but I think digging up this thread is the most logical.

@WDW1974 suggested topside that SWE and ToT do not count towards the deal. Meaning the 1.5billion Disney is contractually obligated to spend on Disneyland/DCA is above and beyond Star Wars.

Now one part of me thought perhaps that makes sense as why would the city of Anaheim approve the break for something Disney was just going to do anyways (the parking garage perhaps being an exception). But reading the original news article and some year+ old comments from @GiveMeTheMusic, it seems like it was blantantly used to do just that - fund projects Dis was already going to do.

Now granted, Spirit also suggested the Captain America hybrid coaster is potentially on the lavishly expensive side of RSR and Frozen certainly won't be cheap. The parking garage might actually push those two things well over a billion.

I'm just wondering if there is something even above all that. They have until 2024 though so they certainly don't need to have 100% decided. The Mickey project sounds dead unfortunately.

Still waiting to hear back from Spirit. I hope there is one more surprise E ticket to round off that 1.5 bill

 

[Darkbeer1]

We have been talking about it in a few threads,with the Disneyland Eastern Gateway being the main one.

As I understand it, any money spent after the city council approved the deal counts, so while some costs don't count, most of the Star Wars Land and ToT conversion counts, so will the Eastern Gateway project, as would the 4th Disney Hotel and related parking improvements. And the key word is "improvements", general maintenance and repairs don't count.

Disney has two goals, $1 Billion by 2024 for a 30 year guarantee of if any amusement tax that the city charges would be refunded to Disney (100%), so basically they won't do it. If they spend another $500,000,000, the 30 year guarantee becomes 45 years. (The city can charge other companies the tax if they decide to do it).

What might not count would be projects outside what the City of Anaheim claims is the "Disneyland Resort", based on zoning, so things like new CM parking lots blocks away won't count, but a parking structure being built on the DLR current area would count.

But yes, by the time the main projects, Star Wars Land, Marvel Land including the DCA expansion of the park north, the Eastern Gateway project and the 4th Hotel, Disney will be close to the financial goals.

 

[BrianLo]

We have been talking about it in a few threads,with the Disneyland Eastern Gateway being the main one.

As I understand it, any money spent after the city council approved the deal counts, so while some costs don't count, most of the Star Wars Land and ToT conversion counts, so will the Eastern Gateway project, as would the 4th Disney Hotel and related parking improvements. And the key word is "improvements", general maintenance and repairs don't count.

Disney has two goals, $1 Billion by 2024 for a 30 year guarantee of if any amusement tax that the city charges would be refunded to Disney (100%), so basically they won't do it. If they spend another $500,000,000, the 30 year guarantee becomes 45 years. (The city can charge other companies the tax if they decide to do it).

What might not count would be projects outside what the City of Anaheim claims is the "Disneyland Resort", based on zoning, so things like new CM parking lots blocks away won't count, but a parking structure being built on the DLR current area would count.

But yes, by the time the main projects, Star Wars Land, Marvel Land including the DCA expansion of the park north, the Eastern Gateway project and the 4th Hotel, Disney will be close to the financial goals.

And this is what we all assumed too, but according to @WDW1974 this isn't the case.

Mickey isn't dead. If it is, it will come as a great surprise to some of the people I know who are working on it.

Was he referring to Mickey below? I guess he didn't say outright cancelled, but that was my takeaway that it's not doing so well, but I guess full steam for DLR?

Where does that leave the Project with a nickname of Walt's hometown (not Chicago!)? In limbo to some degree. Recall, Tom Morris was working on this trackless ride and he took a buyout instead of being fired. That doesn't end the project, but isn't a great sign. Bob Weis is also a big fan of the GMR, but there's no way that attraction goes on beyond the immediate future.

 

[GiveMeTheMusic]

And this is what we all assumed too, but according to @WDW1974 this isn't the case.



Was he referring to Mickey below? I guess he didn't say outright cancelled, but that was my takeaway that it's not doing so well, but I guess full steam for DLR?

I believe he was referring to Mickey there, but this is planned to be built on both coasts. Even if the WDW version stalls or fails completely, it could still be built at DLR. It's far along in the process from what I understand, so I would be very surprised if it was canceled completely.

 

[SSG]

In this recent video, (around the 22 minute mark) Iger says $2billion is being spent on Star Wars Land on both coasts, so probably $1billion each. Add in Marvel stuff, parking, new hotel and whatever else is planned, it seems that way more than $1.5 billion will be spent at DLR

 

[Curious Constance]

In this recent video, (around the 22 minute mark) Iger says $2billion is being spent on Star Wars Land on both coasts, so probably $1billion each. Add in Marvel stuff, parking, new hotel and whatever else is planned, it seems that way more than $1.5 billion will be spent at DLR

What is his secret? How does he stay so young and handsome????

 

[SSG]

What is his secret? How does he stay so young and handsome????

I’m sure there’s a decaying portrait of him locked away in the attic at Stately Iger Manor.