HS never to be the same?

[Nick Garrick]

Ok this is just me pondering last night after a glass of wine. Although it’s exciting that GE is opening (I guess?) but I started to realize that HS will most likely never be the same. I always enjoyed the “quaintness” of the boulevards, the old Hollywood feel & music, and the fact that sometimes it wasn’t always an overly crowded park & you could get a FP for RnR coaster, TofT & Star Tours all in the same day. I just think it’s kind of sad it’ll never be the same park that it was before GE. I liked the small influence of Star Wars before (the parade of troopers, the launch bay) but I wonder if it’s just eventually going to become Disney’s Star Wars Land? Lol
I hope not & it still keeps its character, and I know things must change to advance into the future, but still..
Just my ponderings from a Saturday night....

 

[bUU]

I'm quite happy that it won't be the same park that it was. That park has been our "fourth favorite" since Animal Kingdom Park opened. With the opening of Toy Story Land and Galaxy's Edge, it might finally give our "third favorite" park (Magic Kingdom) a challenge. Even if it does remain our "fourth favorite", it will clearly no longer be an "also ran" but rather a full-fledged park worthy of being considered alongside the other three.

I hope that they're not finished, though. Draw a line from Slinky Dog Dash to Lightning McQueen's Racing Academy and I see attractions that are no longer needed (Launch Bay) or can be easily relocated to less valuable real estate (Walt Disney Presents) to make room for a full-fledged Pixar land as big or perhaps even a little bigger than Galaxy's Edge.

 

[Nick Garrick]

I think that’s one of the reasons why I liked it (def not over MK or AK) but it was slower and the crowds weren’t always wall to wall people and standby lines for the best rides weren’t alway 2-3 hr long. Now I guess they’ll be 3-4 hrs long with the crowds! LOL
It’s nice to see it “grow up” into its own, truly — but I’m just still on the fence until I really see what the crowds will do to the park once GE opens.
And in terms of GE - I’ve watched so many videos on it - I don’t even feel like I need to rush and experience it anymore. Lol
I’m waiting for the full land to be open!

 

[Goofyernmost]

Realistically, if they hadn't made the decision to do TSL and SWL there is a good chance that there would have been no DHS before to long. It was on life support and on the way to the pearly gates. Since it opened it has only been a half day park for me. Later when they added ToT and RnRC it got a dose of life back, but, that was not enough. Walking through the Streets of America after the studio concept was dropped, it was as exciting as watching paint dry. Same for the Backlot Tour. The only time when Streets were interesting was when the Christmas lights were in place. I'm not talking about heart in your throat exciting, just enough to keep it interesting. When Lights/Action first opened that huge stadium was filled. In the end there were far fewer shows and the stadium was only about one third filled. The park was like that elderly family member that you really liked, but just never enough to visit them especially after they told you the same story about when they were young for the thousandth time.

 

[wdisney9000]

It’s nice to see it “grow up” into its own, truly

The park had much more of a unique identity when it was MGM. It was distinguishable from the other parks. Now, much like Epcot, it will be a hodge podge of various elements with no actual unifying qualities to make it a whole. The, "ride the movies" theme is about as vague and widespread as a Nostradamus prediction. I can "ride the movies" at every Disney park.

 

[Cmdr_Crimson]

Having seen the transition since 2003 I can say this about it...

Animation Courtyard: get rid of Ariel, Utilize the animation building for more Disney character interactions once GE opens.

Muppet Plaza: I don't care if it's called Grand Ave whatever it's called They need to figure something else to do with them similar to how they utilzed the Sesame Street area at Sea World.

TSL..It's okay I guess.....but, what I am really dissapointed is there is no Tributes to The Earful Tower or anything from the BLT..

GE: Meh..It's just going to be a year round version Osborne Spectical..Same Location, Huge Crowds..

 

[wendysue]

Ok this is just me pondering last night after a glass of wine. Although it’s exciting that GE is opening (I guess?) but I started to realize that HS will most likely never be the same. I always enjoyed the “quaintness” of the boulevards, the old Hollywood feel & music, and the fact that sometimes it wasn’t always an overly crowded park & you could get a FP for RnR coaster, TofT & Star Tours all in the same day. I just think it’s kind of sad it’ll never be the same park that it was before GE. I liked the small influence of Star Wars before (the parade of troopers, the launch bay) but I wonder if it’s just eventually going to become Disney’s Star Wars Land? Lol
I hope not & it still keeps its character, and I know things must change to advance into the future, but still..
Just my ponderings from a Saturday night....

I totally understand your pondering. It WON'T ever be the same. We couldn't care less about SWL. Just my opinion, folks, no need to go crazy or anything...

 

[drizgirl]

It will never be the same because Disney doesn't want it to be the same. That's the whole point behind adding new lands.

 

[TrainsOfDisney]

“Old Hollywood” is one of the best themes for a theme park. That romanticed era has a lot going for it and it’s just fun to walk around the old Hollywood areas of DHS and DCA.

If they could have used that as the anchor and built separate studio lands off of that - Animation, ABC, Lucas, Pixar - I think that park would have been a home run. What we are getting is not quite that. Ha.

 

[Cmdr_Crimson]

“Old Hollywood” is one of the best themes for a theme park. That romanticed era has a lot going for it and it’s just fun to walk around the old Hollywood areas of DHS and DCA.

If they could have used that as the anchor and built separate studio lands off of that - Animation, ABC, Lucas, Pixar - I think that park would have been a home run. What we are getting is not quite that. Ha.

So, does the Dedication Plaque still represent what it's suppose to be doing?

 

[erasure fan1]

The park had much more of a unique identity when it was MGM. It was distinguishable from the other parks. Now, much like Epcot, it will be a hodge podge of various elements with no actual unifying qualities to make it a whole. The, "ride the movies" theme is about as vague and widespread as a Nostradamus prediction. I can "ride the movies" at every Disney park.

Yup, I couldn't agree more. I never understood the reasoning that the studio theme had to go away because it's no longer a working studio.

 

[TrainsOfDisney]

So, does the Dedication Plaque still represent what it's suppose to be doing?

I think it does. But it’s still a very different park then what was or what almost was.

I think if Steve Jobs would have been around longer we would have seen the full on Pixar studios with John Lassiter leading the way... maybe even seen some red car trolleys!

What we are getting is.... a different take on the park. Ha.

 

[Smiley/OCD]

I'm quite happy that it won't be the same park that it was. That park has been our "fourth favorite" since Animal Kingdom Park opened. With the opening of Toy Story Land and Galaxy's Edge, it might finally give our "third favorite" park (Magic Kingdom) a challenge. Even if it does remain our "fourth favorite", it will clearly no longer be an "also ran" but rather a full-fledged park worthy of being considered alongside the other three.

I hope that they're not finished, though. Draw a line from Slinky Dog Dash to Lightning McQueen's Racing Academy and I see attractions that are no longer needed (Launch Bay) or can be easily relocated to less valuable real estate (Walt Disney Presents) to make room for a full-fledged Pixar land as big or perhaps even a little bigger than Galaxy's Edge.

Yup...move WD Presents to the MK, bulldoze that area and bring on Radiator Springs and Cars Land.

 

[Tank Man]

Ok this is just me pondering last night after a glass of wine. Although it’s exciting that GE is opening (I guess?) but I started to realize that HS will most likely never be the same. I always enjoyed the “quaintness” of the boulevards, the old Hollywood feel & music, and the fact that sometimes it wasn’t always an overly crowded park & you could get a FP for RnR coaster, TofT & Star Tours all in the same day. I just think it’s kind of sad it’ll never be the same park that it was before GE. I liked the small influence of Star Wars before (the parade of troopers, the launch bay) but I wonder if it’s just eventually going to become Disney’s Star Wars Land? Lol
I hope not & it still keeps its character, and I know things must change to advance into the future, but still..
Just my ponderings from a Saturday night....

I believe the future for DHS is from being a park featuring the magic of how movies are made to a park filled with your favorite IP’s as TSL, SWGE and etc.
Sadly it is changing but I think with the new full on movies park theme they are going with will benefit the park

 

[starri42]

Sadly it is changing but I think with the new full on movies park theme they are going with will benefit the park

There is some kind of symmetry (or maybe poetry, I can't quite decide) in the park born out of competition from Universal Studios Florida transforming to compete with Universal Fantastic Worlds.

 

[bUU]

And in terms of GE - I’ve watched so many videos on it - I don’t even feel like I need to rush and experience it anymore.

This is a very serious red flag. I mentioned in another forum a few weeks ago that I have practically no interest in following the progression of aerial photos of the construction progress of SWGE in Florida, as compared to how closely I followed the construction of SWGE in California. And I mentioned in another thread here this morning how Disney's intent for FastPass was disrupted by how exploits were promulgated through online communities. So rolling those together with what you've said, I cannot help but wonder to what extent enjoying attractions virtually through POV videos is depressing interest in visiting those attractions in person. I'm sure it'll never be a substantial impact, but even a small but significant impact can have repercussions.

I wonder if this is why Universal prohibits recording video on their attractions. (Of course, there are always enough people so full of themselves that they feel entitled to violate that rule anyway.)

 

[eliza61nyc]

lol, I would think that a theme park based on the movies would be the perfect place to have Ip rides. I hope HS is never the same, the old HS was at best a few hour park especially if you were a repeat visitor. Indiana Jones, the Great movie ride, backlot tour were all old and stale. now that's not to say they needed to be gutted but they definitely needed to be updated, and if they weren't going to update them then getting rid of them was/is definitely the way to go.

Again, I did not go until the early 2000's late 1990 so I never found any thing in there that remotely informed me of how movies were made.
I do enjoy strolling down Hollywood boulevard and sunset boulevard and hope they continue to resemble what they are now. If any thing get rid of that Dinosaur in the middle of the lake.

 

[Raineman]

This is a very serious red flag. I mentioned in another forum a few weeks ago that I have practically no interest in following the progression of aerial photos of the construction progress of SWGE in Florida, as compared to how closely I followed the construction of SWGE in California. And I mentioned in another thread here this morning how Disney's intent for FastPass was disrupted by how exploits were promulgated through online communities. So rolling those together with what you've said, I cannot help but wonder to what extent enjoying attractions virtually through POV videos is depressing interest in visiting those attractions in person. I'm sure it'll never be a substantial impact, but even a small but significant impact can have repercussions.

I wonder if this is why Universal prohibits recording video on their attractions. (Of course, there are always enough people so full of themselves that they feel entitled to violate that rule anyway.)

Watching videos of a theme park land/attraction is still not the same as experiencing it. I watched multiple videos of Pandora at DAK, but it didn't convey the experience, until I actually visited. I don't think people can make snap judgements only based on YouTube videos-you can get an initial impression to form a "It doesn't look that great from the video, but I'll find out when I go"opinion.

 

[Heppenheimer]

lol, I would think that a theme park based on the movies would be the perfect place to have Ip rides. I hope HS is never the same, the old HS was at best a few hour park especially if you were a repeat visitor. Indiana Jones, the Great movie ride, backlot tour were all old and stale. now that's not to say they needed to be gutted but they definitely needed to be updated, and if they weren't going to update them then getting rid of them was/is definitely the way to go.

Again, I did not go until the early 2000's late 1990 so I never found any thing in there that remotely informed me of how movies were made.
I do enjoy strolling down Hollywood boulevard and sunset boulevard and hope they continue to resemble what they are now. If any thing get rid of that Dinosaur in the middle of the lake.

There was a lot of that when the park originally opened in 1989. Other than the Great Movie Ride, which was a typical, if longer and more elaborate dark ride, all the other attractions had some kind of tie-in about showing you how movies and TV were produced. I don't know when this emphasis shifted, but by my next trip in 1996, the park's focus had begun to change from informative to purely entertainment. By that point in time, I think they had given up trying to make the park a viable studio. The back-lot tour was significantly shorter, the sound stages were gone (or at least, not part of the tour anymore) and with the Tower of Terror, the park now boasted a thrill ride that had no pretensions about providing any kind of behind-the-scenes education.

It wasn't a full day park back then, and most of the attractions weren't the kind that merited repeating, especially the back-lot tour ("Oh, wow, look, I'm so thrilled to see the exterior model of the Golden Girls' house yet again", said nobody ever...).

Hollywood Studios has always been my least favorite of the four gates, so the park "never being the same again" is a good thing, in my book.

Oh, and more trees and shade at this park would be nice too. My brother-in-law has dubbed the park "Hot Concrete Land"

 

[starri42]

Hollywood Studios has always been my least favorite of the four gates, so the park "never being the same again" is a good thing, in my book.

I'm fine with whatever they want to do, so long as they keep the retro-LA style of the front of the park. The part of me that loves Deco (even if it's faux) would be brokenhearted, and I just don't see the Chinese Theater or Tower of Terror working if they weren't the focal points of that kind of themeing. I don't think I'd be too put out if Echo Lake turned into an Indy-themed area that looked like some far-flung locale in the same time period.