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Is Disney's Hollywood Studios' theme a bit loose?

lazyboy97o

Well-Known Member
Yes because having a random parking lot in the middle of the park with cheesy fair rides and games keeps with the whole theme of the park. :rolleyes:
Chester and Hester's Dino-Rama fails for the same reason as the studio concept, both are based in a non-place. Just as almost anything can be justified as fitting a tacky tourist trap so too can almost anything be justified as fitting a disorganized backlot. And while it is most certainly a tangent, the Dino-Rama still builds upon a preexisting element within the park, Chester and Hester's. That is sticks out so much to so many shows the continued strength and cohesiveness of Disney's Animal Kingdom.

Islands of adventure just took the concept of individually themed attraction areas (just like Disney), and broke them up into "islands". There is no central park theme, only individual attractions with their own themes with the word "island" tacked onto the end. :confused:
The land concept is perfectly the legitimate. The central conceit of such parks is offering different worlds to explore. As I have now stated repeatedly, this discussion is ultimately about lands. A backlot is not organized in such a manner and therefore lands can easily be ignored at a studio park. Big Thunder Mountain Railroad and Space Mountain work being in the same park, but they would not work right next to each other. They can at a studio park, and they'd work "more" if Woody and Buzz were slapped on them because they now relate to not just their respective genres but a specific film. They're even now related to the same set of films.

Now if they were to add DinoLand USA to the park, that really would stick out like a sore thumb there. At least everything there now ties into television or music or movies :)
Why? Dinosaur is a Disney film.
 

BryceM

Well-Known Member
Islands of adventure just took the concept of individually themed attraction areas (just like Disney), and broke them up into "islands". There is no central park theme, only individual attractions with their own themes with the word "island" tacked onto the end. :confused:
Okay, we'll isn't Magic Kingdom the same? What do Adventureland and Fantasyland have in common? (And please don't say "magic"). Or what about Epcot? World Showcase and Future World? Also :confused:.

As long as the themed environment and the attractions within pertain to that themed environment, then there is no problem. You won't find Cat in the Hat located in The Lost Continent. Instead, it is rightfully located in Seuss Landing. A central theme is not necessary.
 

mharrington

Well-Known Member
Original Poster
Another reason why I brought up this topic is because, as you can see on the Imagineer section, some of my threads (or my posts in other peoples' threads) involve creating new rides that seem like it would only fit in the Studios. For example, a lot of threads I had created involving Mickey and friends (i.e., http://forums.wdwmagic.com/threads/...et-another-revival-open-brainstorming.832483/, http://forums.wdwmagic.com/threads/...circus-feedback-and-critiques-welcome.836057/, http://forums.wdwmagic.com/threads/a-goofy-themed-dark-ride-with-no-place-for-it-to-go.856525/) seemed to indicate that the only place they would fit is in the Studios simply because they're movies.

I had also contributed to this thread on "Wreck-It Ralph"-themed rides (http://forums.wdwmagic.com/threads/wreck-it-ralph-attractions-for-disney-parks.859445/). I kept trying to find other parks besides the Studios to put these rides in, most notably castle parks, because I think the theme of movies alone is too simple and too loose. But it seems like the Studios is the only place where they can go, because the themes of the other parks would go against these themes of these rides somehow, or they just don't have the space for them, like with a new Toontown I thought of for the Magic Kingdom. I had given in on that matter, because Storybook Circus actually looks pretty nice (I finally came up with a semi-workable Mickey and friends-themed dark ride for that: http://forums.wdwmagic.com/threads/mickeys-big-top-spin-for-mks-storybook-circus.860790/).

The thing is, I'm more comfortable with the castle parks (and, to a lesser extent, Epcot and the California Adventure) when it comes to my creating new rides for the parks on those Imagineer threads. Sorry, but the Studios is just too much of a mess, and the Animal Kingdom, where people had suggested I put my Goofy ride, is just beneath me.

That whole thing up there was one reason why I had created this thread, to get something off my mind.
 

lazyboy97o

Well-Known Member
My point exactly!!
But there still needs to be some sort of structure. Whether it is the theme of lands, the theme of the park or both. That's where the difference between an amusement park and a theme park resides. Singular well themed attractions are not sufficient to make for a truly themed park as the experience just starts and stops with each attraction. That's themed attractions in an amusement park and its very close to what is allowable within the "theme" of a studio park.
 

mharrington

Well-Known Member
Original Poster
It is pretty loose and anything goes but honestly, that's what I like about it. You're hanging with The Muppets one moment, and the next, flying in the world of Star Wars. If that's not cool I don't know what is.
Although I have thought it would be cool if Disney re-themed the park to be "Where the characters work." I mean, they should establish that this is where Mickey and his friends film their cartoons

Except that they would probably have to travel back and forth across the country in order to do that.
 

J03Y

Well-Known Member
Does anyone think that Disney's Hollywood Studios' theme of movies is a bit loose for a theme? It seems like it. It seems like it is WDW's resident "anything" park, for a lack of better words. Is that supposed to be the case?

it's basically Universal Studios though :confused:
 

blueboxdoctor

Well-Known Member
The problem is they don't seem to have the funding to keep it up-to-date. For example, they really need to update the back lot tour, which has ended up being made smaller throughout the years rather than expanding or at least updating the props that have been there forever. Similarly, the city area in the back is a neat concept, but really, it's a big area that's pretty much useless unless it is decorated for Christmas. There also used to be more studio/production oriented tours. For some reason there's that stupid Narnia thing that's basically an advertisement for a movie that has been out for a while and those who want to watch it likely already have and own the movies.

Another problem is who do they want to cater towards. On one hand there are classic movies, which there are a decent amount that are timeless and have become part of American culture (i.e. Wizard of Oz, Indiana Jones, and Star Wars [though I'm not a big fan, it is, as we all know, basically the face of American sci-fi]). Or do they want to go towards more modern things to get kids interested (i.e. Pixar and that sort of stuff)?

Also, they need to realize ABC really has nothing and they have it thrown in there pretty much to have some posters advertising their shows, that nobody wants to watch (well, to be fair their fairytale show, I think it's called Once Upon a Time is decently and they're getting an Alice in Wonderland show, but they have so many that are just bad, yes, I'm looking at you Splash, not even Katherine Webb can save you, which should let you know how bad it is).

But as a whole I enjoy going to HS, and it's nice that they mix classic and new characters for Fantasmic, which is pretty cool to watch from the front row.

Also, they should get Jeremy and the guys from Top Gear to be part of the stunt show.
 

BryceM

Well-Known Member
There is an article by Kevin Yee: http://micechat.com/21130-universal-formula/. It shows that Universal's studio section doesn't even try to pretend that you're not being immersed in the ride, but just simply riding through a movie set.
This article felt weak to me. He harshly criticized Universal Studios' "Production Central" and then completely left the fact out that TWO Disney parks are even more guilty at this.
 

ThemeParks4Life

Well-Known Member
This article felt weak to me. He harshly criticized Universal Studios' "Production Central" and then completely left the fact out that TWO Disney parks are even more guilty at this.
I don't see Epcot as guilty. Quote from Wikipedia:

"Epcot is dedicated to the celebration of human achievement, namely technological innovation and international culture."

DHS on the other hand, yeah, no coherent themeing at all. Same with USF.
 

lazyboy97o

Well-Known Member
I don't see Epcot as guilty. Quote from Wikipedia:

"Epcot is dedicated to the celebration of human achievement, namely technological innovation and international culture."

DHS on the other hand, yeah, no coherent themeing at all. Same with USF.

Huh? Why do you think he was talking about EPCOT Center? What about the two studio parks and the third with a ["former"] studio land?
 

BryceM

Well-Known Member
I don't see Epcot as guilty. Quote from Wikipedia:

"Epcot is dedicated to the celebration of human achievement, namely technological innovation and international culture."

DHS on the other hand, yeah, no coherent themeing at all. Same with USF.
I wasn't talking about Epcot. I adore Epcot. It's recently become my favorite Disney park.

I was referring to Walt Disney Studios Paris... It's even worse than DHS in that it opened with no intention of something ever being filmed there. At least DHS tried. At least some things are still filmed at USF. WDSP and DHS are what also need to be criticized by Kevin Yee, not just one land in Universal Studios.
 

lazyboy97o

Well-Known Member
I wasn't talking about Epcot. I adore Epcot. It's recently become my favorite Disney park.

I was referring to Walt Disney Studios Paris... It's even worse than DHS in that it opened with no intention of something ever being filmed there. At least DHS tried. At least some things are still filmed at USF. WDSP and DHS are what also need to be criticized by Kevin Yee, not just one land in Universal Studios.

There is also the Hollywood Pictures Backlot at Disney's California Adventure that lost a sign and added the Red Car Trolley in its conversion to Hollywood Land.
 

BryceM

Well-Known Member
There is also the Hollywood Pictures Backlot at Disney's California Adventure that lost a sign and added the Red Car Trolley in its conversion to Hollywood Land.
Oh right. Isn't there still the fake studio theming around the Mad Hatter dance party and Monsters Inc.?
 

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