Nintendo Ave - a new land at DHS (Up next: Sunset Blvd)

[Disney Dad 3000]

A few of the clues from our little backstory where this project was headed......
More characters, actual rides, etc. to be divulged as the project is laid out.

DHS References
- "Been here long enough to know that the citizens of this town don’t like anything messing with their perfect day.
- Runnin’ this beat for near 34…no 35 years now.
- Modified partial map of DHS

- “Sam… need you over at the hotel…..10-37….patrol 6 on site.”

- “Shame…..nice place that hotel, once the nicest in Hollywood…not that I’d ever stay…..Just sitting there……Looked like a few letters from the marquee were falling off
- There’s no secrets in the precinct and some of the boys had gotten a kick out of the oddball stories popping up about that forsaken hotel.

Mario
- "Tried the county recorder’s office….See if we could check for any new owners….Their having their own issues of their own, what with a water main break flooding out the whole place
- “Almost forgot to tell ya….the guys over at the Recorder's Office said the guys got that pipe issue under control

Luigi
- Weird name he's got........What kind of name is Lll......”
- “Hey Sam. Captain wanted me to tell you your new guy is delayed back East.
-

- Detective Sam Palmer and his new partner, fresh from the Brooklyn Detective School (maybe Sam should’ve looked at that folder first).
- And well…..You’re gonna have to talk to them yourself…..They’re all a bit spooked.”

Waluigi
This guy seemed too fitting to use as a human stand in for the character when I found the pic. Probably didn't make the faint W on his goggles easy enough to spot if you looked closely.

Donkey Kong
- Weird though….whoever it was, made a mess………room all tossed……even the door jam was busted open on all sides.
- large, shadowy figures crossing before him

Silver Screen Story (a Switch title)

I wonder.....

 

[Disney Dad 3000]

Building out Nintendo Ave (and beyond)

Anyone that knows Disney’s Hollywood Studios knows what a cluster it can become when even one attraction goes down for any extended period of time, or worse, closed for a lengthy refurbishment. Wait times skyrocket across the park and it doesn’t take a rocket scientist to understand why. Nine rides, all of which have a fairly high level of popularity for various reasons and draw crowds, short of Star Tours except during the busiest days or times (a Star Wars ride both more enjoyable and reliable in many cases than its counterparts in Galaxy’s Edge).

Maneuvering with this in mind is tricky, especially when you are talking about work within important real estate of the park and the crowds that will come for a new Nintendo Land (hopefully). The ride count is going to suffer to an extent. Like Thanos, it is inevitable, but careful planning can limit the impact of a reduced ride count for roughly 14-18 months (sooner if Bob tells the bean counters to ignore playing the accounting cycle game).

Bringing Nintendo to DHS isn’t just about bringing Nintendo to DHS. Well, who am I kidding, it mostly is. The IP game with theme parks, namely Disney and Universal, is all about what you can do with a genre, its characters and its lore that will make fans happy, and bring the guests. With Nintendo Ave we are going to see how far we can stretch that lore to be unique but also fit the constructs of the park it is going into in an entirely different way. While we’re at it, let's use this chance to shape the park, well a big chunk of it, for the future and fix some things along the way.

This is what I like to call the 12-year plan. But Dad you say, you only list 10 years, surely you can count? Of course I can, but I also know to expect delays and in the end the likelihood that Phase 3 doesn't see the light of day or is pushed out after 9 years of serious investment in the park. Weather. Staffing. The Economy. Angry protestors from Big Thunder Mountain (the creators of Iron Mountain will get that joke). Any of these could also come into play.

With all this stuff happening, construction will happen in phases, though projects and lands will overlap in the schedule to maximize every day in a “perfect” symphony making even Leopold Stokowski jealous. While Disney tends to stop after Phase 1 with its expansions, we will carry on. Even if it doesn’t come first in our presentation, don’t worry, Nintendo is Phase 1 and we'll learn soon enough what's in store. I know this reads like a redacted government document, but we can’t spill all the beans just yet.

(Year 1 demo work highlighted in yellow)

Year 1
Lightning McQueen Racing Academy - demolition and clearing
Backstage adjacent to RNRC - demolition and clearing
Begin construction of brand-new Inspiration Campus and bridge with cast parking

Year 2
Construction of Dining and Retail within Nintendo Ave

Year 3
XXXX closed
Star Wars Launch Bay and backstage Animation Buildings - demolition and clearing
Jedi Training is reopened, Meet & Greet spaces and opportunities are created in SWGE to replace Launch Bay

Years 1-3
Nintendo Ave Attraction #1/Nintendo Ave Attraction #2/Nintendo Ave Attraction #3 construction

Year 4
Open Nintendo Ave Attraction #1/Nintendo Ave Attraction #2/Nintendo Ave Attraction #3
Close xxxxxxxx
Feature attraction xxxxx for xxxxx begins construction

Year 5
Open Nintendo Attraction #4 (Nintendo Ave is complete)
Disney Jr and Voyage of the Little Mermaid Temporarily closed - exterior renovations

Year 6
Disney Jr and Voyage of the Little Mermaid Reopen
Theater of the Stars - demolition and clearing
Sunset Blvd Attraction #1 construction begins

Year 7
Xxx xxxx Official Grand Opening with Attraction #1

Year 8
New xxxxx xxxxxx opens

Year 9
Xxxxx xxxxx Attraction #1 opens

Year 10 (probably 12)
Xxxx xxxx opens along with xxx xxx xxx​

 

[cdunlap]

Year 7
Xxx xxxx Official Grand Opening with Attraction #1

Year 8
New xxxxx xxxxxx opens

Year 9
Xxxxx xxxxx Attraction #1 opens

Year 10 (probably 12)
Xxxx xxxx opens along with xxx xxx xxx

Man, I love the X series of attractions!

 

[Disney Dad 3000]

Man, I love the X series of attractions!

Lot of X-Men stuff on the way in Phase 4.

 

[Miru]

Man, I love the X series of attractions!

Does that mean we have Capcom on board anyway now?

 

[Disney Dad 3000]

Inspiration Campus

As seen with our Building out post, the expansion of Disney’s Hollywood Studios with Nintendo Ave will have a ripple effect across the park, most immediately to its northern half. Whether it’s Nintendo in this blue-sky project, or some other long-range planning 20 years from now that eventually grows the park, choices will be made. One of the more unique ones with our project, something we are calling Inspiration Campus at the moment (hate the name and liable to change that name multiple times), comes to life.

(Highlighted - Demo backstage commences once construction complete, Shaded - vital park infrastructure left intact)

We’ve already seen day 1 demolition taking place in the immediate vicinity of Sunset Boulevard and there will be more to follow in Year 3 of this project, but not before we also complete construction on this new facility across World Drive from DHS proper.

With roughly 58+ acres of land immediately available and suitable acres with which to build upon (highlighted in orange), the campus provides ample space for much of the park’s lost infrastructure and current facilities in use, including but not limited to park upper management, training, holiday decorations, etc. that is lost with the backstage demo. Other activities that may require more immediate access to the park like groundskeeping and custodial will retain backstage locations within the park.

As with park projects, this campus will have phases of its own with all manner of additions and possibilities. Immediately, the vital needs of DHS will be met as noted above with additional staff dining options to complement those existing within park operations, in addition to permanent offices and design space for any WDI staff based in Florida. While not meant to house all of WDI, with the Lake Nona fiasco, the campus provides a great base of operations for permanent Imagineering staff and any on site from Glendale. With the loss of the parking deck behind Toy Story Land, the site will also provide parking for any and all DHS staff as needed, and if the park is ever ready to expand on its southern border behind the Indiana Jones Epic Stunt Spectacular into cast parking, ample parking is available to accommodate the lost spaces.

As far-fetched as it may sound, this site was actually designated as a possible site for guest parking decades earlier, and of course would not be the first time something was transported over World Drive (see SWGE/TSL construction). A bridge will connect the campus with backstage of DHS terminating at the current parking deck. To passersby on World Drive, the external portions of the bridge will feature a more unique architectural style compared to the bridges at Osceola and Buena Vista with possibilities of various seasonal lighting packages. The top surface will be wide enough for two lanes of traffic to shuttle staff back and forth, and provide access for delivery and construction vehicles, as well as be accompanied by walking/bike lanes for anyone choosing those methods for traversing.

With the remaining wealth of acreage, park areas, running/biking trails, picnic spots, green space, etc. will be set aside for all Walt Disney World cast member personal use. The size of the parcel leaves numerous possibilities for expansion of the campus to relocate any other internal operations around the resort and/or expansion of benefits for cast members, housing, etc.

Up Next…
Sunset Boulevard​