PHOTOS - Construction walls now block of the back section of Streets of America

[boufa]

My lord... this thread proves that we can never be happy. (Hang on let me sip some cool-aid)

We need these wall, we want these walls... Without these walls we don't get SWL or TSL. We need the closures, because without these closures we don't have anything new. We all seem to agree that DHS needs help, needs these new lands, and needs phase 4, 5 or 6 or whatever. Then why can't we agree that we need these walls, and that they are a good thing. They can't, (ok, they could, but they won't!) build a new theme park next door, and just move the park over there when they are done with it. So yes, mistakes have been made, the park has been neglected, but these walls prove that those days are over... at least in the short term. I will be there NEXT WEEK! and I will be excited to see the walls, and yes I am going to DHS. I agree with an earlier poster, that in the last 1.5 years not much has gone away to make me want to use that day elsewhere.
It is definitely open to debate about when the opening date will be... and none of us have any actual clue when it will be, so its just a statement of our opinion on Disney construction history. (Based on that I'm thinking 2032!)

Not complaining doesn't make me a tool... Complaining, however, doesn't necessarily mean I'm smart.

 

[Andrew C]

My lord... this thread proves that we can never be happy. (Hang on let me sip some cool-aid)

We need these wall, we want these walls... Without these walls we don't get SWL or TSL. We need the closures, because without these closures we don't have anything new. We all seem to agree that DHS needs help, needs these new lands, and needs phase 4, 5 or 6 or whatever. Then why can't we agree that we need these walls, and that they are a good thing. They can't, (ok, they could, but they won't!) build a new theme park next door, and just move the park over there when they are done with it. So yes, mistakes have been made, the park has been neglected, but these walls prove that those days are over... at least in the short term. I will be there NEXT WEEK! and I will be excited to see the walls, and yes I am going to DHS. I agree with an earlier poster, that in the last 1.5 years not much has gone away to make me want to use that day elsewhere.
It is definitely open to debate about when the opening date will be... and none of us have any actual clue when it will be, so its just a statement of our opinion on Disney construction history. (Based on that I'm thinking 2032!)

Not complaining doesn't make me a tool... Complaining, however, doesn't necessarily mean I'm smart.

You are going to get the following response...."it is not about the closures, it is about how long it is going to take to build the new lands. It shouldn't take this long. This is ridiculous" Not my words though...

To me, now that we have a general idea of the time frames for TSL and SWL, I feel better about it. With this type of information, I can be a pretty patient person because I know now that it is coming...

 

[jt04]

You are going to get the following response...."it is not about the closures, it is about how long it is going to take to build the new lands. It shouldn't take this long. This is ridiculous" Not my words though...

To me, now that we have a general idea of the time frames for TSL and SWL, I feel better about it. With this type of information, I can be a pretty patient person because I know now that it is coming...

You won't have to be as patient as was necessary with Pandora IMO. This is all Disney owned.

And they may have already fixed WDI issues of the past. Time will tell.

 

[phi2134]

So is the dhs admission included in the AK admission cost?

 

[Andrew C]

So is the dhs admission included in the AK admission cost?

Yes....if you get park hopper.

 

[doctornick]

Not specific to the topic, but THANK YOU @wdwmagic for finally creating a subforum for the DHS construction.

 

[doctornick]

Does the fact that the (front of) Premiere Theater is not behind a wall imply anything about it? Seems to me that it's certainly a usable theater, so if they intent to have some sort of stage show in this part of the park in the eventual final product, could they re-purpose the theater? Monstropolis seems to be the leading candidate for a theme for the area and I've often suggested that it would be easy to overlay Laugh Floor into the Premiere Theater...

 

[boufa]

You are going to get the following response...."it is not about the closures, it is about how long it is going to take to build the new lands. It shouldn't take this long. This is ridiculous" Not my words though...

To me, now that we have a general idea of the time frames for TSL and SWL, I feel better about it. With this type of information, I can be a pretty patient person because I know now that it is coming...

I'm not sure its fixed, or that Disney IP makes a difference. It might. But until the good and or bad happen, there is no reason to scream that the sky is falling. I am hopeful that someday we will look back and say "Why can't they build things as fast as they did with SWL and TSL?!" Maybe, but as this is day 1 (or at least very early in the process) no one knows if this will be a fast build or a slow build.... thats right ... NO ONE knows. If we start to see signs on THIS project that would lead us directly in one direction or another, then that is a different conversation.

It was widely speculated that construction would start in earnest right after the holiday season passed, and I would say that exactly 1 month after xmas, and 3 weeks after Osborne lights came down would qualify as close enough. Of course walls might just be blocking off an area that is going to sit Idol for months, but I doubt it.

 

[mm121]

Why is the only section walled off right now the small section at the back of SoA (blue)? Why not go ahead and wall the whole thing off (red and blue)?
View attachment 127904

there still has to be access to LMA, though they could go ahead and start where honey i shrunk the kids and the backlot trams area was

I'm not sure its fixed, or that Disney IP makes a difference. It might. But until the good and or bad happen, there is no reason to scream that the sky is falling. I am hopeful that someday we will look back and say "Why can't they build things as fast as they did with SWL and TSL?!" Maybe, but as this is day 1 (or at least very early in the process) no one knows if this will be a fast build or a slow build.... thats right ... NO ONE knows. If we start to see signs on THIS project that would lead us directly in one direction or another, then that is a different conversation.

It was widely speculated that construction would start in earnest right after the holiday season passed, and I would say that exactly 1 month after xmas, and 3 weeks after Osborne lights came down would qualify as close enough. Of course walls might just be blocking off an area that is going to sit Idol for months, but I doubt it.

its hard since disney is so bi polar construction wise

pleasure island sat empty for 5 years then they went full steam ahead

new fantasy land got dragged out, and pandora has been MAJORLY dragged out

while parts of epcot sit empty

so its really just a crap shoot if construction will be fast or slow

lets hope construction can speed up a bit once shanghi gets completed as the quarterly budgets would then hopefully be freed up a bit

since they are obsessed with faking the numbers to make the profits seem extra high rather than devoting that to quick construction

and unfortunately there really is no incentive to finish TSL or SWL anytime before like 2020 since pandora will probably open in late 2017/2018 so they wont be rushing to finish two/three lands all in the same year

 

[jt04]

there still has to be access to LMA, though they could go ahead and start where honey i shrunk the kids and the backlot trams area was


its hard since disney is so bi polar construction wise

pleasure island sat empty for 5 years then they went full steam ahead

new fantasy land got dragged out, and pandora has been MAJORLY dragged out

while parts of epcot sit empty

so its really just a crap shoot if construction will be fast or slow

lets hope construction can speed up a bit once shanghi gets completed as the quarterly budgets would then hopefully be freed up a bit

since they are obsessed with faking the numbers to make the profits seem extra high rather than devoting that to quick construction

and unfortunately there really is no incentive to finish TSL or SWL anytime before like 2020 since pandora will probably open in late 2017/2018 so they wont be rushing to finish two/three lands all in the same year

They are in a position, finally, to add something major to the parks every year for the foreseeable future. I believe this is a great strategy. Now go enjoy Star Wars or a DVD of Frozen and be grateful they fixed those divisions so they could afford to fix P&R.

 

[Mike S]

They are in a position, finally, to add something major to the parks every year for the foreseeable future. I believe this is a great strategy. Now go enjoy Star Wars or a DVD of Frozen and be grateful they fixed those divisions so they could afford to fix P&R.

The mere suggestion that Disney, DISNEY, wasn't able to afford something before now..... I just can't......

 

[pk6zi1]

Disney's Hollywalled Studios

 

[mm121]

Disney's Hollywalled Studios

its part of limited time magic!

Dance parties!! Did i say there will be dance parties?

Dance parties make any park worth 100 dollars a day regardless of construction and closures

 

[brb1006]

its part of limited time magic!

Dance parties!! Did i say there will be dance parties?

Dance parties make any park worth 100 dollars a day regardless of construction and closures

At least guests can hang out with the villains for Club Villain.

 

[ford91exploder]

At least guests can hang out with the villains for Club Villain.

For a additional 100 bucks per person don't forget.

 

[MrPromey]

Yes but the total number of attractions hasn't dropped by 40% as he claimed. Sounds dangerous has a Star Wars film in it.
As noted in other threads, the test of the Pirates tech had the worst guest approval rating in the park, so it was better off without it. Mickey Mouse is now using the space.
I actually want them to replace more things, Beauty and the beast can be replaced, Little Mermaid can be replaced. I understand your point about taking guests out of other lines, but those spaces still have attractions in them.

The biggest reason the park has gone in to decline is that very little has ever been replaced. l don't want to start a comparison argument, but Universal Studios Florida only has two opening day attractions still running. How many things at DHS are over 20 years old?

This is why I didn't want to get into some drawn out discussion about this... I'm not disputing your claim exactly that he is wrong about the 40% but that every attraction closed has been replaced.

See, this is where I can say that if you want to consider the pirate attraction better off closed than open, I can say that the Mickey Meet and Greet was a relocation from it's original home as a small part of the animation experience and not closed so while occupying the physical space of a previous attraction, it isn't a 1:1 replacement and even if we wanted to consider it that, it definitely doesn't have the same capacity as what was there before. I could also use the same logic to argue that an extended trailer for a movie that's been out for over a month isn't in and of itself a real attraction, either.

Then you'll say I'm picking and choosing what I want to call an attraction and I'll just say I'm playing by your rules.

Then I'll point out that American Idol is gone and you'll quickly point out that the frozen sing along is now there but I'll say that it isn't a replacement attraction because it was moved from another part of the park. Then you'll say that where frozen was previously, was in a space that was only used for private events and seasonally for shows to cover extra attendance and I'll point out that before taking it off the park maps as a normal location, it had a different show (Hunchback) that was closed and never replaced....

Point is, we can try playing this shell game as much as we want and get nowhere. There continues to be less and less to actually do in the park. The reduction in attractions (quantity, scale, capacity, value - take your pick), the reduction in live entertainment. Yes, they added fireworks which gives people a reason to head over to this park after Animal Kingdom in the evening, perhaps but the neglect that's caused many to stop considering it a complete park has been over a long period of time which is why closing and reducing even more is being met with contempt by many long-time fans.

I think we can agree Disney's problem is they waited too long. You mentioned Universal (and I fully agree with you) but I'd go one step further and say that with Disney, it isn't even just about replacement but enhancement. If the little mermaid show was popular, why was the screen never upgraded to digital projection? If they didn't want to upgrade to digital, why not at least replace the horribly deteriorating film with a new copy? Why do they still use cheesy laser projections instead of the projection mapping that's getting more and more use across the property? People get nostalgic and develop attachments to things but how many people would complain if they replaced Tarzan in the Great Movie ride with an actual animatronic? How about upgrading some of those effects in the Indy Stunt show or changing out scenes and changing up the script a little to stay with the times? After all, anyone who's seen that show more than once knows to look for the guy in the crazy Hawaiian shirt.

There's a lot they could have done to prevent the need for the bandaid rip they're gearing up to preform right now which would have allowed them to add new stuff and replace existing stuff in an organic and natural way that wouldn't involve multiple closures and construction walls for as far as the eye can see while still charging full price for admission. They could have done something like Toy Story a decade ago, for instance. That kind of thing's, my only real point in all of this. People are like "well how can they ever make things better of you're going to gripe about construction walls and closures?" They could have been keeping the park updated all along.

 

[R W B]

I know MK and Epcot both took a year each to build and I understand that they obviously didn't deal with guests walking around since the park wasn't open but it's not like guests will be walking around these construction sites either. With the HUB redesign in MK, that's in the middle of the park so I can see why that took a while but if Star Wars and toy story land is built on the outside of current guests assessable areas then it really shouldn't take that long IMO.

The scary thing is even though you may be sarcastic, I fear that may be the case. We're not booking any further trips to WDW until DHS is done and Avatar are open. We're thinking 2021 to be safe (and with the way prices skyrocket it gives us time to save up).

I hope the WDW Construction Crews work harder and faster than Trump, Cruz, Bernie, and Hillary are working Iowa right now.

My fiancé and I have been 10 times in the last 6 yrs but I'm thinking our next trip in 2 weeks will be our last one for a while. I've been wanting to do a full trip to universal for a few years now and also make it out to Disneyland and I think with all the closings and construction that's going on at WDW the next couple years will be a great time for those other places and I just might be able to get my fiancé on board too lol.

 

[MrPromey]

There's a lot they could have done to prevent the need for the bandaid rip they're gearing up to preform right now which would have allowed them to add new stuff and replace existing stuff in an organic and natural way that wouldn't involve multiple closures and construction walls for as far as the eye can see while still charging full price for admission. They could have done something like Toy Story a decade ago, for instance. That kind of thing's, my only real point in all of this. People are like "well how can they ever make things better of you're going to gripe about construction walls and closures?" They could have been keeping the park updated all along.

My long drawn-out rant aside, I'm glad they're finally doing something. I think it's going to go over a lot worse for a lot more guests than California Adventure (since people had been avoiding that park all along) but at least they're working to address it. I just hope when they turn their complete eye to Epcot, they don't do it the same way... Maybe what we're seeing with Frozen and Soarin' is a more measured and drawn out approach to that park's redevelopment, though.

 

[Fantasmicguy]

This is why I didn't want to get into some drawn out discussion about this... I'm not disputing your claim exactly that he is wrong about the 40% but that every attraction closed has been replaced.

See, this is where I can say that if you want to consider the pirate attraction better off closed than open, I can say that the Mickey Meet and Greet was a relocation from it's original home as a small part of the animation experience and not closed so while occupying the physical space of a previous attraction, it isn't a 1:1 replacement and even if we wanted to consider it that, it definitely doesn't have the same capacity as what was there before. I could also use the same logic to argue that an extended trailer for a movie that's been out for over a month isn't in and of itself a real attraction, either.

Then you'll say I'm picking and choosing what I want to call an attraction and I'll just say I'm playing by your rules.

Then I'll point out that American Idol is gone and you'll quickly point out that the frozen sing along is now there but I'll say that it isn't a replacement attraction because it was moved from another part of the park. Then you'll say that where frozen was previously, was in a space that was only used for private events and seasonally for shows to cover extra attendance and I'll point out that before taking it off the park maps as a normal location, it had a different show (Hunchback) that was closed and never replaced....

Point is, we can try playing this shell game as much as we want and get nowhere. There continues to be less and less to actually do in the park. The reduction in attractions (quantity, scale, capacity, value - take your pick), the reduction in live entertainment. Yes, they added fireworks which gives people a reason to head over to this park after Animal Kingdom in the evening, perhaps but the neglect that's caused many to stop considering it a complete park has been over a long period of time which is why closing and reducing even more is being met with contempt by many long-time fans.

I think we can agree Disney's problem is they waited too long. You mentioned Universal (and I fully agree with you) but I'd go one step further and say that with Disney, it isn't even just about replacement but enhancement. If the little mermaid show was popular, why was the screen never upgraded to digital projection? If they didn't want to upgrade to digital, why not at least replace the horribly deteriorating film with a new copy? Why do they still use cheesy laser projections instead of the projection mapping that's getting more and more use across the property? People get nostalgic and develop attachments to things but how many people would complain if they replaced Tarzan in the Great Movie ride with an actual animatronic? How about upgrading some of those effects in the Indy Stunt show or changing out scenes and changing up the script a little to stay with the times? After all, anyone who's seen that show more than once knows to look for the guy in the crazy Hawaiian shirt.

There's a lot they could have done to prevent the need for the bandaid rip they're gearing up to preform right now which would have allowed them to add new stuff and replace existing stuff in an organic and natural way that wouldn't involve multiple closures and construction walls for as far as the eye can see while still charging full price for admission. They could have done something like Toy Story a decade ago, for instance. That kind of thing's, my only real point in all of this. People are like "well how can they ever make things better of you're going to gripe about construction walls and closures?" They could have been keeping the park updated all along.

Almost 100% true but know that we can only complain about Disney management and hope they do better in the future. Yes it is stupid that so much has been laid to waste and now a lot has to close at once but it's too late to do anything about it now. The wall going up is the only option at this point. Things closing are the only option at this. But your anger is to management and all complaints should be about them waiting so long not the walls themselves. In conclusion yes they could have been keeping the park updated all along but they haven't been doing that and things will only get better with construction walls.

 

[Rotel1026]

Because LMA closes in April.

You mean there are still attractions open in this park? I thought they were going to do like national parks and make the scenery the main attraction.