*UPDATE*
Over the last week or so I have been compiling information from a group of sources I trust, some of which that I have directly communicated with. By combining all these peoples information in the most rational way possible, this is the best outline I can provide as to what is happening as of right now in regards to the studios.
Phase 1: Pixar place expansion part 1
this will begin construction relatively soon and will exist in behind toy story midway mania where the old studio bungalows and the costume centre from the backlot tour presently sit. those will both be torn down and in their place will be a kids friendly area with a sort of best of disney cloned pixar attractions combined with a new play area that will replace honey I shrunk the kids. the general consensus is that three attractions will be a part of this area, with the most votes going to slinky dog spin, francis's ladybug boogie, and flicks flyers, however its not entirely out of the question to also include one of the new minor attractions they are planning for Shanghai. the play area itself will attempt to consist of a wide range of pixar films as a sort of pixar-esque toon town with various interactive elements small children could participate with. Phase 1 also includes the third track addition for midway mania, and the removal of pirates of the caribbean, and the main backlot tour complex to allow easy access and flow to the area from both sides of the midway mania complex.
Phase 2: Cars miniland
The part two for pixar place, a toned down version of cars land is coming in the place of lights motors action and the rest of the backlot tour. the studios catering company will be repurposed and expanded south to become Flo's cafe, maters junkyard jamboree will sit essentially on the load unload site of the backlot tour and the special effects area, and a toned down clone of radiator springs racers will sit right on top of the old lights motors action amphitheater. as an offshoot of this work semi included in the phase, pizza planet will be going away in favour of a muppet-centric restaurant and mama melrose too will receive a similar treatment in some manner. this will essentially turn the streets of America into muppet studios and while no update to muppets 3-d is included in this phase, more will be discussed about it later on.
Phase 3: Star wars part 1
due to the delay with Avatar and the way that they want to space out openings in the parks, star wars is now pushed back another year or so on its start date with phase two of pixar jumping over it. as previously mentioned star wars is taking over the former sounds dangerous and american idol areas as part of that star wars alley way which is to be constructed. the other side of the street will be constructed over half of what is now echo lake with either most or all of it being filled in over this construction phase. there will be the permanent home of the jedi training academy an unknown attraction at this point entering the american idol building, and various shops and meet and greet areas lining the walk way with interactive elements where you 'use the force' throughout. at the end of the street, backlot express will become the mos eisely cantina
Phase 4: Star wars part 2
this is where things get a bit more complicated. the multipurpose space was originally thought of as convention space for the sale of star wars merch during starwars weekends, however recent changes to the design make this building appear to be of a significantly more advanced and larger scope then once thought. the 'flex space' appears to be capable enough to handle cheerleading competitions to seminars to company presentations to stage shows and cartoons during the busiest times of the year and beyond. If it becomes the case that events believes it can handle all of its capacity that immediately puts the indy show into jeopardy as it will save the company a substantial amount of money from expanding beyond the current park borders and moving backstage essential buildings around. therefore if they decide that this is the case, expect the original plan of going back through the star tours backlot pathway, to instead expand to the north east and take over the indiana jones area. this would now be the site of the new e-ticket major ride which will anchor the land, and mean the end of indy in the florida parks. as for the previously rumoured x wing spinner, that would also be a part of this phase however its debatable if they will actually follow through with that plan at this point due to the significantly larger focus on the pixar expansion over recent months. the response to that and phase 1 of starwars will probably dictate if this will actually be added to the parks or not.
Beyond Phase 4: various
after/ during these projects, there are four things that are without question going to happen. first regarding the one that could possibly be during, disney wants to utilize the beauty and the beast theatre as a showcase for their broadway theatre wing, so as early as phase 3 is being worked on, we could very well see beauty and the beast evicted in favour of a shorter version of their Aladdin Broadway show, with new shows coming in every few years as shows finish up national tours and begin making more prolonged runs in regional theatres. besides this, there are several projects lined up that will definitely happen but after the first 4 phases. first and foremost, the great movie ride is getting a redesign with some of the movies swapped out i favour of more prominent titles, the animatronics spruced up, and trackless technology replacing the old ride vehicles. next theres a new film that will be made for muppet vision 3-d as well as depending on the success of the show that ABC just greenlighted a muppet attraction to compliment the muppet studios land (although the latter is more of a long shot). Finally fantasmic is going to bite the bullet and be replaced with an all new nighttime spectacular of some kind.
as for timelines on these projects, you can probably be safe to expect phase 1 of toystory for sometime later next year. phase 2 will coincide with avatar's opening ideally, roughly 2018 pre christmas, phase 3 will start when construction is midway on phase 2, with an opening date ideally around late summer 2019, and hopefully if everything goes right phase 4 will be open in time for the 50th anniversary in 2021.
its an exciting time for walt disney world and the new disney's hollywood adventure!
Is there any truth? It's from MiceChat.
That sounds like it could be done for $2.8 billion, including new infrastructure. Pixar sounds meh to me, though.
