Star Wars Land announced for Disney's Hollywood Studios

[Adam N]

I hope they retheme star tours to a ride where you like travel through the human body. Call it... Body Battles. Or Physical Wars. Or another name.

 

[PizzaPlanet]

He's referring to the idea of connecting SWL to TS by going behind Muppets, but that has it's own set of challenges and would be an even more roundabout connection.

Don't you mean Rainbow Connection?

 

[Mike S]

Honestly, I think that the connecting of Star Tours to SWL won't be that difficult. This could be easily achieved by building an elevated walkway/ bridge from Commissary Lane/Sci-Fi Diner to the Muppets Courtyard. This would go right where the beginning of New York Street was. Then the entrance to Star Wars Land would be around the current location of Jedi Training Academy... Once you walk pass Star Tours you would walk under the Muppets walkway down New York Street. If done right, you could go into the Muppets Courtyard without being overwhelmed by Star Wars Land while connecting the old and new Star Wars.

I don't think its a good idea to have just one way in and out of Muppets. If they cared that much about including it they would just build SWL next to Star Tours in the first place and avoid this trouble.

 

[jt04]

Not likely. They won't build a brand new SW Land and make you enter through a narrow passageway behind Muppet Land. There will be a much more manageable way in. If they somehow connect Star Tours to SW Land behind muppets I would assume it would be a re-routed entrance/exit for Star Tours but no way back out to echo lake area.

This would only need to be one option. They could have another entrance on the other side. Perfect solution.

 

[jt04]

I don't think its a good idea to have just one way in and out of Muppets. If they cared that much about including it they would just build SWL next to Star Tours in the first place and avoid this trouble.

The same configuration will exist. You will enter/exit just like you always have. Just into renthemed areas.

 

[GoofGoof]

This would only need to be one option. They could have another entrance on the other side. Perfect solution.

Other side of what? All the way over by Toy Story? There will need to be an actual entrance to Star Wars Land. With the elaborate rock work and the overall look based on the concept art I can't see them having the big dramatic reveal for entering the land being an alleyway behind some buildings.

 

[SCOTLORR]

Has anyone considered the idea that Muppets is just gonna close once SWL opens? Think about it, closing it now would just be a bad idea capacity wise, telling why they're currently keeping it open. But once SWL is close to opening (Around 2019) they demo muppets courtyard thus connecting it to star tours. And i understand that pizza planet is currently rumored to be getting re-themed to muppets, but I doubt it's gonna be so expensive that it will be a must keep by the time SWL is close to opening.

 

[captainmoch]

My theory is that there will be a Space Mountain-esque long tunnel to walk through after you exit Star Tours leading to Star Wars Land, and it will be entirely enclosed and slightly elevated above the service roads for Muppets Courtyard. I would also add an update to Star Tours that makes it always end on the new planet, to get that Hogwarts Express-style experience. The long walkway afterwards could just be themed to part of the Star Tours port somehow. (Also, there'd still need to be an exit out of Star Tours back to Echo Lake of course, so people can get strollers/wheelchairs and such.)

 

[GoofGoof]

Has anyone considered the idea that Muppets is just gonna close once SWL opens? Think about it, closing it now would just be a bad idea capacity wise, telling why they're currently keeping it open. But once SWL is close to opening (Around 2019) they demo muppets courtyard thus connecting it to star tours. And i understand that pizza planet is currently rumored to be getting re-themed to muppets, but I doubt it's gonna be so expensive that it will be a must keep by the time SWL is close to opening.

If they were going to demo it they wouldn't renovate it now even if it is dirt cheap. The restaurant worked fine as is. They could have also converted mama melrose into a SW themed restaurant.

 

[SCOTLORR]

If they were going to demo it they wouldn't renovate it now even if it is dirt cheap. The restaurant worked fine as is. They could have also converted mama melrose into a SW themed restaurant.

But the restaurant didn't work fine as is. It was a lame arcade restaurant with terrible pizza. Plus it was themed to Toy Story in an area named 'Muppets Courtyard'. I wouldn't consider that fine

 

[jt04]

Other side of what? All the way over by Toy Story? There will need to be an actual entrance to Star Wars Land. With the elaborate rock work and the overall look based on the concept art I can't see them having the big dramatic reveal for entering the land being an alleyway behind some buildings.

It showed clearly on the artwork that was replaced a few days ago.

 

[GoofGoof]

But the restaurant didn't work fine as is. It was a lame arcade restaurant with terrible pizza. Plus it was themed to Toy Story in an area named 'Muppets Courtyard'. I wouldn't consider that fine

None of those are new issues. The place existed for years as it was. If muppet courtyard is gone in a few years why would it suddenly matter now that the theme didn't match? All that I'm saying is that it makes no sense to theme it to muppets now and destroy it in a few years.

 

[GoofGoof]

It showed clearly on the artwork that was replaced a few days ago.

What showed clearly? The ally behind muppets?

 

[SCOTLORR]

None of those are new issues. The place existed for years as it was. If muppet courtyard is gone in a few years why would it suddenly matter now that the theme didn't match? All that I'm saying is that it makes no sense to theme it to muppets now and destroy it in a few years.

True, Im just trying to make sense of it. Maybe the answer is that muppets courtyard's days are numbered, maybe its not.

 

[CJR]

None of those are new issues. The place existed for years as it was. If muppet courtyard is gone in a few years why would it suddenly matter now that the theme didn't match? All that I'm saying is that it makes no sense to theme it to muppets now and destroy it in a few years.

I'm not saying the makeover isn't cheap, but with the amount of time and money they're taking to renovate the restaurant, it's definitely more than what they could have done. That's a sign right there that this isn't just a holdover. It wouldn't make sense otherwise, as you said.

We can only hope that the people in charge of this know what they are doing and have a good thematic idea on how to tie it all together. What we do know is Muppets and Star Wars will be close to each other, regardless of the location of SWL.

 

[PorterRedkey]

People have already pointed out why they wouldn't connect Star Tours to a SoA-based SWL from the "back" -- it would prevent backstage access to Pizza Planet/Mama Melrose which is kind of an issue for food service places.

More logical would be to that the Star Wars "street" replacing the current NY street. They can have some shops/restaurant off the side of it, where HISTK currently is (and possible a small cafe replacing/in the vicinity of Writer's shop). Would that passageway be a "choke point"? I don't think it would be anywhere as bad ever as when the Osbourne Lights were there. It's actually fairly wide for a guest path.

I was referring to this photo:

New York Street would be wider, so I guess that would be better - like you said it worked for Osbourne Light Displays . I am just having trouble picturing where you would get into the "Muppets courtyard" if SWL took up all of NY street. Would there just be an opening from SWL to the Muppet's area? I am anxious to find out what is going to happen with this land and this park.

 

[WDWFANSINCE81]

First time posting but have read the boards for a long time. Not an insider at all but someone who has worked for the company for many years some time ago. First, I think the simplest theory is that Star Tours will NOT connect to SWL. Truly there is no need. Star Tours is its own thing just as SWL will be its own. People are fooling themselves thinking Disney will spend money creating an alley, or tunnel, passage into the new land. Second, if Indy and Echo Lake will be the Phase 3 pad, who says that more Star Wars wouldn't be in the cards. Based on the success of Force and the buzz over the Rogue trailer...I can easily seeing more Star Wars vs. a different IP. That would make Star Tours connection to the new land moot. It's just a bit early create all these elaborate stretches of the imagination to make Star Tours connect to SWL...I just don't think Disney sees it as an issue.

 

[jt04]

What showed clearly? The ally behind muppets?

No, the artwork on the construction walls that was just replaced showed one of the entrances near TSL.

 

[Mike S]

As much as I love Star Wars I would not want a second huge land in the same park. It would be overkill.

 

[doctornick]

How would you get to Muppets area? I think that's the big question. If you can't connect Star Tours to SW Land from the back due to needing backstage access to Muppets area and you really can't connect in the front without cutting it off from the rest of the park it really makes it almost impossible. Maybe some sort of tunnel or overpass could be used but that would be expensive and logistically challenging.

Well... the same way you get in now -- having an entrance off of this new Star Wars area that replaces the NY street. It would, of course, be a very sudden transition, but it could be a relatively disguised barrier (archway/foliage) between the two.

If they wanted to go with this idea though and avoid the sudden transition, they could have this new Star Wars path along the current NY street be graded and go upwards in the middle between the main Star Wars area and Star Tours, allowing for a path to enter the Muppets area from Sci-Fi dine in under this Star Wars street via a tunnel. The street is probably long enough that it could allow for at to happen, but I doubt they'd put in the effort.