Star Wars Land announced for Disney's Hollywood Studios

[jme]

wont muppets "area" be cut off by both toy story and SW? an odd "dead" back area.

Not really... Its separate from Pixar Place by Streets of America currently, and would remain so, as most of Toy Story area is going "behind" midway mania (to the west of it, toward Earful Tower in part of what was Backlot Tour). To the south, we still would see Muppet Area, Lights Motors Action, and a large portion of what used to be Backlot Tour (including Walts Plane, and the show finale).
That's a lot of room, not just some weird floating Muppet island with Toy Story on one side, and Star Wars on the other.

 

[Baltar]

Not really... Its separate from Pixar Place by Streets of America currently, and would remain so, as most of Toy Story area is going "behind" midway mania (to the west of it, toward Earful Tower in part of what was Backlot Tour). To the south, we still would see Muppet Area, Lights Motors Action, and a large portion of what used to be Backlot Tour (including Walts Plane, and the show finale).
That's a lot of room, not just some weird floating Muppet island with Toy Story on one side, and Star Wars on the other.

And if Pizza Planet is rethemed to Muppets you'll have a small Muppets corner. I can accept that! I've heard that rumor with maybe a new Pizza Planet moving to Toy Story Land

 

[FrankLapidus]

I"m not denying the popularity of Star Wars, although I still think it's based on nostalgia rather than on the quality of its newer offerings.

But is adding SW to DHS really going to improve the park as a whole? It sounds to me that DHS is going to be a bigger mish-mash than ever, only with new mish...or..mash...or whatever. What's it about now? Not about making movies, that's for sure. Is it just going to be a reliquary for the off-studio purchases Iger and Eisner made? Is Disney itself going to have much of a presence there, since Animation and OMD are leaving?

Is it going to improve DHS as whole? Yes in my opinion, significantly and unquestionably. The rest is a case of waiting to see what unfolds, the park still looks like it will be film-themed but not focused on the production side of cinema as it has previously been. I don't think Disney is going to have any less real presence there than it has done for years, a couple small stage shows and Fantasmic aside. As another poster has said, Animation was destroyed years ago, it had become a pale imitation of what it once was and created to be.

I'll miss One Man's Dream and don't agree with its removal without it being placed elsewhere but when I think of the core attractions that I have always known at DHS then they would be Tower of Terror, Star Tours, The Great Movie Ride and the Backlot Tour. With that in mind I don't see any sort of significant Disney presence that is being lost, they're expanding on Star Wars which has been a part of the park for nearly thirty years and on Pixar which in my opinion they should have done years ago rather than shoehorning Pixar attractions into other parks where they're not a particularly good thematic fit.

 

[fuentesalex]

More fun with maps.... so since TownTown at Disneyland is staying... I drew out what 14 acres could look like at Disneyland.

Knowing that Disney will most likely keep the same footprint on both lands, I plotted those 14 acres at Hollywood Studios. What do you think? This actually saves the Indy theater (not so much it's backstage area, but a new show could go there). It does take quite a chuck of parking and some of the wooded area.

Thoughts?

 

[jme]

And if Pizza Planet is rethemed to Muppets you'll have a small Muppets corner. I can accept that!

Well, the original plan for that building was Gonzo's Pandemonium Pizza Parlor
I'm 100% down for that. Pizza Planet should be in Toy Story area anyway!

 

[Baltar]

More fun with maps.... so since TownTown at Disneyland is staying... I drew out what 14 acres could look like at Disneyland.

View attachment 106158

Knowing that Disney will most likely keep the same footprint on both lands, I plotted those 14 acres at Hollywood Studios. What do you think? This actually saves the Indy theater (not so much it's backstage area, but a new show could go there). It does take quite a chuck of parking and some of the wooded area.

View attachment 106159

Thoughts?

I like both your guesses. that's what I hope! While it takes a chunk of parking, it's easily reclaimed elsewhere.

 

[Baltar]

Well, the original plan for that building was Gonzo's Pandemonium Pizza Parlor
I'm 100% down for that. Pizza Planet should be in Toy Story area anyway!

Yep I totally agree on both! Bring back a few Muppets meet and greets or a tiny "street show" with some Muppet characters (and a video refurb) and this Muppet fan will be very happy.

 

[Ignohippo]

This is how the new expansion has been explained to me. As always, please take this with a grain of salt because this comes indirectly but from a VERY good source. This is the same person that gave the info about the SW Launch Pad, Gringott's. etc...

Most current buildings remain except for Indy and the bathrooms across from Star Tours (the TLM/Narnia One Man's Dream building over near TSMM goes too). The expansion is simply a re-skinning of the buildings that are already there. This plan was the same basic plan as the one that was rejected two years ago, they just added the "new planet" angle as well as the second attraction (the one where you are caught in the middle of the war).

I have marked it up to show how everything fits within the current park layout. The darker areas are current guest areas or attractions that are being shuttered.

What they did not know, however, was if Attraction #2 was a new attraction or basically just an update to Star Tours. They felt that if it was a new attraction, the entrance would be where Jedi Training is now and it would be built out into the parking lot. Their feeling, though, is that it is just an updated Star Tours.

The Frozen Sing-a-long will most likely remain until their area opens in EPCOT, and then it goes bye-bye.

As for Toy Story, I've shown the new walking paths, as Pixar Place is going to be no more and that walking path (as well as the current entrance and M&G) will most likely be closed.

SOA, LMA and Muppets fate is currently unknown. It is believed they will be part of a Phase 2 (whether it is part of the current budget is unknown, but it likely is). 2017-18 for Toy Story and 2019 for SW is what they're hearing.

None of this is exactly "earth-shattering" after you see it marked up, IMO.

Marni? PhotoDave? Lee? Can anyone else corroborate?

 

[Baltar]

I love your

This is how the new expansion has been explained to me. As always, please take this with a grain of salt because this comes indirectly but from a VERY good source. This is the same person that gave the info about the SW Launch Pad, Gringott's. etc...

Most current buildings remain except for Indy and the bathrooms across from Star Tours (the TLM/Narnia One Man's Dream building over near TSMM goes too). The expansion is simply a re-skinning of the buildings that are already there. This plan was the same basic plan as the one that was rejected two years ago, they just added the "new planet" angle as well as the second attraction (the one where you are caught in the middle of the war).

I have marked it up to show how everything fits within the current park layout. The darker areas are current guest areas or attractions that are being shuttered.

View attachment 106157

What they did not know, however, was if Attraction #2 was a new attraction or basically just an update to Star Tours. They felt that if it was a new attraction, the entrance would be where Jedi Training is now and it would be built out into the parking lot. Their feeling, though, is that it is just an updated Star Tours.

The Frozen Sing-a-long will most likely remain until their area opens in EPCOT, and then it goes bye-bye.

As for Toy Story, I've shown the new walking paths, as Pixar Place is going to be no more and that walking path (as well as the current entrance and M&G) will most likely be closed.

SOA, LMA and Muppets fate is currently unknown. It is believed they will be part of a Phase 2. 2017-18 for Toy Story and 2019 for SW is what they're hearing.

None of this is exactly "earth-shattering" after you see it marked up, IMO.

Marni? PhotoDave? Lee? Can anyone else corroborate?

View attachment 106154
View attachment 106155 View attachment 106156

Love the ideas although it seems pretty obvious from yesterday's announcements being separated from the "Adding Episode 7 locale to Star Tours" announcement that we are getting 2 new attractions plus a revamped Star Tours

 

[bristol's mom]

Considering Star Wars is being called an 'expansion' I'd find it hard to believe it won't be extended into backstage and the parking lot.

Or perhaps it will be a "true expansion" with this scenario.

 

[fuentesalex]

I find it really hard to believe that they will close the echo lake area. The transition from Hollywood Blvd will be too strange. I think it will start after Echo Lake. Also, I think Star Tours is staying. Though I suspect that there may be a different entrance to it from the new land. But then again, I have no intel. I also really do think that they will have a duplicate footprint as in California as it will save them on costs.

 

[PhotoDave219]

This is how the new expansion has been explained to me. As always, please take this with a grain of salt because this comes indirectly but from a VERY good source. This is the same person that gave the info about the SW Launch Pad, Gringott's. etc...

Most current buildings remain except for Indy and the bathrooms across from Star Tours (the TLM/Narnia One Man's Dream building over near TSMM goes too). The expansion is simply a re-skinning of the buildings that are already there. This plan was the same basic plan as the one that was rejected two years ago, they just added the "new planet" angle as well as the second attraction (the one where you are caught in the middle of the war).

I have marked it up to show how everything fits within the current park layout. The darker areas are current guest areas or attractions that are being shuttered.

View attachment 106157

What they did not know, however, was if Attraction #2 was a new attraction or basically just an update to Star Tours. They felt that if it was a new attraction, the entrance would be where Jedi Training is now and it would be built out into the parking lot. Their feeling, though, is that it is just an updated Star Tours.

The Frozen Sing-a-long will most likely remain until their area opens in EPCOT, and then it goes bye-bye.

As for Toy Story, I've shown the new walking paths, as Pixar Place is going to be no more and that walking path (as well as the current entrance and M&G) will most likely be closed.

SOA, LMA and Muppets fate is currently unknown. It is believed they will be part of a Phase 2. 2017-18 for Toy Story and 2019 for SW is what they're hearing.

None of this is exactly "earth-shattering" after you see it marked up, IMO.

Marni? PhotoDave? Lee? Can anyone else corroborate?

View attachment 106154
View attachment 106155 View attachment 106156

Not a clue....

 

[Did Knee]

This is how the new expansion has been explained to me. As always, please take this with a grain of salt

I'm not sure I agree with your locales in your attachments. I'm still leaning toward my post earlier comparing the artwork and a shot I did in google earth. This location seems more reasonable to me.

 

[Capsin4]

Not me. It's an intellectual property I don't care about placed in a park where it clashes with the theming and park-intent.

You think it clashes with the intent of Beastly Kingdom, which was to simply represent fantasy creatures? If anything, I think it completes the intent of the park to represent extant, extinct and fantasy creatures. I don't care for Avatar or Potter at all, but will have fun in those areas for sure.

 

[Ignohippo]

More fun with maps.... so since TownTown at Disneyland is staying... I drew out what 14 acres could look like at Disneyland.

View attachment 106158

Knowing that Disney will most likely keep the same footprint on both lands, I plotted those 14 acres at Hollywood Studios. What do you think? This actually saves the Indy theater (not so much it's backstage area, but a new show could go there). It does take quite a chuck of parking and some of the wooded area.

View attachment 106159

Thoughts?

From my understanding, it will not be exactly the same footprint this time since they are using existing buildings at DHS (and kind of shoehorning it in) but it will be new construction at DL.

 

[Ignohippo]

I'm not sure I agree with your locales in your attachments. I'm still leaning toward my post earlier comparing the artwork and a shot I did in google earth. This location seems more reasonable to me.

Okay. I can only relay what I was told. This is not just something made-up or fan speculation.

 

[dhall]

Love all the people saying "Only Two rides". I forget, how many 'new' rides did Hogsmeade have? How about Diagon Alley? Due to that confundus charm, my memory is a bit fuzzy, but I think there was 1 new ride in each land with a new ride connecting the lands, so 3 total?

Sure, each of those has between 1 and 2 new rides (depending on how you count hippogriff & express), but neither is anywhere near 14 acres. It's not the absolute ride count that's necessarily my problem, its the number of rides for the amount of space (and the rumored budget). For that much land, I'd expect something like 3 epcot pavilions worth of shops & restaurants, numerous entertainment, character interaction, and low-intensity exhibitions, and a 2-3 A-C attractions in addition to the 2 headliners.

I think we'll get some of that, but 14 acres can hold quite a lot in theme part terms.

 

[Ragetti]

Is it going to improve DHS as whole? Yes in my opinion, significantly and unquestionably. The rest is a case of waiting to see what unfolds, the park still looks like it will be film-themed but not focused on the production side of cinema as it has previously been. I don't think Disney is going to have any less real presence there than it has done for years, a couple small stage shows and Fantasmic aside. As another poster has said, Animation was destroyed years ago, it had become a pale imitation of what it once was and created to be.

I'll miss One Man's Dream and don't agree with its removal without it being placed elsewhere but when I think of the core attractions that I have always known at DHS then they would be Tower of Terror, Star Tours, The Great Movie Ride and the Backlot Tour. With that in mind I don't see any sort of significant Disney presence that is being lost, they're expanding on Star Wars which has been a part of the park for nearly thirty years and on Pixar which in my opinion they should have done years ago rather than shoehorning Pixar attractions into other parks where they're not a particularly good thematic fit.

Very much agree. I like both the Laugh Floor and Space Ranger Spin. I'd like them both better in a Pixar-themed land at DHS. It's not a HUGE deal to me, but I would prefer it. Do something "futurey" with that space at the Magic Kingdom.

 

[Ignohippo]

I find it really hard to believe that they will close the echo lake area. The transition from Hollywood Blvd will be too strange. I think it will start after Echo Lake. Also, I think Star Tours is staying. Though I suspect that there may be a different entrance to it from the new land. But then again, I have no intel. I also really do think that they will have a duplicate footprint as in California as it will save them on costs.

It's being value-engineered into the Echo Lake area to take advantage of the existing facilities.

Remember, the began as just adding the Falcon and replacing Backlot Express with the Cantina (which was all it was originally supposed to be as a first phase). It has simply evolved and grown to take up more of the Echo Lake area from those original plans.

 

[DisneyJayL]

For the last time, Star Tours isn't going anywhere!