Star Wars Land announced for Disney's Hollywood Studios

[dothebrdwalk]

I would be OK closing Star Tours and/or finding a new IP for it once GE opens... It's served its purpose. I guess it can handle a lot of people per hour?

One invited journalist specifically asked if Star Tours would close when this opened and Disney said no. I can't find the article now, but take my word. I'd assume that they'll keep it open at first as a consolation prize for those who can't do the line/can't get in or on a ride

 

[Marc Davis Fan]

One invited journalist specifically asked if Star Tours would close when this opened and Disney said no. I can't find the article now, but take my word. I'd assume that they'll keep it open at first as a consolation prize for those who can't do the line/can't get in or on a ride

Insiders here have confirmed that Disney’s current plan is to keep ST in operation for a few years, and then retheme it with a new IP.

I just wish that during its remaining time as ST, they made it prequel/OT-based so that it has something special to offer / is not made redundant by GE. But again, that’s literally wishful thinking, unfortunately.

 

[dothebrdwalk]

Insiders here have confirmed that Disney’s current plan is to keep ST in operation for a few years, and then retheme it with a new IP.

I just wish that during its remaining time as ST, they made it prequel/OT-based so that it has something special to offer / is not made redundant by GE. But again, that’s literally wishful thinking, unfortunately.

Do we have an idea of Launch Bay? That seems like a lot of Star Wars redundancy in 1 park if they don't clean it up quickly. Can you imagine going into Launch Bay after Galaxy's Edge opens, almost depressing lol.

 

[Marc Davis Fan]

Do we have an idea of Launch Bay? That seems like a lot of Star Wars redundancy in 1 park if they don't clean it up quickly. Can you imagine going into Launch Bay after Galaxy's Edge opens, almost depressing lol.

I think they could keep Launch Bay relevant by making it an explicitly "behind-the-scenes" experience, perhaps even with actual, original props from some of the films. That would really complement the GE offerings, and actually draw a lot of the Star Wars fans out of GE (especially to see original props), thus making room for some of the people waiting to enter the land, etc. (Meanwhile MMRR will draw Disney / theme park fans out of GE with the same result.)

By the way, I'm pretty sure Launch Bay is already depressing.

 

[MisterPenguin]

so what I wish for is.. we are seeing all these multi-story buildings with interior atrium spaces.. etc.. I hope the guest areas are not all just GROUND FLOOR! But given accessibility stuff.. I fear it will be

Sorry, everything will be ground floor except:

• maybe CMs up on the bridges
• the queue of SW:SR will go up one or two levels allowing you to look out the window and down onto the MF
• part of RotR goes up to a second level, then they push you out of space

 

[JohnD]

Insiders here have confirmed that Disney’s current plan is to keep ST in operation for a few years, and then retheme it with a new IP.

I just wish that during its remaining time as ST, they made it prequel/OT-based so that it has something special to offer / is not made redundant by GE. But again, that’s literally wishful thinking, unfortunately.

That's been my observation already. Over the holidays and on MLK weekend, I only noticed prequel trilogy/OT themes. But it could have been timing for the several times I rode. I agree that's how it can be separate from SW:GE since SW:GE is based on a time and place during the sequel trilogy.

 

[flynnibus]

Sorry, everything will be ground floor except:

• maybe CMs up on the bridges
• the queue of SW:SR will go up one or two levels allowing you to look out the window and down onto the MF
• part of RotR goes up to a second level, then they push you out of space

I don't even need to be on the outside stuff... but we have these buildings like these..


nearly 5 stories tall.. and it can't be experienced. And there are lots of structures like this.. really curious to see how it pans out on foot.

Immersion is not a single plane... but theme parks need to be now :/

 

[ToTBellHop]

The only way out of FOP is through the gift shop. TSL doesn’t have a gift shop so there’s that.

I’ve ridden FoP exactly once (waited for the kids to be tall enough) and there was no gift shop we were forced through. Was I tripping?

 

[hpyhnt 1000]

TL;DR - Orlando's SWL has advanced enough that we can begin to see how the area around Rise of the Resistance will be different from Anaheim's - DHS version is wider and more square whereas DLR version is narrower and longer. Pluses and minuses to each I'm sure. And satellite views have been updated enough that we can make direct aerial comparisons between both versions. These show the DHS version does not lack for overall space compared to DLR.

----------------------------------------

With the latest aerials, the layout differences around the Rise of the Resistance area are starting to become clear.

Anaheim:

Orlando:

I've scribbled some boxes and arrows to try to highlight differences.

• The yellow box is the RotR queue entrance structure (making an educated guess for DHS). You can see how the relative location and orientation is different on each coast.
• The red box is the backstage support building.
• The dashed brown line is the X-wing replica area. In Anaheim, there looks to be a small plaza between the X-wing and backstage building. In Orlando, the probable spot for the X-wing seems smaller (no plaza) with an adjacent barrier themed as a crumbling wall.
• Arrow A: note how the Orlando backstage building will be almost right across the path from the exit of RotR, whereas in Anaheim it's significantly farther down the path.
• Arrow B: you can see how narrow Anaheim's SWL becomes relative to Orlando's. And similar to the backstage building, note how different the location of the X-wing will likely be between the 2 coasts.

The area around RotR in Anaheim will be much longer but narrower than the one in Orlando. It'll probably be like the difference of walking along a street or alleyway (Anaheim) versus through a square or plaza (Orlando). I suspect Anaheim's might have a better sense of journey or discovery as you'll walk along and see things revealed in the distance, whereas Orlando's will might seem more abrupt but also more enveloping in certain spots. Pluses and minuses to each I'm sure.

Relatedly, I remember this subject came up about 1.5 years ago:

@marni1971 rarely do I ask you questions, but particular people on the Disneyland thread are trying to claim that DL has plenty of room for their Star Wars Land, while DHS's is grasping for space. They're using, as evidence, the fact that there's less room to the left of Alcatraz in DHS than there is in DL.
View attachment 225713
View attachment 225715

Could you give the reason for the difference? Or at least say the reason isn't that the land is "grasping for space" in DHS?

@marni1971 was kind enough to dispel the assertion that DHS was lacking for space, and @egg provided some additional explanation:

Tell 'em they're wrong.

SWL DHS could have been built bigger from day one within the existing park boundary.

The MiceChat report doesn't disagree with anything. It states that there is more room to the left of Battle Escape, which is true.

But then they spin it as a good thing on DL's part, much like many of our neighbors here do. As though DL is electing to have more space to the left of Battle Escape. That isn't true.

The land isn't squished in DHS, it's squished in DL. On the west coast, the area to the left of Battle Escape is too thin for the showbuilding to be any closer. In the swamps, the area was wide enough for them to put it closer. This was a choice on DHS's part, and a necessity on DL's. It's a weird thing to wrap your head around... there is more space because there is less space, and less space because there is more. That's why people are having such a hard time. But in no way is the land gasping for space in DHS.

And when future aerials prove this, I'll be quoting myself.

Satellite map views have been updated enough that we can make direct comparisons.

Anaheim:

Orlando:

Below I've used Anaheim's SWL as a base map and overlaid it with the approximate locations/boundaries in Orlando:

• Rise of the Resistance queue entrance (A=Orlando, AA=Anaheim)
• Backstage building (B=Orlando, BB=Anaheim)
• X-wing replica (C=Orlando, CC=Anaheim)

And, for kicks, here's a full view of Anaheim's SWL overlaid with the outlines of Orlando's (give or take a few feet):

 

[JenniferS]

And score another attraction for voice actor Jim Cummings who many will know for Pooh,Tigger, Darkwing Duck, and especially the opening narration for Illuminations...

I had NO IDEA. I can hear it now, but had never put it together before. Kind of like Buzz Lightyear being the Pure Michigan voice.

 

[jt04]

Star Tours and Launch Bay should be exclusively OT and PT once GE opens IMO.

And while they last.

 

[RSoxNo1]

In the grand scheme of how awesome and detailed this land looks, how they've dotted every i, and how many hundreds of millions were lavished on it, making the cockpit of this key visual element a flat instead of 3-dimensional, has got to be the most perplexing choice thus far.

Since the $ savings of doing so are almost nil vis-a-vis total land cost, I'm genuinely curious about the reasons behind the choice (and I don't buy "it looks exactly the same to guests on the ground", b/c the cockpit doesn't look 3-D below - whether that's psychological because I've seen aerials or the lack of any hint of depth (i.e., the front windshield seen through the glass ; hull sloping away), I don't know).

Edit: Has it been ruled out that they are still going to add the bulk of the cockpit? This pic makes it look like something could be attached to that black part...

The model shows it as fully dimensional, so I'll give them the benefit of the doubt and assume it's forthcoming:
View attachment 353713

I can't tell what is painted here? What are you talking about?

 

[Darth Snips]

TL;DR - Orlando's SWL has advanced enough that we can begin to see how the area around Rise of the Resistance will be different from Anaheim's - DHS version is wider and more square whereas DLR version is narrower and longer. Pluses and minuses to each I'm sure. And satellite views have been updated enough that we can make direct aerial comparisons between both versions. These show the DHS version does not lack for overall space compared to DLR.

----------------------------------------

With the latest aerials, the layout differences around the Rise of the Resistance area are starting to become clear.

Anaheim:
View attachment 353802

Orlando:
View attachment 353829

I've scribbled some boxes and arrows to try to highlight differences.

• The yellow box is the RotR queue entrance structure (making an educated guess for DHS). You can see how the relative location and orientation is different on each coast.
• The red box is the backstage support building.
• The dashed brown line is the X-wing replica area. In Anaheim, there looks to be a small plaza between the X-wing and backstage building. In Orlando, the probable spot for the X-wing seems smaller (no plaza) with an adjacent barrier themed as a crumbling wall.
• Arrow A: note how the Orlando backstage building will be almost right across the path from the exit of RotR, whereas in Anaheim it's significantly farther down the path.
• Arrow B: you can see how narrow Anaheim's SWL becomes relative to Orlando's. And similar to the backstage building, note how different the location of the X-wing will likely be between the 2 coasts.

The area around RotR in Anaheim will be much longer but narrower than the one in Orlando. It'll probably be like the difference of walking along a street or alleyway (Anaheim) versus through a square or plaza (Orlando). I suspect Anaheim's might have a better sense of journey or discovery as you'll walk along and see things revealed in the distance, whereas Orlando's will might seem more abrupt but also more enveloping in certain spots. Pluses and minuses to each I'm sure.

Relatedly, I remember this subject came up about 1.5 years ago:



@marni1971 was kind enough to dispel the assertion that DHS was lacking for space, and @egg provided some additional explanation:





Satellite map views have been updated enough that we can make direct comparisons.

Anaheim:
View attachment 353805

Orlando:
View attachment 353806

Below I've used Anaheim's SWL as a base map and overlaid it with the approximate locations/boundaries in Orlando:

• Rise of the Resistance queue entrance (A=Orlando, AA=Anaheim)
• Backstage building (B=Orlando, BB=Anaheim)
• X-wing replica (C=Orlando, CC=Anaheim)

View attachment 353820

And, for kicks, here's a full view of Anaheim's SWL overlaid with the outlines of Orlando's (give or take a few feet):
View attachment 353821

This is excellent! Thank you for this! I had been wanting to write out something like this myself but had not found the time. So the big takeaway seems to be that the village should feel identical in both parks, but the Resistance base could have a very different flow in each location.

By the way, the only thing I would add is this area may not exist in DHS:

In DL this is the third entrance. In this photo from DHS, you can see the rock work come to an abrupt stop at the circled area. To me, this implies a backstage space with a gate going up at the edge of the rock work.

 

[RandySavage]

I can't tell what is painted here? What are you talking about?

I did this illustration to show. The left is the actual model. The right is the current state of the transport ship. The rear 3/4 are dimensional, like the model ship. The front quarter, the cockpit area, is currently a painted 'flat'.

 

[sedati]

I can't tell what is painted here? What are you talking about?

I did this illustration to show. The left is the actual model. The right is the current state of the transport ship. The rear 3/4 are dimensional, like the model ship. The front quarter, the cockpit area, is currently a painted 'flat'.
View attachment 353835

If we can't see it, then there's no reason to finish it. The cockpit "glass" is a concern, but I'm not sure how well we'll even see that aspect from the land.

 

[RandySavage]

If we can't see it, then there's no reason to finish it. The cockpit "glass" is a concern, but I'm not sure how well we'll even see that aspect from the land.

We'll see how visible it is to guests and from what areas. In their publicity moneyshot, though, it doesn't look like the cockpit has depth to my eyes. And flats do not hold up when viewed from oblique angles.

In light of everything they're spending & doing in this land (i.e., all the painstaking detail like the above & beyond needle spires in the distance), don't you find this a very strange corner to cut on a major wienie (assuming it's not forthcoming)? You could probably hire a couple guys on Angie's List to finish dimensionalizing the cockpit for less than $1,200.

 

[MisterPenguin]

TL;DR - Orlando's SWL has advanced enough that we can begin to see how the area around Rise of the Resistance will be different from Anaheim's - DHS version is wider and more square whereas DLR version is narrower and longer. Pluses and minuses to each I'm sure. And satellite views have been updated enough that we can make direct aerial comparisons between both versions. These show the DHS version does not lack for overall space compared to DLR.

----------------------------------------

With the latest aerials, the layout differences around the Rise of the Resistance area are starting to become clear.

Anaheim:
View attachment 353802

Orlando:
View attachment 353829

I've scribbled some boxes and arrows to try to highlight differences.

• The yellow box is the RotR queue entrance structure (making an educated guess for DHS). You can see how the relative location and orientation is different on each coast.
• The red box is the backstage support building.
• The dashed brown line is the X-wing replica area. In Anaheim, there looks to be a small plaza between the X-wing and backstage building. In Orlando, the probable spot for the X-wing seems smaller (no plaza) with an adjacent barrier themed as a crumbling wall.
• Arrow A: note how the Orlando backstage building will be almost right across the path from the exit of RotR, whereas in Anaheim it's significantly farther down the path.
• Arrow B: you can see how narrow Anaheim's SWL becomes relative to Orlando's. And similar to the backstage building, note how different the location of the X-wing will likely be between the 2 coasts.

The area around RotR in Anaheim will be much longer but narrower than the one in Orlando. It'll probably be like the difference of walking along a street or alleyway (Anaheim) versus through a square or plaza (Orlando). I suspect Anaheim's might have a better sense of journey or discovery as you'll walk along and see things revealed in the distance, whereas Orlando's will might seem more abrupt but also more enveloping in certain spots. Pluses and minuses to each I'm sure.

Relatedly, I remember this subject came up about 1.5 years ago:



@marni1971 was kind enough to dispel the assertion that DHS was lacking for space, and @egg provided some additional explanation:





Satellite map views have been updated enough that we can make direct comparisons.

Anaheim:
View attachment 353805

Orlando:
View attachment 353806

Below I've used Anaheim's SWL as a base map and overlaid it with the approximate locations/boundaries in Orlando:

• Rise of the Resistance queue entrance (A=Orlando, AA=Anaheim)
• Backstage building (B=Orlando, BB=Anaheim)
• X-wing replica (C=Orlando, CC=Anaheim)

View attachment 353820

And, for kicks, here's a full view of Anaheim's SWL overlaid with the outlines of Orlando's (give or take a few feet):
View attachment 353821

Good work!

Check this out which I posted somewhere some time ago....

 

[drod1985]

Star Tours and Launch Bay should be exclusively OT and PT once GE opens IMO.

And while they last.

I don’t disagree on Star Tours (though I think full randomization is the way to go).

Launch Bay will always be used to promote the latest films. Though I’d like to see Launch Bay become something non-Star Wars soon after GE is opened.

 

[Chet Dakota]

I think adding in a weaker, “old fashioned” attraction would bring down the overall quality of GE. The GE attractions should all be “WOW!”-inducing, especially because many people would be confused and think ST is one of the big new attractions. But this is just my humble opinion; I know and respect that others differ greatly.

You make a good point. Would still like to see it connected.

 

[wdisney9000]

Pardon for asking, as Im sure its been asked a bazllion times, but will Star Tours remain where it currently is or be relocated?