Star Wars Land announced for Disney's Hollywood Studios

[roj2323]

What's being formed next to the Muppets building?
View attachment 196185

My understanding is the SWL entry tunnel is also going to serve as an off stage entry point bridge that will allow cast to get from costuming to the back side of GMR off stage. (guests go under while cast walks overhead) I have yet to hear it be confirmed yet however and I'm still curious if it's going to be for vehicles or just pedestrians. Anyway regardless the major form work over by Muppets is the retaining wall that will hold something up, most likely a retaining wall that will get back filled to make the grade separation.

 

[Mike S]

That's the part that really fascinates me about the Star Wars Land clones shared on each coast. In Florida they are adding Star Wars Land to a half-day park (DHS) that only has 13 attractions currently - 5 of which are rides, and will have 9 rides total once Star Wars Land opens. In California they are adding Star Wars Land to a two-day park (Disneyland) that has 46 attractions currently - 34 of which are rides, and will have 36 rides total once Star Wars Land opens.

DHS in 2019 with Toy Story Land and Star Wars Land
16 Attractions - 9 Rides, 5 are E Tickets (ToT, RnRC, Star Tours, Star Wars #1, Star Wars #2)

Disneyland in 2019 with Star Wars Land
48 Attractions - 36 Rides, 13 are E Tickets (Space Mt., Star Tours, Submarines, Matterhorn Bobselds, Small World, Big Thunder Mt., Indiana Jones Adventure, Jungle Cruise, Pirates, Haunted Mansion, Splash Mt., Star Wars #1, Star Wars #2)

Those two parks couldn't be more different from each other. And yet they are cloning the exact same Star Wars project and its rides for each park to open within a year of each other. How that works in those two very different environments should be quite a study.

My guess is the same thing for both: IoA when HP opened but much, much worse.

Wall to wall people, full parking lots, backed up roads, dogs and cats living together, MASS HYSTERIA!!!

 

[marni1971]

Yes, but DHS SWL will have the advantage of not going first. Any defects in plans will be discovered first at DL..

It'll be far too late by then. Should it happen.

 

[Goofyernmost]

It'll be far too late by then. Should it happen.

Yea, but, at least then they can just postpone the opening and not get a huge crowd of people in there with nothing to do. I think it would be wise to experiment with a smaller audience.

 

[SirLink]

Yea, but, at least then they can just postpone the opening and not get a huge crowd of people in there with nothing to do. I think it would be wise to experiment with a smaller audience.

Similar is true to Disneyland they could postpone it. They don't want that, also they wouldn't be able to 'experiment with a smaller audience'.

Feel free to believe me if you want to.

 

[Goofyernmost]

Similar is true to Disneyland they could postpone it. They don't want that, also they wouldn't be able to 'experiment with a smaller audience'.

Feel free to believe me if you want to.

I never said they wanted too. I said that staggering offers them the chance to postpone if something big goes wrong in Anaheim. It is still better to upset a smaller audience then a big one which is what WDW is likely to become when the land opens up. It's not experiment it's more hedging their bets. If all goes well, they will open when scheduled, if not then they can put it off, and people will know why. WDW was the whipping boy for MM+, now it's DLR for SWL, if needed.

 

[SirLink]

I never said they wanted too. I said that staggering offers them the chance to postpone if something big goes wrong in Anaheim. It is still better to upset a smaller audience then a big one which is what WDW is likely to become when the land opens up. It's not experiment it's more hedging their bets. If all goes well, they will open when scheduled, if not then they can put it off, and people will know why. WDW was the whipping boy for MM+, now it's DLR for SWL, if needed.

If there was design defect they would have to postpone it by at least 2 years, which they don't want Disneyland has more guests than DHS so I fail to see your argument if anything it would be the other way round....

 

[Goofyernmost]

If there was design defect they would have to postpone it by at least 2 years, which they don't want Disneyland has more guests than DHS so I fail to see your argument if anything it would be the other way round....

Park for park perhaps, (somewhat doubtful once it is open) but, not per resort. With the new stuff, DHS will increase the overall numbers of people at the resort. DHS, not so much. Let's not get carried away to much on this anyway, it is just an opinion on why it might be a good thing for Disney to stagger it and make a guess on one of the possible reasons. Another would be you can't have the big wheels at both parks on the same day for the grand opening anyway and you know they are going to want to be there.

Plus strictly on the construction aspect, all of these jobs are done in sections, ground work, infrastructure, foundations, steel work, finish work (both art work and regular finish) landscaping, clean up. Usually all done by separate groups of skills. Many will be on both projects at one point or the other, be it labor or management. It saves on finding skilled people for both jobs and extends the sub-contractors to a possible second location thus making the process run smoother and even cheaper for all we know.

 

[BrianLo]

The pit is equivalent to October 2016 (six months behind DL). The walls around the Battle Escape attraction more like December 2016 (4 months behind).

I think the most telling part will be when vertical steel arrives.

Certainly the project is behind, but more importantly it doesn't seem to be falling further behind.

From what I'm aware of the 2019 was an under-promise, over-deliver type situation. Internal projections are still quite hopeful for late-late 2018 for DL and late spring/early summer for WDW. They've built themselves in 6 months of possible delays by promising both projects for 2019.

 

[ToTBellHop]

The pit is equivalent to October 2016 (six months behind DL). The walls around the Battle Escape attraction more like December 2016 (4 months behind).

I think the most telling part will be when vertical steel arrives.

Certainly the project is behind, but more importantly it doesn't seem to be falling further behind.

From what I'm aware of the 2019 was an under-promise, over-deliver type situation. Internal projections are still quite hopeful for late-late 2018 for DL and late spring/early summer for WDW. They've built themselves in 6 months of possible delays by promising both projects for 2019.

Without delays, DHS could do May 2019.

 

[dreamscometrue]

That's the part that really fascinates me about the Star Wars Land clones shared on each coast. In Florida they are adding Star Wars Land to a half-day park (DHS) that only has 13 attractions currently - 5 of which are rides, and will have 9 rides total once Star Wars Land opens. In California they are adding Star Wars Land to a two-day park (Disneyland) that has 46 attractions currently - 34 of which are rides, and will have 36 rides total once Star Wars Land opens.

I understand what you're saying, but DHS desperately needs this, and honestly, where else at WDW would it fit? I agree that it's going to be crazy busy (hopefully parking infrastructure, roads, etc. help), but I'll have no trouble spending full days at MK, DAK and Epcot...especially if they continue to add attractions and refurbish others. I've always been able to spend much of a day at DAK, and even longer soon with Pandora. And, I'm excited about all rumoured for Epcot, and MK, in the next 5 years. As a huge SW fan,I will of course visit DHS (some of my fave attractions are there currently) to spend time at SWL, but the other parks, DS and the water parks will still get much of my time.

 

[britain]

I agree that there will be some learning that takes place at Disneyland that will be implemented at Disney World. But it will most likely be of the operational kind, it won't have anything to do with the design of the attractions. They might discover that the guests dawdle and don't empty out of one of the pre show areas, requiring two employees staffed there instead of one. Or more adults than expected are wanting to close out the cantina on Friday nights. That sort of thing.

It's possible that some of the learning might be like "we actually don't need so much stroller parking, we need more queue switchback posts" so you might see something like that, but nothing very substantial can be changed between projects in six months.

 

[DDLand]

That's the part that really fascinates me about the Star Wars Land clones shared on each coast. In Florida they are adding Star Wars Land to a half-day park (DHS) that only has 13 attractions currently - 5 of which are rides, and will have 9 rides total once Star Wars Land opens. In California they are adding Star Wars Land to a two-day park (Disneyland) that has 46 attractions currently - 34 of which are rides, and will have 36 rides total once Star Wars Land opens.

DHS in 2019 with Toy Story Land and Star Wars Land
16 Attractions - 9 Rides, 5 are E Tickets (ToT, RnRC, Star Tours, Star Wars #1, Star Wars #2)

Disneyland in 2019 with Star Wars Land
48 Attractions - 36 Rides, 13 are E Tickets (Space Mt., Star Tours, Submarines, Matterhorn Bobselds, Small World, Big Thunder Mt., Indiana Jones Adventure, Jungle Cruise, Pirates, Haunted Mansion, Splash Mt., Star Wars #1, Star Wars #2)

Those two parks couldn't be more different from each other. And yet they are cloning the exact same Star Wars project and its rides for each park to open within a year of each other. How that works in those two very different environments should be quite a study.

I think @BrianLo's analysis is spot on. Disney has pivoted from a high volume of attractions jumping off from more broadly designed lands, to the Disney Decade model of fewer hyper attractions emanating from more singularly designed areas. As he said, it's very much the Tokyo Disney Sea approach. While Disneyland has dabbled in this approach in the past, most prominently with New Orleans Square, Disneyland has remained a park that prioritized more loosely defined stories and high attraction counts.

Monumental lands have one problem, they can easily reach 1 Billion Dollars per land (cough Star Wars cough Avatar). Does Disney have the guts to build up parks based on this model with extremely steep barriers of entry? Tower of Terror already anchors a similiar land, but it will take much much more to create lasting success.

I'm worried that Disney thinks they signed up for a sprint, when they're in a marathon.

From a purely "feel" perspective, I expect the place to feel bizarre at Disneyland Park. Maybe a bizarre that will make lots of guests happy, but really bizarre nontheless. You can tell me Disneyland's Frontierland governed the design, but it's still going to be weird transitioning from Frontierland and the relatively intimate park to imposing towers and an alien environment.

That's gonna be crazy.

Either way, Disneyland Park will easily leave every other Castle Park in the dust. Disneyland Park's roster will be unsurpassed in numbers and in quality. Built areas will be wide and varied. Upkeep will be among the best in the world. The only unforeseen factor could be crowds. It really could become unbearable.

With rumors of a Frozen E Ticket, I don't see how another castle park ever catches up. (Edit: There's one dark horse... Watch Shanghai closely. They could be interesting.)

Some people may prefer Tokyo Disney Sea or Disney's Animal Kingdom, but in any conversation about "best" Disneyland Park must be muttered.

As for Disney's Hollywood Studios, they still have a long way to go...

Edit: I'll add I am encouraged by a plethora of long term expansion options near Star Wars Experience at DHS. With time, that could be their road to greatness. Though I'm sure someone could have been encouraged by all the expansion pads in World Showcase back in the 1980s. I'll remain cautiously optimistic.

 

[Mike S]

I agree that there will be some learning that takes place at Disneyland that will be implemented at Disney World. But it will most likely be of the operational kind, it won't have anything to do with the design of the attractions. They might discover that the guests dawdle and don't empty out of one of the pre show areas, requiring two employees staffed there instead of one. Or more adults than expected are wanting to close out the cantina on Friday nights. That sort of thing.

It's possible that some of the learning might be like "we actually don't need so much stroller parking, we need more queue switchback posts" so you might see something like that, but nothing very substantial can be changed between projects in six months.

There won't be any if I recall what I've read before on the DL version of this thread correctly. Strollers will be left outside the land and might actually be enforced.

 

[Master Yoda]

Right, I think this has been overlooked when people are comparing progress. It makes no sense for them to construct simultaneously. Staggering construction by a few months is much more logical for the reasons that you lay out.

This^^^^ a thousand times this.

I have been involved in several dozen construction projects where the exact same building is being replicated multiple times. The smart builders build one building first, work out all the kinks, and the rest go up without a single hiccup save for human error.

 

[Kamikaze]

This^^^^ a thousand times this.

I have been involved in several dozen construction projects where the exact same building is being replicated multiple times. The smart builders build one building first, work out all the kinks, and the rest go up without a single hiccup save for human error.

And don't forget cost, my old green friend. TDO likes saving money, and having DLR work out all the kinks first saves them cash.

 

[dreamscometrue]

And don't forget cost, my old green friend. TDO likes saving money, and having DLR work out all the kinks first saves them cash.

I don't know if TDO has any say in the timeline though.

 

[ToTBellHop]

Except that there isn't really enough of a delay for DL to "work out the kinks."

That would be more the case with something like Ratatouille.

By the time DL's SWL is done and open, with any "kinks" exposed, ours will be in the final stage of construction. Far too late to fix a faulty AT-AT, for example.

 

[Master Yoda]

Except that there isn't really enough of a delay for DL to "work out the kinks."

That would be more the case with something like Ratatouille.

By the time DL's SWL is done and open, with any "kinks" exposed, ours will be in the final stage of construction. Far too late to fix a faulty AT-AT, for example.

Depends on the Kink.

It most likely will not help a huge design flaw flaw but there tons of little issues that can be worked out if the 2 crews are communicating with each other.

 

[ToTBellHop]

Depends on the Kink.

It most likely will not help a huge design flaw flaw but there tons of little issues that can be worked out if the 2 crews are communicating with each other.

Sure. Like if the fish look like they are performing unspeakable acts on the water or if Ariel's hair frightens the 3-year olds.