Star Wars themed land announced for Disneyland

[dweezil78]

Couldn't similar activities be a part of a SW land, or weaved into the theme of another area of DL?

Exactly. Roger's a part of Disneyland whether you know the film or not. It's a solid D ticket dark ride with an awesome queue. This idea that every attraction has to be based off an uber-popular/new/profitable intellectual property is why we haven't gotten another Pirates of the Caribbean, Haunted Mansion, "small world", etc. and they've in turn been altered to feature movie characters. Right? Well, Roger Rabbit was at one point insanely popular, ironically. There's a brilliance to this, it's one for the scholars to explain, not me.

I was on Roger yesterday for probably the first time in a few years. Had a blast! It really is a great dark ride with such an in-depth queue and stands out as being unique with it's spinning teacup taxi cab setup. Even with its unfortunate location it still pulls in strong wait times. I don't care what anyone says, Roger is a great character and the movie it's based on is timeless.

 

[Longhairbear]

You're not. Toontown began a slide towards irrelevance around 1996. If anything, it makes a perfect argument for not building a land dedicated to one franchise. If they ever back off of the franchise, as Disney did in the mid 90's with Roger Rabbit and taking Disney Afternoon of the air, it goes flat pretty quickly.

Plus, it's just a crowded dead end with too few benches and trees.

I like Toontown, but, ask me the last time I was there? Last June, on the train, waiting for it to unload, and load. I don't think we have been in Toontown in a few years.

 

[Vegas Disney Fan]

Does anyone know if the new Anaheim RV Village employee parking opens up the old employee parking by the Mickey garage for backstage use now?

I'm looking at the backstage areas and trying to figure out what has to stay backstage and what could move offsite. Some of the buildings (practice halls and storage) could easily move across Harbor (or elsewhere) but a lot of the prime real estate is currently housing things that would cause logistical problems if they moved offsite (Circle D, Parade Storage, Environmental Services).

Just wondering if they can tunnel under Disneyland Drive and now utilize the employee parking by Mickey and Friends for backstage uses that need to move for Star Wars but would be better onsite than offsite.

 

[TP2000]

In some ways Toontown is this generation's Bear County.

I love that analogy!

 

[TP2000]

Audiences don't know about something until they experience it, and there is no reason themed entertainment cannot be that medium of first exposure.

Sure. But the Who Framed Roger Rabbit? DVD's certainly aren't flying off the shelves in the Car Toon Spin exit gift shop. It's a ride that maintains its popularity by being open limited hours, with low capacity, and you can make the cars spin around and around. Wooooo!

It's a fun and novel dark ride. But it isn't turning the Millennial Generation into Roger Rabbit fans by any stretch of the imagination. And it likely never will.

 

[Californian Elitist]

Sure. But the Who Framed Roger Rabbit? DVD's certainly aren't flying off the shelves in the Car Toon Spin exit gift shop. It's a ride that maintains its popularity by being open limited hours, with low capacity, and you can make the cars spin around and around. Wooooo!

It's a fun and novel dark ride. But it isn't turning the Millennial Generation into Roger Rabbit fans by any stretch of the imagination. And it likely never will.

I think the same thing can be said for every Fantasyland dark ride, especially Toad and Pinocchio.

 

[dweezil78]

I think the same thing can be said for every Fantasyland dark ride, especially Toad and Pinocchio.

Or Song of the South for Splash Mountain and Third Man on the Mountain for Matterhorn (yep, even Matterhorn was tied to a movie).

 

[Californian Elitist]

Or Song of the South for Splash Mountain and Third Man on the Mountain for Matterhorn (yep, even Matterhorn was tied to a movie).

Exactly.

 

[dweezil78]

Because I'm a nerd... Just to put things into perspective, this is what 14 acres of current Tomorrowland would look like. As you can see, minus a little bit of Autopia, it's almost the entire area.

 

[TP2000]

I think the same thing can be said for every Fantasyland dark ride, especially Toad and Pinocchio.

True. But you can buy those DVD's at Target, and collateral material (there's a Mr. Toad t-shirt, plenty of Pinocchio merch, etc.) at Disneyland.

You can't buy Roger Rabbit stuff in Toontown, or the DVD at Target, even if you wanted to. It no longer exists on store shelves.

Although, a quick check on Amazon does show they have some Roger Rabbit DVDs available. And they are going for very cheap.

 

[TP2000]

Because I'm a nerd... Just to put things into perspective, this is what 14 acres of current Tomorrowland would look like. As you can see, minus a little bit of Autopia, it's almost the entire area.

Thank you for that! It really puts this into perspective. 14 acres is huge.

 

[Stevek]

Because I'm a nerd... Just to put things into perspective, this is what 14 acres of current Tomorrowland would look like. As you can see, minus a little bit of Autopia, it's almost the entire area.

It's absolutely crazy (in a good way) how massive this new land is going to be. If folks were impatient about new FL in Florida, imagine how nuts it's going to be waiting for this.

 

[GiveMeTheMusic]

Closure details are already starting to come out. Big Thunder Ranch/Festival Arena will close promptly (and permanently) at the end of the holiday season (so, early January). Get those goat visits in now.

Expect ROA operations to be affected beginning early next year as well. I haven't been able to find out exactly what that entails, but the Star Wars construction process isn't waiting until 2017 to get started. Maybe in WDW, but not here.

I'm hearing Jedi Training Academy will go down just after Thanksgiving and reopen in early December with the new show. By that time Launch Bay will be open as well.

 

[lazyboy97o]

Sure. But the Who Framed Roger Rabbit? DVD's certainly aren't flying off the shelves in the Car Toon Spin exit gift shop. It's a ride that maintains its popularity by being open limited hours, with low capacity, and you can make the cars spin around and around. Wooooo!

It's a fun and novel dark ride. But it isn't turning the Millennial Generation into Roger Rabbit fans by any stretch of the imagination. And it likely never will.

That is only a relevant criteria if the purpose of the park is marketing the studio's products.

 

[Deleted member 107043]

I hate to say break it to you, but that is very likely the primary reason that the parks continue to exist and thrive. I've long said that the P&Rs are marketing experiences for Disney's various brands and franchises. It's been that way since the Eisner days and has excellerated under Iger.

 

[yookeroo]

Without ever putting too much thought into it, I was always ok with Autopia in TL

I'm OK with Autopia in TL. But you have to tie yourself in knots to make if fit thematically...even on opening day.

You're not. Toontown began a slide towards irrelevance around 1996. If anything, it makes a perfect argument for not building a land dedicated to one franchise.

The problem with Toontown isn't the franchise it's based on. The one ride people want to keep is the ride based on that franchise. The problem is with almost everything else. The land could use a major redo.

Plus, I don't see Star Wars dropping out of our culture anytime soon. It's a much bigger animal than Roger Rabbit.

 

[ShoalFox]

You can't buy Roger Rabbit stuff in Toontown, or the DVD at Target, even if you wanted to. It no longer exists on store shelves.

I got Roger Rabbit on Blu-ray at Best Buy. It certainly still is on the store shelves.

 

[George Lucas on a Bench]

Or Song of the South for Splash Mountain and Third Man on the Mountain for Matterhorn (yep, even Matterhorn was tied to a movie).

I bet you there are people riding POTC that don't even know the movie was inspired by the ride. Tarzan (1999) is more forgotten than the Swiss Family Robinson.

 

[Mouse Trap]

Since Toon Town does not seem to be on the chopping block anymore (for now) I was thinking wouldn't it be nice to re-theme Roger Rabbit to a Mickey and friends or Oswald ride?

Obviously it would be something totally for the kids, but it would add some relevance to the area because Disney hasn't touched RR for years. Seems like a nice re-theme they could do for cheap because after all that's how they like to do it I personally enjoy RR though.

 

[dweezil78]

I hate to say break it to you, but that is very likely the primary reason that the parks continue to exist and thrive. I've long said that the P&Rs are marketing experiences for Disney's various brands and franchises. It's been that way since the Eisner days and has excellerated under Iger.

People forget, that's always been the reason the park existed in the first place -- to not only promote Disney's various franchises but also the products and brands of its various sponsors (much less these days). It's worth noting that one of Disneyland enthusiasts' most beloved extinct attractions, Adventures Thru Innerspace, was created for Monsanto -- one of the most hated companies in the world. Now that's magic!

The whole thing was a stroke of brilliance, as we all know, and provided deep synergy between the park, Disney's movies/products, and the emerging household device known as the television -- tying directly to the Disneyland TV show which launched almost a year before the park opened.

Let's not kid ourselves... Disneyland has always been a marketing vehicle from the company, an exceptionally good one loved by many.