-
Welcome to the WDWMAGIC.COM Forums!
Please take a look around, and feel free to sign up and join the community.
Studio Backlot Tour closing for refurbishment in September
- Thread starter wdwmagic
- Start date
Mr_Incredible
Well-Known Member
They refurbishing the show in the begining or the ride along or both? It def. needs some refurbishing. Good to see Disney taking care of a lot of things!
Monorail Lime
Well-Known Member
20 days is not nearly long enough for the amount of work it needs IMHO.
DocMcHulk
Well-Known Member
Agreed. at least 2+ years of work, including a complete demolition of the "ride" would be nice.
jt04
Well-Known Member
I was really hoping that the completion of Star Wars and the added Fantasmic shows meant they would demo this "attraction" once and for all.
It is amazing how it just keeps going and how willing they are to continue to invest in it. You would think that if they wanted to trim the bottom line, getting rid of the tour would do just that.
sshindel
The Epcot Manifesto
Maybe that is the reason that the refurb is only 20 days and not the extra time we all think it really needs. Fix just enough for now so that eventually when it goes away, they didnt put a HUGE refurb budget into it.
theguitarman
Member
I cast my vote against complete demolition. That being said, I agree that in its current form, there is a lot of need for improvement. First off, the opening show. When I went, they didn't even take volunteers. They just dumped the water on empty boats... And beyond that, with the advances in technology, they could add some more special effects!
The tour part is hard to fix....Catastrophe canyon is always fun, but it doesn't warrant a whole ride where that is the main focus. Without the working studios, and without residential street, not sure what they could do to make it better...but there has to be something!
The tour part is hard to fix....Catastrophe canyon is always fun, but it doesn't warrant a whole ride where that is the main focus. Without the working studios, and without residential street, not sure what they could do to make it better...but there has to be something!
IWant2GoNow
Well-Known Member
I feel bad saying it but I wish the word "refurbishment" was replaced with the word "good".
I know it's some capacity where there would be none, but it's a little weird to me that they haven't found a suitable replacement or enhancement for this ride yet.
Hopefully soon? :shrug:
I know it's some capacity where there would be none, but it's a little weird to me that they haven't found a suitable replacement or enhancement for this ride yet.
Hopefully soon? :shrug:
Zummi Gummi
Pioneering the Universe Within!
Remember when this was the premiere attraction at the Studios, and took the better part of 2 hours?
Now it's just a complete waste of space. I too wish the thing was either closing for good, or the refurb would bring it back to some of its former glory.
Now it's just a complete waste of space. I too wish the thing was either closing for good, or the refurb would bring it back to some of its former glory.
Since1976
Well-Known Member
Yes, I remember enjoying it so much, we ended up doing it twice on separate days back in 1990. It was a much more involving show back then -- you actually felt like you were touring a working facility (as it was one back then). Today it's a big sham -- in terms of quality of use of space, I think of it as just one step above Pooh's Playful Spot -- the temporary playground which replaced 20K Lagoon at MK before the current Fantasyland expansion began.
Mukta
Well-Known Member
It will be closed for my whole trip and I don't care at all. This is one of the only rides that people won't miss during refurb.
PolynesianPrincess
Well-Known Member
I absolutely loved this tour when Residential Street was there. If I remember correctly (and I might not so correct me if I'm wrong because this was a long time ago when I was a kid) wasn't there 2 different tours? I think I remember one tour being the water sequence but then you went into a different building and they picked some volunteers to recreate the flying bee sequence from Honey I Shrunk The Kids... And then the backlot tour was separate.... Is that right? Does anyone know why they combined the 2 of them?
I also remember walking past where they shot the new Mickey Mouse Club and I loved that show sooooo much, that was the highlight of my trip was seeing the set... I miss the working studio....
I also remember walking past where they shot the new Mickey Mouse Club and I loved that show sooooo much, that was the highlight of my trip was seeing the set... I miss the working studio....
Yep that is correct. Originally the park opened with the tour as one huge tour that was hours in length and took up a majority of your day with a break spot for the bathroom inbetween (restrooms are still there by the Monsters Inc phohtospot)
Later and more often when my family visited there were two separate tours. One was the Backlot Tram Tour with residential street, the boneyards, wardrobe, Airplane and Catastrophe Canyon etc.. the other was the Backstage Pass. Where the filming in the soundstages for awhile actually happened. The Jim Henson Creature Shop, then the Honey I Shrunk The Kids blue screen Bee scene and the rest were tours above soundstages with some sort of production going on. Now these things are Toy Story Mania, Narnia and the "Hot Set" area that they may or may not be doing something with.
RSoxNo1
Well-Known Member
I already declared this attraction closed a few years ago. I had what I've consdered my final ride on The Backlot Tour - it was raining, they didn't do the full Harbor Attack show and we didn't go into Catastrophe Canyon. That was enough for me (after a 30 minute wait). At this point the only thing I enjoy about the Backlot Tour is watching Catatsrophe Canyon from the top of the Lights, Motors Action bleachers.
disneyworld66
Member
Wow I cannot believe how many people don’t like the tour. While it is not the greatest ride and has gone even further downhill since they recorded the audio it still is a must do for me. It is a nice relaxing ride and at times it still gives me the illusion of a working studio. Maybe it is just the 20 minute rest but I still love the backlot tour. It would be great if they could somehow improve it.
Did you ever ride the original versions from the 90s? I think that is what upsets most people, is how far it has gone down since then. By the time the recorded audio was introduced it was already long gone.
saxamoophone
Active Member
Have to agree with this. The old split tours (walking at current location, and tram in the animation area) both gave you the STUDIO feel.
People ask CMs all the time "so what's filming here today?!?!?" and they just have to laugh under their breath and say "nothing is filming here today." Like honestly, what are they going to say, "Wheel of Fortune filmed here a decade ago? SUPERBOY filmed here in the 80s?"
At least Universal still uses their soundstages for filming every now and then (between HHNs!).
That being said, I think some version of the "TRAM" will stay. Why? It's super high capacity.
What's going to happen (if I had to guess):
- I hear LMA is a *VERY* expensive show to run, and taking up A LOT of space. I hope it makes the cut, but if it doesn't, that's a lot of land given back to any tram tour.
- PIXAR LAND is going to expand. We all know the HISTK playground will become ANTS LIFE, and the Monsters Coaster will of course go in sooner or later.
So why not make a PIXAR STUDIO TOUR? A full-on FAKE studio tour. I have a few ideas floating around in my head, but I think there could be a lot of possibilities, similar to the Universl Studios backlot tour.
