Toy Story Land expansion announced for Disney's Hollywood Studios

[Chet Dakota]

The Marathon goes MK, AK, DHS and finishes at Epcot. Splash won't be open but you might be able to ride Everest in AK. Usually they let runners into the FastPass line. At Epcot near the finish many runners will grab a beer for the last few miles.

I have a friend who ran the WDW Marathon last weekend, and she and her friends stopped and rode EE during their run.

 

[Goofyernmost]

You assume a land as an open space. Attractions inside and outside wouldn't be an issue (otherwise how'd you go from Star Tours to Muppets)

Walk? Just guessing!

 

[marni1971]

Walk? Just guessing!

 

[Mike S]

While a Pixar Land could be made that is wonderful, the problem is that the Pixar Movies do not exist in the same world (fan theories notwithstanding).

A land with rides for A Bug's Life, Toy Story, and Inside Out will leave you wondering if you're the size of a bug, toy, or human. A land with rides for WALL*E, Brave, and Up will leave you wondering if you're in the past, present, or future. Sure, you can cherry pick a few that 'go together', but you'll wind up with someone crying that their favorite isn't included because of some artificial commitment to a thematic land.

And so, a Pixar Land will have to forego a unified theme except for a big Pixar Animation sign. Now, can a really nice 'land' be made from that? Yes. Will it be Magic Kingdom 2? Oh, most definitely. Even worse. MK divides their rides into thematic lands: fantasy here, adventure here, sci-fi here. A Pixar Land will either have to re-create that approach and be exactly like MK, or, just a jumble of movie facades as you pass each IP-based ride.

Now, is there something wrong with a MK2? I don't know. There's a whole bunch of people decrying that that might be the fate of Epcot 2.0 and it makes them mad. Are they OK with a MK2 established in DHS under the banner of "Pixar Land"? We'll see...

But to answer your question, the reason why WDW probably didn't go with a Pixar Land is because they're catching up with the Harry Potter and Cars Lands. And those lands get huge praises and crowds. And so, they are committing themselves into creating areas of parks (i.e. "Lands") with full immersion dedicated to one IP, not a bunch of disparate IPs that come from one studio. Toy Story, Star Wars, and Avatar are part of that craze.

It works for Fantasyland.

 

[lazyboy97o]

It works for Fantasyland.

The connective tissue of Fantasyland is not "made by Disney."

 

[doctornick]

The connective tissue of Fantasyland is not "made by Disney."

Honestly, I never really understood the "connective tissue" of Fantasyland. There's some relatively consistent medieval Europe/fairy tale concept, but that doesn't explain the likes of IASW or PhilharMagic (or, using other castle parks, the Matterhorn). I guess the unified is a very broad and generic idea of "fantasy" but that's basically a license to use anything that is made up.

 

[Pi on my Cake]

Honestly, I never really understood the "connective tissue" of Fantasyland. There's some relatively consistent medieval Europe/fairy tale concept, but that doesn't explain the likes of IASW or PhilharMagic (or, using other castle parks, the Matterhorn). I guess the unified is a very broad and generic idea of "fantasy" but that's basically a license to use anything that is made up.

Don't forget 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea was Fantasyland too. And Mr. Toads Wild Ride. And a circus elephant. Fantasyland has always been more about fun/creative world's than a consistent theme. It's about fantasy as a concept, not a specific genre, era, or type of fantasy.

 

[djkidkaz]

Just drove past and saw a lot of cranes in the TSL area than are normally there. They looked like what you might see used to install coaster track. Maybe we'll see something interesting in the next aerials.

 

[Ismael Flores]

While a Pixar Land could be made that is wonderful, the problem is that the Pixar Movies do not exist in the same world (fan theories notwithstanding).

A land with rides for A Bug's Life, Toy Story, and Inside Out will leave you wondering if you're the size of a bug, toy, or human. A land with rides for WALL*E, Brave, and Up will leave you wondering if you're in the past, present, or future. Sure, you can cherry pick a few that 'go together', but you'll wind up with someone crying that their favorite isn't included because of some artificial commitment to a thematic land.

And so, a Pixar Land will have to forego a unified theme except for a big Pixar Animation sign. Now, can a really nice 'land' be made from that? Yes. Will it be Magic Kingdom 2? Oh, most definitely. Even worse. MK divides their rides into thematic lands: fantasy here, adventure here, sci-fi here. A Pixar Land will either have to re-create that approach and be exactly like MK, or, just a jumble of movie facades as you pass each IP-based ride.

Now, is there something wrong with a MK2? I don't know. There's a whole bunch of people decrying that that might be the fate of Epcot 2.0 and it makes them mad. Are they OK with a MK2 established in DHS under the banner of "Pixar Land"? We'll see...

But to answer your question, the reason why WDW probably didn't go with a Pixar Land is because they're catching up with the Harry Potter and Cars Lands. And those lands get huge praises and crowds. And so, they are committing themselves into creating areas of parks (i.e. "Lands") with full immersion dedicated to one IP, not a bunch of disparate IPs that come from one studio. Toy Story, Star Wars, and Avatar are part of that craze.

I think Several of Pixar movies have one connecting theme that can easily transition from one to another if needed.

A Pixar land can easily be a combination of outdoor and indoor themes. Properties like bugsland, toy story, ratatouille, the good dinosaur and to some extant Up can be built to transition easily because in most of the movies take place outdoors and already have the theme of humans being reduced to size to create a believable environment. Some of the other franchises could easily be subdivided to create indoor experiences with a unifying look on the outside using the idea of small urban towns that coexist next to eachother. I think it's possible and still be able to give the guest an emmersive experience even if the portals Into this land had arches specifying you are entering a world within Pixar studios.

Just seems like such a waste to keep duplicating a toy story land that has not been received with much praise in every park it's built in.

 

[MisterPenguin]

You assume a land as an open space. Attractions inside and outside wouldn't be an issue (otherwise how'd you go from Star Tours to Muppets)

I think Several of Pixar movies have one connecting theme that can easily transition from one to another if needed.

A Pixar land can easily be a combination of outdoor and indoor themes.

I'm glad you're both in 100% agreement with me that it can be done and it would be wonderful.

Now, answer to the critics (not being me) who will decry your mishmash of a land that has no coherent theme except "made by Studio X", and how you've done nothing but to make a MK v.2 in another park. And respond to those who are yelling at you for leaving out Brave or one of their other favorite movies from that studio. And how it's not really a themed land, but just a park with rides like a Six Flags and how making an outdoor land that is nicely themed by encompassing Up and Ratatouille and Finding Nemo is destroyed by having an indoor futuristic sci-fi ride of WALL*E.

What you've created is not a bad thing, but it ain't a themed land or area. It's Pixar Park, not Pixar Land. And again, I'm not against a Pixar Park, but unless you subdivide the rides by genre, it ain't a unified themed land.

 

[Kman101]

Not saying more thought and theming shouldn't go into it, but Pixar Place, where the characters of Pixar films reside. You could have had Toy Story Mania (though it really deserves a better ride than shooting at screens in a warehouse), the Door Coaster PLUS move over Laugh Floor, you could have had Radiator Springs ... (and more, the Rat ride, Incredibles, Up, etc.) they could actually have done all of that if they really wanted to and still gave us the rides in Toy Story Land. They just want to do the bare minium. Yes, that bare minium costs a fortune but let's not pretend if this were Disney at their prime they wouldn't have found a way to do all the above, and more, in a park that DESPERATELY needs rides.

 

[FigmentForver96]

Not saying more thought and theming shouldn't go into it, but Pixar Place, where the characters of Pixar films reside. You could have had Toy Story Mania (though it really deserves a better ride than shooting at screens in a warehouse), the Door Coaster PLUS move over Laugh Floor, you could have had Radiator Springs ... (and more, the Rat ride, Incredibles, Up, etc.) they could actually have done all of that if they really wanted to and still gave us the rides in Toy Story Land. They just want to do the bare minium. Yes, that bare minium costs a fortune but let's not pretend if this were Disney at their prime they wouldn't have found a way to do all the above, and more, in a park that DESPERATELY needs rides.

They had an awesome theme with the whole Pixar campus feel. They could have easily kept Toy Story in the same place but updated and then used the back plot of land for more buildings and ride. A nice park feel, benches, fountains.

 

[MisterPenguin]

They had an awesome theme with the whole Pixar campus feel.

Isn't that just more of Hollywood Studios where the theme is that you're at a Hollywood studio, and oh, look, here's a ride based on a popular movie this studio produced, and hey, look, here's another ride in a completely different mood and genre that was produced by this studio?

Why even bother making it a Pixar "place" since Disney owns them now. Just start putting in rides in DHS based on Pixar movies all over the place... you're at a Disney movie studio, and hey, look, here's a ride based on a popular movie from one of Disney's subsidiaries...

 

[Kman101]

They had an awesome theme with the whole Pixar campus feel. They could have easily kept Toy Story in the same place but updated and then used the back plot of land for more buildings and ride. A nice park feel, benches, fountains.

Yep. I'm not hating on Toy Story Land as much as some, but I agree with a lot of the complaints about it. I do think a fleshed out Pixar Place would have been fantastic. A missed opportunity. I think the closest is Walt Disney Studios in Paris where you have Toy Story Land, Rat, Crush's Coaster, the lame kiddie ride for Cars ... we could have gotten a larger scale of all of that.

I've said it before but it sounds like we would have gotten Monstropolis and maybe even Cars Land but then Star Wars was pushed up ... I get why they picked Toy Story to go behind the ride that houses Toy Story Mania but they could have done better than that and still given us more.

 

[GhostHost1000]

I do think a fleshed out Pixar Place would have been fantastic. A missed opportunity.

completely agree

 

[marni1971]

Isn't that just more of Hollywood Studios where the theme is that you're at a Hollywood studio,

Not really. It would have been a self contained "land"

 

[MisterPenguin]

Not really. It would have been a self contained "land"

Yes, I get that all the attractions would be gathered together. I'm not at all confused that everyone who advocates a Pixar Land is envisioning that all the Pixar-based attractions would be localized into one specific geographic area that can be called a "land."

But, it wouldn't be a "themed" land, would it? Other than the theme of "Pixar Studio", right?

 

[jt04]

Isn't that just more of Hollywood Studios where the theme is that you're at a Hollywood studio, and oh, look, here's a ride based on a popular movie this studio produced, and hey, look, here's another ride in a completely different mood and genre that was produced by this studio?

Why even bother making it a Pixar "place" since Disney owns them now. Just start putting in rides in DHS based on Pixar movies all over the place... you're at a Disney movie studio, and hey, look, here's a ride based on a popular movie from one of Disney's subsidiaries...

I think Disney prefers to do things different from the competition.

 

[BigHero4]

Is it possible that if part of TSL is finished (let's say the saucers and QS) but Slinky is still under construction, that they could still open parts of this land by the end of 2017 and the remainder in 2018? Not sure if this is something Disney has done in the past or if it's all or nothing.

 

[marni1971]

I think Disney prefers to do things different from the competition.

Like take their time?